Easy Spanish Rice Recipe

Growing up in a Latino home, we had rice with most of our meals. Even today my mom makes a pot of rice for dinner to accompany the rest of her meal. One of the questions I get asked is how to make spanish rice and if it’s hard. However, it’s much easier than most people think. There are some key ingredients you’ll need to add, but trust me when I say it’s worth the effort.

This is the recipe that we use in our own home. There are several ways to make spanish rice and if you asked different people for their recipe, you’ll get different answers from all. Just tweak it to your taste preference and needs. My favorite thing about rice is that you can add anything you want to compliment it. Sometimes we’ll make traditional rice and beans, other times we add corn or veggies. You can also add chopped salami pieces, green olives, bacon or even shredded chicken.

Easy Spanish Rice Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups of medium grain rice
4 ounces of tomato sauce
4 tablespoons of oil
2 teaspoons of *sofrito
1/2 packet of *sazon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 cup of whole kernel corn
5 green olives halved
You’ll need to add water as well (see instructions)
*You can find it in the Hispanic food section

Directions

Add 1 cup of water to pot along with the tomato sauce, oil, sofrito, sazon, salt, pepper, corn and green olives. Cook over medium for heat for 5 minutes. This will help bring out the flavors of the seasonings. Next, add 2 cups of rice and add additional water to cover the rice to about a half an inch above the rice. Turn up heat to medium-high, bring to a boil and stir until water on top of the rice evaporates.

Once the water evaporates the rice should look moist and not dried out. Turn the heat to low, cover the pot with aluminum foil and place the lid on the pot. (Be careful the pot will be very hot!) Let it cook for 30 minutes. Check it in 30 minutes, stir and inspect the grain to make sure it’s fully cooked. If it’s not fully cooked, add a 1/4 cup of water, stir rice, cover the pot and let it cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve with your favorite meat or eat as is. This recipe yields 4 servings.

Do you also need to add a quick and easy appetizer to your meal? Try this easy baguette appetizer! It’s super simple to make and my kids were feeling pretty fancy eating it. 🙂

Easy Baguette Appetizer

Ingredients

1 loaf of French baguette
olive oil
1 cup of Ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon of parsley
1 tomato diced
10-12 black olives sliced
1 cup of shredded Mozarella cheese

Instructions

Slice baguette at a 45 degree angle. Place baguette slices on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until golden brown. While baguette is baking, stir Ricotta cheese and parsley together in a bowl. Remove baguettes from oven and add Ricotta cheese mixture on top of each baguette. I like to put mine in sandwich bag, cut the tip of the bag and pipe it on. Less mess and it looks pretty.

Add diced tomatoes, black olives and shredded Mozarella cheese. Optional: I like to place mine in the oven for a few minutes to melt the Mozarella cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy.

The olives used in both recipes are Olives from Spain. What’s the difference? Quality. Spain is the leader in table olive production and exports, with the most modern industry in the world leading to the highest food safety and quality standards.

Simply look for the logo when shopping for olives so you know that you’re getting the best in taste and quality.

This month, Olives from Spain will head to Miami for the country’s premiere food festival. If you are lucky enough to attend the renowned South Beach Wine and Food Festival, be sure to stop by the Olives from Spain station to sample some tasty bites. The event is expecting approximately 18,000 attendees!

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What are some of your favorite easy recipes? Please comment and share! I’m always on the hunt for easy meal ideas.

Compensation was provided by Olives from Spain via MomTrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Olives from Spain or Momtrends.