Cilantro Lime Rice
Whether you make a burrito bowl, enchiladas or a Mexican salad adding cilantro lime rice is a must! It’s our go to easy side dish. Whenever we make all our favorite Cafe Rio recipes and serve them up buffet style, the cilantro lime rice is always served with.
CopyCat Cilantro Lime Rice recipe:
Just like Chipotle or Cafe Rio (two of our favorites Mexican Food restaurants), this easy rice is full of lime and cilantro flavor.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- zest of one lime
- 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
How to make Cilantro Lime Rice on the stove top:
- Rinse the rice, two times and drain.
- In a medium saucepan (with a lid) set to medium high heat, add the uncooked rice and stir to coat with the olive oil. Cook, stirring, until the rice starts to brown.
- Add the water, salt, and lime zest to the rice.
- Bring to a boil and then cover with a lid and lower the heat to low simmer.
- Cook the rice for 15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand with the lid on for 10 minutes.
- Add the lime juice and chopped cilantro to the rice and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl (if desired.)
How to make Cilantro Lime Rice in a Rice Steamer:
I love my rice steamer. It’s so easy and it always cooks the rice perfectly. I also love how it keeps the rice warm on nights when we all end up eating at different times. To make this recipe with your rice steamer.
Start by rinsing the rice.
Add the water and rice to the inside pot of the rice steamer.
After the rice is steamed and ready, add in the salt, lime juice, lime zest and chopped cilantro to finish.
(Skip the step in the recipe of browning the rice in a pan.)
Can I use the cilantro leaves and the stems?
Along with the cilantro leaves, the stems of the cilantro also have great flavor. The trick is to only include the tender part of the stems. The part of the stem that is towards the top where the leaves grow is more tender than the bottom of the stem where it is cut.
Variations:
- Swap out the water (and added salt) with chicken stock
- Add one clove of minced garlic
- Add more lime juice if you love the lime flavor
- Add more cilantro if you love the cilantro flavor
- If you hate cilantro (apparently it tastes like toothpaste for some people – yes it’s a real thing)…then leave it out completely.
Cilantro Lime Rice
Full of zesty lime and cilantro flavors. This rice is our favorite side dish for Mexican Night.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- zest of one lime
- 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Instructions
-
Rinse the rice, two times and drain.
-
In a medium saucepan (with a lid) set to medium high heat, add the uncooked rice and stir to coat with the olive oil. Cook, stirring, until the rice starts to brown.
-
Add the water, salt, and lime zest to the rice.
-
Bring to a boil and then cover with a lid and lower the heat to low simmer.
-
Cook the rice for 15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand with the lid on for 10 minutes.
-
Add the lime juice and chopped cilantro to the rice and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl (if desired.)
Making This Recipe? Tag us on Instagram: @NoBiggie using the hashtag #NoBiggieRecipes, so we can see what you are making in the kitchen!
What to serve with this rice:
-Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Chicken
–Shredded Sweet Pork
–Sweet Pork Enchiladas
–Creamy Cilantro Lime Ranch
–Corn and black bean salsa (aka Cowboy Caviar)
–Pork Carnitas
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