This budget friendly vintage recipe takes less than 30 minutes to get on the table.
It's not the Mexican rice you get at a Tex-Mex restaurant. This is the old fashioned entree that was popular in the 1970s.
Beef burrito casserole is another one of our favorite ground beef recipes. Next time be sure to give it a try.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Starting with leftover rice makes this recipe a breeze to make!
- This is a great side dish or enjoy it as your main course (it has protein and veggies!).
- This is easily made vegan by omitting the bacon and meat. Substitute black beans for protein.
A new, exciting taco Tuesday meal and a great way to use leftovers? Yes and yes!
Better than a box mix, this tasty Spanish rice is such a flavorful, easy recipe—you'll want to "accidentally" make too much rice all the time!
🧾 Ingredients for Spanish rice
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Instead of beef, use turkey, pork, or your favorite taco meat blend.
- If you have leftover carne asada, pulled pork, or carnitas, you can stir that in for a different protein option.
- You can make this vegetarian by omitting the bacon and meat.
- I prefer using V8 for its flavor and sneaky health benefits, but if you've got two standard cans of tomato sauce laying around, those will work! Red enchilada sauce is fine in a pinch—though not exactly traditional.
- Craving spicy food? Add some chili powder, hot sauce, or jalapenos.
- Frozen veggies make prep easy, but you can feel free to dice an onion and a few red and green peppers to use fresh produce. The same goes for fresh tomatoes—throw in a diced Roma tomato if you like!
- Make this easy Spanish rice recipe stretch by adding peas or corn—you can use frozen bags or drained cans.
- If cilantro tastes soapy to you, garnish with green onions, instead.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Saute the bacon in a large skillet, and set it aside on a paper towel.
- Brown the ground beef. Then, add onions and bell peppers.
- Stir in the Rotel tomatoes and V-8 juice.
- Add the cooked rice, stir, and simmer. Top with bacon before serving.
🥫How to store leftover Spanish rice
Feel free to make a big batch of this yummy leftover Spanish rice dish—it keeps well. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer for best results.
However, whether you're using white rice or brown rice, know that it's best consumed within three to four days (from the fridge) or two months (frozen) after the initial cook. Reheating/recooking the rice does not "reset" its shelf life.
I recommend transforming leftover rice into homemade Spanish rice the next day. That way, your new, flavorful dish will last as leftovers for two or three more days after that.
The best part is that reheating is super easy.
Microwave the Spanish rice leftovers until everything is piping hot. Let cool for a few minutes before digging in.
Expert Tip:
If you don't have a skillet, use a coated, non-stick saute pan. Rice tends to stick to stainless steel, and acidic ingredients don't react well with aluminum frying pans, so I'd avoid both of those.
💭 Things to know
- If the stove heat is too high, your Spanish rice might get a little dry. The good news? That's an easy fix. Stir in extra V8, or, if you're out, add a little chicken broth.
- If you think about it next time, make the uncooked rice in chicken stock or vegetable broth instead of water for more flavor. You can usually replace the exact measurement of cups of water with broth.
- Portion the Spanish rice into small meal prep containers before freezing for easy, quick meals on the go!
- More than other foods, rice very quickly turns into a breeding ground for bacteria. So, don't let it sit out! Refrigerate leftover Spanish rice as soon as it cools to avoid getting sick.
👩🍳 FAQs
You can use any kind of rice, as long as it's cooked! Leftover jasmine rice, long grain rice, brown rice, and even fried rice all taste great.
I don't recommend tossing uncooked rice into this recipe. The liquid proportions would be off. If you don't want to cook rice the traditional way, you can substitute leftover rice with microwavable instant rice.
Both! This is one of my favorite leftover rice recipes because it's so versatile. Serve it with refried beans as a main dish for a quick, easy Mexican meal. However, last night's leftovers are also the perfect side dish to go with enchiladas or pork carnitas tacos. So many options!
📚 Related recipes
- Easy Mexican Rice and Beef Casserole is a hearty, filling meal that goes a long way and satisfies the whole family's craving for Mexican food.
- Full of sweet and spicy Tex-Mex flavors, Mexican Street Corn Soup is based off of the popular Elote, but so much easier and more fun to eat!
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Rice is made with simple ingredients. Plus, you can use leftover rice—just stir it in at the end of cooking!
- Skillet beef tamales is another quick and easy skillet dinner that's perfect for weeknights.
🍽️ Serve with...
I like to add garlic breadsticks on the side.
If I'm feeling especially energetic I'll add this simple lemon cake with the fluffiest whipped frosting ever.
📞 The last word
This was on our table a lot when I was growing up. I was a super picky eater so I can tell you with confidence that it's picky-eater friendly if you cut the onions and peppers up real small.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Spanish Rice with Leftover Rice
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 pound ground beef
- 10 ounces frozen onions and bell peppers
- 10.5 ounces Rotel
- 2 cups V-8 juice
- 3 cups cooked rice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Saute bacon until crispy in large skillet and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat.
- Remove bacon from pan.
- Add ground beef and cook until done, breaking up the meat as it cooks. This will take about 8 minutes.
- Add the frozen onions and peppers to the pan and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the Rotel, V-8 juice, and cooked rice, stir well.
- Cover and simmer 10 minutes, adding more juice as needed to keep it from going dry.
- Stir occasionally while simmering to keep it from sticking.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and crumbled bacon before serving.
Notes
- If you don't have a skillet, use a coated, non-stick saute pan. Rice tends to stick to stainless steel, and acidic ingredients don't react well with aluminum frying pans, so I'd avoid both of those.
- If the stove heat is too high, your Spanish rice might get a little dry. The good news? That's an easy fix. Stir in extra V8, or, if you're out, add a little chicken broth.
- If you think about it next time, make the uncooked rice in chicken stock or vegetable broth instead of water for more flavor. You can usually replace the exact measurement of cups of water with broth.
- Portion the Spanish rice into small meal prep containers before freezing for easy, quick meals on the go!
- More than other foods, rice very quickly turns into a breeding ground for bacteria. So, don't let it sit out! Refrigerate leftover Spanish rice as soon as it cools to avoid getting sick.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published February 19, 2023. Last updated for editorial corrections February 21, 2024.
Laurie says
So my daughter texts me yesterday and says, "oh mom, please bring your mexican rice for dinner tomorrow." Huh? I can confidently say I have never made Mexican Rice in her lifetime, cause I don't like it. But I figured I would give this a try and it's delicious! Ha! Who knew I'd like Mexican Rice? Thanks so much for this recipe! And seriously, what would we do without Rotel?