This Instant Pot Spanish Rice is incredibly flavorful and ready in just 25 minutes! It's made using broth, tomato sauce, and spices and is the perfect side dish to any meal.Â
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Instant Pot Spanish rice is the ultimate side dish to any meal. While you can absolutely eat it as-is, it's really delicious alongside these tofu enchiladas or in this taco salad.
As with all of my USA Rice recipes, this Spanish rice was made with U.S.-grown rice because of its flavor and texture. I used long grain white rice, which works perfectly for this recipe.
Why you'll love this recipe
- It's a super flavorful side dish and an exciting way to eat rice
- It can be made in the Instant Pot OR over the stovetop
Ingredient notes:
Rice - the recipe was tested using U.S.-grown long grain white rice, so that's what I recommend using
Oil - I like using olive oil or avocado oil to coat the bottom of the Instant Pot, which will prevent the rice from sticking to it
Broth - vegetable or chicken
Tomato sauce - I definitely recommend using canned tomato sauce, and going for a brand that has some other flavors in their sauce, like garlic and/or onion
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Rinse the rice. Rinsing rice removes the starch from it and only takes a few seconds. Simply pour the rice into a mesh sieve or strainer and run water over it for 10 seconds or so.
Step 2: Add oil, butter, rice, and garlic to the Instant Pot. Adding oil to the bottom will prevent the rice from sticking, but the butter helps to add a nice flavor to the whole dish. So, add butter, along with the rice and garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Step 3: Add all other ingredients. Pour everything EXCEPT the cilantro into the pot, then close the lid and make sure the knob on top is set to "seal".
Step 4: Pressure cook for 4 minutes.
Step 5: Natural release for 10 minutes. Then, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. You might notice the tomato sauce sitting on top, and that's ok! Simply stir and fluff the rice until everything is combined. Last, stir in the chopped cilantro.
FAQs and Tips
Substitutions:
- Butter: if you want to omit the butter, simply add a total of 3 tablespoon of oil instead
- Broth: you can use vegetable or chicken--whatever you have on hand
Can I use jarred sauce?
I wouldn't. Most canned sauces use very simple ingredients, which is what we want, and many jarred sauces have spices like oregano and basil, which we want to avoid since this is Spanish rice and not an Italian dish.
How should I store this, and how long will it last?
Store rice in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. It'll last for up to a week, though it tastes best if consumed within 48 hours.
Related recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Instant Pot Spanish Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups broth vegetable or chicken
- 1 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoon cilantro chopped
Instructions
instant pot:
- Pour rice into a mesh sieve and rinse for 30 seconds or until the water is no longer cloudy.
- Press "sauté" on your Instant Pot and set it for 3 minutes (it will take about a minute to warm up). Add the butter; once it starts melting, add the oil, rice and garlic and sauté continuously for the remaining time. Then, turn your Instant Pot off.
- Add chili powder, cumin, salt, broth, and tomato sauce and give mixture a gentle stir, making sure the rice is completely covered with the broth (if you need to, use a spoon to press it down). Place lid on the Instant Pot, making sure the knob on top is set in the "seal" position. Pressure cook rice for 4 minutes, then naturally release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the rest of the pressure and removing the lid.
- Fluff rice with a fork and stir in the cilantro.
stove top:
- Pour rice into a mesh sieve and rinse for 10 seconds.
- Add oil and butter to a large dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Once melted, add the rice and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Then, add chili powder, cumin, salt, broth, and tomato sauce and stir. Increase heat to high and bring rice to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and place a lid on the pot. Simmer for 12-14 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the liquid.
- Remove the lid, fluff rice with a fork and stir in the cilantro.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nicole Clark says
Do you think you could add chicken breasts and pinto beans to this recipe? Or would I need to adjust the cooking time?
Erin says
That sounds delicious! But, adding chicken would definitely alter the cook time and I haven't tested it out so I'm not sure what the exact times would be.
Amanda says
Followed recipe, except didn’t find out I didn’t have enough rice until I was pouring it out of the container 😂 ... just adjusted the liquid portion accordingly. It was fantastic!! Everyone loved it. Nice to have restaurant quality at home. (Didn’t burn, and I stirred)
Thanks for the recipe!
Erin says
Thanks for the comment, Amanda -- so happy you liked the rice!
Sabrina says
thank you for this recipe, I love Spanish rice when I allow myself to eat it and have never made it from scratch before, so much appreciated!
Ashley says
Flavor was great! The rice was slightly undercooked, so next time I’ll pressure cook for a minute or two longer. Also, I just threw everything in together (I make a lot of rice IP recipes) and it did not burn at all, just needed a bit longer in the IP. Will make again!
Nikki Blake says
If I want to double the recipe, will I need to adjust time on the instapot?
Erin says
Hi! I don't think you would, but I haven't tested myself. I found this article that might help explain it a bit better:https://www.thekitchn.com/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-doubling-instant-pot-recipes-23089108
Teresa says
Made this for dinner last night and everyone LOVED it!! It’s seriously delicious! Tastes like the good rice from Mexican restaurants. It’s flavorful soft deliciousness! Adding to my best recipe list because I never want to loose it!
Thanks for sharing such a great recipe. I have tried for years to make good Spanish rice so I appreciate this oh so much!
Erin says
Thanks so much for the comment -- I'm so happy everyone liked the rice! It's a staple in our house and I'm happy it will be in yours too.
Susan Seago says
Delicious! I bloomed the spices in 3T garlic infused olive oil. Definitely will make again.
Erin says
Thanks for the comment -- I'm so happy you liked the rice!
Sheila carroll says
It was Delicious. But mine burnt also. It was my first time cooking rice and pressure cooker instant pot.
Erin says
I'm sorry that happened! Always be sure to rinse the rice really well beforehand, and make sure it's submerged in the liquid (i.e. the broth and tomato sauce) in your Instant Pot before cooking it. I hope you give this another shot!
Sarah says
Mine also burnt. Still waiting to see if I can salvage it. I think adding the spices before the broth is what did it. Next time I will add the broth and then the spices and tomato sauce.
Sahagi says
This burned right away in my instant pot. From what I've read online about instant pot burns, I don't think stirring everything together before cooking is a good idea.
Erin says
Hi! I'm sorry that happened. I've made this recipe several times, always stirring everything together beforehand and it's never burnt. With that said, you could try stirring all the ingredients EXCEPT the tomato sauce together, then pouring the tomato sauce on top and pressure cooking it that way.
TJ says
You really need to rinse your rice for a lot longer than 10 seconds. That isn't enough time to rinse the water clear while swishing it around the colander. Other than that, this recipe looks pretty good.
Daniel Z says
I haven't tried making this one yet, so my rating is for appreciation of the recipe, however, I think this will be a big hit at our house. Having moved from California to the east coast, I miss having access to latin american foodscapes.