Cilantro Lime Rice
Make this easy cilantro lime rice recipe for fragrant, flavorful, restaurant-style rice right at home! This recipe comes together in 40 minutes on the stove with light, fluffy grains and fresh, bold flavor thanks to tangy lime and bright cilantro. Includes tips for adjusting the cilantro flavor to your liking.
Table of contents
“THIS TASTES INCREDIBLE,” is what my cilantro-hating husband said about this rice the first time he tried it. Quite an endorsement from someone who usually avoids cilantro at all costs.
But there are two reasons this cilantro lime rice recipe is so incredible:
- Toasting the rice before simmering it.
- Using fresh lime juice and zest in the rice.
I experimented with multiple ways of making this recipe, and found that combining the toast-then-simmer method with the addition of lime zest gave the fluffiest texture and boldest flavor.
If you’re a fan of Chipotle’s cilantro lime rice, you will love this homemade version.
What readers are saying
“I love this recipe, so simple yet very delicious!” -Anastasia
What is cilantro lime rice?
Cilantro lime rice is a popular component of Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking. Fluffy white rice is cooked and finished with fresh cilantro and lime for a bright, fresh flavor.
Restaurants like Chipotle offer it as part of burritos, burrito bowls, and more. But it’s also a fantastic side dish for tacos, fajitas, and any of your Mexican or Tex-Mex favorites.
Recipe testing notes
- The rice needs to be toasted in oil before simmering it to have perfect rice that’s fluffy but not sticky. This is the same cooking method used for Mexican rice or a rice pilaf. You can’t just take steamed rice and stir cilantro and lime into it. The texture just won’t be right.
- For the best flavor, add lots of fresh lime zest. Believe me, if you only add lime juice, it won’t really taste like lime rice. It will taste more like sour rice. Adding lime zest boosts the aroma and flavor of the final dish. It’s yet another example of citrus zest being one of the most amazing ingredients you can cook with.
- Try to serve the cilantro lime rice soon after making it. The rice is at its absolute best for about a half hour after making it. After that, the rice is not quite as fragrant (though it’s still good).
What kind of rice to use?
Use: Long-grain white rice, such as basmati or jasmine rice
Avoid: Short-grain or medium-grain rice, which is too sticky for this recipe
Basmati rice is my favorite long-grain choice for making cilantro lime rice, but you may use jasmine rice as well. They are both quite different from each other, so try both to see which you like better.
You may also use generic “long grain rice” or standard white rice from the store, but keep in mind that quality ranges quite a bit.
Make sure you’re using white rice here, and not brown rice, which has a completely different cooking time.
1 cup of dry long-grain rice makes about 3 cups of cooked rice. So the 2 cups of dry long-grain rice in this recipe yields about 6 cups of cilantro lime rice.
Do you need to rinse the rice?
Yes, for two big reasons. First, it cleans the rice of any debris or bugs. (Sorry, I know it’s gross, but it happens sometimes).
Second, removes excess starch, giving a less sticky and more fluffy rice at the end with separate grains. Since that’s the texture we want in our cilantro lime rice, rinsing is a must.
Rinse the rice under cold water using a fine strainer until the water runs clear, about a minute or two.
Ingredient notes
For the full recipe, including ingredient amounts, see the recipe card below.
- Long-grain white rice: See the section above on what kind of rice to use for notes on which rice is best for this recipe.
- Fat: I prefer ghee, but butter and olive oil both work great. Use olive oil for a dairy-free and vegan version.
- Water: Filtered will give you the best flavor. In some recipes, like my rice pilaf, I use chicken stock with or in place of the water. I don’t recommend doing that in this recipe, as it can mask some of the flavor of the lime and herbs.
- Kosher salt: Fine sea salt will also work.
- Fresh cilantro: Don’t be tempted to use dry cilantro in this recipe. You need the fresh herbs for the rice to taste right.
- Lime: Both fresh zest and fresh juice. You need both for bright lime flavor and for the rice to not taste sour.
Flavor tip!
When zesting the limes, make sure to only get the bright green zest, not the white pith. The white pith will give the rice a bitter flavor instead of the fresh brightness we want.
How to make cilantro lime rice (step-by-step overview)
Grab a skillet with a tight-fitting lid—you’ll need the lid later. Melt your cooking fat of choice:
Add rinsed and drained basmati rice to the pan, then toast the rinsed rice in the fat for 5 minutes, until it takes on a more chalky and opaque look, like in this photo:
Add the water to the pan along with the salt:
Briefly stir—this is just to distribute the salt. Add the lid and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Keep it covered the whole time.
