This cilantro lime rice recipe is super easy, fresh, and tastes better than your favorite restaurants!
If you love Chipotle’s cilantro lime rice, you will love this easy copycat recipe. I say copycat, but it tastes even better than what you get at Chipotle. High praise, I know, but trust me.
Serve this with beans, burritos, and your favorite Mexican dishes, or make a rice bowl! For more rice recipes like this one, see our Mexican rice (aka Spanish rice) and this yellow saffron rice!
Key Ingredients
- Rice: I use long-grain white rice for this recipe. You can also use long-grain Jasmine or Basmati rice, which are more fragrant (in the best way). Brown rice works with our recipe, but the method for cooking your rice will differ. I have included tips below the recipe to help you out.
- Onion and garlic: I cook chopped onion and garlic with a bit of oil and the rice, adding lots of extra flavor.
- Water or broth: I use water in the recipe video, but for more flavor, use a light broth (veggie broth or chicken broth are both excellent).
- Lime: Fresh lime is best for this recipe. After it’s cooked, stir fresh lime juice into the rice.
- Cilantro: I love cilantro and add quite a bit to my rice. For this recipe, I chop the leaves and tender stems (leaving the hardier stems for stock). If you don’t love cilantro as much as me, leave it out and make plain lime rice (it’s still delightful). By the way, if you have extra cilantro be sure to try our creamy cilantro lime dressing.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Cilantro Lime Rice
Tip 1: Rinse your rice. Rinsing the rice removes extra starch, making our cooked rice super light and fluffy! You want to rinse your rice for this recipe (my best tip for cooking perfect rice). I toss my rice into a fine-mesh strainer and place it under cool running water, moving the rice around with my fingers until the water runs clear.
Tip 2: Toast your rice. After rinsing, add the rice and chopped onion to a pot with some oil or butter and cook, moving them around so they toast evenly (this adds so much flavor). Add minced garlic, and then pour in your cooking liquid, which can be water or broth.
Tip 3: Keep your rice covered to make it extra fluffy! I cook the rice with a lid over low heat for about 15 minutes. Then, I remove the pan from the heat and leave it covered for another 10 minutes. This resting time gives the rice a chance to steam, which makes it perfectly cooked and fluffy. (This is the same method we use when cooking Mexican rice and coconut rice.)
Tip 4: Add cilantro and lime last. When it’s ready, uncover the rice and use a fork to fluff it (be gentle). Stir in fresh lime juice and lots of chopped cilantro. Then enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
I love this easy rice recipe and eat it with just about everything. Our family loves this with homemade refried beans or these incredible black beans. It’s always on the table when we make fajitas, enchiladas, and carnitas.
I add cilantro lime rice to my burritos, especially love these spicy cauliflower burritos. It’s also excellent for rice bowls, and I love it with our cilantro lime garlic butter shrimp! And remember the guacamole and salsas! I love this fresh pico de gallo, corn and black bean salsa, and this roasted tomatillo salsa.
Perfect Cilantro Lime Rice
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
How to make the best cilantro lime rice that tastes even better than your favorite restaurants! Substituting stock or broth for the water adds additional flavor. We love using chicken or vegetable broth. If you use stock, add salt to taste since the stock may already have some salt added.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ½ cups (280g) long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter, plus more for serving
½ cup (70g) finely chopped onion (1 small)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 ¼ cups (530ml) water, vegetable broth, or chicken broth
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, see notes
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 cup (30g) roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
Directions
1Place rice into a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water, moving the rice around with your fingers until the water runs clear. Drain well and set aside. This removes excess starch and helps the rice cook up fluffy and light.
2Heat a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add the oil or butter. When hot, add the rinsed rice and onion. Cook, stirring often, until the rice turns from translucent to a brighter white and the onion is soft, about 3 to 4 minutes.
3Add the garlic and cook, stirring it around the pan until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds.
