This Cilantro Lime Rice recipe is my favorite copycat Chipotle style rice recipe to make at home! You can make it in the rice cooker or Instant Pot in 30 minutes or less! Perfect for stuffed peppers or serving with Copycat Chipotle Black Beans and topping with Roasted Chili Corn Salsa (Chipotle Copycat!).
I absolutely love Chipotle’s cilantro white rice. It’s always fluffy, buttery, slightly salty, bright-flavored, zesty and just so comforting. It’s also naturally both vegan and gluten free (as are most ingredients on Chipotle’s menu!!).
Prep a large batch on Sunday or Monday and enjoy all week long alongside virtually every meal – enchiladas, vegan butter chicken, burrito bowl, or with Oil Free Refried Beans and 5 Minute Tomatillo Green-Chili Salsa (Chipotle Copycat)!
You will never be sorry you meal-prepped a batch of rice!
Why This Recipe Works
- Cooking grains in the rice cooker or Instant Pot instead of on the stovetop has one huge advantage that cannot be ignored – you can set it and forget it. Any recipe that can cook itself without any supervision or stirring is my favorite kind of recipe.
- By using long-grain white rice, we can achieve the best, fluffiest rice. Shorter grained rices are much more moist and sticky, like sushi rice!
- This recipe uses both cilantro leaves and stems for optimal fresh flavor.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Long-grain white rice – Basmati or Jasmine white rice varieties are preferred for this recipe. If you substitute the long-grain rice with a shorter grain rice, your rice is going to be a lot more moist and sticky and not resemble Chipotle Mexican Grill white rice. If you’re unsure of what variety of rice you have, check out this Simplified Rice Guide by Bon Appetit.
- Bay leaves – When steamed with the rice, bay leaves add an herbal, peppery undertone to the rice. I love to add at least 4 leaves to my rice, but use less or more, depending on your love for bay leaves.
- Rice bran oil – Chipotle uses rice bran oil in it’s cooking. You could easily swap for any other neutral oil you have in your kitchen as rice bran oil is very subtle – I often use avocado oil with wonderful results.
- Fresh Cilantro – I highly recommend using both the stems and the leaves as I find most of the best flavor is actually in the stems!
- Lime juice and lemon juice – Although essential to this cilantro lime rice, it is very easy to go overboard with these flavors. Less is more so start on the conservative side and add more to taste.
Rice Cooker vs. Instant Pot
Here I am going to share with you step by step instructions for both the Instant Pot and Rice Cooker. Note that the instructions are almost identical for both, with a couple of key differences:
- Instant Pot cooks the rice 15 minutes faster. I’ve timed it, and between my 6 QT Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus Pressure Cooker and my Aroma 20 Cup Rice Cooker, the Instant Pot beats the rice cooker in terms of cook time significantly.
- Instant Pot method is slightly more high maintenance. Although the rice cooks itself in both pots, you do have to manually release the pressure of the Instant Pot after 8 minutes or you risk over cooking it.
The rice cooker, however does not require any manually release of pressure and could be made and left in the pot on warm setting for several hours. For this reason, I usually opt for the rice cooker method myself. - Rice cooker method requires ½ cup more water. Rice cookers steam far more than pressure cookers and need additional water to compensate for water loss due to steam.
Step by Step Instructions
- Rinse the rice thoroughly in a fine mesh sieve to remove any debris and the excess starches that prevent rice from cooking evenly. If you skip this, it could effect the texture of your rice!
- Add the rinsed (and drained) rice to the Instant Pot or rice cooker.
- Add the water and bay leaves and give it a good stir. It is okay if the water is a little bit cloudy, however it should be mostly clear. If the water is very cloudy, almost white, it may need to be rinsed for longer as this is a sign it still has quite a bit of excess starch that can be removed.
- Rice Cooker Method: Cook on the white rice setting.
Instant Pot Method: Add the lid and cook on manual (custom) high pressure for 5 minutes. After cooking for 5 minutes, allow the pot to naturally release pressure for 8 minutes, then switch the valve from “seal” to “vent” to release the remaining pressure.
If you are new to cooking with the Instant Pot and are not familiar with these cooking terms, I recommend checking out this Instant Pot 101: a guide for beginners article.
- Once the pressure is released or the rice cooker has finished cooking, remove the lid and discard the steamed bay leaves.
- Using a fork, fluff up the rice.
- Add in oil, cilantro, lime and lemon juice and kosher salt to taste.
- Fluff once more with the fork until completely combined. Serve immediately or allow to cool to stick in the fridge or freezer for meal prep!
Freezing Instructions
Freezing rice and grains in general is incredibly easy and highly recommended. It saves me so much time during busy seasons of life and nights when cooking a time consuming recipe is not only not an option but really not an appealing one, either.
