Mexican Arroz Rojo Recipe

If there's one side dish every Mexican home cook needs in their back pocket, it's arroz rojo. It goes with almost anything! This recipe is simple, reliable, and made with everyday ingredients. Once you try it, it'll become a regular at your table too.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1/4 small white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 Roma tomato
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chicken broth (divided*)
• 1/3 cup peas
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 tablespoon oil

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Rinse the rice. You can do this two ways, either place it in a colander and run cold water over it, or put it in a bowl, cover with water, stir, and drain. Repeat 3–4 times until the water runs mostly clear. Set aside to drain and dry.
2. 2While the rice drains, peel the garlic and cut the tomato in half. Add the garlic, onion, tomato, 1 cup of the chicken broth, and salt to the blender. Blend until completely smooth.
3. 3Wash, peel, and dice the carrot into small cubes. Set aside.
4. 4Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the drained rice and start stirring. At first it may stick a little to the bottom of the pot, but as it toasts it will loosen up. Be patient and stir occasionally, the rice will go from white to a light beige color and start to smell a little like popcorn. This takes about 5–8 minutes depending on your stove. If it's sticking too much, lower the heat a bit.
5. 5Once the rice is golden, pour in the blended tomato mixture.** Raise the heat to medium-high and wait for it to come to a boil. Lower to medium-low and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, you'll see the broth change from orange to a reddish color.
6. 6Don't rush this step, the mixture must boil for a few minutes before you adding more liquid. If you skip this, the tomato, onion and garlic will taste raw in your finished rice, and we don't want that!
7. 7Add the remaining cup of broth, the peas, and the diced carrot. Stir well and taste for salt. Adjust if needed.
8. 8Give it one final stir, this is the last time you'll stir the rice. Cover and wait for it to come to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. 9At the 10-minute mark, uncover and insert a spoon in the center to check if there's still liquid at the bottom (please don't stir it). If there is, cover and cook for 2 more minutes, then turn off the heat and let it rest.If there's no liquid left, turn off the heat immediately and let it rest, covered, for 10–15 minutes. Your rice is ready!