Easy and authentic vegan/vegetarian Mexican fried rice made with rice and beans in the Instant Pot is a family favorite. Make it in just 30 minutes. Bookmark this recipe, you will be making it on repeat!
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Love Mexican rice
At a Mexican restaurant, we always order Mexican rice because we love it so much! I started it making it home after I got my Instant Pot.
This vegetarian/vegan fried Mexican rice is a red-colored side dish made with rice, beans, and spices. It's extremely flavorful yet simple and easy to make.
Are Mexican rice and Spanish rice the same
No, they are not! Although they both are almost vegan (barring sour cream and cheese) and made with rice and beans, they are slightly different but often used interchangeably.
What differentiates these two are the seasonings used. Spanish rice uses saffron which adds a different aroma and yellow color to the dish.
Mexican rice uses cumin, tomatoes, chilly powder, and other spices to give it a tangy flavor and red color. Also, Spanish rice is a bit firmer whereas Mexican rice is softer.
Why make this
- Very customizable
- Is a vegan and gluten-free beans and rice dish
- The recipe is scalable (halved or doubled) with no change in the cook time
- Make it in the Instant Pot and on a stovetop
- This can be made ahead of time and stored
- Loved by all
Why Instant Pot
I prefer making rice dishes in the Instant Pot these days. It always guarantees fluffy separate grains and I don't have to worry about it becoming mushy and lumpy.
Plus it saves me time and reduces the number of vessels used. Win-Win for me! Trust me, you will never go back to the stove-top version!
There are many variations to making Mexican rice in the Instant Pot. I have tried a couple of them and finally settled on this recipe.
My Instant pot Mexican rice recipe is fail-proof and comes out delicious every single time. I like my Mexican rice to be loaded with flavors and this recipe hits that sweet spot!
BTW, I have an entire category dedicated to Instant Pot recipes in case you want to check it out.
Ingredients needed 🧾
Rice - I like to use Basmati rice to make this Mexican rice recipe. You can also use any long grain rice or Jasmine rice instead. You will have to alter the cooking time accordingly.
Veggies - onion, scallions, bell pepper, sweetcorn are the veggies I like to add to this rice recipe.
Herbs and spices - garlic, serrano peppers, taco seasoning, cumin powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Mexican seasoning mix give this rice an authentic flavor.
Beans - I have used low sodium canned Pinto beans. You can any other beans like kidney beans, black beans, and/or even chickpeas to make this vegan rice.
Salsa - Medium chunky salsa is what you will need. You can use store-bought or make it at home.
These are what you need to garnish the Instant Pot vegetarian/vegan Mexican fried rice.
Greens - The green part of the scallions, shredded lettuce, cilantro are the greens you would need.
Sour cream - If you are vegan, then use vegan sour cream or use regular sour cream if you are not.
Tortilla chips - Use any tortilla chips that are available to you. You can also make it at home.
Salsa - Medium chunky salsa is what you will need. You can use store-bought or make it at home.
How to make it 🔪
If using dry Pinto beans, soak them overnight and then cook them the next day. Rinse rice under running water till the water runs clear. You can also add it without rinsing.
- Add butter and oil to the Instant Pot. Turn it on to saute mode. Fry minced serrano peppers, garlic, the white part of scallions, and chopped onions.
- After the onions have turned translucent, add the chopped bell peppers and sweetcorn. Saute for a minute.
- Add the rinsed rice to the pot.
- Then add red pepper flakes, oregano, cumin powder, Taco Seasoning, and Mexican seasoning mix (if adding). Mix and saute the rice for a minute.
- Now add water, deglaze the pot, and scrape all the sides.
- Next, add the salsa in the center. Do not mix it. Cancel the saute mode. Close the lid. Cook in manual/pressure mode for 4 minutes.
- Release pressure naturally after 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork. Do not stir it just yet. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then add the canned pinto beans.
- Garnish with green part of scallions and cilantro. Mix them all with the rice lightly. Check and add salt.
How to make it on a stovetop
If you don't own an Instant pot, no worries. You can easily make it on the stovetop.
You can either use precooked or leftover rice or cook the rice with all the ingredients together on a stovetop.
- Add butter and oil to the pan. Fry minced serrano peppers, garlic, white part of scallions and chopped onions.
- After the onions have turned translucent, then add the chopped bell peppers and sweetcorn. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Next add the salsa or tomato puree. Continue to saute for 2 more minutes.
- Then add red pepper flakes, oregano, cumin powder, Taco seasoning, and Mexican seasoning mix (if adding). Mix and saute for a minute.
- Now add the drained and rinsed Pinto beans.
- Add the rinsed rice to the pot along with water and salt. Mix, cover and cook on medium flame for 10-12 minutes.
- Check if the rice is done by pressing the grains between your fingers.
- When its done, garnish it with cilantro, and the green part of the scallions.
If using pre-cooked rice, follow the same steps as above and finally add the cooked rice, mix, garnish, and serve.
Serving suggestions 🍽
Serve it with shredded lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream. You can also dress it up any way you like or enjoy it without any toppings.
