Easy Taco Rice

Hey guys! It’s been a little quiet around the blog this week because of chaos elsewhere and the fact that I lost my internet connection for a couple of days (my worst nightmare). BUT I’m still keeping up with my meal prep and to prepare for that this week I made a big batch of Taco Rice. What is Taco Rice? It’s simply rice that has been seasoned with the same herbs and spices that I’d use to season taco meat. I’ve made several versions of this in the past, but this time I kept it simple and made it vegan-friendly!

How to Serve Easy Taco Rice

What can you do with taco rice? Welllllllll just about everything. Serve it as a side with beans like what you get at a Mexican restaurant (Mexican-American, that is), use it to fill a burrito, or build a delicious bowl meal on top of it. This rice is flavorful, but neutral enough to serve as a base for several different dishes. Here are some recipes that you can serve with Taco Rice:

• Weeknight Enchiladas
• Fish Tacos
• Poor Man’s Burrito Bowls
• Slow Cooker Carnitas
• Sweet Potato Tacos with Lime Crema

Don’t Skip the Fat

What makes this taco rice extra yummy? The fat. #sorrynotsorry. I used a neutral oil, but you could use whatever type of oil or fat you like best, just as long as there’s enough to lightly coat every grain of rice and make it absolutely deee-lish.

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4.57 from 16 votes

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! 

Total Cost: $2.27 recipe / $0.38 serving

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

Servings: 6 1 cup each

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
• 1 small onion ($0.32)
• 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
• 2 cups long grain white rice* ($1.32)
• 1/2 Tbsp chili powder** ($0.15)
• 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
• 1/4 tsp oregano ($0.02)
• 3 cups water ($0.00)
• 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
• 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.

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.

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

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 Serving ・ Calories: 272.88 kcal ・ Carbohydrates: 51.05 g ・ Protein: 4.65 g ・ Fat: 5.1 g ・ Sodium: 412.7 mg ・ Fiber: 1.17 g

Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclaimer here.

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How to Make Taco Rice – Step by Step Photos

Begin by finely dicing one small onion and mincing a clove of garlic. Add the onion and garlic to a medium sauce pot with 2 Tbsp of your preferred cooking oil (I just used canola). Sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent.

Add 2 cups uncooked white long grain rice, along with 1/2 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp oregano, and 1 tsp salt. Continue to stir and cook the rice and spices for about 2 minutes. This will toast the rice and spices and enhance their flavor. You should hear the rice making crackling noises.

Add 3 cups of water and give the pot a brief stir. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let it come to a boil. Once it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low (or just slightly above low) and let the pot simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let the rice sit with the lid in place for 10 minutes. Finally, uncover the rice and it should look a little like the photo above. :)

Fluff the rice with a fork to redistribute the spices and onions which probably floated to the top.

Sprinkle sliced green onions over the Taco Rice just before serving. And try not to eat spoonfuls right out of the pot. :P