This easy Instant Pot Mexican brown rice is a wonderful side dish option. Quick prep time along with tons of flavors this brown rice dish is my go-to recipe whenever I cook Mexican meals at home.
If you are not a fan of brown rice, yet you want to eat it more often because of its health benefits then I would suggest to cook it in an Instant Pot if you have one. You will love it!
Ever since I started cooking brown rice in the pressure cooker especially in IP, my dear husband stopped staying NO (or giving ugly looks 
) to it.
And I got a chance to try my hands on different recipes using brown rice. Some of my favorites are vegetable fried brown rice, lentil salad, cilantro-lime rice, etc.
This time I am sharing with you the IP version of our all-time favorite and most popular Mexican Style Tomato Brown Rice (with slight variations). You can follow the original recipe (stovetop version) if you want to cook this dish without the Instant Pot.
What You Will Need!!
You may find these ingredients already sitting in your pantry.
- Brown rice – use long grain rice
- Onion – dice it into small pieces
- Garlic – chop it finely
- Tomatoes – dice them into small pieces
- Blend of Mexican spices
- Cooking oil – I use avocado oil or olive oil
- Salt to taste
How to make Instant Pot Mexican Brown Rice
Cook some onion with garlic in little oil in Instant Pot on saute mode. Then add brown rice and saute for 4-5 min. Add Mexican spices, tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 min. Finally, add water, season with salt and mix well.
Cook the mixture on manual high pressure for 22 min. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 min. Then manually vent out the steam. Gently mix the rice, garnish with fresh cilantro and serve warm.
Serving options
- Serve with cilantro lime chicken and some homemade guacamole or sliced avocado for a complete meal.
- It is a perfect rice dish to serve alongside shredded chicken tacos or any other tacos.
- Add it to Mexican flavored salads to make a wholesome dish.
Instant Pot Mexican Rice – Helpful Tips!
- Brown rice – You can use any long-grain brown rice variety for this recipe. I always use brown Basmati rice in my kitchen.
- You can also add cooked beans to the dish once the rice is done to make it a complete and filling meal.
You will also love these other Mexican recipes!!
- One-Pot Mexican Chicken And Rice
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Cilantro Lime Quinoa
- Homemade Healthy Guacamole
More Instant Pot Recipes!!
- Whole Cauliflower in Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Easy Black Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Healthy Barley Soup
FOOD FOR THE SOUL
“Everyone thinks that “We are the best, we are the chosen ones, we have the full idea. ” But actually unless and until you know the reality, you cannot say that you have known it. So to know the reality the Kundalini has first to be connected with the Divine, and then you have to experiment with it and see for yourself, and find out what is the reality, on experience.” — Shri Mataji (Sydney, Australia, 1990) Experience your self-realization now.
Instant Pot Mexican Brown Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 2-3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 small onion diced into small pieces
- 1 1/2 cup brown rice
- 1/2 tbsp chipotle chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 large tomatoes diced into small pieces
- 2 1/2 cup water
- 2-3 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat cooking oil on medium saute mode in Instant Pot.
- Add garlic, onion and cook until translucent or for 2-3 mins.
- Now add rice, chipotle chili powder, and cumin powder and stir fry for 2-3 mins.
- Add tomatoes and cook for another 1-2 min.
- Then add water, salt to taste and mix well.
- Cook the mixture on manual high pressure for 22 mins.
- Let the steam release naturally for 1 min and then quick release the remaining.
- Add freshly chopped cilantro and mix well. Serve warm.
Notes
- I prefer to clean the rice with water before using them in recipes. You can rinse and drain the excess water from rice using a large strainer.
- This rice dish has a slight heat coming from chipotle chili powder. You can consider it adding as per your taste. I love its flavors even though it is slightly hot.
- You can also serve lime wedges on the side of this brown rice dish.
Nutrition
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Caroline
January 1, 2020 at 1:11 pmThis was good! I was making for a crowd, so I tripled the recipe – which JUST fit in my 6 qt instant pot. Used the same cooking time as the recipe & the rice was cooked nicely. I doubled the onions and spices (instead of tripling) as many of the guests were kids. Also I dialed the chipotle chili powder way back – 1/2 Tbsp for the single recipe seemed like a ton. .
I’d love a measurement on the salt (perhaps as a range) – I plopped some in before cooking but after cooking I needed to add a lot more.