Simple Green Rice with Leftover Salsa

Flavorful leftover green salsa is perfect to make this simple green rice you can serve with any Latin American or TexMex meal. Add spicy peppers to bring on the heat or, leave them out to keep this oil-free plant-based rice dish mild and versatile.

This recipe was developed to use up leftover cilantro green salsa I had made to go with arepas.

🧄 Very useful ingredient notes

• Basmati rice - Long grain basmati rice gets fluffy and goes well with Latin American recipes
• Green salsa - homemade Venezuelan cilantro sauce blends up quickly and is delicious on arepas, tacos, burrito bowls, falafel and more. Leftover cilantro sauce or green salsa (that doesn't have avocado in it) can be used to make this green rice.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Serving suggestions

Serve this green rice with additional cilantro sauce, chopped fresh cilantro and vegan sour cream!

Eat it with black beans, sautéed bell peppers and onions, tacos or any other TexMex meal. It would be delicious with creamy spinach and corn enchiladas.

🔄 Variations

To bulk up this rice, add some minced onion, chopped tomato, carrots or bell pepper while it is cooking.

Adding chopped greens (fresh or frozen) will make it even greener in color, too.

🗺 Cultural influences

Rice flavored and seasoned heavily with sauces, onion, peppers, tomato, herbs and seasonings are common throughout the world.

Think of Spanish paella, Cuban arroz congri, Jamaican rice and peas, Italian risotto, African jollof rice, Louisiana jambalaya and Indian biryani. You get the idea.

This simple green rice recipe is most closely associated with Venezuelan cuisine, since I'm using Venezuelan cilantro sauce (guasacaca criolla sin aguacate) as the flavor agent.

But, you'll likely find similar recipes in other parts of Latin America and even across the ocean in India and other parts of the world.

I hope you enjoy it!

📖 Recipe

Simple Green Rice with Leftover Salsa

Abi Cowell

Flavorful leftover green salsa is perfect to make this simple green rice you can serve with any Latin American or TexMex meal. Add spicy peppers to bring on the heat or, leave them out to keep this oil-free plant-based rice dish mild and versatile.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Side

Cuisine TexMex

Servings 4

Calories 351 kcal

Equipment

Fine mesh strainer for rinsing rice

Sauce pan with tight fitting lid

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

0.5x1x2x...

• ▢ 2 cups basmati rice rinsed
• ▢ 3 cups water
• ▢ ½ cup prepared cilantro sauce or green salsa
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ½ cup chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions

 

• ▢
  Rinse rice in fine mesh strainer and set aside.
  2 cups basmati rice
• ▢
  Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce pan with a tight-fitting lid.
  3 cups water
• ▢
  Add rinsed rice, cilantro sauce and salt to water. Bring back to a boil, stir, then lower heat to low and cover.
  ½ cup prepared cilantro sauce, ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢
  Cook for 20 minutes. Do not stir or lift lid while it's cooking. After 20 minutes has passed, turn off heat and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before fluffing and serving. Top with chopping cilantro.
  ½ cup chopped cilantro

Notes

If adding in additional vegetables or greens, add them when you add the rice and cilantro sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 351kcalCarbohydrates: 76gProtein: 7gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 508mgPotassium: 174mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 312IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mg

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