This Cheesy Mexican Rice Recipe is our favorite Mexican side dish! We are obsessed with this cheesy Mexican Rice loaded with all the best ingredients; pico de gallo, cilantro, CHEESE, onion, corn, green chiles, and more. This easy Mexican Rice Recipe is one of the best side dish recipes for Cinco de Mayo.
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Cheesy Mexican Rice Recipe
This Mexican rice recipe is sooo cheesy and delicious. Perfect as a side for any meal, you’re going to love this easy Mexican rice!
This cheesy Mexican Rice Recipe is something special. I have over 900 recipes on my site and I’m about to say something really serious. THIS CHEESY EASY MEXICAN RICE IS ONE OF MY VERY FAVORITE RECIPES ON THE COOKIE ROOKIE. I like every recipe I post on here. Every single recipe is eaten by our family and approved. But this recipe just seems special. I mean, it’s any time cheese in involved, I’m sold.
I’m so glad I learned how to make Mexican rice because this is the kind of super simple recipe I can see us making time and time and time again. I will definitely be making this easy Mexican rice recipe as a side dish for fajitas, tacos, or even just chicken breasts. I might even toss beef or chicken into the mix and make it a main course next time.
It’s BEYOND delicious and so easy to customize and change up. I’m really proud of it and I hope you love this rice as much as we do!
I’m in love with this cheesy easy Mexican Rice Recipe and I know you’ll love it too! It’s the perfect side dish for any feast.
How to Make Cheesy Mexican Rice
This easy Mexican Rice recipe is so good and so cheesy. I love the flavors of classic Mexican rice, with all the best ingredients to add that spice. It goes so well with other Mexican dishes, so it’s the perfect side dish to make over and over again. I never get tired of it!
How to Make Mexican Rice:
- Cook white rice according to package instructions
- Once the rice is cooked, mix it with all other ingredients, and then add the cheese
- Pour the Mexican rice mixture into a nonstick skillet
- Cook for 30 minutes on medium heat
- Stir rice every 5 minutes
Once it’s all cooked together, you’ll have the BEST Mexican rice recipe. I love how cheesy this rice gets, and all the ingredients really blend together to create the most amazing taste.
What spices are in Mexican Rice?
Their Taco Seasoning (or Spicy Taco Seasoning if you’re feeling adventurous!) makes things so easy. One ounce is all you need to make this Cheesy Tex Mex Rice just the right flavor. Their green chiles pack the perfect punch to kick things up a notch. Ugh, I’m just so excited for you to try this!
Easy Mexican Rice Recipe with Cheese
This easy Mexican Rice recipe is loaded with corn, green peppers, diced tomatoes, onion, green chiles, fresh cilantro, and CHEESE! It cooks down to a melty, caramelized, delicious side dish that I simply cannot get enough of. I wish I would have come up with this years ago. I need as much as possible of it in my life!
I love that I can cook it up in just half an hour, and just like that, it’s ready to devour with tacos, chicken, fajitas, etc. It’s the PERFECT side dish for taco night!
Which rice to use for Mexican Rice?
White rice is the best rice to use for this Mexican Rice recipe.
What is Mexican Rice made of?
We start with the white rice. Then we add in a bunch of awesome ingredients to create that classic flavor we love.
Easy Mexican Rice Ingredients:
- Diced tomatoes
- Corn
- Green Pepper
- Dice white onion
- Fresh cilantro
- Shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend cheese)
- Green chiles
- Old El Paso Taco Seasoning
Drop whatever your dinner plans are and make this Cheesy Easy Mexican Rice Recipe TONIGHT! Pair it with your favorite Mexican dishes or layer it onto nachos, tacos, and more. It even works like a dream as a dip for tortilla chips.
Watch the video or see the recipe card below for full details on How to Make Mexican Rice. Enjoy!
Try this easy Mexican Rice recipe with some my other favorite Mexican dishes:
- Mexican Street Corn Salsa
- Baked Chicken Tacos
- Cod Fish Tacos
- Best Guacamole EVER
- Queso Smothered Chicken Fajitas
- Best Queso Recipe
Cheesy Mexican Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked white rice
- 1 16 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn I like fire roasted corn if getting frozen
- 1 cup diced green pepper
- 1 ounce Taco Seasoning Click for Homemade Recipe!
- 1 4.5 ounce can green chiles, undrained
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro minced
- 2 cups Mexican Blend cheese
- Freshly diced tomatoes onion and cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the cooked rice into a bowl with all the other ingredients, adding the cheese last. Stir until everything is fully combined.
- Pour the mixture into a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. (note: make sure your cast iron is properly seasoned or this will still pretty bad. If seasoned it should be fine)
- Allow to cook for 30 minutes, stirring and releasing from the bottom and sides every 5 minutes. Do not stir more than that, you want everything to caramelize. YUM! That cheesy crust forming on the side and bottom is the best part so be sure to scrape it all back into the rice.
- Serve garnished with more cilantro and freshly diced onion and tomato. Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
I am going to make this tonight, with your cheesy chicken tacos, both recipes sound wonderful, I was wondering if I could use fresh tomatoes,to use up from my garden
I see nothing wrong with that!
I’ve made this several times and it’s amazing. Always a crowd pleaser! I was wondering if I could mix everything up the night before, refrigerate, and then cook it the next day?
It may oversaturate the ingredients overnight, but you can give it a try!
I made this for a party tonight and came home with an empty container. Man everybody LOVED IT so much! I did too! It went so fast once people started talking about it! I came home after work, and whipped it up! it really was delicious. I found a can of tomatoes luckily, and I used i s&w mexican mix frozen corn, and black bean mixture, and a splash of trader joe:s green salsa I didn’t have green chilies. OH and I added some yummy spicy chopped up chicken thighs I made a day ago. People called it my spicy rice! A very good recipe thank you so much for posting it!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
Made this with the baked chicken tacos, and it was good with it! I am not even a big cheese lover, but added all the cheese it called for, and I loved it! I made it with cauliflower rice instead of regular rice though, and it more burned than caramelized on the bottom.
I’m glad you still enjoyed it! I’ll have to try with the cauliflower rice!
Love this site So much information and tips.
Thanks, Judy! I’m glad I can be of help!
Can this be made without a cast iron skillet?
Yes, absolutely!
I think I’ll make this soon, adding protein and maybe a little cream cheese and serving it as a “meal dip” on game day! ???????? can’t wait!????⚾️
Enjoy!!
just fabulous recipe all my 5 star goes to this recipe thanks for sharing keep sharing with us!
Yay!
5 stars are less for this kind of amazing recipe this recipe deserves more than five rating!
You are so sweet!
seems perfect dish to make at home keep sharing these kind of recipes.
thanks for the post..