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This light and fluffy arroz verde or Mexican green rice is perfect with dishes such as carnitas, enchiladas, chicken tacos and grilled meats. Packed with fresh spinach, it makes a healthy side dish that’s vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free.
This Mexican spinach pilaf is so versatile, you can even enjoy it for breakfast with fried eggs, salsa ranchera and black beans!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Looking for an easy-to-prepare rice side dish you can feel good about serving? This green rice is it!
When I lived in Mexico, arroz verde was one of my favourite dishes to make. Not only could I whip it up quickly without heating up the kitchen, but it contained loads of nutritious spinach.
Here’s why I think you will love it too!
- Made with just five main and 100% natural ingredients.
- Virtually foolproof and it’s ready in just 30 minutes!
- It makes a delicious side dish that’s much lower in sodium than boxed rice mixes but big on flavour, vitamins and fibre.
- Mexican spinach rice is tasty as leftovers too! Tuck a spoonful of green rice inside a tortilla with some black beans or enjoy it for breakfast with a fried egg and salsa ranchera.
- Perfect for meal prep. It heats up in a flash in the microwave so it can easily be made in advance.
- A healthy rice recipe. Adding fresh greens to your rice is an easy way to add vitamins, minerals and fiber to your diet.
- It also happens to be vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free!
Ingredients
All you need are five easy ingredients you may already have or can easily pick up at the grocery store.
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the exact measurements and method.
- White Rice: For the lightest fluffiest rice, use uncooked, long grain white rice. Short and medium grain rice will become too moist and won’t produce a light, fluffy rice with separate, distinct grains when cooked.
- Poblano Pepper: Poblano peppers are dark-green, cone-shaped fresh chile peppers with a rich, meaty flavour. Poblano peppers are on the mild end of the Scoville heat scale. Poblano peppers have a thinner skin and lower water content than green bell peppers.
⭐️ INGREDIENT TIP: Although poblano peppers are becoming more mainstream and popular, they can still be difficult to find in supermarkets outside of Latin America. They work great to buy in bulk, roast them, and store them in the freezer so you can enjoy their delicious, smoky flavour whenever you like.
- Spinach: Fresh spinach rather than frozen is the key to making a fluffy green rice that isn’t soggy.
- Green Onion: Adds a savoury depth of flavour.
- Cilantro: This fragrant herb is a classic in Mexican cooking. I know some people aren’t keen on cilantro. If that’s you, a great substitute is a mix of fresh mint and parsley.
What’s the best substitute for poblano pepper?
You can swap it with green bell peppers for less spiciness. However, if you don’t like green peppers feel free to completely omit the poblano pepper.
On the other hand, if you love spicy heat, then you can substitute a jalapeño pepper for a poblano pepper. Use it in exactly the same way in this arroz verde recipe.
How to Roast a Poblano Pepper
Just in case you’ve never roasted chiles before, let’s walk through the process.
Poblano peppers are a staple in traditional Mexican and Guatemalan cooking. They’re versatile and used to make chile rellenos, various salsas and the famous Mexican dish, chiles en nogada.
- Place the whole peppers on an oiled baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes. Then flip them over and broil on the other side for an additional 10 minutes or until skin is blackened.
- Seal the peppers in a plastic bag or on a plate covered in plastic wrap for about 5 minutes to loosen the skin.
- Remove the papery outer skin, pull off the stem from the flesh and slit the chile up the side. Brush or scrape out the seeds and pull out the long veins.
- They’re now ready to use in this recipe for arroz verde or our recipe for Spanish Breakfast Casserole.
⭐️ PRO TIP: If you don’t want to turn on the oven, another option is to char them on the gas stove top or in a cast iron frying pan.
How to Make Mexican Green Rice
- In a food processor, puree the spinach, cilantro, poblano pepper, green onion, and one cup of water. The puree should equal about 2 cups when done.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add uncooked rice and toast very lightly, stirring frequently so the rice doesn’t burn or stick.
- Add the spinach puree, one cup of water and salt to the rice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Fluff the arroz verde lightly with a fork when it’s finished cooking.
How to Store
Leftovers: Allow the rice to cool before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer for up to three months.
Reheat: The easiest method for reheating is in the microwave. I recommend heating for one minute at a time and stirring it in between each minute. The rice is ready when it’s heated through. You can also reheat the rice in a skillet on the stove over medium heat. This method may require a little bit of water added to the pan.
What to Serve with Arroz Verde
Arroz verde can be used to create meals in place of regular white rice with a wide variety of main dishes.
Use it to make a healthy chicken burrito bowl, stuff into burritos, as a taco filling, or a simple bowl of beans and rice.
As a side dish it goes great with enchiladas, Tortas de Huauzontle, or with a simple piece of grilled chicken or Grilled Halibut with Peach Salsa. It’s also wonderful with any one of these recipes with Kalamata olives.
Top it with a fried egg and some salsa verde for a light dinner or breakfast.