Instant Pot Mexican fried rice can be served as a side with any Mexican dish. You can also enjoy it by itself or use it as filling in a burrito. It can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
Serve this vegetarian/vegan Mexican fried rice for potlucks, brunches, date nights, weekday meals, weekend parties, Cinco de Mayo, or even pack them in lunch boxes.
Top recipe tips 💭
Instead of water, add vegetable broth for more flavor. There is no need to soak the rice. Just rinse it well and use it.
If looking for healthier options, follow the stovetop version and use cooked quinoa or cauliflower rice instead of white rice.
I have used store-bought salsa, you can also make it at home. Since the salsa I used already was salted, I didn't add salt while cooking it.
Add a teaspoon of sugar to balance the flavors if needed. You can make Instant pot Mexican Rice with diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, or salsa.
Recipe FAQs
Instead of salsa, you can also add tomato puree. No matter what you use, add it at the last step, do not mix it in, and then close the lid.
Feel free to add more veggies like mushrooms, carrots, green peas, zucchini, broccoli, etc to the rice to make it more wholesome. You can also skip adding any veggies.
Swap pinto beans with red kidney beans, and/or black beans in this vegan Instant Pot Mexican rice recipe. You can always skip adding any beans if you want.
Serrano peppers can be swapped with Jalapenos or Indian green chillies. Taco seasoning and Mexican seasoning mix can be skipped if you don't have one.
When making Mexican rice in the Instant Pot, if you're using Jasmine rice, the cooking time would be 3 mins on HIGH PRESSURE followed by 10 mins natural pressure release.
Similarly, for other long-grained rice, the cooking time would be 7 mins on HIGH PRESSURE followed by 10 mins natural pressure release.
If using long-grain brown rice, soaking it for 20 minutes helps. Then add an additional ¼ cup of water and cook it in the Instant Pot for 20 minutes.
Sometimes, your Instant Pot may show a Burn signal. There are many reasons why you are getting it:
The pot is too hot from sauteeing, should this happen in the future simply turn off the pot and wait a few minutes.
It could be that the gasket in improperly inserted. Open the lid and fix it properly. The pressure relief valve could also be stuck and release steam. Check that. There are bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Always give the ingredients a stir after adding water to prevent anything from sticking at the bottom. But don't mix after adding the salsa or tomato puree.
After you open the lid of the Instant Pot, let it rest for 5-7 minutes. Then mix it lightly using a fork. Do not stir. This will prevent the Mexican rice from becoming mushy.
If you think the rice has too much moisture, just leave it on 'keep warm' mode, and excess moisture will be absorbed by the rice or evaporate lending to perfect fluffy and delicious rice.
I would suggest you remove the steel insert once the rice has cooked. This prevents the rice from sticking to the bottom due to the residual heat.
You can also transfer the fluffed vegetarian/vegan Mexican fried rice from the steel insert into a serving bowl.
This vegetarian/vegan Mexican fried rice can be made ahead of time and it stays well in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can also freeze it for 3 months.
Thaw it overnight in the fridge. To reheat, sprinkle a few drops of water to moisten the rice and microwave it.
My favorite Mexican recipes
These dishes will go really well with this vegan rice and beans dish.
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Recipe 📖
Instant Pot Mexican Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 6 garlic
- scallions white part
- ⅓ cup onions chopped
- 2 serrano peppers
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon Taco seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Mexican seasoning mix optional
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ⅓ cup sweetcorn
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 cup rinsed rice
- 1.5 cups water or vegetable stock
- ½ cup salsa
- 16 oz pinto beans
- scallions green part
For toppings
- ⅓ cup cilantro
- Sour cream
- Tortilla chips
- shredded lettuce
- shredded cheese optional
- guacamole optional
Instructions
- If using dry Pinto beans, soak them overnight and then cook them the next day. Rinse rice under running water till the water runs clear. You can also add it without rinsing.
- Add butter and oil to the Instant Pot. Turn it on to saute mode. Fry minced serrano peppers, garlic, white part of scallions and chopped onions.
- After the onions have turned translucent, add the chopped bell peppers and sweetcorn. Saute for a minute.
- Add the rinsed rice to the pot.
- Then add red pepper flakes, oregano, cumin powder, Taco seasoning, and Mexican seasoning mix (if adding). Mix and saute the rice for a minute.
- Now add water, scrape all the sides and give it a stir.
- Next, add the salsa in the center. Do not mix it. Cancel the saute mode. Close the lid. Cook in manual/pressure mode for 4 minutes.
- Release pressure naturally after 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then add the canned pinto beans.
- Garnish with green part of scallions and cilantro. Mix them all with the rice lightly. Check and add salt.
- Serve it with shredded lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream.
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Magda B says
Made the instant pot Mexican rice recipe tonight, I made the cheese quesadilla with tandoori masala and all the other extras suggested by Priya and everyone LOVED it! It was a dance of flavours in our mouths. DELICIOUS!!!!
Priya says
Thank you so much. This means a lot. 🙂
Manisha says
This turned out really well. Thank you for the recipe.
Priya says
Thank you so much.
Barathi R says
Superb blend of vegetables and herbs,a must try!
A.S.RAMAKRISHNAN. says
Loads of vegetables with herbs,the way they are cooked together and the recipe from cookilicious ought to be superb!
Prashanti says
It is absolutely amazing !