After about 20 minutes, the rice should have absorbed the liquid and be fluffy and cooked through. It’ll look like this:
Stir to fluff the rice, then let it rest uncovered for 5 minutes so excess steam can escape.
Stir in the cilantro, lime zest, and lime juice. Give it a taste to make sure everything tastes right to you and serve!
Serving Recommendations
This delicious rice is a great side for Carnitas, Carne Asada, Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Beef, Ground Beef Tacos, and Chicken Fajitas.
Or serve it as a great base for burrito bowls with black beans, your favorite vegetables, and your favorite meat.
Tips and FAQ
Keep in an airtight container so the rice doesn’t dry out, and store for up to 5 days in the fridge. Reheat it in a covered container with a splash of water to revive it.
If you want to boost the flavor after reheating, add a little extra fresh lime zest and cilantro right before serving.
Technically yes, for up to two months, but I don’t recommend it. The freshness is a big part of the great flavor in this recipe, and that won’t be retained after freezing.
Cooking the rice in the oil is essential, so a rice cooker won’t work well. It’s the same reason why I don’t recommend making it the microwave, either.
An Instant Pot or pressure cooker with a sauté feature is a better option if you need a more hands-off method. Be sure to rinse the rice before cooking it even when using the Instant Pot/pressure cooker.
I recommend looking up a different recipe specifically tailored to brown rice. Swapping in a brown rice in this specific recipe will not work well. This is best suited to plain white rice.
Yes. When doubling, be sure to use a larger/wider pan so that the rice cooks evenly. The cooking time will be about the same.
The most common reasons for mushy rice are from not toasting the rice enough before simmering, using too much water, and lifting the lid and/or stirring the rice while it is cooking. Using a short or medium grain rice will also produce a sticker end result.
Be sure to use a long-grain white rice, drain the rice well after rinsing it, and keep the lid closed while the rice is cooking.
Tried this recipe? Leave a rating and comment below — I’d love to hear how it turned out! Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice or jasmine rice
- 2 tablespoons ghee, butter, or olive oil
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves chopped, see notes
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- zest of 2 limes
Instructions
- Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly under cold running water until the water running through comes out clear instead of cloudy, about 2 minutes. Let rice drain in strainer for 2 more minutes.2 cups basmati rice
- In a large nonstick pan (must have a tight fitting lid for use later), melt the ghee over medium heat. Add the rice and toast for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The look of the rice will change and eventually become evenly coated in oil and have a chalky and opaque look to it.2 tablespoons ghee, butter, or olive oil
- Add the water and salt; stir to combine. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, making sure not to lift the lid during cooking.3 cups water, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- After 20 minutes, the liquid should all be absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat, stir to fluff the rice, and let it rest uncover for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cilantro leaves, lime juice, and lime zest, then serve. Enjoy!1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, zest of 2 limes
Notes
Ingredients
- If you need to make a dairy-free or vegan version, be sure to use olive oil for toasting the rice.
- Cilantro is a very divisive herb due to its strong flavor. If you are sensitive to the flavor of cilantro, I recommend starting with 1/4 cup and going up to 1/2 cup if desired. If you really love cilantro, start with the 1/2 cup noted in the recipe, only adding more if you feel the rice needs it after tasting it.
Yield
- Makes about 6 cups
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
More cilantro lime recipes
If you also love how well cilantro and lime—two simple ingredients—pair together, you would also love my popular cilantro lime dressing and even my cilantro lime jalapeño sauce.
And for a lighter version of this very recipe, be sure to try my cilantro lime cauliflower rice!
6 Comments on “Cilantro Lime Rice”
I am so excited to have a recipe for the Peruvian green sauce. There was (maybe still is) a Peruvian restaurant in Stamford, Ct, out near shipman. I ate there everytime I came to town for business, even started bringing a cooler to take extra sauce home! Cannot wait to try it!
I love this recipe, so simple yet very delicious!
Hi Joanne
Have you tried this with any varieties of brown rice? I was wondering how it might taste and also how to adjust the cooking times? This looks incredible.
Hi Dave, I haven’t, but it sounds like maybe you cook with brown rice as your default? Have you ever made a brown rice pilaf? That would give you a good sense of how it is. I’ve cooked a little bit with brown rice but I admit I haven’t taken to it. Anyway, I would try to find a guide for brown rice pilaf and pull the cooking time from that. Then stir in the flavorings. Hope that helps.
This sounds so good. I’m not crazy about cilantro either but since your husband says it’s good, I’m going to try it.
This will be delicious on cauliflower rice.