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Mix up your Mexican dinners with this arroz verde! Light and fluffy rice meets rich and earthy flavors from roasted poblanos, parsley, cilantro, and other delicious ingredients. It’s perfect as a side dish, in burritos, or burrito bowls.
You’ve probably heard of authentic Mexican rice with its red-orange hue and tomato-based flavor, but have you heard of arroz verde?
This delicious rice dish gets its signature green color from lots of herbs like cilantro and parsley and peppers like roasted poblano and jalapeño. The earthy flavor pairs well with recipes like enchiladas suizas or pollo asado.
Next time you have Mexican food for dinner, swap out the traditional rice for this arroz verde, and you won’t be disappointed!
What Is Arroz Verde?
Arroz verde, or “green rice,” is a rice dish made from long grain rice that’s toasted and cooked in a rich green broth made from parsley, cilantro, roasted poblano peppers, jalapeño, onion, garlic, broth, and topped with a splash of lime juice.
Its flavor packs a punch from the fresh herbs and peppers compared to traditional Mexican rice, which has a sweeter tomato-based flavor. Both are equally delicious, but arroz verde is a great swap if you’re looking for something different!
Ingredients
- Long grain rice: This rice is very versatile and my favorite to use. You can also use jasmine or basmati rice.
- Olive oil: Has a light flavor and is great for toasting the rice. You can also use neutral-tasting oils like canola or vegetable oil.
- Poblanos and jalapeños: Using roasted poblanos gives a rich flavor to the broth, and the jalapeño adds a bit of spice. If you want it spicier, don’t remove any of the seeds.
- Cilantro and parsley: These fresh herbs add a great earthy flavor to the broth. I used equal portions of both.
- Garlic and onion: Signature ingredients and flavors of Mexican rice.
- Chicken broth: I like to use chicken broth, but you can also use vegetable broth if you prefer.
- Lime juice: I like to top off the rice with lime juice to add citrus and help cut the richness from the broth.
How to Make Arroz Verde
Make verde mixture. Place the garlic cloves, roasted poblano peppers, cilantro, parsley, jalapeño, and ½ cup of chicken stock into a food processor or blender. Blend until there are no large chunks and the mixture is mostly smooth. Set aside.
Toast rice. In a pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the rice and gently stir to coat with oil. Toast the rice and saute for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The rice will get a light brown color, and some of the rice may even begin to pop. This is normal and gives the rice a nutty flavor.
Add verde mixture. Once toasted, add the verde mixture and stir until it is well combined with the rice. Add remaining chicken stock and salt and bring to a boil.
Simmer rice. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook the rice for about 15 minutes, until it is fully cooked through and all the liquid has been absorbed.
Fluff rice and let sit. Once fully cooked, add lime juice and gently fluff the rice with a fork. Let the rice sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t forget to rinse the rice. This helps remove any extra starch and can help avoid mushiness.
- Spice level. This dish is about a medium spice level. You can omit the jalapeño completely to make it milder.
- Make this vegan and vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Serving Suggestions
Arroz verde can be served as a side dish with most Mexican meals. Pair it with some carne asada, enchiladas suizas, or pollo asado for the best dinner.
Storing and Reheating
Arroz verde can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To reheat, microwave in 30-second increments until warmed through.
More Recipe Recipes
If you tried this Arroz Verde Recipe or any other recipe on Isabel Eats, don’t forget to 🌟 rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below! I love hearing about your experience making it!
Arroz Verde
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice
- 2 poblano peppers, stemmed
- 1 jalapeño, stemmed
- ½ medium yellow onion
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 ¼ cups chicken broth, divided
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
Instructions
- Add the rice to a fine mesh strainer or colander and rinse under running water until the water runs clear. Drain well and set aside.
- Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or grease with oil. Place the poblanos and jalapeño on the baking sheet and place under the broiler. Broil on high for 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through.
- Remove the baking sheet from the broiler and cover it with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Uncover and remove as much of the skin from the peppers as possible. At this point, you can also remove the seeds from any of the peppers if you don’t want it too spicy.
- Add the roasted poblanos, jalapeño, onion, cilantro, parsley, garlic, and ¾ cup of broth to a food processor or blender. Blend or pulse until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the rinsed rice and saute for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice begins to brown very slightly. At this point, some grains of rice may even pop. This step adds some nuttiness and more depth of flavor to the rice.
- Stir in the blended poblano mixture and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the remaining 1 ½ cups of broth and salt. Stir together with the rice until fully combined.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is fully cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Add lime juice and lightly fluff the rice with a fork. Allow the rice to sit uncovered for about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
This rice is awesome. We made “The best chicken marinade” recipe to go with it.
I’m so happy that I found you’re web site, we have made more recipes than I can count right now. My mouth is very happy.
Thank you very much!!
Absolutely fantastic arroz verde! Delicious and completely flavorful. My husband and I will be using your recipe on a weekly rotation. Thank you!
I loved this. My only problem was getting the FP or blender to get it smooth. When I finally added a little water it worked.
Would there be something else to help make it smooth
Rice turned out wonderful. Used Better Than Bouillon since I didn’t have low sodium and left out the salt which I added at the end.
Thank you for the the recipe
I’ve made this recipe like at least once a week since I found it. So good!
Thus rice is soooooo delicious! Turned out perfect! Lots of flavor!