4Pour in the warm water or stock and stir, knocking any grains of rice stuck to the pan’s sides. Season with salt, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover with a lid. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes.
5Remove the pan from the heat and leave alone (still covered) for 10 minutes.
6Uncover and test a grain of rice. If the rice is still a little hard, put the lid back on and cook over low heat for another 5 minutes. If the rice looks too dry, scatter a tablespoon or two of extra water over it before placing it back on the heat.
7When the rice is done, scatter the lime juice and cilantro on top. Use a fork to gently fluff the rice and incorporate the lime juice and cilantro. Serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Leftover cilantro lime rice lasts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months (thaw overnight in the refrigerator).
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave or over low heat in a pan with water or broth, stirring until warm. For fresh flavor, stir in extra lime juice and chopped cilantro just before serving.
- Brown rice: Forget the package directions and cook brown rice like you would pasta. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water, add the brown rice, and then let it cook, uncovered, at a simmer for 30 minutes. Drain and add it back to the pot off the heat with a lid covering it so it steams for an additional 10 minutes (this method is from Saveur, making perfect brown rice.) From there, stir in sautéed onion, garlic, fresh lime juice, and cilantro.
- Salt: If you plan to use stock, you may not need to add salt. Taste the stock before adding to the rice to determine if you need to add a pinch or two of additional salt.
- Cilantro substitute: If you are not a fan of cilantro, substitute it with chopped fresh parsley or leave it out.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
This truly is a perfect recipe for cilantro lime rice. So simple, yet totally delicious, even my non rice eating boyfriend requested I make more of it. I had tried other recipes but was never quite satisfied with the results until I found this one. Thank you for sharing it!
I love that you put the recipe in grams also, I wish you would make it so I could increase the serving size. I doubled it as I was not sure how to increase it for 6 servings. Lots of leftovers and after looking at a lot of difference recipes I went with yours and so glad I did, followed it to the T and used chcken stock with just a little salt. PS Frying the rice is a must for fluffy rice.
It’s so yummy, thank you.
So happy you loved it!
Can you triple the recipe and it still won’t come out mushy.
Hi Lynn, You should be able to triple this recipe, but I’d pay attention to the pot you use. Yes, you can absolutely triple the recipe! Since rice cooks by absorption, the ratio scales up perfectly. You want the rice to be in a relatively thin, even layer rather than piled high in a small pot. If the rice is piled too deep, the rice at the bottom might overcook and become mushy before the rice at the top is done. Use a wide pot or Dutch oven to help it cook evenly.
This was delicious but it turned out a little sticky. Any advice on how I could adjust it next time? Also your recipes are great! Just discovered your site about a week ago and am loving it!
Let your rice soak for a few minutes and rince well.
I made the cilantro lime rice with country style steak and my family loved it.I used half evoo and half butter to toast the rice and onion; and half water and half chicken stock to steam. It didn’t survive the meal. Will definitely be doubling next time! Thanks and keep em coming.
Excellent recipe, straight forward instructions, and techniques. I have made this recipe with and without toasting the rice. Definitely toasting adds a level of flavor, but both were very good. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Delicious and so easy. Served your pork carnitas on top with black beans for a yummy bowl!
Yum! 🙂
If you are lucky, your town’s best Mexican Restaurant has Green Rice on the menu. This cilantro rice is the absolute best. Such a flavor explosion. If you’ve never had this you have to make it! I was blown away the first time I tasted this version of Mexican Rice.
This recipe was so delicious! The garlic really adds to the flavor and I loved the toasted rice. My only adds were including 3 garlic cloves instead of 2, and stirring in the zest of one lime with the juice. Delicious!!
Hi Molly, I am so happy you enjoyed it! Love that you bumped up the garlic and lime!
Delicious recipe! This will be my go-to recipe for cilantro lime rice!
It was Soo good, that I had to make it again today! And I doubled the recipe! Shared some with my downstairs neighbor and she thought it was delicious!! This rice is literally the simplest, most yummiest ever!
