Here’s a little trivia about me. I can’t roll my R’s.
I know, I know, that’s pretty personal, but what I can I say? I’m an open book. Every so often, I get the urge to try again, in case my tongue has matured over the years and will suddenly just “know” what to do. But I’m always disappointed. I wonder if there’s some kind of instructional video on YouTube. I can’t bring myself to google it. Anyway, if I somehow ever magically get the ability to roll my R’s at some point down the line, I am pretty sure that the first word I say will be “Arroz”, as in Arroz Rojo, or red rice. It just sounds, well, sexy. I have faith that one day, it will happen. But in the meantime, I’ll just eat this rice and dream of the day I am inducted into the R-Rollers Club. That’s a thing, right?
So, we’ve already made Mexican Cauliflower Rice, and it’s pretty darn good, I have to say. But sometimes a girl’s just gotta have the real thing. And when that craving strikes, there’s no better tool for the job than a pressure cooker. Why, you ask? Let’s break it down.
3 Reasons Why You Should Cook Rice in a Pressure Cooker
1. It’s easy.
2. It’s fast.
3. It’s foolproof.
It’s easy, you say?
1:1 water to rice ratio. Seems pretty easy to me.
It’s fast, you boast?
3 minutes for white rice, 22 minutes for brown rice. Yeah, that’s speedy.
It’s foolproof, you proclaim?
Once you know what not to do, you can’t mess it up.
Beth, why can’t I just cook the rice on the stovetop in a pot like a normal person?
You totally can, if you enjoy babysitting a hot pan on the stove for 25-45 minutes. I’m just here to tell you there’s another (better) way.
How to Make Mexican Rice in a Pressure Cooker
1. Prep your ingredients. Tomato paste, onion, garlic, rice, salt, and water. Oh, and a jalapeño, if you like to kick things up a notch.
2. Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer and drain very well. Extra moisture makes for mushy rice, which is no bueno.
3. Heat the pressure cooker over medium heat on the stovetop (or use the sauté function on the Instant Pot), and sauté the rice, onion, garlic, and salt for 3-4 minutes. The rice will get all nice and toasty while the onion and garlic start cooking, and your kitchen will be filled with amazing smells as a result.
4. Whisk the tomato paste and water together until thoroughly mixed, then add it to the pressure cooker along with a whole jalapeño (or half of a jalapeño if yours is enormous, like mine was in this photo).
5. Bring to high pressure and cook for 3 minutes for white rice, or 22 minutes for brown rice. On the Instant Pot, this is as easy as setting the timer after selecting the High Pressure option, and then letting it do all the work. Once the time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally, which will take about 15-20 minutes. After the pressure is released, unlock the lid, and take in the heavenly smell of fluffy Mexican rice. Ahhhhhh…..
If you want to go medium-carb with this, as I have been known to do around these parts, cook up some Mexican Cauliflower Rice while the pressure cooker is doing its thing, and then mix it all together. You can eat more with less guilt. That’s a win in my book.
Serve these tasty orange kernels of goodness as part of your next fiesta, and please, when you announce that it’s time for the Arroz Rojo, do me a favor and roll those R’s with gusto, since I can’t. I’ll live vicariously through your R-rolling prowess, and try not to get jealous. No promises.
When you make this, or any other recipes, it gives me all the good vibes when you leave a comment, or tag #eatwithinyourmeans on Instagram, or send me a Snap (@eatwithinmeans). Please keep me posted! I love seeing what you make.
R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r….sigh. Still only in my dreams.
These are the appliances and kitchen tools I personally use and recommend for this recipe.
Instant Pot – an electric pressure cooker with several other functions such as a yogurt maker and slow cooker!
Presto Pressure Cooker – a standard stovetop pressure cooker that works very well and is very fat-wallet-friendly.
Pressure Cooker Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups long-grain rice (such as Lundberg Farms Brown Basmati)
- 1/2 white onion (chopped)
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 small jalapeño (optional)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups water
Instructions
Stovetop Pressure Cooker
- Sauté rice, onion, garlic, and salt in olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant.
- Mix water and tomato paste until thoroughly combined, then add into the pressure cooker along with the jalapeño, whole.
- Lock lid onto the pressure cooker and bring to pressure over high heat.
- Once pressure is reached, reduce the heat just enough to maintain the pressure.
- Cook white rice for 3 minutes, and brown rice for 22 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release naturally. Release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.
- Fluff rice with a fork, and serve hot.
Electric Pressure Cooker (such as an Instant Pot)
- Sauté rice, onion, garlic, and salt in olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant.
- Mix water and tomato paste until thoroughly combined, then add into the pressure cooker along with the jalapeño, whole.
- Lock lid onto the pressure cooker and select the High Pressure function.
- Cook white rice for 3 minutes, and brown rice for 22 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release naturally. Release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.
- Fluff rice with a fork, and serve hot.
