Arroz verde (ah-ROHS VEHR-deh) is the green sibling of Mexican red rice: long-grain rice toasted in oil, then simmered in a puree of raw poblano pepper, cilantro and garlic topped up with broth. It is mild, tastes of fresh pepper and herbs, and sits next to stews, moles and grilled meat. The catch is color. Made carelessly it comes out khaki, and almost every cause of that happens inside the pan, which means it is avoidable.
What is Mexican green rice, and is it worth making?
How do you make Mexican green rice? Blend 1 seeded raw poblano with 1 cup of cilantro, a handful of spinach, garlic and ¼ cup (60 ml) water, then strain and measure it. Toast 1 cup of rinsed rice in 2 tablespoons of oil until milky white, add onion and cook the puree for 2 minutes, then top up with broth to 2 cups (480 ml) of liquid in total. Cover and cook on the lowest heat for a quarter of an hour, rest 10 minutes off the heat, and only then stir in the lime. 45 minutes for 4 servings.
Yes, if you already cook Mexican food and want a side that isn’t red rice again. It takes about 20 minutes of real work, it costs around $2 for four servings at US prices, and it holds, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes, so it works for a dinner party. In Mexico it is also called arroz poblano, after the pepper.
It may not be for you if cilantro tastes like soap to you, although parsley fixes that (see the swaps below). And if you want rice that disappears next to the main dish, plain Colombian white rice is the neutral choice.
The ratio, 2 cups of liquid per cup of rice, puree included
1 cup of rice takes 2 cups (480 ml) of liquid, and the strained green puree is part of those 2 cups. That is how Pati Jinich measures her green rice, and Diversivore uses the same arithmetic: puree first, then broth only up to the total. My puree, from 1 poblano, the herbs and ¼ cup of water, measures about 180 ml (¾ cup), so the broth is about 300 ml (1¼ cups).
A bigger poblano might give you 220 ml of puree. Then the broth drops to 260 ml. Measure in a jug every time; that is what keeps the rice from going soft. The same rule runs Mexican red rice, where the puree is tomato.
Ingredients, and what to buy in the US and UK
Poblano peppers
Poblanos are large, dark green, heart-shaped peppers, mild with an occasional hot one. US supermarkets carry them, and in California they are sometimes labeled pasilla. In the UK they turn up at Mexican specialist grocers and online, but not reliably. The best stand-in is an Anaheim; next best, a 150 g (5 oz) green bell pepper with half a seeded jalapeño, which gives the green and a little of the bite. I taste a sliver of raw poblano before blending, just in case it is a hot one.
Cilantro, spinach and parsley
Cilantro (coriander in the UK): a loosely packed cup of leaves and thin stems weighs about 15 g (½ oz); the USDA puts ¼ cup of leaves at 4 g. Baby spinach is optional and adds color without changing the taste. Flat-leaf parsley replaces cilantro one for one if you don’t like it.
Rice and broth
Long-grain white rice, or basmati with the same liquid for drier, more separate grains. In the UK, long grain or easy-cook. Avoid short-grain, pudding or risotto rice, which turns sticky. Chicken broth from a carton or cube; vegetable stock for a meat-free version.
Equipment
A heavy-bottomed 8 in (20 cm) saucepan with a tight lid, a blender, a fine sieve and a measuring jug. A stick blender in a tall jug works if you strain the result. A loose lid can be sealed with a clean tea towel or a sheet of foil under it.
Why green rice turns olive, and how to keep it green
Three things turn it khaki, and all three are in your hands:
- Acid while it cooks. Heat plus acid pulls the magnesium out of chlorophyll and turns it into pheophytin, which is olive brown. Pati Jinich adds her lime with the broth; I add it after the rest, and the flavor is the same.
- Over-toasted rice. For red rice I take the grains to pale gold. Here I stop as soon as the grains turn milky white, usually by minute 4, because toasted grains tint the puree brown.
- A roasted pepper or a long cook. Roasted poblano blends dark. And the puree only needs 2 minutes in the pan before the broth goes in.
