Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice (White Or Brown) Copycat Recipe (2024)

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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 intoa main dish! Another awesome way to use this cilantro lime rice is in a copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowlsalad – 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 tochoose 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 ofcilantro lime brown rice :)

This recipe makes a big batch of 6-8 servings. We go though this rice really quickly inour 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!