Green Rice with Corn

For Cinco de Mayo 2017, I made a Mexican-inspired meal, not surprisingly. Mexican and Southwestern foods are some of our favorites, and any excuse to cook a bunch of delicious food and include friends work for us!

For the main course, I served buffalo fajitas along with sautéed vegetables, plus I made refried black beans and what I called “green rice”.

The rice is green from green chiles and an abundance of cilantro. (Don’t read on if you dislike cilantro!)

Okay, so what’s the big deal? Rice with cilantro? I don’t know, but it was everybody’s favorite dish. I mean, over the queso, the guacamole, and the chipotle shrimp, the green rice was the bomb.

The next morning I heated some up and plopped a fried egg on top. It was just that delicious.

This rice is more of a pilaf, with all of the goodies I included. The green chiles, cilantro, and seasoning turn it into one that’s Mexican-inspired and delicious.

Green Rice with Corn

2 cobs of corn
Olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
1 onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
Rice of choice, about 1 1/3 cups
Chicken broth, about 3 cups
2 – 4.5 ounce cans chopped green chiles
Lots of chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper, optional

Cook the corn cobs in boiling water until they’re done, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool.

Add the olive oil to a large pot and heat over medium. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and rice, and stir for about 30 seconds, then add the broth.

Bring the rice to a boil, cover, then turn down the heat. Cooking time depends on the kind of rice you use.

Once the rice is about cooked, remove the lid and stir in the remaining ingredients.

Cut the corn from the cobs. Break the corn up into neat pieces and stir into the rice gently.

I like to put the lid on and without heat, let the pot sit at the end of the cooking time. This step encourages more liquid absorption.

You can sprinkle on some cilantro leaves if you wish.

Fancy? Not at all. And just the same amount of time to make any pilaf.

And don’t forget to have the green rice with an egg the next morning!

Note: When I cook at home I always use brown rice, because it’s not processed. It takes a little more cooking time and a little more liquid, typically. White rice can certainly be substituted, and would actually look prettier. It’s just a personal call.

By Published On: June 27th, 201748 Comments on Green Rice with Corn

About the Author: Chef Mimi

As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!

48 Comments

  1. sallybr June 27, 2017 at 7:07 AM - Reply

    I tell you one thing, I made a rice a couple of weeks ago using tomatillo salsa (homemade) and it was amazing too! became the central attraction of our dinner, quite surprisingly

    need to try your version!

    • chef mimi June 27, 2017 at 11:03 AM - Reply

      It was really funny that everyone loved the rice so much! I bet the home-made tomatillo Salsa was a fabulous addition!

  2. Lisa @ cheergerm June 27, 2017 at 7:13 AM - Reply

    I use brown rice too Mimi and I will surely be making this rice dish soon. The hubby would die of happiness if he was served a bowl of this for brekky with a fired egg atop!

  3. Wow Mimi – Cilantro and Chili’s, it like you made this just for me ;-) . These are some of my favorite ingredients and rice always needs a little pick me up. Well done! Take care.

  4. A Cookbook Collection June 27, 2017 at 9:23 AM - Reply

    This looks so tasty Mimi! I just posted a recipe for fajitas and this rice would be great with it.

    • chef mimi June 27, 2017 at 11:01 AM - Reply

      I was serious – in spite all of the good dishes, if I may say so, this rice was everyone’s favorite dish!

  5. Cocoa & Lavender June 27, 2017 at 10:30 AM - Reply

    I love this Mimi! I am always looking for good rice recipes to serve with Mexican meals. Cilantro haters can give me theirs!

  6. Vero and Canito in the kitchen June 27, 2017 at 10:58 AM - Reply

    Great rice recipe! It is going to be nice change for our Mexican dishes :-)

  7. My Little Italian Kitchen June 27, 2017 at 12:02 PM - Reply

    I am a big fan or rice, especially brown rice. I love corn too so this is certainly up my street. A beautiful and flavorful dish Mimi!

  8. Fran @ G'day Souffle' June 27, 2017 at 12:23 PM - Reply

    Yay! and those sausages add a nice touch to the dish as well! Unfortunately, we can’t get fresh tomatillos here in Australia.However, I’m in Madrid now and maybe I can get then here?

    • chef mimi June 27, 2017 at 12:32 PM - Reply

      I just used green chile peppers and lots of cilantro I bet you can find them in Madrid!

