Habanero Garlic Rice
Habanero Garlic Rice combines sautéed onion, garlic, and habanero with butter, seasonings, and toasted rice for an out-of-this-world flavorful side dish that’s perfect for Mexican food, or anytime you want to bring a little heat!
Habanero Garlic Rice all started with a pint-size container of habanero peppers that I got at my local farmers market.
I normally wouldn’t buy that many, but I’ve really fallen in love with habaneros in the last year or two.
Jalapenos have great flavor, but sometimes not enough heat. Serrano peppers have plenty of heat, but not enough flavor.
On the other hand, habanero peppers are great because they’re hot and also have an extraordinary fruity/floral flavor that just makes my taste buds sing.
I was really excited about all the recipes I was going to make with these habanero peppers!
They were added to my Easy Homemade Salsa recipe, I created a habanero hot sauce, made my weekly batch of Habanero Garlic Pickles, and I still had a whole bunch of those orange beauties to use up.
Mexican food was for dinner, so I thought, “I’ll make habanero rice!” And now there’s no going back.
Habanero Garlic Rice might beat out The Best Mexican Rice and Herbed Butter Garlic Rice for my favorite rice recipe!
Ingredients needed to make this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- White rice
- Habanero
- Onion
- Garlic
- Oil
- Butter
- Broth – vegetable or chicken
- Spices (coriander, salt, pepper)
The sautéed onion and garlic really gives this rice a sublime savory depth of flavor. The butter adds a necessary richness, and the habanero adds a wonderful touch of heat.
How spicy is this rice?
Since people have different heat thresholds, it’s hard to say, but I would call it “medium spicy”.
It makes my tongue burn a little bit, but my mouth isn’t on fire and I’m not searching for a glass of milk.
My guess is that if you intentionally clicked on a recipe called Habanero Garlic Rice because it sounded good, you can take the heat ;)
How to make Habanero Garlic Rice
- You start off by toasting your rice in oil. This step is crucial! Toasting the rice gives it a wonderful, almost nutty flavor that adds a fantastic flavor to the finished product.
- When your rice is golden, add onion, garlic, and minced habanero to the pan and sauté it for a minute or two. Then you add the broth, butter, and seasonings and bring to a boil.
- Once it reaches a boil, put the lid on, reduce the heat to simmer, and wait 18 minutes for your spicy, garlicky, rice to be done. If you want, throw in some chopped cilantro for a touch of freshness.
How to serve Habanero Rice
This spicy, garlicky rice would be an ideal substitute for Mexican rice, a great side dish to chicken or seafood, or the perfect base for a burrito bowl!
Looking for more spicy recipes? Here are some favorites:
- Pickled Mexican Hot Carrots
- Spicy Chipotle Hummus
- Habanero Garlic Pickles
- Fiery Habanero Hot Sauce (shown below)
- Roasted Tomato Habanero Salsa
Habanero Garlic Rice
Equipment
- sauce pan with lid
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tbsp minced habanero
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
Instructions
- Add oil and rice to a small sauce pan. Sauté on medium to medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring often so the rice doesn't burn. (Don't skip the step of toasting the rice, it's essential)
- Once the rice starts to turn golden, add the onion, garlic, and habanero and sauté for a minute, don't burn the rice! Then add the butter, coriander, salt, several grinds of black pepper, and the broth. Stir to make sure everything is combined and turn the heat to high. Once everything comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, put the lid on and simmer for 18 minutes.
- Feel free to garnish with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥
I also have a fun Facebook group for us foodies to share recipes and talk about food. I’d love to have you! Request to join HERE. Cheers!
My new favorite way to make rice!
This recipe give me a wild and crazy, albeit frugal idea. I have quite a bit of pickled garlic and habanero from making your pickles. I ate all the pickles and I’ve eaten some of the garlic but the rest of it is still sitting in the brine in my fridge. What if I pulled out the pickled garlic and habanero, patted them dry, and used them in this recipe. Do you think it would work?
That is an interesting idea! The garlic and habanero might be water-logged and thus, lost some of their flavors, but an intriguing experiment nonetheless! Let me know if you do that because I make those pickles every week and would be interested in a second use for them!