You are not alone, Beth; my mom also is part of the non-R-Rollers Club (to get all technical, some docter or somebody told her that the thing underneath her tongue, called the frenulum, wasn’t long enough to allow for R-Rolling ?). I’m not sure if it makes it worse or better that it could be something you can’t change…I wish I could gift you my R-Rolling! It makes my mom feel pretty left out that all of us (and seems like all the rest of the world) can do it and she can’t. I’m sorry!
I am so with you. I too have wished to sexily roll my R’s!! Love this post and it totally makes me want an instant-pot, even more than i did already!
It’s totally a bucket list thing for me. I have seriously considered looking for tutorials on YouTube. 🙂 The Instant Pot is one of the best tools I’ve ever bought, and I’m only just beginning to discover how many uses it has. More to come on that for sure!
In the pictures you saute the rice without the tomato paste, but in the recipe notes you saute it WITH the tomato paste and also add tomato paste /water mixture. Mistake? Making now! Thanks for instantt pot recipes!
Hi Sarah! So sorry for the delayed response, I took a bit of a break this summer and am playing catch-up now. Gah, that recipe error, all fixed now! Thanks for pointing it out. How did the rice turn out for you?
Beth,
I’ve got it in the pot as I type. I’ll let you know and if I can figure out how tossed you photo, I will! Wish me luck
Hi Beth,
I blew it!
My rice came out kinda mushy.
I did the recipe exactly. My spices did not mix, even though I mixed them in the rice. It wasn’t too bad, just a little. What can I do to correct the amount of water?
Can i use tomato sauce instead of water/paste?
Hi Estee! So sorry for the delayed response, I took a bit of a break this summer and am playing catch-up now. I think you could, but I wouldn’t substitute it for all of the water, because it might make the rice too tomato-y, if that makes sense. It also might take longer to cook, because I’ve found that cooking with a high concentration of tomato takes longer due to the acid content. I haven’t tested it this way, so can’t vouch for the results. It’s worth a try! 🙂
Hi, I was looking for some flavored rice recipes to use in my new Instant Pot and came across this one. I made it last night with only one change – a 4 oz can of diced green chiles instead of the jalepeno pepper. The recipe turned out great and I can’t believe how few ingredients it is and what easy prep, not to mention only one pan to clean up since I used the saute feature on the pot. Thank you! I do think next time I’ll use a bit of oil to saute the onion and rice in instead of doing it dry. (Also, please correct step one of the printable recipe so that it does not include the tomato paste in the saute step).
Hi Gwen! So sorry for the delayed response, I took a bit of a break this summer and am playing catch-up now. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I’ll definitely correct the tomato paste issue in the recipe, thanks for pointing it out!
Heya! I don’t see an area to send you a message so leaving an a comment. Your recipe states to add the tomato paste to the first part that is sauted. Then below that it says to add the tomato paste when you add the water. I’m assuming you hold off till you add the water, because tomato paste can scorch, but you might want to clarify on the recipe. Thank you!
Hi Tracey! So sorry for the delayed response, I took a bit of a break this summer and am playing catch-up now. Great point about the tomato paste instructions, I’ll update that right away! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Another recipe with the “natural release” 3 minutes isn’t 3 minutes if you have to wait 20 minutes to open the pot.
8 minutes with quick release. Trust me, I’ve done it 100 times.
I also prefer actual tomatoes; the point of a pressure cooker is that it cooks the vegetables at 250 degrees under pressure. Using paste you don’t get much benefit.
Hey Arty, thanks for your feedback. I agree that the times with pressure cooker recipes are hard to accurately portray. Even with a quick release recipe, 3 minutes is never 3 minutes because of the time required to come to pressure. I’ll definitely try your 8 minute quick release method! I have started to prefer natural release simply because I don’t love having the steam from the quick release all over my kitchen (I’m messy enough as it is), but I’m still experimenting and always will be. I appreciate your input. 🙂
I place my instant pot by my stove so I can use the vent when I do a pressure release. I also throw a dish towel over it for quick release to catch any splatters. Works like a charm every time!
Yum! I love Mexican rice so I’ll definitely have to give this a try. I also saw in your ingredient photo that your tomato paste was frozen. I do this too! Most recipes only call for 1-2 tbsp and there’s still plenty more in the jar!
Hi Danielle! Yes, freezing tomato paste is a must-do for me. If I don’t, it goes unused/wasted, and that is just no good. This is why we are both super cool people. 😉
Hi! My Instant Pot doesn’t have the high pressure option. I’ve got the Lux version. Will I need to cook this longer to compensate? Thanks!
Whenever you use an Instant Pot that doesn’t let you adjust the pressure level, your pressure cooking level will always be set to high pressure.
When I made this, I used less tomato paste. Then I also added some diced tomatoes, chicken broth, cumin, ginger, cardamom, and turmeric. (So I guess I like Indian food so much that I even add Indian spices to Mexican food.) I like my rice on the softer side, or “sticky,” as some would say, so I used extra water (1-1/2 cups rice and 3 cups liquids–broth and tomato paste).
I’ll be making it again this week. It was really good.
