Cilantro Lime Rice
Get this recipe for simple, delicious, homemade cilantro lime rice! If you love Mexican-inspired meals, this rice will be your constant friend.
If you are like me and love Mexican-inspired meals more than life, this cilantro lime rice will be your constant friend.
Almost as simple as making every day white rice, this cilantro lime rice gets a boost from sautéing the rice quickly in a pat of butter.
A few simple seasonings are thrown in, and before you know it, you’ll have some seriously delicious cilantro lime rice for the eating.
Here are a few recipes that are worlds better with this cilantro lime rice:
Honey Lime Tilapia
Sweet Paprika Chicken Skillet
Smothered Sweet Pork Burritos
Grilled Island Chicken
So. If cilantro lime rice has not been part of your world, you should definitely change that. It’s so yummy – I can’t get enough!
Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 1 ¼ cups rice, long grain white rice or jasmine rice works best
- 2 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Juice and zest of 1 large lime
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- In a skillet or medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the rice. Stir, letting the rice and butter cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15-16 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
You are awesome! I saw that new recipe. Big hug to you! Thank you for the ideas.
Thank you, Mel! I appreciate your thoughts. Any ideas on a good alternative side served with tacos? This is kind of stressful for those of us not in the know. You have made such a difference in my cooking- only fitting you are helping me through this!
What about the new easy refried bean recipe I just posted? https://www.melskitchencafe.com/easy-refried-beans/ That would be yummy! And would probably keep well on warm for a while (you could easily add liquid as needed). Or you could simmer black beans with jarred salsa for another bean-type side dish? I actually feel like tacos, if served with tons of toppings, don’t need elaborate side dishes. Fresh fruit would go well with them as well as a mexican chopped salad like this one? https://www.melskitchencafe.com/mexican-chopped-salad-with-cilantro-lime-vinaigrette/ or this Mexican street corn salad? https://www.melskitchencafe.com/mexican-street-corn-salad/
We loved this rice! I tried Lexi’s baked rice method and loved it. It overflowed a little with the amount of liquid. Will try less liquid next time.
I’m hoping to serve the rice at a grad party. Is it possible to safely keep it warm for 4 hours? I will not have access to a kitchen at the indoor venue, but have access to roasters, crockpots, instant pots, and chaffing dishes. I’m serving 150ish people. What do you recommend? Would it be better to leave it off the menu? I so appreciate your help!
Hi Andrea, rice is a bit tricky to make ahead and keep warm as it tends to get stickier as it sits and hard to serve…but if you want to try it, I’d recommend using an electric roaster and keeping it warm on low heat in that after making it.
This recipe worked great in a rice cooker! I did rinse the rice first as several people recommended but then I just threw everything in the rice cooker and it turned out great. It was not sticky or clumpy at all. Thanks for another great recipe, Mel!
I tried multiple recipes to make cilantro lime rice for a large group. Mel’s recipe is THE BEST and I kept coming back to it for the flavor but I needed to make it in large quantities. Here is what worked for me – 90% Mel combined with oven baking.
Cilantro Lime Rice (for a crowd!)
Need large quantities of delicious rice? Modified Mel’s kitchen cafe recipe using baked rice method. Perfectly seasoned, easy!
6 c Jasmine rice
4 large limes, juiced (approx 3/4 c) and zested
4 T butter, cut into tablespoons
4 1/2 t kosher salt
2 t freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 t cumin
3/4-1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
8 c chicken stock
1 1/4 c water
Pam cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray 1/2 sheet catering pan with Pam. Set on cookie sheet for stability. Add uncooked rice. No need to rinse rice!
Heat to boiling all other ingredients, except cilantro and butter. Need a total of 10 c of boiling liquid so broth + lime juice + water = 10 c
Watch carefully – do not boil liquid down at all.
Carefully pour liquid over rice, quickly stir in chopped cilantro then drop in sliced butter (across the top)
Cover quickly and tightly with foil making sure each side is sealed. Will be very full! Carefully place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Let sit covered for 10 min after removing from oven. Remove foil and fluff with fork.
Makes 18 c perfectly seasoned cilantro rice – approx 30 generous 1/2 c + servings.
Note: Might consider stirring cilantro in post bake but would want it to be more finely chopped – color would be prettier.
This is SUPER helpful! Thank you so much. One quick clarifying question: the 1/2 sheet catering pan…are those the 1/2 size aluminum pans, not the full size that go in the bottom of a chaffing dish? More like a 9×13 ish size?
Flavour is excellent, but I didn’t rinse the rice first – because your instructions say to put the rice in with the butter, nothing about rinse first – and it turned out gummy. I guess for some people rinsing is just assumed no matter what the recipe says, but I had it in my mind that you would have said “rinse the rice” . Just a suggestion for those of us who are very literal (hahaha), maybe suggest in the recipe that the rice should be rinsed prior to.
Thanks!