What Type Of Rice Does Taco Bell Use?
To many, Taco Bell is the supreme ruler of Mexican fast food, and it's easy to see why. Tasty items like the Crunchwrap Supreme and the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito (which we think is the best Taco Bell item) keep hungry customers coming in. The success of Taco Bell has even wiped other fast food chains off the map.
While Taco Bell's popularity and success is well known, what actually makes up some of the chain's most popular dishes still remains a mystery. A perfect example of this is Taco Bell's rice, a common component of several of the chain's dishes and a popular side dish. Commonly referred to as "seasoned rice," this side dish is made using enriched long grain rice and a combination of spices, according to Taco Bell's website.
It is worth noting that while Taco Bell's rice is also sometimes referred to as "Mexican style rice" or "Mexican-style seasoned rice," all these items are one and the same. A lot of fans have tried to recreate the delicious side dish, and the full list of ingredients has been sought after by enthusiastic home cooks online, making the rice recipe one of the elusive secrets of Taco Bell.
What exactly is Taco Bell's seasoned rice?
According to Taco Bell's own site, the fast food chain's seasoned rice is made by combining enriched long grain rice with water, oil, and seasoning. The seasoning section includes salt, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and more. Part of the seasoning beyond these ingredients is listed merely as "spices," so there are some additional flavors that are not disclosed.
Other ingredients on the list include onion, tomato, and red and green bell peppers. There's also the inclusion of some other ingredients like citric acid, maltodextrin, torula yeast, and disodium guanylate and inosinate. The exact function of the latter group of additives mentioned isn't made clear by Taco Bell.
Because that last chunk of items on the ingredients list aren't typically present in your average home kitchen, copycat recipes have found other ways to recreate Taco Bell's seasoned rice. Some recipes suggest the addition of cumin and chicken broth to up the flavor of the rice. It is possible that some of these flavorings may already be present in Taco Bell's seasoned rice as part of those elusive "spices" that the site mentions.