Arroz Amarillo Recipe: Fluffy, Fragrant Yellow Rice
Last updated on October 13th, 2026
This arroz amarillo recipe is one of those dishes that keeps you coming back for more, it’s lightly spiced and has that savoury, home-cooked flavour that’s really hard to replicate in other dishes.
It’s a great example of how with a few simple tweaks and some everyday ingredients you can go from average to amazing.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Arroz Amarillo
We have 1 cup of washed long-grain rice, 2 cups of liquid, which is a chicken stock. If you’ve made my rotisserie-style roast chicken, the bonus stock it leaves behind is perfect here. That’s our 1:2 ratio.
The aromatics are finely diced onion, minced garlic, ground turmeric and adobo seasoning. I’ll leave a recipe for this adobo seasoning down in the description it’s really easy to make, and to finish some chopped coriander aka cilantro.
How to Make Arroz Amarillo
Start by rinsing the rice until the water runs almost clear, then drain it well. I cooked rinsed and unrinsed rice side by side in the same pan on the same hob, and the difference was night and day: the unrinsed rice looked stodgy, while the rinsed rice had nice individual fluffy grains.
Frying the rice before any liquid touches it is what keeps every grain separate instead of clumping together. It’s the same step I use for the cumin-spiced jeera rice in my meal prep. To get started, preheat your saute pan and add a splash of oil.
Next, add the rice and gently fry that for 2 minutes until you start to smell a slightly toasted smell.
Then add the diced onion and gently fry for a few minutes until the onion is starting to become translucent.
Then add the minced garlic and fry for 1 more minute whilst occasionally stirring.
Now add the ground turmeric, adobo seasoning and stock.
I’m adding a little salt because my chicken stock already has a salty flavour, if you’re using a homemade or salt-free stock then you’ll need to season a little more at this stage. A homemade vegetable stock works just as well if you want to keep this vegetarian, and because it’s salt-free you stay in control of the seasoning.
Place a lid on and leave to simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes give the rice a check, by now it should have absorbed most if not all of the liquid give it a stir. Lid back on, and leave it to steam on a low heat for 5 minutes.
Once it’s had those 5 minutes of cooking on low then turn the heat off and let it continue to steam in the pan with the lid on for another 5 minutes.
That’s arroz amarillo, super tasty and fragrant from the aromatics and spices, and not that hard to do. Once you’ve got this down, the same method carries straight over to a Mexican green rice built on a fresh poblano paste.
Stir in some chopped coriander just before serving to give it a touch of freshness and another dimension of flavour. Serve it with a bowl of chunky homemade guacamole and some grilled chicken for an easy Mexican-style dinner.
Tips for the Best Arroz Amarillo
Frying the rice gives it a deeper flavour and it also helps it to not become stodgy or sticky after cooking by locking in some of that starch. That toast-then-simmer approach is the backbone of my Cuban rice and black beans too.
The chicken stock played 2 roles for us in this recipe, going back to the recipe structure it’s the liquid as well as being an aromatic because it’s bringing a flavour to the rice.
The final 5 minutes of steaming with the lid on but heat off helps the rice to become evenly cooked.
If you’ve ever had rice that 95% of it is cooked but some bits are crunchy, then this final 5 minutes of gentle steaming will help with this.
This is a crucial step when cooking sushi rice for example. You’ll see the same off-the-heat resting step in my onigiri rice balls, where the trapped steam finishes the rice through.
What is the rice-to-liquid ratio for arroz amarillo?
This recipe uses a simple 1:2 ratio: 1 cup of washed long-grain rice to 2 cups of liquid, which here is chicken stock for extra flavour.
Why do you fry the rice before adding liquid?
Frying the rice for about 2 minutes until it smells slightly toasted gives it a deeper flavour, and it also locks in some of the starch so the rice doesn’t turn stodgy or sticky after cooking.
Why rest the rice with the heat off at the end?
After the initial simmer and steam, turning the heat off and letting the rice sit covered for a final 5 minutes helps it finish cooking evenly, so you don’t end up with a mix of soft and crunchy grains. It’s the same trick used for sushi rice.
What gives arroz amarillo its yellow colour?
Ground turmeric, along with adobo seasoning, diced onion and minced garlic, gives the rice its warm colour and savoury, home-cooked flavour.
Do I need to add extra salt if using homemade stock?
If your chicken stock already has a salty flavour you can go easy on added salt, but if you’re using a homemade or salt-free stock, season a little more when you add the turmeric and adobo.
Arroz Amarillo Recipe: Fluffy, Fragrant Yellow Rice
Equipment
- Food processor
- Fine-mesh strainer / Chinois
- Mixing bowl / Bowl
- Chef’s knife
- Chopping board
- Measuring cups
- Shot glass / Measure
- Frying pan
- Saucepan
- Sauté pan
- Stainless steel frying pan
- Wooden / Stirring spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- 1/4 cup finely diced onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
- 2 cups stock
- 1/8 cup chopped coriander
Instructions
- Wash the rice until the water runs almost clear, then strain it and be sure to get as much excess water off as possible.
- In a preheated frying pan add a splash of oil and the rice. Gently fry whilst stirring for 2 minutes, until you smell a slightly toasted smell. Add the diced onion and fry for a few minutes until it starts to turn translucent, then add the minced garlic and fry for one more minute whilst stirring.
- Add the turmeric, adobo seasoning and the stock, stir everything together, bring the pan to a simmer, turn the heat low, and place a lid on.
- After 10 minutes of gentle simmering check the rice, most of the liquid should have been absorbed and the rice should be 80% cooked. Give it a stir and put the lid back on.
- Cook on a low heat for another 5 minutes, then turn the heat off and leave the lid on for 5 more minutes so the rice finishes steaming evenly. Stir in the chopped coriander just before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
| Total Fat | 3.8g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.3g |
| Cholesterol | 2.6mg |
| Sodium | 657.7mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 33.8g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.9g |
| Sugars | 1g |
| Protein | 3.9g |
| Potassium | 104.5mg |
