Cilantro Lime Rice
Cilantro Lime Rice is a delicious alternative to the boring steamed rice typically served with Mexican dishes. It’s quick and easy to make, is packed with flavor, and goes well with tacos or any other Mexican dish.
This flavorful and zesty Cilantro Lime Rice is the perfect side dish to elevate any meal! Made with fluffy, long-grain rice, this dish is infused with the tangy zest of lime and the refreshing taste of cilantro, creating a burst of flavors that will leave your taste buds wanting more.
Serve with Chicken Carnitas (Instant Pot and Slow Cooker) or Grilled Fish Tacos for a great meal.
Our Cilantro Lime Rice is the ultimate accompaniment to any Mexican-inspired meal, much like the Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice, this rice goes with everything. Whether it’s a spicy burrito, a zesty enchiladas, or a sizzling fajita. It also pairs perfectly with grilled chicken, steak, or fish, adding a pop of flavor and color to your plate.
Not only is our Cilantro Lime Rice delicious, but it goes well with everything and offers some great nutrition as well. Here are some of the reasons we love it:
- Flavor: Cilantro lime rice is packed with flavor. Fresh, citrusy lime juice that perfectly complements the earthy, herbaceous flavor of cilantro.
- Versatility: Much like this Mexican Rice, this cilantro lime rice is incredibly versatile. It can be paired with all kinds of dishes, make it into burrito bowls, wraps, serve with tacos, burritos, enchiladas, etc.
- Nutrition: This recipe is absolutely delicious, but also totally nutritious. Both Cilantro and lime have health benefits, such as cilantro is rich in antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties, and limes are an excellent source of vitamin C and can aid digestion.
- Easy to prepare: It is so easy to prepare, with a few ingredients and simple steps, you have a quick and easy side dish.
- Bright and Fresh: We eat with our eyes first, and this recipe is bright and fresh, and visually appealing.
What You Need to Make Cilantro Lime Rice
This recipe for Chipotle inspired lime rice is so simple to make, and all you have to do is gather these simple ingredients, many of which are likely already in your pantry:
- Unsalted butter
- Onion
- Salt and pepper
- Long-grain white rice
- Jalapeño chile
- Garlic cloves
- Chicken broth
- Grated lime zest
- Cilantro
- Lime juice fresh
Recommended Equipment
How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice
This flavorful combination of cilantro and lime is the perfect addition to plain white rice! So forget the boring, instead pretend you are at your favorite Mexican restaurant, or ordering from Chipotle, Cafe Rio, or Costa Vida. And making it is pretty simple, with a few tweaks you can elevate any meal with this perfect recipe:
Step One: Soften Onion
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. And then add finely chopped onion and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook until onion is just softened, about 3 minutes.
Step Two: Toast Rice and Flavor!
- Add the rice to the same pan and cook, stirring frequently, until edges begin to turn translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in jalapeño and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in broth and lime zest and bring to boil.
Step Three: Cover, Reduce, Cook
- Cover, reduce the heat on low, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Make sure temp is low, and try not to check the rice until the 20 minutes is up for best results.
Step Four: Rest Rice
- Keep covered and remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Step Five: Fluff and Season
- Fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in cilantro and fresh lime juice.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
What to Serve with Cilantro Rice
Cilantro lime rice is the ideal side for :
Tips and Tricks
Making this recipe is Eazy Peazy…
- Rinse the rice thoroughly before cooking to remove excess starch and prevent clumping.
- Use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water for more flavor.
- Add butter to the saute pan for the onions, don’t skip this, as it will also help the rice. By adding it to the rice before cooking, it helps prevent it from sticking.
- Let the rice sit covered for 5-10 minutes to allow the steam to fully absorb. This will give you lighter, fluffier rice.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and add in freshly squeezed lime juice and chopped cilantro. You can adjust the amount of lime and cilantro to your liking.
- Adjust for extra flavor, change up the extra things you add in, such as adding some cumin with the onion, or some additional garlic.
- Sub to your liking. For example, if you don’t like the taste of cilantro, you can substitute it with parsley or another herb. However, the cilantro and lime make a winning combination.
- Adjust heat with peppers. While we have jalapeno in the recipe, you can also add some heat by adding more seeds in with the diced jalapeño or a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Season to preference. Make sure to taste and adjust the seasoning before serving. If you like a little more lime, add it, more heat, add jalapeno. etc.
Make Ahead and Storage
Cilantro lime rice is a delicious and easy-to-make side dish that pairs well with a variety of meals. And one of the best things about it is you can make it ahead. It stores well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
How to make this recipe ahead of time:
To store cilantro lime rice, make it according to the recipe instructions. Then let it cool. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
You can reheat the rice in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding a splash of water or broth to moisten it if needed.
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Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small onion chopped fine
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice rinsed
- 1 jalapeño chile seeded and minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 ¼ cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 1/2 Tbs lime juice fresh
Instructions
- Rinse rice thoroughly, and set aside.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add finely chopped onion and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook until onion is just softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the rice to the same pan and cook, stirring frequently, until edges begin to turn translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in jalapeño and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in broth and lime zest and bring to boil.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Make sure temp is low, and try not to check the rice until the 20 minutes is up for best results.
- Keep covered and remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in cilantro and fresh lime juice.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Notes
For rice with more heat, leave some of the jalapeno seeds in tact, and include them.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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