Easy Arroz Verde Recipe – Make this vibrant green rice with poblanos and cilantro as a flavorful dish to enjoy alongside your favorite Mexican-inspired foods!

Close view green rice in a bowl.

Why We Love this Green Rice Recipe

If you like red Spanish rice and yellow rice, you are going to love this bold herbaceous green rice recipe.

The green hue comes from a combination of poblano peppers and chopped cilantro, so both the color and flavors are delightfully bright.

And although it tastes vibrant and unique, the method to make this Arroz Verde recipe really isn’t any more complicated than traditional steamed rice. It’s prepared on the stovetop in one saucepan, and is ready to enjoy in a little over 30 minutes. Just saute, simmer, fluff, and serve warm with your favorite Mexican and Latin American dishes!

Spoonful of rice held to camera.

Ingredients You Need

  • Butter – unsalted
  • Poblano pepper – diced
  • Onion – diced
  • Cilantro – finely chopped
  • Garlic – minced
  • Ground cumin – for a delicious earthy flavor
  • Salt – just a pinch
  • Rice – long-grain white rice
  • Vegetable broth – or chicken broth for a richer and heartier dish
Chopped poblano peppers, onion, and cilantro on a cutting board.

How to Make Arroz Verde

First, chop all the fresh produce. Make sure to remove the seeds from the poblano peppers before dicing. You can chop the entire bunch of cilantro, including the stems – just be sure to chop it finely.

Set a medium saucepot over medium heat. Add the butter, diced poblano peppers, onion, cilantro, and garlic. Sauté for 5 to 8 minutes, until the onions and peppers are soft.

Cooked veggies in a large pot.

Stir in the ground cumin, salt, and rice. Stir well so that all the grains of rice are coated with butter and seasoning.

Cooked peppers in a pot with dry rice on top.

Pour in the vegetable broth, and stir.

Ingredients combined in a pot.

Then cover the pot with a tightly fitting lid and simmer for 15-17 minutes.

Do not stir again, and do not repeatedly lift the lid.

The rice is done when it looks dry and fluffy on top and there are vent holes covering the surface of the rice.

Get the Complete Printable Mexican Green Rice (Arroz Verde) Recipe Below. Enjoy!

Cooked Arroz Verde in a pot.

Remove the pot from heat, keep it covered, and let it steam for another 5 minutes.

Top down Arroz Verde with poblanos and cilantro.

Then fluff and serve the green rice warm.

Finished Mexican green rice in a bowl.

What to Serve with Green Rice

Arroz Verde is fantastic to pair with other Mexican recipes you love. Some of our favorite main dishes include:

Storage and Reheating Suggestions

Leftover green rice tastes great the next day, and is great to enjoy for lunch.

Let Arroz Verde cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

To reheat, sprinkle a bit of water over the rice and microwave in 20-second bursts. Stir between each burst, and add more water as needed to help the rice fluff up again. Alternatively, leftovers can be reheated in the oven. Again, sprinkle with water, and then place the rice (in an oven-safe dish, of course) in a 350°F preheated oven. Cook for 5 minutes, stir, and cook for another 5-10 minutes until warmed throughout.

Bowl of rice, with spoon scooping Arroz Verde from the bowl.

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Arroz Verde (Mexican Green Rice)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Make this vibrant green rice recipe with poblanos and cilantro as a flavorful dish to enjoy alongside your favorite Mexican-inspired foods!
Servings: 6 -8 servings

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Chop all the fresh produce. Make sure to remove the seeds from the poblano peppers before dicing. You can chop the entire bunch of cilantro, including the stems. (Be sure to chop it finely.)
  • Set a medium saucepot over medium heat. Add the butter, diced poblano peppers, onion, cilantro, and garlic. Sauté for 5 to 8 minutes, until the onions and peppers are soft.
  • Stir in the ground cumin, salt, and rice. Stir well so that all the grains of rice are coated with butter and seasoning.
  • Pour in the vegetable broth. Stir, then cover the pot with a tightly fitting lid and simmer for 15-17 minutes. Do not stir again, and do not repeatedly lift the lid.
  • The rice is done when it looks dry and fluffy on top and there are vent holes covering the surface of the rice.
  • Remove the pot from heat, keep it covered, and let it steam another 5 minutes. Then fluff and serve warm.

Notes

Pro Tip: My favorite pot for cooking rice has a glass lid. This makes it easy to check for vent holes in the top of the rice, without lifting the lid.
Leftover green rice tastes great the next day, and is great to enjoy for lunch. Let Arroz Verde cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To reheat, sprinkle a bit of water over the rice and microwave in 20-second increments. Stir between each burst, and add more water as needed to help the rice fluff up again. Alternatively, leftovers can be reheated in the oven. Again, sprinkle with water, and then place the rice (in an oven-safe dish, of course) in a 350°F preheated oven. Cook for 5 minutes, stir, and cook for another 5-10 minutes until warmed throughout.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup, Calories: 311kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 1067mg, Potassium: 226mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 728IU, Vitamin C: 43mg, Calcium: 43mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Central American, Mexican, Tex-Mex
Author: Sommer Collier
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