Blend just before cooking, too. A raw herb puree darkens as it sits, so I make it while the rice drains and use it within 10 minutes.
Game plan, make-ahead and how each stage should look
Night before. Seed the poblano and keep it covered in the fridge. Wash and dry the cilantro and spinach, wrap them in paper towel and refrigerate. Make or buy the broth. Rinse the rice on the day.
| Stage | What you should see |
|---|---|
| Rinsing | last rinse almost clear |
| Toasting, 3-4 min | opaque white, no gold, sounds like dry sand when stirred |
| Puree, 2 min | almost no loose liquid, no raw-herb smell |
| Before the lid, 2 min | boiling across the whole surface, slightly over-salted |
| After the rest, 10 min | no liquid, steam holes on top, separate green grains |
Once the lid is on it stays on, 25 minutes in all between simmer and rest. Lifting it lets out the steam that cooks the top layer.
Rice cooker, a crowd, and other versions
Rice cooker. Toast the rice and cook the puree for 2 minutes in a skillet, then move everything to the cooker with broth up to 2 cups (480 ml) total per cup of rice. Run the white rice setting, leave it 10 minutes on keep-warm, then add the lime.
Brightest green for a buffet. Hold back a third of the cilantro and spinach, blend them with 2 tablespoons of broth and fork that in when you fluff the rice. It adds about 3 minutes and the most cilantro flavor.
Roasted poblano. Char the pepper over a gas flame until black, sweat it in a bag for 10 minutes, peel and blend. Smokier, darker, about 20 minutes more.
Arroz poblano with corn. Add ½ cup (75 g) of corn kernels with the broth and serve with a spoonful of Mexican crema or sour cream.
Vegetarian or vegan. Vegetable stock, or water with an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Scaling green rice for 8 or 12
| People | Rice | Poblano | Cilantro | Spinach | Oil | Total liquid | Pan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 cup (185 g) | 1 (150 g / 5 oz) | 15 g (½ oz) | 30 g (1 oz) | 2 tbsp | 2 cups (480 ml) | 8 in (20 cm) |
| 8 | 2 cups (370 g) | 2 (300 g / 10 oz) | 30 g (1 oz) | 60 g (2 oz) | 4 tbsp | 4 cups (960 ml) | 9½ in (24 cm) |
| 12 | 3 cups (555 g) | 3 (450 g / 1 lb) | 45 g (1½ oz) | 90 g (3 oz) | 6 tbsp | 6 cups (1.44 l) | 11 in (28 cm) |
Garlic and salt scale per cup of rice: 1 clove and ½ teaspoon; onion is 3 tablespoons (30 g) per cup. In my kitchen a 12-serving pot needs 18 to 20 minutes under the lid and around 5 minutes of toasting; blend the puree in two batches. Choose a wide pan so the raw rice sits no deeper than 2 in (5 cm).
Mistakes, heat level and allergens
- Khaki or brownish → lime in the pot, toasted grains or a roasted pepper. To rescue it, blend a handful of cilantro with 2 tablespoons of broth and fork it through before serving.
- Soft and wet → the puree went in on top of 2 full cups of broth, or the rice was stirred after the boil. Uncover for 5 minutes on the lowest heat.
- Hard on top → the lid was lifted or doesn’t seal. Sprinkle ¼ cup (60 ml) of hot broth, cover, 5 minutes on low.
- Tastes grassy → the broth went in before the puree had its 2 minutes.
- Scorched bottom → heat above the lowest setting or a thin pan.
Heat level: low, a 1 on a 5-point scale. Poblanos are mild, and with the ribs out they barely register. For heat, blend half a serrano or jalapeño with the poblano. Children usually eat it happily; if one balks at cilantro, swap half for parsley.
Allergens. No gluten, dairy, egg, nuts or fish in the base recipe. Check boxed broth for wheat, celery or milk, and remember crema or cheese on top adds dairy.
