Mexican Rice - The perfect side dish to all your favourite Mexican Dishes.
I love Mexican food, but sometimes it can be difficult to create many of the dishes in a Slimming Eats friendly way.
One of my favourite side dishes to make, when I fancy some Mexican Inspired dishes, is this amazing Mexican Rice. It takes the usual plain rice to a whole other level.
All those delicious spicy Mexican flavours, with a little heat from fresh Jalapenos and the added protein of some black beans, will make you want to eat this Mexican Rice just as it is.
I use just regular long grain rice, the key to that lovely colour is the fresh paste I make before stirring in the rice. To make the paste you need a Mini Food Processor like this like the Koölle Electric Powerful 3-in-1 800 Watt Hand Stick Blender or a similar make will do the job too.
Once the paste is done, this Mexican Rice is super easy to make, just start it off on the stove and transfer to the oven, to finish off, which means it frees you up to get on with what you want to serve this.
One of my favourite dishes to serve this Mexican Rice with is these Mexican Burgers, a perfect dish when you fancy a burger night. Delicious juice burger stacks, topped with caramelized onions, ripe tomatoes, melted cheese and mashed avocado.
Most are scared off ever have avocado believing it to be super high, but it really isn't as bad as you might think. Read more about the Value of Avocado on Slimming, with some amazing ideas for how to serve it.
I like to make this rice in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron is the perfect cookware because it can be used on the stove and transferred to the oven and it retains heat really well. With proper care, it will also last you a lifetime. In the USA it's a very popular choice to use to cook in, and many pieces are often past down generations for years because of how sturdy they really are. Lodge and Creuset are two of the most popular brands. Le Creuset is usually enamelled, whereas lodge is just seasoned. Both are great for cooking. Although I tend to prefer to use my lodge cookware for searing meats etc.
I use my Le Creuset Enamelled Cast Iron Skillet for this Mexican Rice, but any pan with a lid that is okay to be used in the oven will work fine. Preferably one that is okay to be used on the stove too, but you can always transfer it from a pan to oven proof dish and cover with foil if not.
Want to make a Mexican Fakeaway Feast? Check out these other Mexican Inspired Dishes:
- Layered Mexican Dip
- Mexican Pasta Bake
- Mexican Lentil Bake
- Spicy Mexican Chicken Lasagne
- Spicy Mexican Chicken and Rice
- Turkey Rice Burrito Bowls
- Chilli Con Carne
- Fajita Chicken Pasta
- Pasta Chicken Enchiladas
- Sweet Potato, Vegetable and Lentil Chilli
with many more to be found in my FULL RECIPE INDEX - over 700+ amazing Slimming Eats Recipes and fully searchable by meal type, ingredient etc.
Perfect garnished with some fresh slices of lime and chopped coriander (cilantro). The family will love this Mexican Rice served in the middle of the table to accompany your main meal.
HOW CAN I ADD A ⅓ VEGETABLES TO THIS RECIPE?
I love just a simple salad of crisp lettuce of choice, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion, but this would pair well with a variety of vegetables.
WHAT KITCHEN ITEMS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS CHICKEN AND CAULIFLOWER CURRY?
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Jug
- Chopping Board
- Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
- Wooden Spoon
- Cast Iron Skillet or Oven Proof Frying Pan
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Recipe Card
Mexican Rice | Slimming Eats
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers friendly
WW Smart Points - 5
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) of long grain rice
- 1 cup (240ml) of passata
- 2 jalapeno peppers, (seeds removed)
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 2.5 cups (600ml) of chicken or vegetable stock
- spray oil
- 1 439g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180c or 350f (gas mark 4)
- Add rice to a colander and rinse thoroughly.
- Add passata, tomato paste, jalapeno’s, onion and garlic to a mini food processor and do a couple of whizzes of the blade.
- Spray a large sauce pan over a medium high heat with some spray oil and add the paste to the frying pan, frying for approx 5 mins until softened.
- Stir in the rice, black beans and stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for approx 20-25 mins, until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.
- Serve topped with fresh chopped coriander and some lime wedges.
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 313Total Fat 0.5gSaturated Fat 0.1gSodium 209mgCarbohydrates 64.2gFiber 10.7gSugar 8.1gProtein 12.8g
Joanna Jarrett says
Making this for the second time tonight. Big hit with kids and hubby. Thanks!
x
Clare23911 says
Just made this for dinner - was absolutely delicious! Nicer than any spicy rice I've had in a Mexican restaurant and it's syn-free! I had this with the Mexican Chicken (in the Mexican BBQ section) and some salad. Will definitely make this again 🙂 Thanks!
carol says
Can you use kidney beans instead of black beans, cannot find them
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
yes you can 🙂
Emma Hope says
Made this to go with tacos and it was yummy. Dead easy to make too.
Lisa says
Absolutely love this recipe but made too much even to eat following day so wondered if I could freeze please?
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
yes so long as it's frozen as soon as it cools down and reheated thoroughly it's fine to freeze.
Rona says
Siobhan could you just cook on the hob on a low simmer if you don't want the oven on?
Gabrielle says
I have just made this and stuck it in a wrap with some salad & cheese and extra jalepenos and it was DELICIOUS.
Plenty left over also, so hoping my husband and little girl enjoy later plus my Mum (who follows the SW diet & will be delighted that this is syn free and speedy!) who is on route home from holidays.