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A closeup of a bowl with green rice and cilantro leaves as garnish.
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5 from 10 votes

Arroz Verde (Green Rice)

Spice up your meal prep routine with this easy arroz verde (green rice) recipe cooked on the stove. It's the ultimate side dish for any meal.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Latin
Servings: 3 servings
Calories: 300kcal

Equipment

  • fine mesh colander
  • blender or food processor
  • a medium saucepan with tight lid
  • Spoon
  • Fork

Ingredients

  • 1 cup long-grain rice
  • 1 bunch cilantro ½ loose cup
  • 1 bunch culantro leaves 10 long culantro leaves
  • 1 bunch spinach 1 loose cup
  • 1.5 cups low-sodium chicken stock
  • ¼ onion
  • 1 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoon oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Prep

  • Rinse the long-grain rice using the colander until the water runs clear and set aside.
  • Wash your herbs and set them aside. Remove large stems from cilantro leaves.
  • Add the cilantro, culantro, spinach, onion, garlic, and ½ cup of chicken stock into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, for about 1-2 minutes.

Cook

  • Place your pot on the stove, and heat over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the oil. Saute the rice until its starts to toast.
  • Add the green sauce, the remaining chicken stock, and salt. Mix and let the rice reach a boil.
  • Once it starts boiling, cover the pot and lower the heat. Cook until it has absorbed all the liquid. It takes about 12-15 minutes.
  • After it’s cooked, fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot.

Notes

Tips:
  • Use chicken stock instead of water for tastier rice.
  • Rinse the rice for a fluffier texture. 
  • Add extra stock from the blender to "clean it out," then add it to the rice.
  • Cover while cooking and fluff with a fork when done.
  • You can reduce the water ratio to 1.25 cups for each extra cup of rice you cook on the stove.
Substitutions:
  • Low-sodium chicken stock: you can use homemade or store-bought. You can use beef stock or vegetable stock. You can also use bouillon cubes, so you'll need ½ cup water to dilute the bouillon cube.
  • Cilantro, culantro, and spinach: don't have these herbs on hand. You can use parsley and green bell pepper. You can use frozen spinach, only try to remove excess water.
  • Olive oil: you can use butter or avocado oil. 

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 519mg | Potassium: 850mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 10987IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 142mg | Iron: 4mg