What it costs
About $2 for 4 servings, roughly 50 cents each, before broth, oil, spinach and salt. Long-grain rice averaged $1.11 a pound in August 2026 (Bureau of Labor Statistics), so 185 g is about 45 cents. Neither the BLS nor the USDA AMS weekly retail report of October 9, 2026 tracks poblanos; at that report’s Anaheim price, $1.49 a pound, the pepper comes to about 49 cents. A bunch of cilantro, 97 cents in the same report, is the biggest item even though half of it goes back in the fridge. Onion and garlic add about 12 cents. Yield: about 3 cups cooked from each raw cup, which serves 3 as the main starch or 4 as a side.
Serving, storing and reheating safely
Put it next to anything with a sauce: mole poblano, chicken in salsa verde or cheese-stuffed chiles rellenos. With carne asada and beans it makes a full plate, and topped with rajas con crema it becomes a vegetarian main. Crumbled queso fresco or feta on top is good.
Cool it quickly. Cooked rice is the classic home of Bacillus cereus: its spores survive cooking, and the longer the rice sits at room temperature, the more likely the bacteria are to make a toxin, according to Food Standards Scotland, which advises chilling it ideally within 1 hour, spread out in small portions. The USDA FSIS limit is 2 hours to the fridge, 1 hour above 90°F (32°C).
Fridge. The FSIS allows 3 to 4 days at 40°F (4°C) or below for leftovers; the UK advice is to eat chilled rice within 24 hours and reheat it only once. I go with 24 hours when I can, and the green fades a little each day anyway.
Freezer. Flat in freezer bags for 3 to 4 months of best quality (FSIS). It thaws a shade duller with the same flavor.
Reheating. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water per cup of rice, cover, and microwave 1 minute, stir, then 1 more; or use a covered skillet over low heat. Heat to 165°F (74°C) in the center, steaming hot throughout. A few drops of lime brighten it again.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mexican green rice made of? Long-grain rice, poblano pepper, cilantro, garlic, onion, oil and broth. Many versions add spinach for color, parsley, or corn.
Why is my green rice not green? Usually lime added with the broth, rice toasted past milky white, or a roasted poblano. Use a raw pepper, stop the toast early and add lime after cooking.
Do you roast the poblano for arroz verde? You can, for a smoky flavor, but raw gives the brighter green and saves about 20 minutes.
What is the rice to liquid ratio for green rice? 1 cup of rice to 2 cups (480 ml) of liquid in total, counting the strained puree.
Is arroz verde spicy? Barely. On a scale of 5 it rates 1. Add half a serrano or jalapeño to the blender if you want heat.
Can I use parsley instead of cilantro? Yes, the same amount. The rice stays just as green and tastes grassier.
Can I make green rice in a rice cooker? Yes. Toast the rice and cook the puree in a skillet first, then use the white rice setting with 2 cups (480 ml) of liquid per cup of rice.
How long does green rice keep? 3 to 4 days in the fridge by US guidance, 24 hours by UK guidance, provided it was chilled quickly. Reheat once, to 165°F (74°C).
Nutrition
Per serving (a quarter of the recipe, about ¾ cup cooked), calculated ingredient by ingredient from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), with the poblano entered as raw green chile, all of the oil, about 300 ml (1¼ cups) of store-bought chicken broth and the ½ teaspoon of salt:
- Calories: 254 kcal
- Protein: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fat: 7 g, of which 1 g saturated
- Fiber: 2 g
- Sugars: 2 g
- Sodium: 592 mg
The figures count everything that goes into the blender, although some fiber stays in the sieve. Unsalted homemade stock brings the sodium down to roughly 300 mg; as written, the salt and the boxed broth contribute about 290 mg each. The oil is about 60 kcal a serving.
Poblanos are hard to find in Colombia, where I live, so for a long time I made this with a green bell pepper and half a jalapeño, and it worked. What took me longer to fix was the color. I blamed the spinach, then the blender, and it turned out to be the squeeze of lime I added with the broth out of habit. Lime goes in last now, and the rice stays green. Josnaisis.