Tomatoes and Rice is quick, affordable, and delicious! Smoky bacon grease and tangy tomatoes make the perfect combo for a crowd-pleasing side dish!
I can’t say for sure how dishes like Tomatoes and Rice originated, but if I had to guess, I’d say out of necessity. And that was probably the need to feed lots of mouths for not a lot of money.
Just like my Macaroni and Tomatoes, dishes like this have stood the test of time and often do wonders at reminding us of our childhoods. I think it’s so fun to see how a dish with basic ingredients changes as we move around the country or even around the world. From this basic Tomatoes and Rice, to the Red Rice of the low country, to tomato-based jambalaya in Louisiana, to Spanish Rice, to Portuguese Tomato Rice, to Mexican Rice, to Jollof Rice, to Tomato Fried Rice. It’s amazing to see how simple ingredients like rice and tomatoes can turn into recipes that have so much delicious variation.
My version is quick, easy, and filled with great flavor. It’s pretty dang good warmed up the next day, too.
As with a host of other classically Southern dishes, this one starts with a little bacon grease. And while you can certainly replace that with olive or vegetable oil, I would strongly advise against it. The flavor of this dish is built on the combination of the smoky flavors from the bacon grease and the tangy acid from the tomatoes. In fact, I’d say it’s probably worth cooking a batch of bacon just to get the grease to make this.
How to Save and Store Bacon Grease
Here are my tips for saving bacon grease! Let me show you how to clean and filter your rendered bacon fat and explain the best ways to store it!
Learn How to Save Bacon Grease
The dish is pretty versatile, too. I mean, there are TONS of variations of the recipe out there. I’ve heard of folks crumbling bacon into it, adding cooked ground beef, even shredded cooked chicken and turning it into an entire meal. The beauty is that when you get the basics right, you can have fun tailoring it to suit your taste.
A few things to take note of…
I use long grain rice in this dish. Using rice of a different size will change the cook time. Be sure to check the instructions on the package to be sure if you don’t use the same size. Overcooked rice can get pretty mushy and no one likes undercooked crunchy rice.
Don’t drain the tomatoes. The juice in the can helps add even more flavor.
You can use fresh tomatoes in this dish if you wish. I’d use 3 to 4 chopped tomatoes and recommend adding them to the pan right after the garlic and cooking them for 5 to 10 minutes before adding the broth and rice.
And just a reminder: Bacon grease is essential to getting the flavors right in this one. If dietary restrictions keep you from using pork products, I’d recommend looking at some of the bacon and ham flavored seasonings on the market so you can get that smoky flavor this dish needs. Many of them are pork and or even entirely meat free.
Recipe Card
Tomatoes and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons bacon grease
- 1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (28-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, melt the bacon grease over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent and tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add the rice and stir well. Add salt to taste. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for an additional 5 minutes to allow the remaining liquid to be absorbed. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Mary Reeves
As for the correct spelling of pimento why not just use the old fashioned way we say it here in upstate SC. Minner cheese. Lol. Can’t wait to try the quiche recipe.
Haha, I love that! “Minner cheese” definitely has a nice ring to it. I hope you enjoy the quiche recipe—let me know how it turns out!
Terri
Do you rinse the rice before adding it to the rest of the ingredients?
Great question! Yes, I usually rinse the rice before cooking. It helps remove excess starch and prevents it from becoming too sticky, but it’s not totally necessary.
Michael Wilson
This is very similar to Mexican rice like my wife makes. Not as many tomatoes and she adds a chopped jalapeno or serrano chili and the broth is chicken stock.
Can also toss in some chicken pieces and make Arroz con Pollo.
Thanks for sharing that! Your wife’s version sounds delicious, especially with the added heat from the jalapeño and the chicken stock. Arroz con Pollo is such a comforting dish. I might have to try it out that way!
Nona
Tastey, I made this a few or so months ago and I forgot to take a picture, but I loved it. It was a nice change of having rice for dinner 😄🤗
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it, Nona!
Michelada
Really tasty – added thinly diced carrots and celery too to give it some extra veggies. Two toddlers ate it up!
So glad to hear the littles enjoyed it, Michelada!
Candace Hunt
This turned out delicious! I cooked bacon as a side crunch in order to have some fresh warm bacon grease. Perfect flavor. i used a mix of whole tomatoes mashed up and also diced tomatoes per the recipe. Followed directions and my low simmer was a 1.8 on my stovetop for 20 minutes. Loved it!! Thanks for this one!
Sounds great! Now you’ve got me craving this, Candace! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Pashaun Hall
It’s was very good 😊 thanks.
Thanks, Pashaun!
Joan
Wonderful dish!! I had so many fresh tomatoes from this season which I chopped and froze. I used a bag of my frozen tomatoes and I had a green pepper to use. Several people said their mom would make this with pork chops. I sure can see that in my future. There are only 2 of us, but I knew not to half the recipe as I could see how nicely the flavors would come together. This will definitely be in our rotation. It’s also a very easy recipe. LOVE it!!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Barry P
Was great, I used olive oil rather than bacon grease. Reminded me of a dish my mother made, called Spanish Rice and she cook pork chops in with the rice! Thanks for posting.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Shannon
Nice dish with a mild flavor that can pair with anything. It makes a LOT so if cooking for 2, like I am, readers may want to cut the recipe in half. This was a particularly great find this week because I blanched a few too many tomatoes for salsa canning and I got to use them in this. Thanks, Stacey!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Shannon!
