Healthy Brown Mexican Rice

The BEST healthy Brown Mexican Rice! Super easy and flavorful, this ONE pot wonder is a necessary side dish for all of your favorite Mexican recipes.

I’m a big flavor kind of gal, and this recipe has it! Fire roasted diced tomatoes, garlic, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, lime, and just the right amount of kick from some jalepeno are just a few of the ingredients that make this dish so flavorful!

Mexican food has always been one of my favorite cuisines, however most of the time when we go out to a Mexican restaurant I end up feeling a little disappointed by their rice. It’s usually bland, sometimes mushy or dry, and often leaves me feeling unsatisfied. Plus, it’s ALWAYS made with white rice. Blah. If you haven’t already, you need to convert to brown rice folks. Why? Well for starters, brown rice is low in density. This means that brown rice can make you full faster while consuming fewer calories. NEED I GO ON??? Also, brown rice facilitates slow sugar release, which is why you feel like poop (yep. I said it.) after eating a bunch of white rice. Brown rice is also super rich in fiber, selenium, and shown to reduce the risk of diabetes. Have I converted you yet?? Okay, okay, I’ll get off my soap box. Sorry for all of you white rice lovers out there, no disrespect.

Back to the reason you are actually reading this blog – the food. My favorite part (and crucial step) of making this dish is the very beginning. You start by cooking the brown rice in a saucepan with some chopped onions, jalepenos and a little vegetable oil till the rice turns nice and toasty brown. I love hearing the sizzling and crackling sounds of the rice as it starts to turn that golden brown color and as the nutty aroma fills your kitchen, it is your cue to start adding the rest of the ingredients. I start by adding the garlic, then seasonings (stirring in-between) and last I dump in the wet ingredients. By cooking the seasonings with the rice before adding the liquid, you’re infusing the flavor of those dry seasonings into the rice for an awesome end result. Make sure you move fast though because you don’t want to burn your rice. I usually have everything measured out and prepared so I can add them just a few seconds apart.

Now you’ll notice that most of the ingredients use “half” of something, such as half a jalepeno, or half a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. My reason for this: I usually make this AMAZING Mexican black bean recipe at the same time with my rice, because they both use the same flavors and ingredients and pair PERFECTLY together.

I mean who, doesn’t want some yummy black beans with their Mexican rice? However if you decide not to make the black beans, you can easily double the rice recipe to use all of your ingredients, or just save them to make again later in the week, because I promise you, everyone is going to be begging you to make this recipe again!

My favorite way to eat this Mexican rice is to serve it alongside the black beans – it’s sidekick, if you will – and this delicious and super easy Crockpot Chicken Taco recipe. Between the chicken tacos, rice and black beans, you have the perfect Mexican trio that is pretty hard to beat. Top with some fresh guacamole and pico de gallo and make it a fiesta!

Tips:

Add corn or peas to the rice after cooked to sneak some veggies in and your kids won’t even know the difference!

You can adjust the seasoning to your liking, adding or reducing the spice depending on your taste and/or to make it more family friendly. My kids swallow it by the handful as is though, so it’s just preference!

Healthy Brown Mexican Rice

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The BEST healthy Brown Mexican Rice! Super easy and flavorful, this ONE pot wonder is a necessary side dish for all of your favorite Mexican recipes.

• Author: The Saucy Fig
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

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• 1-2 tablespoons oil
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 of a 14.5oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1/2 of a 15oz can tomato sauce
• 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

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Instructions

1. Heat oil in a medium to large pot on the stovetop over medium high heat.
2. Add onion, jalapeño, and brown rice.  Cook for a minute or two and then add the minced garlic.  Continue to cook, stirring until the rice has started to brown (3-5 minutes).
3. Add the seasonings: chili powder, cumin, dried basil and parsley. Cook for an additional minute.
4. Add the fire roasted diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken broth.  Cover and bring to a boil.
5. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer on low, covered, for 45 minutes an hour. Use a fork to fluff, if there is no or little liquid left at bottom remove from heat, if there’s still a little liquid or the rice is still a little crunchy you can leave the lid on the pot for 10 minutes to let the rice sit and absorb the rest of the liquid.

Notes

You’ll notice I use half a can of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, this is because I use the other half in my Mexican Black Bean recipe that I almost always make along with this rice. If you don’t want to make the black beans, you can double the rice or just save the ingredients for later in your fridge – you’ll probably end up using them to make this rice again later in the week!

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