Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice (White Or Brown) Copycat Recipe
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Calling all Chipotle lovers! You can now make a huge batch of cilantro-lime rice yourself without leaving your house :) It’s super easy, you’ll love it!
This amazing cilantro-lime rice is very versatile – you can eat it so many different ways! Use this rice for Mexican-theme nights in tacos and burritos, serve this rice as a side dish for chicken, meat or fish – the possibilities are endless as cilantro-lime rice goes well with anything :) You can also toss in some protein like chopped chicken, shrimp or beans and turn into into a main dish! Another awesome way to use this cilantro lime rice is in a copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowl salad – check it out, you’ll love it!
You can use any kind of rice for this recipe – white or brown. On the photos, I used brown rice as we are really trying to choose brown rice instead of white for health reasons – brown is just so much more nutritious! And those people who don’t like brown rice usually end up loving it in a form of cilantro lime brown rice :)
This recipe makes a big batch of 6-8 servings. We go though this rice really quickly in our house :) If this is too much cilantro-lime rice for you, just halve all the quantities. Or freeze the leftovers!
Cilantro-lime rice freezes pretty well. To freeze it, put cilantro-lime rice in a freezer ziploc bag, squeeze out all the air and freeze. Defrost in a refrigerator overnight, or in a microwave on a Defrost setting when in a hurry.
How To Make Cilantro Lime Rice
Step 1: Cook rice
You can use any type of rice (white or brown) and cook it any way you like – on a stove top according to package directions, in a microwave or in a rice cooker. The microwave method works for white rice only, if you never tried it, check it out here – how to cook rice in a microwave.
I always cook my rice in a rice cooker – it’s a completely hands off process, just put the rice and water in a rice cooker, press the Start button and walk away. Yes, I’m lazy like that :) Rice cooker is one of my most frequently used kitchen gadgets, and they are so cheap – you can get a great rice cooker for around $20!
If you never tried cooking brown rice in a rice cooker, or it never turned out well for you, you’ll like my article on how to make fluffy tasty brown rice in a rice cooker!
Step 2: Mix dressing and mince cilantro
While the rice is cooking, whisk the juice of 1 lime, minced garlic clove, 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp of salt in a cup. You will use this dressing, along with minced cilantro, to flavor the cilantro-lime rice!
To mince the cilantro, I always use my food processor – just throw the cilantro in a food processor bowl fitted with the steel blade, pulse for 30 seconds and you’ll get a perfect minced cilantro with virtually no effort!
Step 3: Season the rice with lime and cilantro
Drizzle the lime dressing and sprinkle minced cilantro over the rice. Using a fork, fluff the rice and mix everything thoroughly so the cilantro is evenly distributed. Taste the rice and add more salt and seasoning if needed. Enjoy your homemade Chipotle cilantro-lime rice!
Chipotle Cilantro-Lime Rice (White or Brown) Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice
- 4 cups water
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 bunch cilantro minced
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions. You can use the stove top or a rice cooker (I always cook my rice in a rice cooker).
- Put lime juice, garlic clove, olive oil and salt in a cup and whisk with a fork.
- Drizzle the lime juice mixture over rice and put minced cilantro on top. With a fork, mix the rice thoroughly so the rice is fluffy and all the lime dressing and cilantro are evenly incorporated.
This was delicious! Turned out perfectly & it tasted exactly like Chipotle. Thanks for the recipe!
Made this with white & long grain wild rice. It is delicious! Definitely a new favorite in this house!
I work for Chipotle as a cook and there is no garlic in our rice and add a bay leaf while it is cooking. That is how is it really done. But I personally love the idea of garlic…I will be adding that next time I make the rice at home. Thanks!!!
Excellent. I had some left over Basmati rice to use up so made your dressing and added the minced cilantro. Perfect pairing for some super spicy salsa chicken I made for dinner. Will definitely make again with Mexican food.
Great recipe for making cilantro lime rice at home and easy to freeze and reheat
this rice pairs perfectly with all my favorite Mexican dishes