Fiesta Rice Recipe
May 04, 2016, Updated Jul 27, 2023
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Fiesta Rice is a vibrant, Mexican-inspired side dish. With a flavorful mix of fluffy rice and colorful veggies, this easy rice recipe turns any meal into a fiesta! Serve it with your favorite Tex-Mex meals, including tacos, enchiladas, and more.
Easy Mexican Fiesta Rice
This fiesta rice recipe is a party of bright, zesty Mexican flavor. It’s such an easy side dish made with rice, black beans, and a rainbow of fresh vegetables, simmered in a flavorful broth. I pair this Mexican-style rice with tacos, enchiladas, and flautas. And, of course, it’s not a party without a pineapple margarita!
This Flavorful Fiesta Rice Is…
- Adaptable. Experiment with different vegetables, switch to brown rice, or add your favorite protein, like ground beef or chicken.
- Approachable. If you can chop veggies and cook rice, you can whip up this fiesta rice tonight. I’ll walk you through it with all my best rice-cooking tips and tricks.
- Versatile. Serve this rice as a side dish to carne guisada, picadillo, lomo saltado, and more Tex-Mex favorites. Fiesta rice also makes a flavorful base for taco bowls!
Ingredients Needed
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this Mexican fiesta rice recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete recipe with amounts.
- Onion and Bell Pepper – Yellow onion and red bell pepper (or any color), to sauté in butter. For a vegan version, use olive oil or a plant-based butter substitute.
- Garlic – Freshly minced, or you can substitute garlic powder.
- Long Grain Rice – Uncooked long grain rice is best for this recipe, though brown rice also works. That being said, if you have leftover white rice from another meal, fiesta rice is a great way to use it up!
- Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies – Buy ready-to-use diced tomatoes with green chilies. Choose mild or spicy depending on what you prefer.
- Corn and Beans – Rinsed, low-sodium black beans and canned sweet corn kernels. Feel free to shave the fresh kernels from grilled corn on the cob.
- Spices – Ground cumin, salt, and pepper. You can add chili powder or cayenne for more kick.
- Vegetable Broth – I cook the rice in low-sodium vegetable broth instead of water to enhance the flavor. If you don’t have vegetable broth, chicken broth or stock is a good substitute.
- Lime and Cilantro – To stir in at the end for a bright finish. Fresh chopped cilantro, or parsley if you aren’t a fan, and a squeeze of fresh lime tie everything together.
How To Cook Long Grain White Rice
I almost always cook rice on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot. This stovetop method is the tried-and-tested approach that I’ve stuck with over the years, and the rice always turns out perfect! Note that you should always check package instructions, as ratios and times can vary depending on the rice or even the brand that you are using.
For this fiesta rice recipe, you’ll cook the rice right in the broth, but the method is the same:
- Combine. Mix 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water (or broth) in a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt if you’d like.
- Cook. Bring the rice to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15-18 minutes. Don’t stir or lift the lid (that releases the steam!).
- Rest and fluff. Remove the pot from the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for 5-10 minutes to redistribute moisture. Fluff with a fork and serve.
How Much Does 1 Cup of Dry Rice Make?
One cup of dry long-grain rice typically yields about 3 cups of cooked rice. However, this can vary slightly depending on the specific variety of rice and how it’s cooked.
Can I Use Brown Rice?
Yes. Since brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice, there are a few small changes to the method:
- Rinse the rice. Rinse 1 cup brown rice in a fine-mesh sieve under cold water for 30 seconds. Drain.
- Cook. In this recipe, you’ll use 2 cups of vegetable broth to 1 cup of brown rice. You will need to cook brown rice for 30 minutes, instead of the 15 minutes it takes to cook long-grain rice.
- Rest. Then you’ll remove the rice from the heat, but don’t remove the lid. Let it sit covered for 10 minutes before you remove the lid and fluff the rice.
Tips for the best Fiesta Rice
- Rinse canned beans and corn. Always rinse canned beans and corn, and then drain them before adding them to the recipe.
- Add proteins. Consider adding cooked chicken, shrimp, or tofu to the dish. You could also use leftover ham as I do in my hoppin’ John recipe.
- Swap the rice. If you prefer, you can use brown rice (see above) or even quinoa. Note that these may affect cooking times and liquid amounts.
- Adapt the spice. The spices can be adjusted to taste. Consider adding chili powder for heat or smoked paprika for a deeper flavor.
