Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice (Rice Cooker)

Learn how to make perfect Cilantro Lime Rice in the rice cooker with just 6 simple ingredients and 5 minutes of hands-on time. It’s the perfect weeknight side dish for Chipotle night at home!

We’re big fans of chipotle copycat recipes for their ease, flavor, and how great they are for meal prep. With a little advanced planning, I can put together a chipotle burrito bowl or hearty burrito in just minutes.

Plus, I’ve figured out the easiest way to make cilantro lime rice – yep, you guessed it! Right in the rice cooker. 

No more rice burning to the bottom of the pot, mushiness, overcooking, or babysitting the stovetop. Simply set it, forget it, and come back to hot, fluffy rice when you’re ready to load it up with chipotle beans, fajitas, sofritas, and more!  

Ingredients You’ll Need

• White rice: The best rice for this cilantro lime rice recipe is 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.
• Vegetable oil: Chipotle uses rice bran oil in its cooking, but this isn’t something I ever have stocked in my kitchen. Instead, I often use vegetable oil or avocado oil – any neutral tasting oil is great!
• 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.
• Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is essential. I highly recommend using both the stems and the leaves as I find most of the best flavor is actually in the stems!
• Citrus juice: Fresh lime juice and lemon juice is equally as essential as cilantro and gives this rice its signature zing! 
• Salt: When I developed this recipe, I used Morton Kosher Salt. Please keep in mind that if you are substituting table salt or Himalayan Pink Salt, you’re going to need to cut the salt measurement in HALF. This is because Morton Kosher salt has larger, coarse grains, so a teaspoon contains less salt by weight than a finer salt. 

How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice in the Rice Cooker

Instant Pot Variation 

If you’ve made my Instant Pot White Rice recipe, you might be wondering how to make Cilantro Lime Rice in the Instant Pot. It’s as easy as you think! 

1. Rinse and drain the rice. 
2. Add rice to the Instant Pot along with fresh water and bay leaves. 
3. Set the valve to “sealing,” and pressure cook on low pressure for 12 minutes. Once the time is up, move the valve to the “venting” position and manually release the pressure. 
4. Fluff with a fork and add oil, citrus juices, cilantro, and kosher salt and fluff again with a fork to incorporate. 
5. Enjoy! 

Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post to find full, complete instructions! 

Serving Suggestions

My favorite way to enjoy this cilantro lime rice is in a homemade chipotle burrito bowl, but it’s also the perfect cheap and easy side dish for tacos, enchiladas, roasted veggies, even breakfast bowls! 

If you’re committed to making the best copycat Chipotle bowl from scratch, cook all of my chipotle copycat recipes and load them together!

• Chipotle Black Beans
• Chipotle Fajita Veggies
• Sofritas
• Medium Salsa
• Corn Salsa
• Guacamole

Storage Instructions

Leftover rice cooker cilantro lime rice will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It spoils faster when stored in plastic as opposed to glass. 

Over time, the rice will become more dry, so when reheating, you may need to add a tablespoon or two of water before heating to help the rice rehydrate and become fluffy again.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Can I make this rice cooker recipe with brown rice?

Yes, with a couple of alterations. First, the rice to water ratio will be adjusted. If you are cooking 2 cups of brown rice in the rice cooker, you will need 3 ¾ cups of water. If you are cooking the Instant Pot variation, you will need 2 cups brown rice with 2 ½ cups water. 

Additionally, cook time will need adjusting. In the rice cooker, use the “brown rice” setting and note that it will take about 45 minutes. In the Instant Pot, pressure cook on manually high pressure for 20 minutes. Let pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, before switching the valve to the “venting” position and releasing remaining pressure.

Can I freeze cilantro lime rice?

Yes! I love making a big batch of cilantro lime rice and freezing several portions for quick and easy burrito bowls in the future. I like to freeze the rice in 1-cup or 2-cup portions using Souper Cubes, then transfer them from the Souper Cubes molds to gallon-sized freezer bags for longer term storage. 

I always reheat frozen rice in the microwave – 1-cup portions in 5 minute increments until hot and fluffy again. 2-cup portions in 7-8 minutes, plus additional 30 second increments as needed. 

How do I prevent my rice from being mushy?

Rinse the rice thoroughly, use the correct water-to-rice ratio, and fluff well with a fork instead of stirring (stirring will make it mushy!).

Which is best? Rice cooker or Instant Pot method?

If you own both a rice cooker and Instant Pot, you might be wondering which method is best. Both cook the rice perfectly and yield very similar results, but there are a few considerations to help you make your choice: 

•  Instant Pot cooks the rice 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 immediately after cooking or you risk overcooking and the rice being mushy.
  
  The rice cooker, however, does not require any manual release of pressure and could be made and left in the pot on a warm setting for several hours. For this reason, I usually opt for the rice cooker method myself.