📋Copycat Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice

cilantro lime rice in a bowl with napkin

4.91 from 44 votes

📋Copycat Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro lime rice is packed with fresh herbs and zesty flavors. Better than Chipotle’s, because it’s homemade and you get to adjust the flavors. A filling side dish to any Mexican meal (or Tex-Mex) especially in burritos.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: servings

Calories: 259kcal

Author: Jyothi Rajesh

Ingredients

1 cup long grain rice basmati rice
2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
2 teaspoons olive oil
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon butter optional, highly recommended
2 tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed
Zest of one lime
1 cup cilantro leaves finely chopped

Instructions

Rinse the rice: Always rinse rice before you cook it. This helps remove excess starch (surface stars and keeps it from sticking together. Rinsing gets rid of any dirt.
Place rice in a fine mesh strainer or a bowl and rinse it several times. Rinse by scrubbing rice gently with your fingertips.
Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottom saucepan. Sauté rinsed rice stirring until rice just begins to brown. Do not brown rice.
Use a 1:2 ratio. For every 1 cup long grain rice, add 2 cups of liquids. Add liquid of your choice – water or chicken stock to pack in more flavors. For the vegetarian option, use vegetable stock.
Scrape rice sticking to the side of the pan into the liquid.
Reduce flame to medium-low heat and bring water to boil.
Pro-tip: it’s important to cook rice at the correct temperatures. If cooked on high heat, water will evaporate very quickly preventing the rice from absorbing the liquids, thus your rice won’t get cooked as desired.
Cook uncovered until the water level drops below the surface of the rice. Then reduce the flame to low. Now cover the pan with a lid (when almost 90% of water is absorbed simmer and cook for about 12 minutes.
Note: Heat should be at its lowest temperature. Else rice will begin to burn at the bottom.
DO NOT Stir rice in between. Leave it untouched.
Once cooked remove the saucepan from the heat and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes undisturbed. Do not open the lid. This helps the rice to cook through. Rice absorbs moisture from steam and makes it fluffy and perfect.
Open lid. Add butter, lime juice, cilantro, and lime zest and gently fluff it with a fork or spatula. If needed add salt as per taste.
Serve with your favorite food.

Video

Notes

Use long-grain rice for best results. I don't recommend sticky rice types.

I suggest you rinse the rice before cooking. This helps remove excess starch and when cooked each grain of rice is separate and perfectly cooked.

Use chicken stock (or vegetable stock) to add more flavor to rice instead of water.

Sautéing rice first in oil helps bring out flavors from the rice. It also prevents rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Begin with a 1:2 ratio. It works perfectly for me all the time. In case the ratio doesn’t work for you, reduce the water level the next time you cook to 1 ¾ cup instead of 2 cups for every 1 cup long grain rice.

Always cook rice on low heat.

Allow rice to rest once cooking is done, without opening the lid. Rice will absorb all the moisture from the steam and cook perfectly.

Use a heavy bottom saucepan with a glass lid, you can peep into the pan to check the rice without opening the lid repeatedly.

Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.

Nutrition