Anytime we serve up our favorite tacos, fajitas, or rice bowls, we always make this simple pressure cooker Mexican rice to go with it. This recipe uses fresh or frozen veggies, canned diced tomatoes, and spices for a delicious flavor.
Traditional Mexican rice and Spanish rice are made with saffron – however I like using turmeric in a pinch. The turmeric has great color, and a ton of amazing health benefits to go with it!
This Vegan Instant Pot Mexican Rice Is
- Lightly spiced
- Loaded with vegetables
- Healthy
- Sweet and savory
- Packed with flavor
- Versatile
- Great as a side dish or in a burrito filling
- Vegan, gluten free, and 100% natural
What’s In This Instant Pot Mexican Rice Recipe?
- Basmati Rice – definitely our most-used rice for recipes! I like basmati because it has typically has lower arsenic levels than other types of rice.
- Peas: for a little extra texture and flavor
- Carrots: for color and crunch
- Corn: gives the dish a wonderful sweetness. You can use fresh, canned, or frozen corn.
- Diced Tomatoes: I only use no salt added diced tomatoes, these boxed tomatoes are really great to stock up on! I like boxed tomatoes better because they are BPA free and more eco-friendly than aluminum cans. If you try to avoid foods in BPA cans, these are a great alternative.
- Garlic & Onions: for added flavor and texture!
- Turmeric – a staple in our spice cabinet! Aside from all the wonderful health benefits of turmeric (hello anti-inflammation!), the flavor is fantastic. I try to add a teaspoon of turmeric into soups, stews, and rice dishes too.
- Chili Powder: for a really nice flavor in this recipe- the chili powder isn’t spicy but will give you a rich and bright flavor.
- Low Sodium Vegetable Stock – I like to use this low sodium vegetable stock for my recipes because it has great flavor… without all the salt. I always use low sodium or no-salt-added broth or stock to start, and then I can add salt or other spices later if needed. Check out more low sodium recipes here!
How Do I Make This Vegan Mexican Rice in the Instant Pot?
- Set your Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add the olive oil, garlic, and onions and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the rice, peas, corn, diced tomatoes with the juice, vegetable stock or water, chili powder, turmeric, oregano, cumin and chili flakes. Stir to combine.
- Set to Pressure Cook on High or Manual Mode for 3 minutes.
- Once rice is finished cooking, quick release. Once float valve has gone down, carefully open the lid and fluff rice with a fork. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Enjoy!
The Best Instant Pot Rice
I love using my Instant Pot for cooking rice, it always turns out amazing. For all my recipes I use the 8-Quart Instant Pot Ultra, its larger than the standard models (which are only 6 quart) so I have extra room to meal prep and batch cook more meals for the week. The Ultra model also has some great extra settings like cake baking and yogurt making which are really neat.
I love that everything can cook in one pot, which makes for way less dishes and hands-off cooking. The Instant Pot is hands-down my favorite kitchen appliance, and actually makes my life so much easier.
What to Serve with Mexican Rice?
Vegan Loaded Nachos (Gluten Free, Pantry Staple, High Protein)
Creamy Vegan Queso (Dairy Free, Whole30, Paleo, Gluten Free)
Sheet Pan Fajitas w/ Avocado Lime Crema (Vegan, Paleo, Whole30, GF)
The Best TVP Tacos (Vegan, Gluten Free, Meatless, Vegetarian)
Get the Same Ingredients for this Pressure Cooker Mexican Rice Recipe
As always, if you make this vegan and gluten free pressure cooker Mexican rice recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipes!
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Vegan Mexican Rice in the Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 sweet onion diced
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup sweet corn
- 1 14- ounce No-Salt-Added Diced Tomatoes
- 2 cups No-Salt-Added Vegetable Stock
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes optional, I added 1/2 teaspoon
Instructions
- Set instant pot to Saute mode. Add the olive oil, garlic, and onions and saute for 4 to 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the rice, peas, corn, diced tomatoes with the juice, vegetable stock or water, chili powder, turmeric, oregano, cumin and chili flakes if using. Stir to combine.
- Set to Pressure Cook on High or Manual Mode for 3 minutes.
- Once rice is finished cooking, quick release. Once float valve has gone down, carefully open the lid and fluff rice with a fork. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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This is super quick & easy! I doubled the spices though & had to sub the tomatoes for Rotel (it’s what I had). Will def make again, ty!
This is a divine use of a variety of vegetables with great spices. A WINNER