  9. Loretta June 27, 2017 at 12:34 PM - Reply

    Tis the corn season for sure – love the green rice. We try to eat brown rice over white, and I just can’t seem to like the taste nor the texture. So I usually turn that into a pilaf of some kind. I love the addition of corn, will have to incorporate that into my next brown rice meal. Love cilantro, so this would definitely be one to try. I also find that brown rice takes forever to cook. So I’ve decided to cook a batch in advance, freeze it in little bags and then make a meal with all those extra veggies.

    • chef mimi June 27, 2017 at 3:12 PM - Reply

      All unprocessed grains take longer, but you’re getting more nutrition for that time. Especially that precious fiber, which isn’t nutritious, per se, but so important. You just have to plan ahead with cooking times, but I do like your idea of freezing the rice. That’s too bad about not liking the taste of the brown rice. There are so many varieties – have you tried some of the more flavorful varieties? Or perhaps just trying short-grained brown rice, which is my favorite. I seem to avoid long-grain rice in general.

  10. Angela@grapegravy​ June 27, 2017 at 3:05 PM - Reply

    Oh how I love Mexican food. This sounds delicious!

  11. chefkreso June 27, 2017 at 4:19 PM - Reply

    Looks really flavourful!

  12. Marisa's Italian Kitchen June 27, 2017 at 5:41 PM - Reply

    Although this dish looks absolutely delicious, I am one of those who dislike cilantro and I really don’t know why except to say that it just never appealed to me! Otherwise yummy rice Mimi😍

    • chef mimi June 27, 2017 at 5:42 PM - Reply

      Thanks! It’s not the same, as you know, but this would be good with a lot of parsley!

  13. ladyredspecs June 27, 2017 at 5:53 PM - Reply

    Great timing! I was just thinking about what to do with the beautiful fresh corn cobs I picked up from the market. Pilau is a favourite and this sounds delicious, I’m making green rice with corn for dinner

  14. anotherfoodieblogger June 27, 2017 at 9:39 PM - Reply

    This is fantastic Mimi! I make rice with cilantro all the time, but never thought to put corn off the cob and green chiles in it. I even have some Hatch chiles in the freezer. I’m making this very soon, for sure!

  15. tableofcolors June 28, 2017 at 10:51 AM - Reply

    Delicious! And the morning after rice with an egg is just perfect. We generally use brown rice and whole grains, but every once in while I will buy white rice for a change. So happy to be stopping by your blog. It’s been too long since my previous visit.

    • chef mimi June 28, 2017 at 10:54 AM - Reply

      Thank you for stopping by! I know how busy you are.

  16. kitchenriffs June 28, 2017 at 1:00 PM - Reply

    Rice is underrated — you can flavor it so many different ways. Love this — really appealing flavor. And I like eating the leftovers for breakfast!

    • chef mimi June 28, 2017 at 4:06 PM - Reply

      Thank you! I especially like the concept of pilaf, where you can really throw anything in!

  17. Sumith June 28, 2017 at 3:56 PM - Reply

    Beautiful recipe! Love cilantro 😍😍Amazing post.

  18. Sally Whiteneck June 28, 2017 at 8:34 PM - Reply

    Hi Mimi! This looks wonderful and I’m planning to make it on Friday to go with street tacos. ALL of our kids and grandkids will be here (!) and I intend to double the recipe (10 adults/2 kids). That should be about right, correct? Hope you guys are all doing well–I love seeing your grandbaby on FaceBook. She is so cute and your daughters are as beautiful as ever. Hope you get to see all of them over the holiday!

    • chef mimi June 29, 2017 at 6:11 AM - Reply

      Doubling the recipe should work perfectly! How exciting that everyone will be together!

    • chef mimi June 29, 2017 at 6:14 AM - Reply

      The more I think about it, you should triple the recipe. That would make about 8 cups of rice plus the corn. Plus, it will be liked by most everybody – you may not have leftovers!!

  19. Jeff the Chef June 28, 2017 at 10:30 PM - Reply

    What gorgeous photographs, Mimi! I just want to dig in! I especially like the breakfast version. I’ve noted the comments about brown rice. I love, love, love brown rice. Some dishes really need white rice, but I’m not guessing this is one of them.

  20. Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen June 29, 2017 at 10:19 AM - Reply

    If this rice can beat out queso then I know I’ll love it! It looks delicious! Have a great weekend, Mimi!

  21. Sarah 'n Spice June 30, 2017 at 12:20 PM - Reply

    YUM! This looks great. I especially love the idea of throwing a fried egg right on top the next morning :)

  22. bitsandbreadcrumbs July 2, 2017 at 9:47 AM - Reply

    Right up my alley. Love this!

  23. Aria Smith July 15, 2017 at 5:33 AM - Reply

    These look absolutely fabulous!! Thanks for sharing such a healthy and delicious recipe!!

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