Southwestern Rice Pilaf
I found this Southwestern rice pilaf recipe on Fine Cooking which sounded delicious. It was super easy to make and was, by far, the best Southwestern rice recipe I’ve ever tried. This Southwestern rice pilaf paired nicely with Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa and zucchini with lime and cotija cheese.
Southwestern Rice Pilaf
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 1 medium poblano stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
- ½ jalapeño stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp oregano
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 7 oz diced tomatoes, drained well
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
How to Make Southwestern Rice Pilaf
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, poblano, and jalapeno pepper to the pot; cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
Add the rice, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste; stir well to coat each grain with oil then cook for a full 4-5 minutes stirring often to prevent the rice from sticking to the pan.
Add the drained tomatoes and chicken broth, stir to combine, and cover with a lid. Side Note: DON’T lift the lid for the entire cooking and resting time!
Reduce heat and cook on low for 20 minutes, remove from heat and let the rice sit, still covered, for an additional 5 minutes.
Fluff with a fork then mix in the cilantro. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
Equipment
- Large Saucepan with Lid
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 1 medium poblano stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
- ½ jalapeño stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp oregano
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 7 oz diced tomatoes drained well
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, poblano, and jalapeno pepper to the pot; cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until tender.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
- Add the rice, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste; stir well to coat each grain with oil then cook for a full 4-5 minutes stirring often to prevent the rice from sticking to the pan.
- Add the drained tomatoes and chicken broth then stir to combine and cover with a lid. Side Note: DON'T lift the lid for the entire cooking and resting time!
- Reduce heat and cook on low for 20 minutes then remove from heat and let the rice sit, still covered, for an additional 5 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork then mix in the cilantro. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
Healthy and tasty! Great recipe!
This dish is delicious on its own I bet! The other day I was looking at your Lime Chicken dish and thought, this would be nice with rice on the side 🙂
Thanks for sharing the recipe, it looks as good as the one at Fine Cooking!
It looks very flavourful and tasty!
Love the use of jalapeno AND poblano in this rice. Can’t wait to try this!
yum ..yum can’t have enough recipes of rice dishes. this one is great!
You are making me want to cook!!! That looks so yummy….so does previous recipe!!! Still too hot to cook here. Triple digits with lots of humidity. Ugh! When is going to stop? I did fix dinner the other night, and the hot oven made me miserable!!!!!
Happy Day my friend!
Kris
I bet this was incredibly flavorful. I love Spanish and Mexican rices, but the use of both peppers definitely puts this one over the top. Nice job.
My husband would love this, he is freaked about fried rice because of the eggs involved, but he would like everything about this.
Oh yes! I love Southwestern everything and this sounds just fabulous. I love the photo of that pepper, too. It looks huge!
i’ve actually been on the lookout for a rice exactly like this! you saved the day, it looks delicious!
This is a perfect rice pilaf, Pam! Next time I’m stumped about what to serve on the side of a Mexican meal, I’ll turn to this for sure. Looks delish!
Wow, this dish looks so incredibly flavorful, and I love the vibrant colors!
Rice is such a great side dish, because its neutral flavor makes it a great basis for any cuisine. It looks like this was perfect with your chicken.
Sounds delish!
this looks stunning – wonderful flavors
Mary x
I always struggle with what to serve with Mexican food but I think this dish is going to be my new go-to!
This sounds so yummy! Great side dish to go with your chicken.
I love pilaff rice and yours looks so colourful and yummy!
Cheers,
Lia.
This looks amazing, Pam! I can’t wait to make this with the chicken and the zucchini. I know my family will love it!
I love a good southwestern style rice dish but I can never get quite the same taste as the one from our favorite Mexican restaurant. This looks really close to theirs so you know I have to try it!
All the flavors my family loves, this looks delicious. Will be making this one very soon. Thanks!
Pinned it to make soon. I like Mexican rices so I bet this will rock for me too.
I made this along side enchiladas and black beans for our Halloween dinner. This is my favorite Spanish style rice dish I’ve ever eaten! My family loved it too!