- Fresh tomatoes. If you have fresh tomatoes and chilies, feel free to use them instead of canned. You might want to adjust the amount of broth or water accordingly.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some dinner ideas to serve with this easy fiesta rice.
- Tex-Mex: Fiesta rice is a perfect side dish with steak fajitas or a taco casserole.
- Seafood: Serve this rice with a tasty sheet pan shrimp boil.
- BBQ: Consider a juicy London broil or tender country-style pork ribs.
- More sides: Adding a side of tangy coleslaw or crispy chicken wings for delicious crunch.
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Fiesta Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 small small red bell pepper, diced
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1¼ cups uncooked long grain rice
- 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1 can (15 ounces) reduced-sodium black beans, rinsed
- 1 can (15 ounces) sweet corn kernels, rinsed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 2 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
- chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Sauté. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and red peppers; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and continue to cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice and seasonings. Add the rice and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes with green chilies, black beans, and corn. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Add broth. Stir in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.
- Serve. Remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and stir in cilantro and lime juice. Serve.
Notes
- If you don’t have a lid, cover the pan or skillet with aluminum foil and tuck the foil all around the pan.
- Rinse canned vegetables: Always rinse canned veggies (unless the recipe says otherwise) to remove excess sodium and the can’s liquid.
- Add protein: Add some diced, cooked chicken, shrimp, or steak bites to the dish.
- Using broth: Using vegetable broth instead of water to cook the rice enhances the flavor. If you don’t have vegetable broth, chicken broth works too.
- Brown rice: To use brown rice, you’ll need to cook the dish for 30 minutes, remove it from the heat, and let it sit covered for 10 more minutes.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Fiesta Rice
Not only does fiesta rice deliver a serving of delicious rice, but it brings a bowl of color to the table! Follow the steps below.
- Sauté. Over medium-high heat, warm the butter in a large nonstick frying pan. Add in the onions and red peppers, let them sauté for about 3 minutes. Add garlic to the mix, and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the rice. Next, add the rice and stir frequently for around 2 minutes.
- Add the seasonings. Stir in the diced tomatoes with green chilies, black beans, and corn. Sprinkle the mixture with cumin, salt, and freshly ground pepper for seasoning.
- Pour in the broth and cook. Add the vegetable broth, stirring until the rice comes to a boil. Put a lid on it, turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is soaked up.
- Serve. Lift the lid, use a fork to fluff the rice, stir in the fresh cilantro and lime juice, and your fiesta rice is ready to be served!
Really enjoyed this recipe with the Salsa Chicken. You could even use shredded chicken in this Fiesta Rice, in a casserole dish making it a great pot luck dish!
That sounds like a fantastic idea! Shredded chicken in the Fiesta Rice would make it perfect for a potluck—thanks for sharing the tip! 🙂
This is a very flavorful and tasty dish! I followed the recipe exactly and I felt my rice was a bit “mushy”. Any ideas as to why this happened and what I could do to correct it. I did rinse the rice before starting and let it dry then for an hour also. Will make again!
Just made this with the salsa chicken. I didn’t use corn though as we arnt fans of corn in rice. It was great, super flavorful. We also used chicken stock instead of vegetable stock l.
Can iI make this in my rice cooker?
Totally would have done this but, my family wanted riced cauliflower instead of rice today. I used the basic ingredients of this recipe (minus the chicken broth and rice, I substituted riced cauliflower) and my family loved it with the Baked Salsa Chicken recipe! Thank you for the inspiration!
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly as written & thought it was very bland. Very disappointing mainly because it was so much to throw away.
I love this recipe! I have made it many times, with great reviews. I have volunteered to make this for a Mexican themed couples shower, for 75-80! Yikes, was I crazy to agree to this? My plan is to make it about 5 double batches….do you think that will work?
Thanks for a really flavorful, and simple dish!
Oh wow! That is SO nice of you!! What a great friend! ♥️
5 batches should be good for around 50 people, for sure, but to stay on the safe side, maybe make one more batch just in case! But then again, I’m always doing extra things “just in case”… I live by those words. 🤣
Have a wonderful time and congratulations to the happy couple!
Sorry I’m a bit confused in recipe it says to rinse both the beans and corn then in question asked if it’s drained and it was answered no so do I open corn and drain it or just put it all in liquid included? Can’t wait to make this looks great!
Hi! Yes, do drain and rinse the beans and corn, don’t drain the tomatoes.
This is a great recipe. Very flavorful!