Easy Taco Rice

This flavorful Taco Rice is packed full of herbs and spices, but is neutral enough to serve as the base for several different recipes, like bowl meals, burritos, and more! BudgetBytes.com

4.67 from 21 votes

This flavorful Taco Rice is packed full of herbs and spices, but is neutral enough to serve as the base for several different recipes, like bowl meals, burritos, and more!

Prep Time5

Cook Time35

Total Time40

Total Cost: $2.27 recipe / $0.38 serving

Servings: 1 cup each

Ingredients

2 Tbsp cooking oil $0.08
1 small onion $0.70
1 clove garlic $0.04
2 cups long grain white rice* $0.97
1/2 Tbsp chili powder** $0.15
1/2 tsp cumin $0.05
1/4 tsp oregano $0.05
3 cups water $0.00
1 tsp salt $0.03
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.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*My total recipe cost is a bit on the high side because I used long grain jasmine rice. Using regular long grain white rice will reduce the price quite a bit. You could also use brown rice, but you may need to alter the cooking time and adjust the amount of liquid used based on the packet instructions. I prefer a 1:1.5 ratio of long-grain white rice to water, as I find the rice can turn out mushy in this recipe if there’s too much water

**I use canola oil, but you can use any cooking oil you like.

***This chili powder is a mild blend of spices, not straight red chili powder or cayenne pepper.

****Feel free to use as much or as little seasonings as you want. You could also use my homemade taco seasoning blend in place of these individual spices.

Nutrition