Cuban White Rice (Arroz Blanco)

Arroz Blanco is a classic Cuban white rice side dish made with just 4 pantry staples: long-grain rice, water, oil, and salt. It’s soft, fluffy, and ready in 25 minutes, making it perfect with black beans, picadillo, or anything saucy (like camarones enchilados). This stovetop method is super easy and practically foolproof!

📝 Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• Cuban Picadillo
• Camarones Enchilados (Cuban Shrimp Creole)
• Frijoles Negros

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1First things first, you must rinse the rice thoroughly. This will remove any dust, debris, and starch so it doesn’t clump up while cooking. Using a strainer, rinse the rice under cool, running water until the water is clear.
2. 2In a large saucepan, add 1 cup of rinsed rice to 2 cups of water. Add the vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil.
3. 3Reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed.
4. 4Don't remove the lid while cooking or the steam may release too early and cause the rice to dry out. You don't want to risk it becoming hard or crunchy. So, no peeking! Just let it cook, undisturbed, until all the water is absorbed.
5. 5Remove from the heat, but do not open the lid for 5 minutes.
6. 6Fluff with a fork. When you use a spoon, you run the risk of the rice getting mushy. Using a fork releases the rest of the moisture and steam, which is how it retains its fluffiness. Also, I wouldn’t mess with it too much. Don’t fluff the rice for more than 30 seconds.
7. 7The result is soft, fluffy white rice, not mushy nor wet. It's perfect!
8. 8Using a 2:1 water-to-rice ratio should result in approximately 3 cups of cooked rice because long-grain rice triples in volume when cooked with enough water. Enjoy!