These pinto beans and rice are the perfect sides for your Mexican meal. The mexican rice has a secret ingredient that makes it taste like it came from a restaurant, and the pinto beans are ready in just 10 minutes.

We eat Mexican food at least once a week, and these delicious beans and rice are on the menu every time!

Mexican Beans and Rice Recipe | Pinto Beans | Mexican Rice #rice #beans #dinner #dinneratthezoo

These Easy Mexican Pinto Beans and Rice are the perfect sides for your Mexican meal.

Who loves Mexican food? I sure do. We have a Mexican restaurant in town that we’ve been going to for more than 10 years. The girls love it there too, but have you ever tried to eat out with three kids under the age of 4? If you have you can understand why we don’t do it that often, it’s not exactly a relaxing experience. Savor my food? More like scarf it down while the baby (who refused her high chair) sits on my lap and scoops up my food with her hands, getting some into her mouth and some all over my clothes. Because who needs clean clothes, and who needs a kids meal when mom’s food looks so enticing? It’s a good thing she’s cute! So typically I make stay home and make my own mexican food like these pinto beans and rice!

My daughter Alice is in love with this restaurant’s pinto beans. They call them cantina beans, and she likes them so much that she would be happy to just have beans and nothing else. I decided to try and replicate them at home. Now, I know that you’re supposed to use dried beans, and that they are superior in most ways to canned. I tried it with dried beans and I just couldn’t get it right, the beans turned to mush before the sauce thickened up. I use canned beans for this recipe; it works perfectly every time and it only takes about 10 minutes to make the recipe start to finish. Who can argue with that?

These easy Mexican pinto beans are seasoned with chili powder and simmered in a little chicken stock and tomato sauce. That’s it, super easy but they taste like they’ve been cooking for hours. I top these beans with fresh pico de gallo like they do at our restaurant but that’s totally optional.

A pot of pinto beans topped with diced tomatoes and cilantro.

I have been experimenting with mexican rice recipes for years. I could never find a recipe that was quite right until one of my fellow twin moms posted her favorite recipe on her blog. I made a few tweaks to suit our taste, and here it is: what I consider to be the best mexican rice recipe. The secret ingredient? Bell pepper slices! They infuse the rice with flavor as it cooks and then the peppers get discarded at the end. Or you can eat them for a snack, that’s what my husband prefers to do. My daughter Cora was patiently waiting for me to finish taking these pictures in hopes of snagging a taste.

Mexican rice topped with cilantro and tomatoes.

A child eating a spoonful of Mexican rice.

My local mom’s group has a program called Helping Hands where we provide meals to other mothers who have just had babies. I love to bring them a taco kit for dinner – these rice and beans, some type of meat, taco shells and tortillas, shredded cheese, olives, salsa, lettuce and sour cream. It’s perfect because it reheats well and everyone gets to create their own tacos so you don’t have to worry about other people’s picky eaters. So now that we’ve got our easy pinto beans and rice, stay tuned for the next component of my perfect Mexican meal: Mexican carnitas.

Mexican rice is perfect served with pinto beans.

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More Mexican food recipes

4.79 from 32 votes

Pinto Beans and Rice

AuthorSara Welch
These Easy Mexican Pinto Beans and Rice are the perfect sides for your Mexican Meal. The mexican rice has a secret ingredient that makes it taste like it came from a restaurant, and the pinto beans are ready in just 10 minutes.
These pinto beans and rice are the perfect sides for your Mexican meal. The mexican rice has a secret ingredient that makes it taste like it came from a restaurant, and the pinto beans are ready in just 10 minutes.
Time
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Serves 6

Ingredients 

For the Rice:

  • 1 cup long grain white rice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 red bell pepper cored, seeded and quartered
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 cup diced tomatoes and 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish optional

For the Beans:

  • 15 ounce can pinto beans drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock or vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 cup pico de gallo for garnish optional

