Cilantro Lime Rice. This tender, fluffy rice is flavored with fresh zesty lime juice and chopped cilantro. Perfect for serving alongside chicken, fish, or shrimp.
Serve this tender rice recipe alongside some chili lime chicken, burritos filled with crisp pork carnitas, or in a burrito bowl topped with some barbacoa.
Cilantro Lime Rice:
Flavorful white rice, fluffy and tender. Loaded up with fresh herby cilantro and a burst of zesty lime juice. This rice is a family favorite and the perfect side dish for so many meals. Plus I have all the tips and tricks to make the best rice! Sometimes making something as simple as rice, can be the most challenging. It’s one of those things that is all in the method of how you prepare and cook it.
What is the best type of rice to use?
This recipe works best with a long grain white rice. Long grain rice is slim and long, four to five times longer than it is wide. After cooking, the grains remain firm, separate and fluffy. We don’t want our end result to be a sticky rice, we want each grain to be it’s own, giving us fluffy, tender rice.
Types of long grain rice:
- American long white rice: basic, and classic. Easy to find and not expensive in most markets.
- Basmati rice: a very popular choice for Mexican rices.
- Jasmine rice: one of my new favorites to use when making Mexican rice and this cilantro lime rice. It has a fragrance when you fry it up and cooks beautifully.
How to make perfectly fluffy rice:
- Rinse the rice. This is an optional step. I have found some people who are scared the rice will pop while frying in oil if it’s wet, but I have no issues with frying wet rice. To rinse the rice place into a fine mesh strainer. Pour water over the rice and rinse until the liquid runs clear. This helps remove excess starch and any other impurities on the surface of the rice. Another option would be to soak the rice and then strain out the excess water.
- Fry the rice. Pour a small amount of oil in the skillet. We want to fry the rice until it’s starting to turn golden. Stir the rice while it’s frying to prevent burning. This is also the time where I add my onion, so it can saute while the rice is toasting.
- Add in broth/water. With this recipe, since it has minimal ingredients for flavoring, I like to use a chicken broth. You can use a vegetable broth, or you could use water. Add in other seasonings, salt, garlic.
- Let the rice come to a boil. I keep the heat up while pouring in the broth. It will sizzle when it hits the pan, but it’s fine. Let it keep heating to a boil. Then cover the pan and turn the heat to low.
- Let the rice simmer on low while covered. Don’t lift the lid. I find that 20-25 minutes is perfect for 1-2 cups of rice. More rice can require more cook time. Brown rice also requires longer cook time.
- After 25 minutes of cooking. Remove the pot from heat. Keep the lid on. Let the rice rest for 10 minutes before removing the lid and fluffing the rice with a fork.
More Tex Mex Side Dishes:
Perfect Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil, olive oil, avocado oil
- 2 cups long grain white rice*, rinsed*
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- ½ tsp lime zest
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the rice and stir, coating with the oil.
- Add in the sliced green onion to saute while the rice fries. Continue cooking until the rice starts to toast and turn a golden color.
- When the rice is toasted, add the garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the chicken broth, keep the heat at medium heat. Stir in the salt and lime zest.
- Bring mixture to a simmer. Cover the skillet with a lid. Turn the heat to LOW. Cook covered for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, remove the skillet from the heat, keeping the lid on. Let the rice sit for 10 minutes, undisturbed.
- After resting 10 mintues, remove the lid, fluff the rice.
- Stir in the chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. Serve warm.
Notes
- Types of long grain rice:
- American long white rice: basic, and classic. Easy to find and not expensive in most markets.
- Basmati rice: a very popular choice for Mexican rices.
- Jasmine rice: one of my new favorites to use when making Mexican rice and this cilantro lime rice. It has a fragrance when you fry it up and cooks beautifully.
My dear friend, this is my absolute go-to recipe for rice! I have made this a half-dozen times, and will continue doing so for an easy, flavorful rice dish. I have made it with chicken, beef, and pork. Tonight it is the side for a crispy-skin duck breast dish I am making.
Simply perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this with the world.
Respect!
Jeff in Houston.
This was really good! I used veggie broth in order to keep it vegan. My hubby typically won’t eat white rice. But, I served him a piece of honey ginger salmon over a bed of this rice and he gobbled it all up!! Thank you, this recipe is a keeper. I’m excited to use leftovers to make a burrito bowl.