Hey guys! It’s been a little quiet around the blog this week because of chaos elsewhere and the fact that I lost my internet connection for a couple of days (my worst nightmare). BUT I’m still keeping up with my meal prep and to prepare for that this week I made a big batch of Taco Rice. What is Taco Rice? It’s simply rice that has been seasoned with the same herbs and spices that I’d use to season taco meat. I’ve made several versions of this in the past, but this time I kept it simple and made it vegan-friendly!
How to Serve Easy Taco Rice
What can you do with taco rice? Welllllllll just about everything. Serve it as a side with beans like what you get at a Mexican restaurant (Mexican-American, that is), use it to fill a burrito, or build a delicious bowl meal on top of it. This rice is flavorful, but neutral enough to serve as a base for several different dishes. Here are some recipes that you can serve with Taco Rice:
Don’t Skip the Fat
What makes this taco rice extra yummy? The fat. #sorrynotsorry. I used a neutral oil, but you could use whatever type of oil or fat you like best, just as long as there’s enough to lightly coat every grain of rice and make it absolutely deee-lish.
Easy Taco Rice
Servings 6 1 cup eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1 small onion ($0.32)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 2 cups long grain white rice* ($1.32)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder** ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp oregano ($0.02)
- 3 cups water ($0.00)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and cooking oil to a medium sauce pot. Sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
- Add the uncooked rice, chili powder, cumin, and oregano to the pot. Continue to stir and cook for about 2 minutes to toast the rice and spices. You should hear the rice making crackling noises.
- Finally, add the water and salt, and give everything a brief stir. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow it to come to a boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low, or slightly above low, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit for 10 minutes without removing the lid. After letting it rest for 10 minutes, fluff the rice with a fork. Sprinkle sliced green onions over top just before serving.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Taco Rice – Step by Step Photos
Begin by finely dicing one small onion and mincing a clove of garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a medium sauce pot with 2 Tbsp of your preferred cooking oil (I just used canola). Sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
Add 2 cups uncooked white long grain rice, along with 1/2 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp oregano, and 1 tsp salt. Continue to stir and cook the rice and spices for about 2 minutes. This will toast the rice and spices and enhance their flavor. You should hear the rice making crackling noises.
Add 3 cups of water and give the pot a brief stir. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let it come to a boil. Once it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low (or just slightly above low) and let the pot simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let the rice sit with the lid in place for 10 minutes. Finally, uncover the rice and it should look a little like the photo above. :)
Fluff the rice with a fork to redistribute the spices and onions which probably floated to the top.
Sprinkle sliced green onions over the Taco Rice just before serving. And try not to eat spoonfuls right out of the pot. :P
For some reason, I’ve been buying boxed Mexi rice all these years. Not anymore! Made this tonight with tacos. Easy and tasty. Thanks.
Soo easy and turned out great. Very tasty. I am not a good rice cooker, so I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I am using it for burrito bowls with cooked veggies and tofu. This recipe is a keeper!
Made this was chicken broth instead of water (because why not?!) and it was perfect for family fajita night! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes!
How can this be converted for Instant Pot?
I think you could probably just add everything to the pot and use the rice function. :)
Assuming you didn’t use instant rice?
Delicious! I added diced chorizo to mine when I sauted the onions.
I have made this two nights in a row. My picky children love it! It’s seasoned but not “spicy” and I prefer it for our Mexican-style dishes over the typical “taco rice” recipes that call for tomato sauce. It makes plenty so it’s perfect for meal prep with left overs.
This is definitely going into the rotation for regular recipes! Usually I use your golden rice for mexican type dishes, so this will be a nice new rice to try!
In okinawa they often will put avocado, bacon, and other things on top of the rice.
We had this rice tonight with burrito bowls, and the added flavors were a great addition compared to the regular rice that we normally use. We’ll definitely start using this recipe for our Mexican themed dinners. It’s delicious!
Simple and great! Since I only had straight ancho chili powder, I did 1/2tsp of that + 1/2tsp paprika + 1/2tsp garam masala to try to recreate the milder blend.
I’m often reluctant to make rice because it always ends up sticky—and welded to the bottom of the pot. But this method worked really well. I ate some for breakfast this morning with refried beans, eggs, salsa, and hot sauce!
I don’t cook much anymore (I’m disabled), but I used to love to cook, and when I did make rice like this, I would dice a carrot or two, and maybe some celery, saute them with the onions, then proceed as usual. Oh, and I sometimes used the chicken-tomato bouillon in with the water. So good!
Even though I don’t cook much anymore, I still collect your recipes!
xo Linda
When I think of Taco Rice, I think of the Okinawan version, made with ground beef and served on white rice. Do you know that version? Anyhoo, this version looks great!
Hmm, I’ve never had that! It sounds good, though!
Have you ever experimented using brown rice? I rarely use white rice these days?
I haven’t, but I do know that brown rice always requires more liquid and a longer cooking time than white rice.
Such a great idea! It’s perfect for a bowl with added beans and veggies. Love that it’s vegan as well!
OMG!!!! My mouth is watering right now!!! :-)