Mexican rice with black beans is a delightful one-pot dinner that’s tasty, easy to make, and deeply satisfying.
Serve it with avocado, corn, queso fresco or feta, lime, and cilantro for a wholesome and colorful vegetarian dinner.
Leftovers keep for days, and the recipe is excellent for meal prep.
What is Mexican rice?
Mexican rice, or arroz a la Mexicana, is usually a side dish eaten with other dishes such as refried beans, black bean soup, vegetarian chili, chicken, or fish.
Since this blog is about providing you with the best easy dinners, we tweaked the recipe a little to make it a colorful and deeply satisfying main course.
We add tender black beans to the rice and let them cook together in the spices and tomato puree. This adds wholesome protein and makes the dish more satisfying.
You can serve this next to fish or chicken or top it with other ingredients common in Mexican cooking.
We recommend avocado or guacamole, corn or pico de gallo, crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese, fresh cilantro, and a generous squeeze of lime juice.
How to make Mexican rice
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
1. Gather your ingredients
To make Mexican rice, you’ll need basmati or long-grain rice. Keep in mind that long-grain rice takes a little longer to cook than basmati and might need a little more broth.
For the flavor base, you’ll also need olive oil, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes.
Then, tomato puree, black beans, and vegetable broth.
For toppings, we recommend avocado, corn, cilantro, lime, and queso fresco or crumbled feta.
2. Make the Mexican flavor base
Heat the olive oil in a skillet, pot, or Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and sauté 3 minutes.
Add minced or grated garlic, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika, and sauté for one more minute, stirring often.
3. Cook the rice
Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh sift and add it to the skillet. Toast while stirring until the rice is dry and nicely toasted (about 5 minutes).
Add vegetable broth, tomato puree, drained black beans, and season with salt and black pepper.
Stir well, cover with a lid, and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed the broth.
Try not to touch the rice as it simmers very gently.
Taste and adjust for salt, then fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains and serve.
Serving suggestions
We recommend serving Mexican rice from the pot or on a platter topped with sliced avocado, corn, queso fresco or crumbled feta, lime juice, and fresh cilantro.
You can even add some sour cream or thick yogurt to play with heat, cold, and sour flavors.
Substitutions
Basmati rice: We use basmati rice because it cooks fast and tastes delicious in this recipe. You can substitute long-grain rice. To use brown rice, you might need vegetable broth and cooking time.
Olive oil: We use extra virgin olive oil. Substitute another vegetable oil.
Tomato puree: substitute crushed tomatoes. You can also use whole canned peeled tomatoes and San Marzano, but blend them first.
Spices: At a minimum, we recommend using ground cumin and smoked paprika. Ground coriander is optional, but we recommend it if you already have it in your pantry. You can substitute chipotle powder for smoked paprika.
Black beans: You can use canned or dried black beans you previously boiled. You can also substitute pinto beans or kidney beans for black beans.
Storage
Make ahead: Mexican rice is excellent for meal prep as it stores and reheats well.
Refrigerator: Let it cool down to room temperature and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days.
Freezer: Let it cool down completely before freezing in a freezer-friendly bag or container. It keeps well for 3 to 4 months.
Thaw: Thaw slowly in the fridge or with the help of a microwave.
Reheat: Sauté the rice in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil or reheat in the microwave. Add fresh lime before eating.
Similar recipes
MEXICAN-INSPIRED: Refried beans, tostadas, black bean burger, quinoa salad, sweet potato chili, black bean soup, pico de Gallo, guacamole, black bean salad, lentil chili, vegetarian chili, breakfast burrito, sweet potato hash, black bean recipes.
RICE DISHES: mujadara, rice salad, stuffed bell peppers, stuffed tomatoes, tomato risotto, eggplant risotto, and mushroom risotto.
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
- 1½ cups basmati rice or long-grain rice
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can black beans 15-ounces, or 1½ cups cooked beans
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
- 1 cob corn or canned corn
- 1 sliced avocado
- ¾ cup grated queso fresco or crumbled feta
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 squeezed lime
- 1 dollop sourcream or thick yogurt
Instructions
- MAKE FLAVOR BASE: Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Add 1 medium onion and sauté 3 minutes. Add 4 cloves garlic (pressed), 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons coriander, 1 teaspoon cumin, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakesSauté for one more minute, stirring often.
- ADD RICE: Add 1½ cups basmati rice (rinsed) and toast it for 5 minutes or until the pan gets dry.Now add 2 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup tomato puree, and 1 can black beans (drained).Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.
- SIMMER GENTLY: Stir well, cover with a lid, and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed the broth.Try not to touch the rice as it simmers.Taste and adjust for salt, then fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains.
- SERVING SUGGESTIONS: We recommend serving it from the pot or on a platter topped with 1 sliced avocado, 1 cob corn, ¾ cup grated queso fresco (or feta), 1 squeezed lime, and ¼ cup cilantro.You can even add 1 dollop sourcream or thick yogurt to play with heat, cold, and sour flavors.
Video
This is really delicious. It would be good also if you used 1/2 of a can of beans (if it’s too bean-y for you)
Love the combination of spices and the addition of the black beans. It’s such an easy dinner! My husband and I loved it 🙂
Thank you Fiona. We are so happy you liked the rice 🙂
All the best,
Nico