Recipe: Homemade Mexican Rice {Old El Paso}

A quick and easy homemade Mexican Rice dish that is perfect for your Cinco de Mayo celebration … and every other day.

My eleven year old son is the resident carb addict. He eats bread like there’s no tomorrow, and would have rice with nearly every meal. If I menu planned that way.

So when I was looking for another perfect side dish for a Cinco de Mayo dinner feast, I didn’t look past rice.

Anything for bonus points from my kids.

This Mexican version is super simple to make and versatile to boot. About thirty minutes from start to finish, you can mix and match different add-ins to please just about every member of your family. This version features diced onions, crisp green bell peppers, and plum tomatoes, which was just about perfect for my crew. Using brown rice to make it even healthier, it’s a clean eating side dish with zero guilt.

Which is pretty much my favorite kind.

Chop. Saute. Boil. Mix. Eat.

Or thereabouts.

Since tomorrow is a soccer night, this rice, along with yesterday’s recipe for the Tomato and Avocado Salad, and chips and guacamole (our homemade version can be found at the bottom of this post) will be served along with Old El Paso’s Quesadillas.

Which means I can get dinner on the table, from start to finish, in about 45 minutes.

Leaving juuuuust enough time to polish off some homemade Mexican Fried Ice Cream, homework duty, and hit the hay.

Hungry for more Cinco de Mayo ideas?
Check out the appropriately-themed Pinterest board right here.

*Weekend Photos in Review will post tomorrow.

Homemade Mexican Rice
Recipe courtesy of Cate O’Malley

6 servings

1 cup brown rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cube chicken bouillon
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, cook rice in oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Stir in onion, green pepper, and diced tomato. Season with bouillon cube, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.

*I developed this recipe as part of my work for my client, Old El Paso. All opinions expressed are completely my own.