This Cilantro Lime Rice recipe is the perfect addition to your taco Tuesday night! Basmati rice cooked in vegan butter and seasoned with fresh lime zest and cilantro to create the perfect side dish to compliment your Mexican inspired recipes!
If you’re wondering how to make Cilantro Lime Rice like Chipotle, you’ll definitely want to check out this recipe! Chipotle’s Cilantro Lime Rice is always perfectly cooked and simply seasoned with just enough cilantro added and a hint of lime. Keep reading to learn how to make it yourself!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Cilantro Lime Rice:
- white basmati rice
- fresh limes
- vegan butter
- fresh cilantro
How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice
Cilantro lime rice is really easy to make! With just a few ingredients, you’re ready to make the perfect side dish to your favorite tex-mex or Mexican inspired meal. You’ll start gathering all of your ingredients because there’s nothing worse than getting half way through a recipe only to realize that you’re missing an important ingredient!
Once you’ve got all of your ingredients, you’ll want to go ahead and zest your lime. It’s important to zest the lime before juicing them. Have you ever tried zesting a juiced lime?! Take my word for it, it’s not something you want to do! It’s must easier to manage when the lime is whole.
After zesting, cut the lime in half and squeeze out as much juice as you can from the lime and set it aside. Add all of your ingredients (except the cilantro) to a medium-sized non-stick pot. Adjust the temperature of the eye to a high temperature in order to bring the pot to a boil. Once the pot begins to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer on a medium-low heat and cover with a lid. Allow the rice to cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Throughout this process, you’ll notice that the amount of liquid will start to lessen. It’s important to stir the Cilantro Lime Rice frequently in order to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pot. This has happened to me before and it was no fun! Once the rice is nice and fluffy and all of the liquid is gone, it’s time to stir in the roughly chopped cilantro.
Can You Make Cilantro Lime Rice Ahead of Time?
You can absolutely make this easy Cilantro Lime Rice ahead of time! I used this rice to make burritos for my husband and I. We were able to make 8 burritos with them which took care of four dinners for us. We happily gobbled them down every night!
Wondering what Cilantro Lime Rice tastes like? It’s a simple rice dish accented by fresh herbs and a hint of citrus. The flavor isn’t terribly overpowering, unless you want it to be. When testing this recipe, I initially put entirely too much lime zest. To the point where that was all I could taste!
As you might imagine, it didn’t taste great. I’m happy to say, I finally figured out the right balance with the recipe below. If you’re a huge fan of lime, you can certainly add more but the amount below was just right for me. Less is more.
What to Eat with Cilantro Lime Rice
Wondering what to pair with this dish? I’ve got a few recommendations for you! One of my favorites being this Cilantro Lime Rice with Black Beans. Such a perfect, yet simple and filling pairing! I could eat rice and beans everyday of the week!
This recipe would go great with:
- Seasoned Black Beans
- Portobello Fajitas
- BBQ Jackfruit Empanadas
- Sriracha Jackfruit Bowl
- Lentil Tacos
- Chickpea Tacos
Enjoy!
I know you’ll love this easy Cilantro Lime Rice recipe. It pairs well with so many great dishes and makes for the perfect side dish. Hungry yet? Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Easy Cilantro Lime Rice [+VIDEO]
Ingredients
- 1 cup white basmati rice
- 1½ tsp fresh lime zest
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1½ cups water
- ½ tbsp fresh lime juice
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro (loosely packed)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized non-stick pot, add all of the ingredients to a pot (except the cilantro).1 cup white basmati rice, 1½ tsp fresh lime zest, ½ tsp sea salt, 2 tbsp vegan butter, 1½ cups water, ½ tbsp fresh lime juice
- Bring to a boil and cover with a lid. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer (low setting) and stir. Allow to cook covered for 10-15 minutes.
- Stir in your fresh cilantro and garnish with an extra squeeze of lime (if desired). Serve and enjoy!½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
This was so bomb! Perfect balance of lime and complimented my burrito flavors! Simple, easy, quick! 5 stars all around!
OMG! I made this with ur black beans and put together a burrito like yours. I thought I was at Chipotle! So bomb!
So good and so so easy! I was making this rice to make wraps, but ended up eating almost the whole bowl on its own. Couldn’t stop! My husband said it smelled like a restaurant while I was cooking and he loved it too. So glad I tried it.
My 2 year old only eats rice and potatoes. She loved this rice and has asked for it again!!
This was really easy! I loved the lime flavor of the rice! Great dish!
I love the zesty fresh flavors of this rice! It’s so delicious!
I’m a sucker for a properly made bowl of cilantro lime rice and this had me hook, line, and sinker. The grains of rice were tender and fluffy and that lime flavor was the perfect amount of tangy.
This rice came out perfectly! I love the tangy lime flavors.
This was so easy and full of flavor. I’ve followed other recipes before and my child just DID NOT like it. He’s eaten two burritos using the two recipes for this. Thanks for adding another staple to my recipe binder!
Definitely complemented the zesty shrimp tacos I made. Our daughter is 18 and was just told to follow the fodmap diet to help with her IBS. This was perfect for her – and us!
This recipe is so simple yet so yummy. I had some leftover cilantro I needed to use so I made it in a rice cooker and it was delicious – very versatile. I even put the leftover in a vegetable soup which sent it to the next level!
Came out great!