Toni Bacchitta
Absolutely LOVED this. Will make it as a side dish again and again. Thank you so very much for sharing with us!!!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Linda
Delicious! Like my mother made.
Thank you so much Linda!
Gail
I remember my Mama making tomatoes and rice when I was young. I didn’t care for it as a child, but when I saw your recipe, my mouth started to water! Mama’s wasn’t as fancy. It was very basic. I made it tonight, but I added shrimp. OMG, so good! Thanks for the memories!
So glad you loved it!
Delyene
I love this recipe we ate it when I was a kid and I eat it now but no one eat it but me thank you for sharing do you have any other recipes
This is a good one! See my other recipes at Southernbite.com
Felecia Fulmore
It has a beautiful finishing but my texture was a little gummy I followed the recipe. I used Jasmine king grain rice…
I’m not sure I’ve every used that kind of rice. Glad to hear you still enjoyed it!
Tanya
Over cooked the rice. Once is rolling boil, cut fire and cover to steam.
Dorothy
My mother added a scrambled and/or a can of tuna, drained. She called it Spanish rice. It was great. Thank you for this site.
You’re so welcome, Dorothy!
John Loftus
In a pinch, I’ll mix seasoned rice with salsa. If I’m in a hurry.
Sounds GREAT to me!
Wendy
I don’t need this much rice for my husband and I. Can this recipe be successfully halved?
Absolutely!
Tammy
I plan to make the recipe tonight or tomorrow. I hope it goes with homemade turkey burgers.🤷🏾♀️ Ground turkey is what I have in the fridge.
Sounds great! Enjoy!
LaTanya
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe I love it.
Awesome! Love hearing that!!
Diana
My grandmother used to make something similar to this. I think she got the recipe off the back of a Hunts can. She would mix it all together and put browned pork chops on top and then bake it covered in the oven. Those pork chops were so tender. I think I will try it your way on top of the stove but still brown some chops to put in it. Thanks for the memory.
You’ve got my mouth to watering!
Diana
Stacey, just finished this for supper and did it like I said I was going to by adding browned (thin) pork chops. It turned out great. I think it would also be great with chicken. Thanks so much.
Sounds amazing! I’m certainly going to try that!
cindy
We called it Spanish Rice (Irish!) My Grandmother chopped up bacon and fried it with the onion and added the tomatoes to simmer while the rice cooked and then combined. I don’t think my Grandma knew what garlic was! Used to spoon it onto butter bread. Many a lunchtime treat for us 4 kids. I still make it but def. not with petite diced tomatoes. Has to be whole and squished by hand! Thanks.
Thanks, Cindy! Love hearing all the variations.
Elizabeth Caudill
Cindy,
This was also the way my mom made it. Fried bacon, set aside to cool. Sautéed diced onion in bacon grease. Add a large can of whole tomatoes or fresh from the garden in the summer. Add raw rice and water as needed. Cook until rice is done. Sprinkle diced coooked bacon on top or stirred in.
Yum!
KK
This will do in a pinch when Homegrown canned tomatoes can’t be found (or have run out). One of the best meals I’ve ever eaten was a simple pork chop with white rice on the side where the Host graciously opened a jar of his Mother’s Homegrown canned tomatoes for us to spoon on top. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Love your recipes, Stacey. I’ll definitely mark this one for trying. Your recipes haven’t failed me yet!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you!! Hope you’ll enjoy this one, too!
Lina
If substitute the can of tomatoes, how many fresh tomatoes would I use?
You’ll need roughly 3.5 to 4 cups of diced tomatoes, so I’d recommend 4 medium tomatoes, diced.
Nura Yushau
Good. And best. Food
Mark
Good stuff !
Thanks, Mark!
Mark
Don’t mean to sound dumb but what size pot
No worries! I used a 3 quart pot for this one.
Jo
Just made this for lunch. Quick, easy and delicious! My kind of cooking. Thanks for sharing, Stacey.
Yum! Now I’m wanting some for lunch, too!
Brittany McCullough
I’m vegetarian; instead of bacon grease what would you recommend I use instead? TY!!
The only option that I know of is to use some vegetable oil and little liquid smoke to replicate the smoky flavor. There are some vegetarian/vegan bacon flavored seasoning out there, too.
Toni Bacchitta
That’s what i had to use….liquid smoke. It still tasted amazing. I ususally keep a tin of bacon grease in the fridge but it must have gotten tossed :0
Gina
We had this so often growing up in FL! I love it ! We ate ours usually as stewed tomatoes spooned over white rice or a can of tomatoes with minute rice added. Often my mom served it with fried ham or on meatless nights when we had “rice and tomatoes and fried potatoes” (stretching out the word “fried” lol.) My now Midwest family doesn’t like it so I just make it for me. This dish really takes me back.
Sweet memories! Thanks for sharing, Gina!
Joyce
Hey, this dish is what my momma called “mulatto rice”! Also, in Zora Neale Hurston’s book, “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, one of the characters fixes mulatto rice for her friend’s homecoming and apologizes for its lack of bacon grease (I agree with you, Stacey–the bacon grease is what makes it SO good!).
Ellen
Add cut okra, and you’ll have my tomatoes okra and rice dish :)))))
Yum! Love that idea!
Darlene
Thanks for the post. Will try tonight. Your right those dishes were made out of need for something cheap and available. I’m 84 and remember my Mom making tomatoes and bread, kind of like your crackers and tomatoes. We also had lots of beans and rice dishes. That was during World War two when food was rationed. I also have your cook book. Keep those recipes coming. Love them and you’re stories.
Thanks so much, Darlene!