Fluffy, unique and absolutely full of flavor, copycat Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice is anything but bland. Great as a mexican side dish, seafood side dish or more this recipe is super easy to make and delivers an absolute bomb of flavor. Never have a tastefless bite of rice again with this easy to follow recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice. Rice cooker and stove top directions both included below.
Why You'll Love This Recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice
If there's a key to becoming a next level home chef, it's flavoring all of your dishes in layers. This easy to follow recipe does just that, injecting seasoning before, during, and after the cooking process. The result is a flavor-packed bite that makes an excellent side dish.
Check out some of our other great recipes, like cajun shrimp and grits, smoked gouda mac and cheese, chicken tikka masala, or 29-hour, super tender sous vide chuck roast. Or, try one of my wife's favorites, my Bacon Lamb Sliders which are 100% flavor-bombs. .
What Do I Need to Make Cilantro Lime Rice?
For this recipe, I'm going to make mine in a rice cooker. This cooker has both a Saute and a Cook function, and we'll use both. If you don't have that you can make it on the stovetop as well. We'll cover directions for that below. We'll also use a fine mesh strainer (affiliate) to clean our rice when we get started.
For ingredients, you'll need basmati rice, which is a long, thin grain of rice. You'll also want a fresh lime, a fresh lemon fresh cilantro, butter, salt, pepper and a bay leaf. And, of course, some water to cook it all in.
Nerd Chef's Tips and Tricks
Ingredient Tips
- We want quality produce to inject the most, fresh flavor into our rice. For your lime and lemon, you want a firm fruit with a glossy skin. Pick them up and feel their weight in your hand. You want one that feels like it's heavier than it should be for its size.
- For your cilantro, look for a bunch with bright green leaves. If you see any yellow, it's starting to grow old. Smell the bunch itself, it should be nice an fragrant.
- Unsalted butter is the best. Avoid anything like margarine or fake butter. As a nutritionist friend of mine told me, when it comes to fats, always cook with the real deal. One of the worst things you can do is pump fake fats into your body.
Troubleshooting Tips
- The good news about cooking this in a rice cooker is that it's fairly foolproof. So long as you measure everything correctly, it should come out fine.
- If you don't have a measuring cup, ratios are the key here. For Basmati Rice, you want 1 ½ cups of water for every one cup of rice. So, as long as you're sticking to a 3-to-2 ratio, you should be fine.
- If your rice is undercooked when it's done, add a little water into the pan, heat enough so that it steams and cover. This is more likely to be an issue (and a fix) on a stovetop cook.
- If you're cooking on the stovetop and your rice is cooked through but still wet, uncover the pot and turn up the heat slightly. This will allow the moisture to release out instead of trapping it in to cook the rice.
How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice
Rice Cooker (Recommended)
Turn your rice cooker on and set to saute. Allow to come to heat. Measure rice and pour into a fine mesh strainer (affiliate). Rinse with cold water to clean off any excess starch.
When rice cooker is warm, add butter and allow to melt. Squeeze in fresh lemon and lime juice, making sure to not let any seeds fall in. Pour in rice and stir everything together. Cook for about two minutes, then switch rice cooker off. Add in chopped fresh cilantro and salt. Stir everything again. Lastly, pour in water. Close lid to rice cooker and set to cook. For mine, that's putting it on the "white rice" mode. Allow to cook until complete. Mine cooked for about 25 minutes.
Stovetop option
Preheat a medium sized pot (affiliate) over medium. Add in butter and allow to heat, then squeeze in fresh lemon and lime juice. Pour in rice and stir everything together. Cook for about two minutes and remove from heat.
Add cilantro and stir together. Next, pour in water and salt and stir once more. Cover with lid. Lower heat to low and return pot to burner. Cook for 16-18 minutes, until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
What to serve with Cilantro Lime Rice
This goes great alongside two forms of main courses, in my book. Mexican spiced dishes, especially chicken. That's why we're making it as part of our Copycat Chipotle Mexican Grill Recipes series. I also love it alongside a nice summer piece of cod or salmon, especially a garlic lemon version.
What to do with leftover Cilantro Lime Rice
You can store it and keep it in the fridge for a day or two. To reheat, place it in a bowl with a tablespoon of water and reheat in the microwave for about a minute.
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Cilantro Lime Rice | Chipotle Copycat
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Steamed basmati rice seasoned with lime, lemon, salt and cilantro. Goes great with seafood or mexican food. Copycat Chipotle Mexican Grill recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp butter (unsalted)
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Rice Cooker (Recommended)
- Turn your rice cooker on and set to saute. Allow to come to heat.
- Measure rice and pour into a fine mesh strainer (affiliate). Rinse rice with cold water to clean off any excess starch.
- When rice cooker is warm, add butter and allow to melt. Squeeze in fresh lemon and lime juice, making sure to not let any seeds fall in.
- Pour in rice and stir everything together. Cook for about two minutes, then switch rice cooker off.
- Add in chopped fresh cilantro and salt. Stir everything again. Lastly, pour in water. Close lid to rice cooker and set to cook.
Stovetop Option
- Preheat a medium sized pot (affiliate) over medium.
- Add in butter and allow to heat, then squeeze in fresh lemon and lime juice.
- Pour in rice and stir everything together. Cook for about two minutes and remove from heat.
- Add cilantro and stir together. Next, pour in water and salt and stir once more.
- Cover with lid. Lower heat to low and return pot to burner.
- Cook for 16-18 minutes, until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Mexican, Seafood, TexMex
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup cooked
- Calories: 88
- Sugar: 0.2g
- Sodium: 586mg
- Fat: 3g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 13.9g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1.2g
- Cholesterol: 7.6mg