Cilantro-Lime Rice

Name: Cilantro-Lime Rice
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 2 cups long-grain white or jasmine rice; 2 Tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp sea salt; 1 tsp lime zest; 1 Tbsp lime juice; ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Calories: 110

cilantro lime rice in a bowl with a spoon

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Fresh cilantro, lime zest and lime juice flavor this green-flecked cilantro-lime rice, which makes an upgraded base for all of your favorite Mexican-inspired meals (and more).

You Love That Green-Flecked Chipotle Rice, Right? Guess What?!

That super-delicious, what-makes-this-so-good white rice with green flecks that fills Chipotle burritos and burrito bowls is really easy to replicate at home—yahoo! 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 myriad meals, all week long.

Ingredients for cilantro lime rice, oil, salt, lime zest and juice

You’ll Never Guess What’s In Cilantro-Lime Rice!

Actually, you totally will, because cilantro lime rice is made from exactly what it sounds like. 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:

Long-grain white rice
Cilantro
Vegetable oil
Salt
Limes

long grain white rice in a fine mesh sieve

rice, cilantro, lime zest and lime juice in a pot

How To Make Cilantro-Lime Rice At Home

First, take a deep breath—you can do this! 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 top with a lid that fits well, and let’s make some cilantro-lime rice!

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 any starchy residue on the grains, which is the key 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 pot 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 looks all herby and delicious.
Dig in!

What Goes With Cilantro-Lime Rice?

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. We love to serve this easy rice recipe with:

Tools You’ll Need:

Small pot with a tight-fitted lid.
Fork
Microplane grater is handy for zesting the lime.

cilantro lime rice in a bowl with a serving spoon

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!