Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe {Copycat}

This copycat Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice recipe is a perfect side dish to make for your next taco Tuesday. It’s perfect in a salad, burrito, tacos, or as a side dish. This easy copycat recipe will complement any Tex-Mex meal.

Discover the secrets to making Chipotle’s famous cilantro lime rice right in your own kitchen. This copycat recipe unlocks the delicious combination of fluffy rice, zesty lime, and fresh cilantro, allowing you to enjoy the authentic Tex-Mex experience without leaving your home.

Easy Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice

If you’ve ever wondered how to make Chipotle’s Cilantro Lime Rice recipe, it’s your lucky day. This recipe is so easy to make in a rice cooker or instant pot and only uses a handful of ingredients.

While I love cilantro, you can feel free to leave it out if you or someone in your house doesn’t. There’s so much flavor in this rice with or without cilantro.

Cilantro Lime Rice Ingredients

• Rice – you can use long grain, short grain, jasmine, or basmati rice to make this recipe. If you want to make cilantro lime brown rice, you will need to adjust the amount of liquid and cooking time according to your rice cooker or instant pot.
• Chicken Broth – this is to cook the rice in. You could also use water or vegetable broth.
• Canned Green Chilies – make sure to drain these first. They aren’t completely necessary but add so much flavor.
• Cilantro – you will need about half of a bunch of fresh cilantro. If you are truly not a cilantro fan, you can skip this and just make it lime rice.
• Butter – salted or unsalted will work.
• Garlic – fresh minced garlic has the best flavor.
• Fresh Lime – you will need the juice from about 1 large lime.

How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice in Rice Cooker

1. Add ingredients to rice cooker. In a rice cooker (or instant pot on rice setting) add the rice, chicken broth, green chilies, butter, and garlic.
2. Cook. Turn on the rice cooker (or instant pot) and cook on the white rice setting.
3. Add lime juice and fluffy. Once the rice has finished cooking, let it sit for a couple minutes to cool. Add the fresh lime juice, then fluff and stir with a fork. 
4. Serve. Serve in a burrito bowl, salad, taco, or as a side dish. Enjoy!

Tips for Making this Rice Recipe

• It’s not difficult to cook this on a stovetop, in a rice cooker or in an insta-pot on the rice setting. Cook it the same as you would normal rice. however, a rice cooker is probably the easiest way because you can just dump the ingredients and the rice cooker does it all.
• There are several different kinds of rice you can use in this recipe. You can use your favorite rice (long grain rice, short-grain rice, jasmine, or basmati rice work great) However, I love this recipe with long grain rice.
• You can use chicken stock, water with bullion cubes, or water and chicken base.  Either works great!
• This keeps really well in the fridge for several days in a covered container.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storing and Reheating

• Refrigerator: leftover rice can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.  
• To reheat in the microwave: combine the rice and 2-3 tablespoons of water in a microwave safe container and mix well.  Lay a wet paper towel over the rice and heat on high for about 30 seconds at a time until warmed through.
• To reheat on the stovetop: transfer rice to a small pot and stir in a splash of water.  Mix well, then cover and turn heat to low.  Continue to cook on very low heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.

More Easy Side Dishes

• Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad
• Garlic Parmesan Orzo
• Broccoli Salad With Bacon
• Chili Spice Sweet Potato Chunks
• Smashed Potatoes
• Fingerling Potatoes
• Garlic Pull-Apart Bread
• More Side Dish Recipes
• More Easy Rice Recipes

More Chipotle-Inspired Recipes

• Cilantro Lime Rice, or Spanish Rice
• Homemade Guacamole
• Refried Black Beans or Copycat Chipotle Black Beans
• Homemade Fresh Salsa
• Pepper Jack Queso
• Pico De Gallo
• Chipotle Chicken
• Chipotle Burrito
• Chipotle Burrito Bowl Recipe

This easy Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe, or just lime rice if you’re not a fan of cilantro, is a perfect side dish to your taco Tuesday! It’s perfect in a salad, burrito or, of course, tacos!! This homemade lime rice recipe is so delicious!