To freeze, simply transfer rice to freezer safe containers like mason jars, stasher bags, or even freezer safe ziplock bags. Press the air out of the bags and freeze for up to 6 months.
I like to freeze grains in 16 ounce mason jars so I can defrost small amounts at a time when needed.
The only really important thing to remember when freezing grains is to allow them to cool COMPLETELY before freezing.
If you freeze when warm, the heat from the rice will build condensation inside whatever vessel you use and add a layer of frost bite and excess water to your grains.
This will effect both texture and taste. Ever had frozen food that tasted like, well, the freezer?
To defrost: Stick in the refrigerator and allow to thaw overnight or microwave right from the freezer until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
I do not recommend using the specific button some Instant Pot models have for rice because this method cooks the rice at low pressure. This is not only going to cook the rice much slower, but from my experience it is also less consistent of a result compared to the custom manual high pressure.
Although I am surprised you’re reading a recipe for cilantro lime rice knowing you do not like cilantro, yes, this rice will be very good without it. You can also ask for rice without cilantro at the Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants, too!
Sorry, no! Brown rice requires more water and will require much different cook times. This recipe is specifically for long-grain white rice.
I know there is much debate other there as to whether you should salt the rice water, but I do not. I find foods require LESS salt when you add it afterwards on top of your food because you can taste it a lot more. This means less sodium consumption overall, which is generally preferred!
Expert Tips
- Double or triple the recipe and freeze a few servings for later! Your future, tired self will thank you.
- Add half of the lime juice and lemon juice first and taste as it can be easily overpowering. If you think it needs more, add the full amount recipe calls for. Remember: you can always add more but you cannot subtract!
- Don’t forget to use the cilantro stems! They are far more flavorful than the leaves and completely edible!
What to Serve This Rice With?
- Vegetarian Green Chili
- Easy Vegan Burrito Bowl
- Copycat Chipotle Black Beans
- Fajita Veggies
- Chipotle Cashew Queso
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Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice in Rice Cooker (or Instant Pot)
What You’ll Need
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain white rice - uncooked
- 2-2.5 cups water - depending on cooking method
- 2 tablespoons rice bran oil
- 4 bay leaves
- ¾ cup cilantro - finely chopped
- ¼ cup lime juice - adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice - adjust to taste
- ½ tablespoon Morton kosher salt - adjust to taste (see notes)
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the rice in a fine mesh sieve to remove excess debris and starches.
- Add the rinsed and drained wet rice to the Instant Pot along with two cups of water and 4 bay leaves and stir to combine.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and cook at manually high custom pressure for 5 minutes. Make sure the valve is set to seal (not vent) or it will not come to pressure.
- Allow pressure to naturally release for 8 minutes after cooking, then remove remaining pressure by switching valve from "seal" to "vent."
- Remove the steamed bay leaves, then thoroughly fluff rice with a fork.
- Add in the oil, lemon juice, lime juice, finely chopped cilantro, and kosher salt to taste and fluff thoroughly again with a fork to combine. I recommend adding half the amount of lemon and lime juice and tasting first as this flavor can be overpowering.
- Serve immediately or allow to cool completely to refrigerate/freeze for meal prep.
Rice Cooker Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the rice in a fine mesh sieve to remove excess debris and starches.
- Add the rinsed and drained wet rice to the rice cooker along with 2.5 cups of water and 4 bay leaves and stir to combine.
- Secure the lid and cook using the "white rice" setting.
- Once fully cooked, remove the steamed bay leaves, then thoroughly fluff rice with a fork.
- Add in the oil, lemon juice, lime juice, finely chopped cilantro, and kosher salt to taste and fluff thoroughly again with a fork to combine. I recommend adding half the amount of lemon and lime juice and tasting first as this flavor can be overpowering.
- Serve immediately or allow to cool completely to refrigerate/freeze for meal prep.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigeration: This rice can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 7 days. It will last longer stored in glass.
- Freezing: Freeze in freezer ziplocks, mason jars, or reusable stasher bags for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or by microwaving until heated through completely.
Recipe Notes
- Disclaimer: This recipe is only inspired by Chipotle Mexican Grill’s rice and is not the authentic restaurant version.
- Rice cooker method takes 15 minutes longer to cook.
- This rice can be made without the cilantro, if desired.
- Double or triple this recipe to freeze for future recipes and busy week nights.
- Check out my other Chipotle Copycat recipes:
- This recipe is simply inspired by Chipotle. It is not their true, authentic recipe.
- This recipe yields 6 cups of cooked rice.
- If you use regular salt in place of kosher salt you will need to use far less. I would start with ¾ TEASPOON sea salt in place of ½ tablespoon kosher salt.
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Nutrition
Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.
Made this over the weekend to accompany a simple grilled salmon filet. It was delicious!
I’m so glad! Thank you, Mollie!
Does it change the flavor to use a different oil? I have never heard of rice bran oil. Thank you.