Yay! Doubling this recipe is a good idea 🙂 P.S. you can share a photo on Instagram and tag us.
Just made this and it’s soooooooooo delicious!! Made mine with bone broth (trying to be healthier) spot on! This is my go to recipe! Thank you for sharing!! Will be checking out more of your recipes!
This is now a goto at our house. Simple, easy to make and such wonderful flavor. It is just as good or better reheated. Great in tacos as well but a perfect side dish for a lot of things.Thanks!
Bravo! Easy and flavorful recipe Does not disappoint. Thank for this recipe. This is a keeper.
Seriously so good and the instructions were very easy to follow. Will def be making again!
I too love Chipotle’s cilantro lime rice. Making it at home is so much better. Your recipe is spot on, just more flavor. Loving it. I also made the pork carnitas, fabulous.
Absolutely delicious, I added lime zest and more garlic, it was great!!
Not generally a fan of cilantro but this rice is SO GOOD. So good.
Hello! This looks delicious and the reviews sound great. I am making a Mexican feast for a few close friends in a few days, and I would like to double this recipe. Normally, I would just make a recipe twice, just to get it right! Is there a way I could just double this? I realize that I can’t just double the water when doubling the rice. Do I have to change the cooking time? Thanks for any help you can offer. I love your website!!!!!
Made the “cilantro lime rice”with garlic and onions. The flavors are delicious and not over powering. I decided to chop fresh spinach with my cilantro for an additional fresh green leafy vegetable to go with the fresh herb.
I just finished making your pea soup with basil and I had to say something first of all i would call the recipe heavenly pea soup with basil and secondly it has got to be the easiest soup to make ever. Thank you for this and your other recipes
Excellent! Easy to make and the measurements were accurate
Delicious!!! My family and I enjoyed it a lot. I’ve never cooked rice and the instructions were so easy to follow that it came out yummy and full of flavor. Will do it again!
I made this delicious rice to go with coconut black beans and they were perfect together. Loved the addition of the lime and cilantro in the rice.
This cilantro lime rice went so well with the coconut black beans — easy to make and flavorful.
OMG. Made this recipe with dinner tonight and my boyfriend and I were literally eating it out of the pan before we could even serve it with dinner! Incredible! So much flavor and am saving this one for our go-to in the future. Thank you so much for sharing!
BEST cilantro lime rice! Thank you, it was perfect!!
I made this last night serving it with my baked chicken and it was soooooooo delicious. Thank you for the recipe. Next time I am doubling the recipe. There were no leftovers. My new favourite rice dish. My husband loved it!
My family loves it and my neighbor!
Loved it! So easy and quick to make, yet delicious!
Hi Lynda, You could always swap the water for stock.
What modifications would be necessary to use brown or black rice?
I’d check the package directions for the rice you plan to use. You may need to increase the cook time. I’d start the same way (cooking onions and toasting the rice… etc), then when you cover the pot to cook the rice, use the recommended time on the package.
You two are amazing. This is soooo easy and good, the family loved it. I even added a splash of ghee.
Can you substitute Riced Cauliflower if on a diet?
Hi Barbara, That’s a great idea. We’d follow the instructions for making this cauliflower rice, but substitute the lime and cilantro for the herbs called for in that recipe.
Thank you for submitting an awesome recipe! I know this will be great because I have made cilantro lime rice before but not this way! Sauteing the onion, garlic and rice will definitely kick it up a notch (Or two)!! And from now on I will always rinse my rice! Thank you again so much!
Definitely going to try this, looks wonderful. As I’m now one of the Instant Pot crowd, the only change I’d suggest to make this in the IP is to reduce the liquid to a 1:1 ratio with the rice. Set the IP to saute for the first part, then once the onion and garlic are ready set it to pressure cook for 4 minutes and allow the pressure to release naturally, Fluff with a fork and drizzle with the lime juice.