Red Rice {Recipes from Guam}
This recipe for Red Rice is similar to Spanish rice. It originated from the Pacific Islands. It’s a very simple recipe that can be made in less then 30 minutes.

I’m sure if you look it up, you can probably find 10,000 ways to make rice. There’s fried rice, sticky rice, Spanish rice, dirty rice,
plain white rice….the possibilities really are endless.
This recipe is for red rice…which is the staple rice for the island of Guam.
It is very similar to Spanish rice in terms of it’s color, however the flavor is a tad bit different.
Growing up, my mom only made this during holiday get togethers, family reunions, or barbecues. There are many ways to make this dish. However, this is the way my mom taught us. Memories come flooding back when I make this for my own family. I hope this recipe will inspire you to make memories of your own 😉
Serves: 6 to 8 people
Calories Per Serving: 207
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain white rice, long or short grain
- 4 cups water
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 packages of Goya's Sazon Con Culantro Y Achiote See Note
- Dash of Garlic Salt
Equipment You’ll Need
Instructions
- In a medium size pot, combine all of the above ingredients. Stir until well mixed.
- Bring the ingredients to a boil on medium low heat on the stove.
- Once boiling, cook for 18 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Libby’s Notes
I purchase the 1.41 oz. box of Sazon Goya. It’s an orange box with Con Culantro Y Achiote written on it. From the box, I use 2 whole packets. Using anything less then this will cause your rice to turn out bland.
Nutrition
Calories: 207kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @cooknwithlibby or tag #cookwlib!
Thanks for posting this recipe!
You are welcome 😉
I LOVE YOUR STORY AND YOUR WEBSITE! I AM FROM GUAM TOO AND I NOW RESIDE IN NORTH CAROLINA.
I WILL SURELY TRY SOME OF YOUR RECIPE.
Thank you for the compliment Antoinette 😉 I am originally from North Carolina myself 😉 Enjoy the recipes!
This recipe has been in my family for decades! We make it during the holidays and during cook outs 😉
Thank you for sharing this recipe..I will attempt to make it for my son’s birthday this Saturday.
You are very welcome 😉 Let us know how it turns out and happy birthday to your son 😉
Thank you for providing a recipe that can be cooked on the stove. I was surprised that the Chamorro recipes called for a rice cooker.
Hi Louise 🙂 You can definitely use a rice cooker to make this, however, it’s not necessary. I always just make it on the stove.
Oh my goodness!! Brings back memories of when we lived on Guam. Made this with bbq chicken marinated in finadene and kelaquen. Thank you so much for posting this! It “forced” (?) me to make the Chamorro food I have been craving!
You are very welcome Karen! I love finadene and kelaquen 🙂
I was so excited to try this, unfortunately it was extremely bland. What size of package did you use? The one that I used said that it’s 1/4 teaspoon per package.
Next time I am definitely going to add more sazon goya with coriander and annatto.
Thank you for the recipe.
We use two packets out of the Sazon Goya box. The box is orange and is 1.41 oz. Two packets should do the trick and is a bit more then 1/4 teaspoon. It doesn’t sound like you used both packets which could be why it came out on the bland side. If you make it again, hold off on adding extra seasonings and use the entire two packets that you can find in the box.
Hi Libby! Can u help? Lol I have NO idea what I did wrong but my rice turned out to be a complete disaster ending up in the garbage disposal! Lol seemed easy enough 🙈 I honestly don’t know what happened! But 8needed a heck of alot more water then what ur recipe called for! Are u sure its just 2 1/2 cups? Because mine evapou very quickly n I had to keep adding more n more cups easy 6 cups! n then the rice on the bottom got all burnt stuck on the pan n started to smoke heavily 🤦♀️ n my entire pot of rice tasted burnt so needless to say looked quite disgusting help! Im not new to cookin so not sure where the problem lies, however, I did get a new kitchen aide stove so maybe it cooked differently I dont know! But gotta put the blame on something! 😂 Help! I wanna try this in the worst way 🙁 it looks amazing
Hi Mary!
I changed the amount of water to 4 cups versus 2 and 1/2. Try that next time and see if it works. I am sorry for the ingredient hiccup. We make our regular rice with this ratio (2 cups rice with 4 cups water) and it turns out great. Hope this helps!
thanks Libby! but think i still need some help! lol i am getting closer however still having problems 🙁 i just made it n even took pics it don’t look like urs does mine seems more mushy /gummy yet still tastes undercooked for some reason? i have no idea what im doin wrong 😑 even w/the 4 cups of water it evaporates to quick then i have to keep adding more water repeatedly before cook time is up so then i figure need to add more packages of the goya so it donts get lost using too much water? smh what am I doin wrong? anyway u can do a cute lil video clip so I can watch step by step? i really want this to turn out n so far not so good however didnt 🔥 it this time around 😂 maybe its my pot size? is it supposed to be covered while cooking? or do u have to continually stir which I did in fear of it burning? ANY help here much appreciated 😊
Hi Mary. I’m sorry this recipe is giving you a hard time. If you would like, you can send me an email at olivias@cookingwithlibby.com and I can help troubleshoot what’s going on.
I just made my first trip to Guam where all the family told me I had to try the red rice. I tried it twice but it just tasted like regular rice with some coloring. I am going to try your recipe when I get back to Georgia. Then I am going to surprise my Chamorro daughter-in-law with the recipe and the ingredients as a gift for sharing her birthplace with me for Thanksgiving. Guam was beautiful and being with her family was wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Mary! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I hope the recipe turned out well for you. There are different versions of how to make red rice floating around. Hopefully this one was to your liking.