Spanish Rice with Roasted Red Peppers

This recipe is a flavorful take on Spanish rice or arroz rojo (red rice).  The rice is cooked in an aromatic, tomatoey stock and served with roasted bell peppers. It’s a step up from your basic Spanish rice and will definitely have you going back for seconds!  The roasted peppers pair wonderfully with the tomato and herb flavors in the rice and really make this red rice stand out.

You can serve this red rice as a side with many dishes, such as roasted chicken, grilled fish or pork, or tacos.

This recipe was inspired by a green rice recipe in the cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, where she uses an herby stock to cook the rice. This cookbook is a fantastic and enormous compendium of everything vegetarian that I highly recommend! Trying her green rice (which is delightful), I thought red rice, with a tomato & herb stock, plus roasted peppers would be fantastic, too. I realized a little later that my idea was basically Spanish rice with a delicious flair.

Is Spanish rice Spanish?

Not really. It’s actually Mexican, though the rice is reminiscent of Spanish paella. Adopted into Tex-Mex cuisine, the “Spanish” title stuck in English for this red rice, likely due to Spanish being spoken in Mexico.

Can I make ahead?

Rice is always best freshly cooked, but the cooking liquid can easily be made in advance. The “stock” can be made a day or two ahead and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Reheat the stock before using. 

Storing

You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for three months.  When reheating rice, add a teaspoon or two of water before microwaving to help revive the rice.

Ingredient notes:

• Rice: I used basmati rice for this dish. Other types of long-grain rice should work fine as well.
• The roasted red peppers add fantastic flavor to this rice dish.  You can either use store-bought, oil-packed peppers, or you can roast your own at home. I like to roast several at once and freeze them.  For basic homemade roasted peppers, you can find instructions here.

This Mexican-style red rice…

• Is savory and aromatic
• Has succulent pieces of roasted bell pepper
• Is vegetarian and versatile

Print Recipe

Spanish Rice with Roasted Red Peppers

Extra-flavorful, Mexican-style red rice

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex

Keyword: Mexican rice, Spanish rice

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Cooking liquid:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 clove garlic minced
• Black pepper to taste
• ¼ tsp dried oregano leaves
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro some stem ok
• 15 g parsley leaves chopped (¼ cup of chopped leaves)
• 2 cup vegetable broth
• 60 to 120 ml water (¼ to ½ cup, see note)

Rice & vegetables:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup rice
• 3 roasted red bell peppers chopped
• Parsley or cilantro for serving

Instructions

• Make the cooking liquid. Heat the oil in a pot over medium low heat. Cook the onion about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid much browning.
• Add the rest of the cooking liquid ingredients and simmer for 3 minutes. Off heat and use an immersion blender to puree the mix. Set aside.
• Cook the rice. Heat the oil in a pot over medium low heat. Add the rice and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice becomes translucent. Avoid letting the rice burn. Add the cooking liquid and simmer over low heat, covered, 15 minutes.
• Let stand 5 minutes. Mix in the chopped roasted peppers. Taste for salt (depending on the salt content of your vegetable broth). Serve garnished with parsley or cilantro leaves.

Notes

1. With ½ cup water, the finished rice is a little saucy. Personally, I like it this way. With ¼ cup rice, the rice is drier like a classic Spanish rice, but you will need to keep an eye on the pot and possibly add some extra water to avoid the bottom getting too crispy.