Slow Cooker Mexican Rice

I don’t know about you, but I rely on a few practical, no-fuss recipes that can be thrown into a slow cooker at breakfast time and become something wonderful by the time lunch sneaks up on me. This Mexican Rice is one of our children’s favorites. You’ll find the recipe below.

Slow Cooker Mexican Rice

I frequently change up the vegetables in this recipe based on what I have on hand. Sometimes I only use carrots and celery, sometimes frozen peas and corn. Squash, sweet potatoes, zucchini, black beans, and potatoes are substitutions you may want to try.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1 onion, chopped
butter or coconut oil for sauteing (optional)
4 cups tomatoes, chopped or 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups long brown rice or brown Basmati rice
2 chopped carrots
1 cup frozen corn
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Chipotle chili, chopped or grated fine (see tip)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt to taste
1 cup frozen peas

Directions

1. Butter the inside of the slow cooker.
2. Saute the onions and peppers in butter before adding them to the slow cooker. This adds a nice flavor, but I sometimes skip this step to save time, and the rice still turns out very good.
3. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Set it on high, and cook for 3-4 hours.
4. Serve with sour cream and grated cheese if you like.

Tip: Chipotle Chilies

Chipotle chili peppers are smoked jalapeno chilies that add a delicious authentic flavor to Mexican cooking. Buy canned Chipotle chili peppers in Adobo sauce and transfer them to a freezer container. Once frozen, chipotle chilies will last for months, and they can easily be grated or chopped fine to use in recipes.