This recipe is an easy side dish that’s easy to make at home.
Homemade cilantro lime rice needs few ingredients and is packed with flavor.
Ingredients for Cilantro Lime Rice
This Chipotle copycat cilantro lime rice is packed with fresh flavor.
Rice – Basmati and long-grain white rice are our first choices as they have less starch and the grains stay separated. You can use other types of rice including brown rice or cauliflower rice.
Cilantro – Cilantro adds freshness to this recipe.
Lime – Lime is one of the main flavors of this dish so I highly recommend fresh lime juice. Bottled lime juice will work but the flavor can be bitter compared to fresh juice.
Variations – Add a can of drained black beans to cilantro rice and some grilled veggies to make a vegetarian burrito to enjoy on the go! Switch out the rice for cauliflower rice for all the flavor with none of the carbs!
How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice
- Rinse and drain the rice and cook per the recipe below.
- Let the rice rest for 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, and stir in lime juice, cilantro, and salt.
- Garnish with slices of lime and serve hot.
Fresh flavor! Lime cilantro rice adds fresh, citrus flavor to chicken burrito bowls, taco salads, or quesadillas and shrimp tacos.
Make Ahead?
Make a batch (or two!) of cilantro lime rice up to a day ahead. Keep one batch in the refrigerator and freeze the rest in quart-sized zippered bags
Other Delicious Rice Sides
Dirty Rice
Quick Broccoli Rice
Garlic Butter Rice
Cilantro Lime Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup basmati rice or long grain white rice
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cilantro finely chopped
- ½ lime juiced
Instructions
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Rinse rice and drain well.
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Bring rice, bay leaf, water and salt to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
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Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
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Stir in lime juice, cilantro and salt to taste. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, Mexican, Tex Mex
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REPIN this Lime Cilantro Recipe
So yummy and super easy!! I accidentally forgot to add the salt, and ran out of cilantro at 1/4 cup, but used extra lime juice, and it was still delicious!! Next time, I’ll make sure I add the salt and have enough cilantro on hand!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Deanne!
Can you make the cilantro lime rice using your oven method?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Leslie, but I think that should work. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Mine came out mushy, what did I do wrong ?
What kind of rice did you use? Long grain white rice needs a ratio of 1 cup rice to 2 cups liquid so it should come out fluffy in this recipe.
It doesn’t work with medium grain rice. I used what I had: Goya medium grain white rice. I skimmed over the beginning regarding long grain rice having less starch, cooking drier and staying separated; I read it but it didn’t penetrate my brain. So, 1 Goya medium grain (rinsed well) and 2 c water in the rice cooker. For that kind of rice I usually use 1:1 or at the mot 1.5:1 water to rice. It boiled merrily, boiled over, leaving starchy overflow around the top and down the sides. When the rice maker said it was done, it was a gooey gummy starchy mess. ok, well, I’d make the best of it. I scooped it into a bowl, squeezed the juice of a whole lime into it, added a knob of good butter for good luck, and about 1/4 c of fresh rinsed, dried, and minced cilantro. It felt like I was stirring rice porridge. Gamely, I scooped some on each plate, along with a warm tortilla, shredded pork Carnitas, and passed the bowls of pico de gallo, sour cream, refried beans, shredded cheese, cilantro, diced avocado, etc. The latter were excellent; the rice, sadly, a disaster. A disaster of my own making, since I didn’t follow directions. Somehow I felt that using Goya rice would be ok, since Goya is a large producer of Hispanic food. Ummm no, Goya wasn’t a magic charm. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS AND USE LONG GRAIN RICE!!!
To add taste I sprinkled on some Tejin seasoning, and stirred in another hunk of butter. It didn’t help. The rest of dinner was delicious; the rice went in the trash.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that PJ. Definitely long grain rice or basmati is the best for this recipe! It prevents exactly when you described.
get yourself some basmati rice.. you will never be interested in any other white rice.. so delicious and wonderful texture!
If making ahead, should cilantro and lime juice be added just before serving or can entire dish be reheated?
The entire dish can be reheated Regina. I like to add extra lime juice and cilantro to refresh the flavors before serving.
Love this site
Thank you so much Shirley!
First, I am a big fan and save many of the recipes you post. Keep it going and compliments on your efforts and highest regards.
I want to make a comment on cilantro which in no way is an indictment against you or any other cilantro lover. It is more of a question than anything.
For me, and I know there are many others too, cilantro is about the most hideous green, poor excuse for a seasoning, nausea inducing, nasal assault stuff that exists that probably should have a place in biological warfare instead of gastronomic fare. And its insidious rise in popularity, at least with those that promote certain ethnic dishes, is a mystery to me. I am a baby boomer, born in the fifties and I do not recall even hearing the name cilantro until maybe 20 years ago. And even then it was not a common ingredient or a feature of any recipe. But now people put it in everything it seems;I exaggerate but only a little!
Maybe us cilantro haters have a gene missing, or were the result of some super secret government experiment gone bad, but the stuff truly tastes like something that has lain in a sweat soaked T-shirt, in a compost pile for probably 10 weeks or more! I now find myself skeptically eyeing even Italian food when it has a touch of green in it! Oh, is there no hope for us cilantro challenged people?
I have heard that some people think cilantro has a flavor like soap, or sweat. I am sorry you don’t enjoy the flavor, but I did enjoy reading your comment Henry!
I felt the same way but was determined to adapt..I started very small..actually bought some preseasoned cilantro lime rice..it was DELICIOUS..in salads or sandwiches used only a small amount n eased into it finding in small amounts I ACTUALLY liked it! Just start very small..try this recipe with less cilantro n more lime..I’m getting you’ll like it!
Henry’s comments cracked me up, but I can so relate to what he’s saying. I’m a baby boomer too & we never heard about cilantro as kids. First time I tasted it I hated it, until I started making my own salsa. First time making it was bland, & then I realized it didn’t have cilantro. Bought some, what a diference. I don’t use it a lot, I make a southwestern salad with corn, black beans, lime juice & cilantro & this wonderful rice recipe of Holly’s. I make this a lot when I make seafood, it’s great with shrimp, fish, really any seafood & so good & refreshing. I did this recipe on my own after experimenting with cilantro, but it’s the same as Holly’s less the bay leaf, which I’ll try next time I make it. My whole family loves it!
Awesome…also a child of the 50’s.
I thought only my boyfriend despised cilantro. It is my favorite vegetable! I eat about two bunches a week lol!
Henry, you’re on the right path with your cilantro aversion! I had an Ancestry DNA test done, which also included sensory traits related to your DNA. There is actually one for cilantro! People either love it or hate it…it’s all in your DNA! :D