You Love Chipotle’s Cilantro Rice, Right? Guess What?!
That super-delicious, fluffy white rice with a hint of lime juice that fills Chipotle burritos and burrito bowls is really easy to replicate at home! If you can make rice (and even if you think you can’t) you can make this simple, flavorful cilantro-lime rice. And doing so will take all of your Mexican-inspired meals up a few levels. You don’t even need a rice cooker—just five ingredients and about twenty minutes. Plus, it’s easy to make a big batch of this cilantro-lime rice recipe and keep it on hand as the base for meals all week long.
This Cilantro Lime Rice Is A Great Side Dish
A fresh pot of cilantro lime rice might be tempting to eat directly out of the pot with a spoon, lol, as a main dish. However, if you can wait, it’s a great side dish for any Mexican meal. You’ll just need five super common ingredients to make a copycat version of Chipotle’s delicious cilantro rice. Here’s what you’ll need:
What rice does Chipotle use? Long grain white rice is our preferred rice for this recipe, and jasmine or basmati will work.
How do I make rice taste less bland? Limes! This little green citrus packs a punch when you use the lime zest and the juice to flavor this homemade cilantro-lime rice.
Cilantro, fresh cilantro is best but if you don’t love cilantro (we see you!), you can also substitute chopped parsley. We pick the leaves from the cilantro stems, because we don’t love the texture. The tender stems that are closer to the leaf are generally tolerable in most recipes, including this rice. It’s a little extra time, but a big return on flavor investment.
Vegetable oil
Salt
How To Make Cilantro-Lime Rice At Home
This approachable recipe will have you feeling like a master chef in no time! If you have a rice cooker, this is a breeze. But if you’re just working with a stove top (and that’s how we cook rice!) you’ll be just fine. Just be sure you have a pot with a lid that fits well, follow these instructions, and you’ll be ready to make this cilantro-lime rice recipe!
Rinse your rice, and don’t skip this step! It feels like something that should be skippable, but it’s not. Rinsing the rice removes the starch from the grains, which is the secret to fluffy, non-clumpy rice.
Combine the rinsed and drained rice with water—we’re working with a ratio that’s nearly 1:1 water:rice—and a bit of oil for richness and salt.
Pour it into a medium saucepan and pop the lid on!
Simmer time! Simmer—and don’t fuss with that lid—for a full 20 minutes.
Lift the cover and fluff the rice with a fork.
Add the lime zest, juice and cilantro and stir until it is herby and delicious.
Dig in!
What Do You Eat Cilantro Lime Rice With?
Pretty much everything. If you’ve got a batch of cilantro-lime rice cooked and ready in your fridge, you’ve got the foundation for so many meals. Just store it in an airtight container (no dry rice here, please!) in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve it. We’ll take a cue from Chipotle and serve this with our favorite chicken, beef, and pork dishes. Cilantro-lime rice goes great with our Vegetarian Burrito Bowl with Avocado Crema, on the side of Carne Asada Tacos or Slow Cooker Crispy Carnitas. If you’re in the mood for chicken, you can serve it with Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs or our Chicken Fajita Burrito Bowl. And don’t forget that cilantro-lime rice goes with shrimp too! We recommend making cilantro-lime rice with Shrimp Tacos or Shrimp Ceviche on the side.
Looking For More Chipotle Style Recipe Ideas?
We know when the craving hits, there’s little else that will do. Here’s some more of our favorite recipes to add to your next make-at-home meal:
Tools You’ll Need:
Fork
Microplane grater is handy for zesting the lime
Chipotle At Home Has Never Been Easier!
Why eat out when you could eat in? Clearly, that’s our philosophy. Of course there’s room in our lives for take out, but we’re homebodies and it’s so nice to be able to replicate some of our faves at home! We hope that you’re as thrilled with this cilantro-lime rice recipe as we are. If you try it out, let us know! Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!
