Print It| Add to Favorites| | Pin It

Arroz Verde (Green Rice)

by James Peyton

read reviews (25)

Rich and refined, arroz verde is one of the most popular dishes I present to cooking classes. Serves six to eight.

To learn more, read the article:
Mexico’s Surprising Rice Dishes

Get a quick and delicious recipe every day with our FREE Make it Tonight newsletter Make it Tonight Recipe

cilantro spinach long-grain rice more more

1/2 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro sprigs (about 1/2 oz.)
1 cup tightly packed fresh stemmed spinach leaves (about 1-1/2 oz.)
1-1/4 cups homemade or low-salt chicken broth
1-1/4 cups milk
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups long-grain rice
1/4 cup finely minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Put the cilantro, spinach, and broth in a blender and blend until the vegetables are puréed. Add the milk and salt and blend a bit more until well combined.

In a medium (3-qt.) heavy-based saucepan (with a good lid) over medium heat, heat the olive oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add the rice and sauté, stirring about every 30 seconds, until it just begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the contents of the blender, stir well, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, turn the heat to very low, and cook for 20 minutes. Stir the rice carefully to avoid crushing it, cover, and cook another 5 minutes.

Take the pan off the heat and let the rice steam in the covered pot for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

nutrition information (per serving):
Size : based on eight servings; Calories (kcal): 210; Fat (g): 8; Fat Calories (kcal): 70; Saturated Fat (g): 4; Protein (g): 4; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 3; Carbohydrates (g): 30; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 1; Sodium (mg): 320; Cholesterol (mg): 15; Fiber (g): 1;

From Fine Cooking 35 , pp. 42-45

November 1, 1999

user reviews

Rate this Recipe

by mickeydownunder, 3/17/2013Made this for the first time for our St Patrick's Day green theme party! Came out GREAT! Would HIGHLY recommend people make! Unique too! Thank you!

by haleymarie85, 9/24/2012This recipe is excellent, I've made it multiple times and every time I get rave reviews. I even made this dish with quinoa instead of rice and it turned out great. I'll admit I didn't follow the specified times with the recipe, I just kind of used my best judgement each time.

by jdmorris, 5/14/2012I've made this recipe a few times now and think that it's great! The only critique I have is that the rice I used turned out overcooked when I followed the rice cooking instructions in this recipe. Once I switched to the following the cooking instructions on the package of rice that I was using (after the step of adding the blender contents to the rice in the saucepan), the rice turned out perfectly. I also found that the rice tasted best when I used whole milk.

by mama2tu, 8/26/2011Made this for our "Taco Tuesday" gathering and everyone loved it! I used less cilantro,roasted a few poblano chilis,used unsweetened almond milk, and a vegetable broth along with the other ingredients in the blender. A yummy vegetarian side dish with a little kick! This is a keeper!

by stacers, 6/8/2011This recipe was perfect! All three of my kids ate three helpings and raved about how good it was. I honestly didn't expect them to like it and so it was a great suprise! Even the color made it fun for them to eat!

by hexatron, 6/4/2011This recipe is excellent! I don't know if there's a recipe here but... the way I make it is I substitute the spinach with jalapenos and I add a few green tomatoes. It looks and tastes delicious!

by New_Wife_11, 5/5/2011I loved this... I had a lot of spinach that was about to go bad, so I looked up recipes that would work and this was perfect! I added some cooked ground turkey and some garlic salt and made this the main dish. It worked great!

by anlisa, 4/25/2011Delicious! I only cooked for the initial 20 minutes, as the rice had fully cooked by then.

by rphoto, 3/27/2011Amazing!!!! Love this recipe!!! Even my 14 year old son who hates spinach and cilantro LOVED this rice. We make this almost every week. We double the recipe because it is just as good left over.

by Localisbest, 12/30/2010really really tasty- used kale from the freezer instead of spinach and it was fantastic!

by ricelover, 7/24/2010This recipe was listed in a printed collection of Favorite Recipes from 10 years of Fine Cooking, and I have to agree the rice is fabulous. I love pairing it with my red enchiladas for a colorful plate.

by Bagni, 1/24/2010Rates as one of the top tastiest recipes I have ever made from Fine Cooking. I use soy milk with great success. I crave this dish!

by chocolat, 8/31/2009This is a winner! If you love cilantro (like I do), you'll love this recipe. It's a hit with my family and whenever I make it for a party everyone has seconds and asks for the recipe. I usually use white texmati rice.

by 01roberts, 6/30/2009Love this recipe. Family favorite. I've made it without cilantro for my cilantro-hating friends by using more spinach and some parsley, and it was still wonderful. I didn't like it as much when I tried it with brown rice, so I'm back to white for this recipe. Highly recommend

by CMack, 1/26/2009This is a hit every time I make it.

by ChulaVistaCookingMom, 12/10/2008

by Kristen36, 9/22/2008I absolutely love this recipe. It's one of my favorite go to side dishes! Everyone I've made it for absolutely loves it. It goes with just about any main course. You can't go wrong.

by DKB, 8/23/2008The flavors are wonderful and the color is gorgeous! I will often add a roasted, peeled and seeded poblano pepper to the blender with the cilantro and spinach. Other variations I have tried that are very good; substitute coconut milk for the milk and use basmati rice or substitute thai basil for the cilantro, coconut milk for the milk and use jasmine rice.

by Amy, 5/15/2008

by taisie49, 5/3/2008This is a great recipe and fairly easy. Even my husband likes it and he's not a real fan of cilantro.

by somethingfishy, 3/7/2008We have loved this recipe for years! Scrumptious and nutritious.

by cookiegirl52, 2/28/2008This is one of my all time favorite Fine Cooking recipes. My only change to the recipe is to add a green chile when I blend the cilantro, spinach and milk in the blend. It's not so much to make it hot, but it adds some "ping." Love this.

by hollysue, 2/23/2008delicious. i've made it three or four times now and each time i serve it to friends they ask for the recipe.

by FoodieNerd, 1/21/2008This dish was easy to make, tasted delicious and is packed with fresh flavor. I will make this again.

by BillieM, 11/18/2007Easy to make for a dinner party if you plan ahead a little bit. Sometimes I add a serrano to give it a kick if I'm using it with a Mexican menu

join the conversation