Instructions 

  • For the Rice:
  • Heat the olive oil in a 2 quart pot over medium heat. Add the rice and stir until the rice is coated in the oil. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the rice is toasted and lightly browned.
  • Add all of the remaining ingredients. I recommend doing this off the heat to avoid splattering.
  • Return the pot to the burner, bring the contents to a boil.
  • Cover the pot and turn the heat to low; cook for 17 minutes.
  • Take the pot off the heat and let it stand, covered for 5 minutes. Remove and discard bell peppers. Stir well. Garnish with tomatoes and green onions if desired.
  • For the Beans:
  • Put all of the ingredients in a pan over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer. Cook for 7-10 minutes until sauce has thickened. Taste and add more salt or chili powder if needed. You can also add a bit more chicken stock if the sauce gets too thick for your liking. Garnish with pico de gallo if desired.

Notes

Make Ahead: This rice is actually great reheated so it can be made a day in advance. It has enough moisture from the tomato sauce and chicken stock that it doesn't dry out in the fridge.
Little Helpers: Let your kids measure the spices and help take apart the bell pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 680mg | Potassium: 378mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 970IU | Vitamin C: 30.4mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Hello! I’m Sara!

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Comments

  1. This looks yummy,
    Is it understood that these 2 dishes are served separately or mixed together? I am making ahead for a crowd. Thank you!

  2. 5 stars
    Found your recipe on Pinterest and I made them both, turned out perfect.
    Repinned for the future as well.

  3. 5 stars
    These beans were amazingly good! Even my 11 year old son loved them, as did my 15 year old son and my wife! The only thing I changed was I used less salt than the recipe said but wow!

  4. 5 stars
    I made your recipes for beans and rice. I was amazed, they really tasted like my local Mexican restaurant.

  5. 5 stars
    Made the rice and beans, added shredded cheese to beans and mushed them up, they were to die for. Thank you so much for this recipe.

  6. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Sara. I just cooked some pinto beans and was looking for a dinner recipe. I found your recipe on Pinterest. This looks so good.

  7. 4 stars
    Nice recipe, but the rice does not need to be cooked in oil. It can be dry roasted in the pan until it is opaque and the same results will be achieved.
    For traditional Mexican rice, leave out the tomato products. You will find that the rice will cook better and in less time. The acidic tomatoes inhibit the rice cooking properly and it is not traditionally used for this recipe. The rice will be fluffier and more tender if you leave them out.
    The simple addition of the chile powder is what gives the rice its red coloring. Many people think that tomatoes are what give Mexican food its red color. It is not. It is the chile powder or red chiles used.
    We don’t add garlic to this dish but some people really like it in their food. It really is more of an Italian ingredient as are tomatoes.

    1. I’m sorry, I’m just seeing this now, it got caught in the spam filter! The rice goes into the pot uncooked, it cooks in the chicken broth.

  8. Have you published a cookbook yet? All of your recipes look delicious and I would love to have them ALL in one place.

  9. I love the idea of getting the flavor from the peppers! I love cooking with them and would be in the same boat as your hubby and eat them as a snack! That pic of your daughter eating the food was priceless – I was the same way as a kid, eating off the big serving spoon! This recipes sounds great!

  10. I love this type of Mexican rice, especially with a recipe like yours that I can make ahead and re-heat. With these beans and rice, I don’t miss meat. Add a little cheese, a bit of guacamole and I’m ready to roll (the tortilla, that is:)

  11. this sounds so good. I am literally wanting this BIG TIME. Totally saving and making this!!

  12. This looks so good! I love Mexican food, but have never been great at making it. Were having a Mexican meal later this week and I may have to try to make this rice. Mexican rice is probably one of my favorite things to eat.

  13. Hi, couple of great sounding recipes. Like you I just love Mexican food. I do have a question though. The rice looks to have tomatoes in it but I don’t see where the recipe calls for them. Do you just add them in after? Thanks so much.

    1. Hi Kris, I added the tomatoes on top at the very end as a garnish, I will clarify in the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out to me!

  14. 5 stars
    This looks so good! I can eat Mexican everyday! And what a gorgeous pic of your little one eating from the wooden spoon!