Thanks for this recipe! I tried it last night with a few little tweaks and everyone raved about it. I added a few sprinkles of chili powder and oregano, and I used white basmati rice. I found that after 3 mins and natural release it was still a bit crunchy. So at that point I threw in another half cup of water and some lime juice and gave it another 3 mins on high pressure. After that it was a bit on the soft side, but still super delish!
It was probably just the particular type of rice I was using, so next time I think I’ll up the liquid by 1/2 cup or so, and maybe do 4 mins on high pressure.
Looking forward to making it again – I think this would be really tasty to include in some freezer burritos! Thanks again!
I made this PIP. Added 1 c. water to bottom of pot, and put pot of rice on trivet. I used white rice. It had not cooked at all in 3 minutes. I sealed at continued to cook for another 6 minutes. It was perfect. So pot-in-pot must take longer.
So what am I doing wrong? I double the recipe using long grain white rice and it burns to the bottom of the instant pot both times I’ve tried to make this?? I know pressure cookers and tomato sauce love to scorch. Maybe to much paste?
I have the same problem every time; tried it twice in an instant pot following the recipe exactly; please provide information if this just isn’t possible in an instant pot or how your recipe needs to be adjusted; this is beginning to be a major waste of food and time.
Same problem :/
When the cooking time is up do I just hit off or do I do the natural pressure release with the warmer counting up to 15 before lI reduce the remaining pressure manually?
I fell under the crunchy rice category here as well. I’ve put a bit more liquid in and turned it back on.
Bummer, Christine! I’m going to re-test this recipe, because crunchy rice shouldn’t be happening. So sorry!
Mine was a fail. Really not much taste, and texture wasn’t very desirable. Sorry.
I’m so sorry to hear this! I’ve had some mixed reviews, so I’m going to re-test the recipe to make sure that it is working for me as written. When I tested it originally the flavor and texture were spot-on, so I’m disappointed it didn’t work for you. I’ll be sure to update with any changes.
Could you add chicken to this or would it be over cooked? Thanks! Looks delicious!
Hi Emily! All of my recipes are plant-based, so I’m not sure! It’s been quite a while since I have cooked chicken. I would recommend checking out the recommended cooking times for chicken – if it’s around the same as for the rice, you should be good to go! 🙂
This was a really good recipe and one I will definitely make again. I used Brown rice and made only two minor substitutions: I use chicken broth instead of water and some Cumin because I like that and anything Mexican. I had only a small can of tomato paste so I added a smidgen more of the chicken broth and it turned out perfectly. My Instant Pot how society feature so I was able to do it all in one pot and I pressure cook it for 22 minutes just as the recipe instructed. Delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
Looking forward to trying this with my new pressure cooker. My stove top mexican rice always includes a big can of black beans, and I use petite diced tomatoes. So I’ll try this with those changes.
I have a rice button on mine, so you recommend that function I star of manual?
I do as well. I’m interested to know her thoughts on the rice function.
Mine sticks and burns on the bottom of my instant pot every time. Is there something I’m doing wrong? We love this recipe!
My family and I were so disappointed by this recipe. We were expecting fluffy, full flavored, and lighter than air Mexican rice but that was not the result. What we had instead was bland yet weirdly spicy soggy and sticky Spanish rice. If you’re thinking about making this recipe, just buy a box of zattarains Spanish rice. You’ll have better results. I’m not trying to be offensive, but I don’t want anyone else to waste their time and money like I did.
After reading the comments this is what I did and it was absolutely fantastic. Get everything prepped first and ready by your instant pot (IP). Rinse the rice (I used long grain brown) and tap as much water out as possible. Put the rice, chopped onion and garlic in the IP and set to sauté. Keep stirring and sauté til there’s no moisture left – the pot will become dry – maybe 3-5 minutes. Turn the IP off. Then immediately dump in the water that’s already mixed with the tomatoe paste (I used some big squirts from the paste that comes in a tube because I prefer that to the can type) and add in the jalapeño (next time I might dice it up). Lid the IP and close the vent. Set to high and cook 15 minutes. Turn it off. Let pressure naturally release for 5 minutes then release the rest using quick release method. It was absolutely perfect.
Ok so I doubled this recipe and my instant pot gave me a burn notice? It can’t be doubled?
Beth,
Hi, I’m new to the instant Pot cooking.
Thank you for your recipes. I am for sure going to try them.
One thing though, I would love to see on your site is a recipe doubler or something that would
calculate a recipe from 6 persons to 32 persons instantly.
I’m trying this Spanish rice recipe today and I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Huggles.
Hi there—I found that two cups of water and two cups of brown rice was not enough liquid. I had to put it under pressure again after adding more water. Just a heads up!
I’ve upped it to 2:1 water to rice + fresh tomatoes. It’s delicious, but it still scorches on the bottom, though I just bring it up to 5 lbs and immediately take it off the burner.and allow natural release. Next time I’ll up the water to 2.25:1 water to rice.
I keep getting a burn error.
I am using the stainless steel inner pot and my non-stick. Any troubleshooting tips?