A few weeks ago, as I was planning our Cinco de Mayo festivities,  I found myself nursing a serious craving for some spanish rice.  Which brought on this revelation– I had never made spanish rice from scratch. What?! I know, I was shocked too. I mean, how could someone who has been cooking up ‘Mexican’ food for her Tex-Mex loving family since she was thirteen have never given homemade spanish rice a go?

Then I realized that it was because I never had to. The quick, easy, just-add-water packets of spanish rice had always been readily available. So why make it from scratch?

Now I’m making it out of necessity since they don’t have those little packets here in Deutschland. However, you should give it a go because your homemade version will have tons less sodium, more fiber, more vitamins, and hardly any preservatives. {and you’ll be really proud of yourself and everyone needs a confidence boost sometimes!}

Regardless of the reason for my inexperience {laziness}, it was high time I remedied the situation. After a little experimentation, I came up with this recipe that will be my go to from here on out. I added black beans for a bit of extra fiber {and to make whole proteins since grains and beans are complementary}, but you can leave them out if you would like.

Homemade Spanish Rice

The Rice
2/3 cup brown rice
1 1/3 cup water

The Goodies
1 tsp oilve oil
whatever veggies you have on hand
1/2 cup black beans {optional}

Some of the veggies I’ve had success with:
red pepper {half}, onion {half}, green chilli {half}, fresh kernels of corn {1/4 cup}, and tomato {half}

The Seasoning
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp chilli powder

Boil your jug and put the rice on to cook. Follow the directions on the packaging for length of time but it is usually about 25-30 minutes for brown rice. {The 10 min quick rices will work if you’re in a pinch, but you will lose most of the yummy fiber that you get from brown rice and it’s less filling.}

When the rice has about 10 minutes left, start heating a deep sauté pan on medium heat and dice up your veggies. I just used what I had on hand, but feel free to add other veggies if you’d like. Tomatoes and green chilies would be great in this too. Add a little olive oil to the pan and toss in your veggies. Rinse your beans and add them too. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the rice is finished, pour a little more olive oil in the pan and add the rice. Stir the rice in with the veggies and black beans. Add the cumin, paprika, and chilli powder and mix well. Cook for 2-3 more minutes so all the flavors can get to know each other and you’re finished.

This is a great side for all your Tex-Mex faves like quesadillas, burritos, and enchiladas. Tonight we are having it with baked beer taquitos!