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This cilantro lime rice makes the perfect side dish to complement any Mexican meal! It is packed with flavor, and the best part is… it takes less than 30 minutes to make!
If you love cilantro lime rice and need some ideas on what it should go with, then you should start with some of my favorites! This goes delightfully with these Amazing Street Tacos, these White Chicken Enchiladas, or these delicious Birria Tacos! They are a match made in heaven!
Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe
Cilantro lime rice is a classic Mexican side dish that gets its flavor from a mixture of cilantro and lime. (Surprise!) They brighten up the neutral rice flavor and it creates a side dish that complements so many different Mexican recipes. There is a local restaurant near me that adds this to their sweet pulled pork salads and their burritos, and It not only takes the flavor to the next level, but the texture is perfection.
This side dish only requires a few ingredients. You can whip it up in less than 30 minutes, and it goes with just about anything! I like to cook my rice in chicken broth (rather than water) to elevate the base of the taste and give it some added flavor. It’s so delicious, and you must try making this recipe!
Ingredients in Cilantro Lime Rice
These ingredients are simple, and once you try this recipe, you will come back to it over and over again… It’s that good! Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
- Uncooked Rice: I used long-grain, white rice for this recipe.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter in this recipe, but you can use margarine if that’s all that you have on hand.
- Garlic Cloves: If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves, then you can use minced garlic. 1/2 teaspoon usually equals about one clove of garlic.
- Lime Juice: I always like to use fresh lime juice for a brighter flavor, but you can use it from a bottle too.
- Chicken Broth: I like to add some chicken broth to the after so that the rice has some flavor to absorb while it’s cooking!
- Water: You will cook your rice in this to make it nice and tender.
- Sugar: This adds a slightly sweet flavor to the cilantro mixture.
- Cilantro: I used freshly chopped cilantro. You can add more than the recipe states if you love cilantro as much as I do!
How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice
This recipe is super easy! You just pour most of it in, let it cook, and then mix the flavors together. It’s a great side dish for any meal and I know that you are going to love it!
- Cook Rice: In a medium saucepan combine rice, butter, and garlic, 1 tsp. lime juice, chicken broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is tender. Remove from heat.
- Add Flavor: In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.
What Kind of Rice Should I Use?
My favorite kinds of rice are basmati rice or long grain white jasmine rice for this cilantro lime rice recipe! I like the texture and taste of them the best. However, you can also use brown rice if you want to make this a bit healthier. You just need to double-check and use the proper liquid-to-rice ratio as stated on the rice instructions.
How to Store Leftovers
This cilantro lime rice stores great and sometimes even tastes better the next day! Heat it up and add it to a delicious burrito bowl for lunch!
- In the Refrigerator: Once the rice has cooled then, you can store the leftover rice in an airtight container and keep it in your refrigerator. It will last about 3-4 days.
- To Reheat: When you are ready to eat it again, just heat it up in the microwave and fluff it with a fork!
More Mexican Side Dishes
Try adding in a few more of these side dishes to any of your Mexican recipes to really elevate the meal and take it to the next level! These are some of my family’s favorites and we cook them over and over again!
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Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked rice long-grain, white rice
- 1 tsp butter or margarine
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp lime juice freshly squeezed
- 1 can 15 oz chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbsp lime juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3 Tbsp cilantro fresh chopped
Instructions
- In a saucepan combine rice, butter, and garlic, 1 tsp. lime juice, chicken broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is tender. Remove from heat.
- In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Seriously the most perfect and versatile side dish! It’s delicious, easy to make, and goes with all of our favorite tacos. A staple here!
Alyssa, thank you for your service. I finally signed up today. I’ll end up trying out many of your recipes.
Do you imagine that your recipe would require any modifications for the variety of rice cookers out there?
This will be great with most rice cookers. Thanks for signing up and following along with me!
This recipe is NOT like Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice. It was too sweet and not enough chicken broth or chicken bouillon. Add more chicken flavor and less sugar.
Yes. I have the same questions as Janae Mitchell that posted on May 17, 2015. But I don’t see a response:
Loving these Cafe Rio recipes! I’m addicted to the place! Go there about once a week! I was going to make their lime rice recipe today, but I have two quick questions first…
1. Under “Things that I changed” you list 1 CUP of chicken broth. Recipe calls for 1 CAN. Did you use 1 cup then? Or one can?
2. In that same area you say “I also added the garlic, butter and 1 tsp rice. Once the rice was cooked I fluffed with 1 Tbsp lime juice, sugar and cilantro.” So…did you really add 1 TSP RICE along with the 1 cup of rice? Or is that a possible typo? I just want to make sure I get it right because I want to try this today in my rice cooker and am not too clear as to what the recipe actually is.
AWESOME RECIPES! THANK YOU!
she hardly ever answers questions (which really annoys me) so I will since I’ve made it quite a few times. The written recipe is correct. I don’t remember what she says in the video but I do know the if you make it as written, it will be good. Hope this helps
Loving these Cafe Rio recipes! I’m addicted to the place! Go there about once a week! I was going to make their lime rice recipe today, but I have two quick questions first…
1. Under “Things that I changed” you list 1 CUP of chicken broth. Recipe calls for 1 CAN. Did you use 1 cup then? Or one can?
2. In that same area you say “I also added the garlic, butter and 1 tsp rice. Once the rice was cooked I fluffed with 1 Tbsp lime juice, sugar and cilantro.” So…did you really add 1 TSP RICE along with the 1 cup of rice? Or is that a possible typo? I just want to make sure I get it right because I want to try this today in my rice cooker and am not too clear as to what the recipe actually is.
AWESOME RECIPES! THANK YOU!
Do u think I could use brown rice?
About how many people will this feed?
I would say 4-6. 🙂
I will immediately seize your rss as I can’t find your e-mail subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Kindly let me realize so that I may just subscribe. Thanks.
Yes there is! The rss button is at the top in my header and my subscribe to email is on the left side about half way down. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I used your rice cooker version for our family meal tonight. It was delicious and spruced up an ordinary meal of burritos. 🙂