Expert Tips
- Garnish arroz verde with additional chopped cilantro and/or thin slices of red bell pepper.
- When toasting the rice, be sure to just brown it lightly. Toasting imparts a wonderful layer of nutty flavour. But if the rice is browned too much, it won’t be able to absorb the additional flavours in the cooking liquid.
- Don’t rush the rice to the table as soon as it’s ready. The key to an authentic arroz verde is allowing it to completely absorb all the liquid. Allow it to rest (covered) for at least 10 minutes. You can place a clean tea towel between the lid and the skillet to absorb any condensation that forms.
- Make arroz verde in advance. This works great! You can reheat in the microwave for a few minutes before serving or it can be served at room temperature at a barbecue as a substitute for a salad.
- Enjoy this green rice dish as a base for a healthy breakfast. Serve it with a poached or fried egg, salsa ranchera and refried beans.
FAQs
Cilantro Lime White Rice is one of the most popular items on the menu at Chipotle Mexican Grill. Their recipe uses basmati rice which makes it especially light and fluffy. They also add lime and lemon juice, a bay leaf and rice bran oil.
According to the International Rice Genebank, there are more than 132,000 varieties of cultivated and wild rice in the world! Milagro Filipino or “Philippine Miracle” is Mexico’s most widely grown variety. It’s a medium grain white rice that cooks quickly, is rounder than basmati rice and doesn’t get sticky. It’s especially popular in the Mexican-style rice made with tomato sauce.
Arroz Verde or Mexican Green Rice is completely different than Jade Rice or Asian Green Rice. Jade rice is made with bamboo extract and gets its pale green colour from the chlorophyll in the bamboo.
It’s important to wash greens well before cooking. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that leafy vegetables such as spinach and lettuce are prone to food borne illnesses such as E. coli and other types of contamination.
Rinse off any visible dirt under running water and trim the stems from the spinach leaves. Submerge the spinach leaves in water either in a bowl or a clean sink. Swish it around and make sure the leaves aren’t sticking together. Place it in a colander to drain. Then repeat the entire process again with clean water. Do a final drain of the spinach in a colander before making the dish.
More Latin American Recipes To Try
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating and a comment in the recipe card below! I’d love to hear how it turned out in your kitchen! Thanks!
Recipe
Mexican Green Rice Recipe (Arroz Verde)
Equipment
- Skillet
- food processor
- Knife
Ingredients
- ½ pound fresh spinach Washed and trimmed, packed tightly
- 1 poblano pepper Roasted, peeled, and seeded
- 1 cup cilantro Roughly chopped
- 2 green onions Chopped
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice raw
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Wash spinach thoroughly in a sink to remove all grit and sand.
- In a food processor, puree the spinach, cilantro, green onion, poblano pepper and one cup of water. (The puree should equal about 2 cups when done.)
- Heat vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add raw rice and toast very lightly, stirring frequently so the rice does not burn or stick.
- Add the 2 cups of spinach puree, 1 cup of water and salt to the rice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for 10 minutes.
- Fluff the arroz verde with a fork, and serve.
How to Roast a Poblano Pepper
- To roast peppers in your oven, place whole peppers on an oiled baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes, then flip and broil on the other side for an additional 10 minutes — until skin is blackened. Another option is to char them on the gas stove top or in a cast iron frying pan.
- Once the peppers are charred, seal them in a plastic bag or on a plate covered in plastic wrap for about 5 minutes to loosen the skin. Then remove the papery outer skin, pull off the stem from the flesh and slit the chile up the side. Remove and discard the seeds and stem.
Notes
- Garnish your finished arroz verde with additional chopped cilantro and/or thin slices of red bell pepper.
- When toasting the rice, be sure to just brown it lightly. Toasting imparts a wonderful layer of nutty flavour. But if the rice is browned too much, it won’t be able to absorb the additional flavours in the cooking liquid.
- The key to an authentic arroz verde is allowing it to completely absorb all the liquid. Allow it to rest (covered) for at least 10 minutes. You can place a clean tea towel between the lid and the skillet to absorb any condensation that forms.
- Some people aren’t keen on cilantro. A great substitute is a mix of fresh mint and parsley.
- If you don’t like green peppers or can’t handle any hot peppers at all, feel free to completely omit the poblano pepper.
- If you love spicy heat, then you can substitute a jalapeño pepper for a poblano pepper.
Nutrition
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Marco
Do you fry COOKED or UNCOOKED white rice?
Michele Peterson
You’ll fry the uncooked, raw rice. It’s then cooked in the spinach puree and water mixture you add later. I’ll add a note to clarify in the instructions. Thanks!
Erin
The recipe doesn’t say what to do with the charred poblano. Do you process it with the spinach?
Michele Peterson
Hi Erin Yes the roasted poblano is processed with the rest of the vegetables! Thanks for noticing this – I’ve updated the text!
Erin
Thanks! <3