Description
The best Mexican style rice bursting with savory tomato and garlic flavor cooked to perfection in the Instant Pot!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 4 roma tomatoes, halved
- 1 onion, quartered
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 Tbs tomato paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 Tbs oil (I like avocado, but olive or vegetable oil works, too)
- 1 15.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
Instructions
- Rinse 2 cups long grain white in water until the water runs clear. You want to remove the excess starch from the rice before cooking. Then thoroughly drain the water from the rice and set aside.
- Place the four halved roma tomatoes, 1 quartered onion, and 4 cloves of garlic on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet and roast in the 425F oven for 20 minutes until the vegetables are fragrant and starting to caramelize.
- Place the roasted vegetables into a blender with 2 Tbs tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, and 2 cups stock and blend until smooth then set to the side.
- Heat your Instant Pot on the ‘Saute’ setting. You’ll be using just the regular pot, no special inserts or accessories. Add 2 Tbs oil to the Instant Pot along with the 2 cups long grain white rice that you rinsed earlier and stir occasionally for approximately five to eight minutes so that the rice gets toasted / fried in the oil. This helps to improve texture and flavor. Don’t walk away from the rice because you don’t want it to burn. The rice is ready for the next step once it’s fragrant and just a touch of golden color has developed.
- Next, pour the tomato mixture from the blender into the Instant Pot with the rice. The liquid will sizzle and splatter a bit which is normal.
- Then add in the 15.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes (do not drain!) to the Instant Pot and stir everything together until mixed.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to seal so that the rice can be pressure cooked. Set the Instant Pot to “Manual” and select 8 minutes. It will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to heat up and seal and then the 8 minute timer will start to count down.
- Once 8 minutes has completed and the Instant Pot alarm goes off, allow it to continue to sit for 10 minutes. Do not release the pressure. We want to use the natural release method in this situation. After 10 minutes of natural pressure release, switch the valve so that any additional steam is released. It should not be much at this point.
- Remove the lid and stir the rice to fluff it up. Then leave the lid off and allow the excess steam to rise and dissipate. After approximately five minutes, the steam will dissipate and the rice will be lighter and fluffier than when you first opened the pot. Serve hot and enjoy!