This pulled pork Spanish rice includes corn and roasted hatch chilies. It is the perfect comfort food dish when you have leftover pulled pork. So easy to whip up and kids of all ages will devour it! Find more leftover pulled pork recipes here.
Yes, I have another fabulous way to use up leftover pulled pork! One of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy is a monster size pork shoulder roast. And since we are feeding 3 teenagers in this house, I make that shredded pork go a long way.
We have made pulled pork tacos and pulled pork mac and cheese. When we have carnitas for dinner, their favorite way to eat it is with this delicious tomato rice you enjoy at Mexican restaurants.
It’s like a burrito bowl with all of your favorite burrito fillings. And the best thing about this dish, besides how budget friendly it is, is how easy it is to make it.
Carnitas vs pulled pork
Shredded pork isn’t just a favorite in American cuisine. Carnitas is basically the Mexican version of this dish. Carnitas in Spanish translates to “little meats” and is a quintessential pork dish in Mexican cuisine.
It is typically slowly braised (like my beer braised pork carnitas) or roasted for several hours, but it can also be prepared more quickly in a pressure cooker. Many times it is cooked with spices like cumin and, chiles. Like pulled pork, it is made from the pork should shoulder or pork butt, which is nice and fatty.
This fat gives tremendous flavor and moisture to the meat as it cooks. Carnitas tends to be more on the crispy side compared its American counterpart. But my family loves our smoked pulled pork, especially the crispy parts. So our preference is to have the pork shoulder cooked low and slow on the grill than in the slow cooker.
Another favorite way to enjoy pulled pork, or carnitas, is to make oven pulled pork. When the hubs is too busy to man the grill for 6 hours, this is the recipe I turn to for shredded pork goodness. It’s super easy and full of flavor.
Whichever way we make our shredded pork, my kids latest favorite is to enjoy it mixed into this tomato based Mexican rice dish.
Ingredients you need
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- Long grain rice: Spanish rice is usually made with long grain rice. I always have basmati rice, so I use that. I go into more detail about the types of rice you can use in the next section.
- Roasted green chiles: For some extra flavor, I added roasted Hatch chiles. Depending on how spicy you like your food, you can use mild or hot green chiles. If you are like me, you have roasted green chiles in the freezer. You can totally use the canned chiles, too.
- Corn: You can use frozen kernels or cut the fresh kernels off the cob.
- Tomato sauce: You can also use chopped tomatoes, salsa or tomato paste. If using tomato paste, use 1-tablespoon with 1-cup water or extra broth.
- Chicken broth: Feel free to swap out the chicken broth and use vegetable broth to make this dish vegetarian
- Shredded pork: If you don’t have leftover pulled pork or carnitas, this dish is excellent with leftover chicken or steak, too. You can also not include meat and use this as a side dish.
- Onions: You can use white or yellow onions. If you don’t have any, you can skip it and add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of onion powder.
- Extra olive oil: I pretty much use olive oil in all of my cooking. It can come in a variety of flavors, from mild to spicy. You can use any variety of olive oil or use any neutral oil like corn or canola oil.
- Garlic: I prefer the flavor from fresh garlic, but you can also add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Seasonings: chile powder, paprika, cumin and sea salt.
- Toppings: You can serve the rice as is or top with fresh cilantro, red onions, green onions, chopped avocados and/or a squeeze of fresh lime juice – perfection!
Tools to Use
Best rice to use
Spanish rice is made with long grain rice. Short grain rice, like Jasmine, will get too mushy. I always have basmati rice on hand, so I use that to make this rice dish. You can also use long grain brown rice, but you will need to add about ¼ cup more broth per cup of brown rice and it will have to simmer a bit longer to absorb all the liquid.
When calculating how much rice you will need to feed your family, I use the rule of ¼ cup uncooked rice per person. My kids can certainly eat more, as they are bottomless pits now that they are teenagers, so that number might need adjusting! Also, if you are using it as a side dish, the ¼-cup rule works beautifully. For rice bowls as meals, you might need more.
Many people ask about freezing rice. Yes, you can technically freeze cooked rice. Unfortunately, once thawed and reheated it gets a bit mushy. In my house, there really are no leftovers of this dish so I don’t need to freeze anything!
Step-by-step directions
1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and sauté onions in olive oil for a few minutes. Stir in corn and continue cooking for another minute or two.
2. Add the rice and sauté the rice, stirring frequently until the grains are lightly toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Continue stirring the rice continuously so the rice does not burn.
Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and sauté briefly, about 30 seconds. Stir in salt and spices until rice is coated evenly.
3. Stir in roasted chiles and then tomato sauce.
4. Once everything is incorporated, slowly pour in the chicken stock. When the liquid begins to boil, cover the pot and reduce to low heat. Cook until the all of the liquid is absorbed, about 25-30 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat, keep the cover on, and allow the rice to rest for 5 minutes. Gently fluff the rice and stir in the shredded pork.
Why toast the rice?
If you are making a rice pilaf, recipes tell you to toast the rice before adding water to cook it. This enhances the flavor of the rice. You want the rice to lightly toast and have a slight golden color and not dark brown or burnt.
