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.
Whether I have leftovers from making smoked pulled pork outdoors or from making crispy pulled pork in the oven, I love creating new recipes using this beloved ingredient.
We have enjoyed 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.
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Recipe highlights
- Family friendly: This recipe is always welcome at our family table. Whether we add leftover pulled pork, chicken or steak, they love filling up their burrito bowls with all of their favorite fixings!
- Simple: The rice pilaf is very easy to make. In its simplest form, only minimal spices are added to the rice with the tomatoes. But I amp up the flavor without making the recipe difficult to make. The directions are broken down into steps and I share lots of tips so you end up with a fluffy and delicious rice.
- Flavor: I not only add spices like chile powder, paprika and cumin to this recipe, but I also add one of my favorite ingredients for more flavor, green chiles! My kids requested the addition of corn and well, with all of our favorite flavors, no wonder this dish is so beloved!
Reader’s Reviews
“Delicious! I doubled the spices because I know my family loves them all. My kids asked to have this again.” — Alida via pinterest
Ingredients you need
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- Long grain rice: 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.
- 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. If you don’t like it spicy, feel free to add some chopped bell peppers, red, orange or green.
- 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!
Step-by-step directions
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- Sauté onions. 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.
- Sauté rice. 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.
- Add seasonings. 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.
- Add stock. 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.
- Fluff and finish. 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.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
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.
If you are looking for your a way to use your pulled pork with leftover rice, try my sausage fried rice recipe and swap out the meat.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: Many people ask about freezing rice. Yes, you can technically freeze cooked rice. Unfortunately, once thawed and reheated it gets a bit mushy.
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.
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. The numbers will need to be adjusted if feeding big eaters or teenagers! 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.
Leftover Pulled Pork Spanish Rice (Mexican Rice)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon 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
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
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