Instant Pot Spanish Rice
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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.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by USA Rice and The Feedfeed (links). As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that help run this site!
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 tbsp 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
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups broth, vegetable or chicken
- 1 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp 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.
Notes
Nutrition
This is the only Spanish rice recipe I use.
This makes me so happy — thanks for the 5-star rating, Kelly!
I make this recipe all the time and my family loves it! So good!!
Thanks for the comment, Laura — happy to hear you’ve been loving the rice!
I want to make this recipe, but add onion and corn. I’m new to using the instant pot, once used it twice. Can you tell me when I would add these ingredients and how much of each?
Hmm… I would probably saute the onion first with a little oil, then add the butter and rice, then I’d add the corn in after you add the broth, and you may need to use a little more broth so that it covers all of the rice/corn mixture. Let me know how it turns out!
Flavorful, not too salty, and easy to make. I doubled the recipe and cooked it in my electric skillet- this recipe is my go to from now on!
I’m so happy you liked the rice! It’s one of our favorites too 🙂
Delicious and so easy! Came out just right. The second time we had it I used a can of Rotel and added enough tomato paste and water to make the required amount of sauce.my family loved it both ways. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you guys liked the rice!
This was so good and came out perfectly! This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Thanks Kim, I’m so glad you liked the rice!
This was perfect! My teenagers devoured it.
I didn’t have tomato sauce on hand so I blended up a can of diced tomatoes and it worked just as well. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Glad to hear this recipe is teenager-approved 🙂
The best I’ve had and I’m from NM. Everyone loved it and the rice was perfectly cooked
Thanks Lisa — I’m glad everyone enjoyed the rice!
The overall taste was great but mine burnt a little on the bottom. Got a burn notice before it was done. I made sure to stir it good and scrape the bottom before starting it. Any tips to avoid this? I’m new to using an instant pot. I ended up just putting the lid back on without turning it on to to finish cooking so it wouldn’t burn more
Hi! I’m sorry that happened — getting a burn notification is frustrating. A few general tips are to make sure that the rice is fully submerged in the liquid before sealing the lid (I usually have to push it down a bit with a wooden spoon), stir everything together to make sure the rice isn’t all on the bottom and also scrape the bottom too, and if you absolutely must you can add an extra 1/4 cup of water.