Once toasted, you can add the liquid component of your dish. For this Spanish rice, I start with the diced chiles and tomato sauce and mix it in thoroughly before adding the chicken stock.
You can use just water instead of the stock, but again, we are adding layers of flavor. Cooking the pilaf in plain water won’t taste as good as with a chicken or vegetable stock. If you have pork bone broth, you can use that, too.
Once the liquid is added, you want it to just come to boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Now the rice can slowly cook and absorb the liquid. It is always good to let the rice sit for a few minutes once done to finish the cooking process.
The pilaf is delicate now and needs to be fluffed at this point. As you see in the picture below, you need to incorporate all the vegetables back into the rice. Once this is done, add your warm pork (or whatever meat you are using) and dinner is ready!
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
The red rice pilaf you find at the Mexican restaurants are typically made with tomatoes or tomato sauce. Sometimes there are onions and corn mixed into it as well. I like to add a punch of flavor in my meals, so although the meal is simple to make, it is pretty delicious.
If you don’t like it spicy, feel free to add some chopped bell peppers, red, orange or green.
For toppings, I like to add chopped cilantro, red onions or green onions. If I have ripe avocados available, I like to chop them into chunks and add them to the mix. And don’t forget a squeeze of fresh lime juice – perfection!
You can also omit the meat and use the rice recipe as a side dish to a variety of dishes like my Oven Roasted Tri Tip with Chili Lime Seasoning or my Air Fryer Chicken Legs with Chipotle Glaze.
Many people ask about freezing rice. Yes, you can technically freeze cooked rice. Unfortunately, once thawed and reheated it gets a bit mushy. So make enough where you don’t have leftovers, or enough leftovers that can be refrigerated and eaten in 4 days or less.
If you are making a rice pilaf, recipes tell you to toast the rice before adding water to cook it. This enhances the flavor of the rice. You want the rice to lightly toast and have a slight golden color and not dark brown or burnt. Once toasted, you can add the liquid component of your dish and let it simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked
Leftover Pulled Pork Spanish Rice (Mexican Rice)
This pulled pork Spanish rice includes corn and roasted hatch chilies. It is the perfect comfort food dish when you have leftover pulled pork. So easy to whip up and kids of all ages will devour it!
Ingredients
- 2 TBS extra olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped onions
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon chile powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 4 oz diced roasted green chiles
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 12 oz shredded pork
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, add olive oil.
- Once the oil is hot add onions and sauté until softened, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in corn and continue cooking for another minute or two.
- Add the rice and sauté the rice, stirring frequently until the grains are lightly toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Continue stirring the rice continuously so the rice does not burn.
- Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and sauté briefly, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in salt and spices until rice is coated evenly.
- Stir in roasted chiles and then tomato sauce.
- Once everything is incorporated, slowly pour in the chicken stock.
- Once the liquid begins to boil, cover the pot and reduce to low heat.
- Cook until the all of the liquid is absorbed, about 25-30 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, keep the cover on, and allow the rice to rest for 5 minutes.
- Gently fluff the rice and stir in the shredded pork.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges (optional).
Notes
There are a number of ways to customize this dish to your own personal liking.
Instead of tomato sauce, use 2 TBS tomato paste and 6 ounces of water. You can also use 8 oz of your favorite tomato based salsa.
You can also add chopped tomatoes (¾ cup) for more tomato flavor. If you don't like spicy food, you can sauté ¾ cup diced bell peppers with the onions.
Not a fan of cilantro? Top your rice with chopped red onions or green onions.
You can also make this dish with long grain brown rice. Just add an additional ¼ cup of chicken stock for every cup of brown rice. The brown rice will also take additional time to cook, about 15-30 more minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 331Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 1085mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 17g
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
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Hello. Just wondering about the calorie count on this recipe. 161 seems very low. After counting the calories myself I came up with 474 per serving. Am I counting something wrong? Thanks. It was delicious by the way.
Hi Darcy- I don’t know how accurate my nutritional counter is, but it also depends on your serving size. Normally when I count rice servings, 1 cup of uncooked rice can serve 2-4 people. If you are serving this as a side dish, I would say 1 cup would be good for 4 servings. If you are making this as a meal, then 2 servings per cup. And if you are my 20-something sons, it would be even fewer servings! I picked 6 servings for the nutritional count, which my software says the calorie count 161. If I change it… Read more »
Hi Darcy,
So I returned the calorie counter back to the original 6 servings and it now says 331 calories. I didn’t change the ingredients, just the number of servings. So odd.
Laura
OK, now this is the second recipe with “leftover pulled pork” that I want–and will–make! One question: the “1/4 chopped cilantro” 1/4 cup?
Hi Emilia-
Ack!!! Yes, it’s a 1/4 cup. Just fixed it. This is my kids’ current favorite meal. We actually have leftovers in the fridge right now. Hope you enjoy it!
Laura
How pull pork to you use
Hi Beverly-
I apologize. I had the quantity in the video and not the recipe card. About 12oz of pulled pork was used. I don’t measure it anymore and just add as much as my family likes.
Laura
What a neat dish! I love both pulled pork and carnitas, and you’re right that they’re pretty similar. Love the idea of using pulled pork in a rice dish like this. Good stuff — thanks.
Hi I’m wondering how much pull pork you use