We love Chipotle restaurant. We actually had never eaten there until a few months ago, but once we ate there, we loved it.
However, if you know me, you know I like to make at home versions of food we love. So, I started searching for something like Chipotle that I could make at home.
I found quite a few recipes, but most of them did not even sound close to what Chipotle served. I did find one however, that sounded like it was very close to what I was looking for.
Of course, I could not leave the recipe alone, and I tweaked it a little. What I came up with was a rice we love. It is not quite the same as Chipotle’s, but very close. I think this would work well with any type of Mexican meal.
Now my family can enjoy a Chipotle style meal at home with out spending the time or money to go out.
This recipe calls for basmati rice. I really think basmati does work best here. It gives it a texture and taste very close to the real thing. And in case you are wondering, yes, the water vs rice ratio is correct for this recipe. It is not the exact ratio that you would use for the regular way to cook rice, but it works in this recipe.
Cilantro Lime Rice
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
- 2/3 cup white basmati rice
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 lime, juiced (please use the real thing here it is so much better)
- In a saucepan, heat oil until hot
- Add rice and stir for 1 minute, you are basically frying the rice in this step.
- Add lime juice, stir for 1 minute more.
- Add water and salt, bring to a boil
- Cover and turn down to simmer until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 18-20 minutes. Do not over cook this or it gets mushy.
- Add in the cilantro, stir, and serve
This post linked to Life As Mom.
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I can’t wait to try this recipe! I love Chipotle’s rice. It’s so uniquely tasty.
YUM! This sounds delicious. I love cilantro and lime, it is one of my favorite combinations! I can’t wait to try it!
I love Chipotle too. We found it when we moved to a new area about 4 years ago. I just love their burritos & have played around at home in attempt to make a similar burrito. This is very close to the rice recipe I use
) For the chicken, I use leftover shredded baked chicken to streamline the process & season while I’m reheating it (with a little water in a skillet) with ancho chili powder (found at Penzey’s Spices), black pepper, cumin, oregano, garlic powder & onion powder. I’m still working on finding a good match for the mild tomato salsa & the corn salsa, but we love this food & I love having it at home. Thanks for all the great recipes you have shared & continue to share.
We love Chiptole, too! I love to make Burrito Bowls at home so I can get a lot more quacamole than what they put on! I haven’t played around with their meat recipes too much because we usually go vegetarian, but you can’t go wrong doing it at home!
Mmmm! I’ll have to try this – thanks for the recipe.
Shalet´s last blog ..Frugal Friday
Any chance you know the cooking time if I were to use brown basamati rice? or at least have a guess. All we use is brown rice and I can’t remember the difference in cooking times between the two.
@Traci, I have never cooked brown basamati rice, but you could probably find out my googling it.
@Traci,
@Tracy, for brown rice it should be ~45 min. We use brown all the time too.
@Lynn, thanks for the recipe!
CMG doesn’t cook the rice in oil; they cook long grain rice and drizzle oil over the top when it is done, to prevent it from sticking. It is cooked slightly underdone, as it sits in a warmer. The cilantro, salt and a lemon-lime juice mix is add after it is done.
To make fajita veggies, use oregano with teh peppers and onions.
ok, LOVE all of this. @jw, TY… we use a rice steamer because we have a well, HUGE family. lol. I think i will try your way first.
my DD <3 chipotle. I prefer Qdoba. but it all starts with the amazing rice!
This rice is so good! Very true to the flavors of Chipotle rice.
Thanks! I am so glad you enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know.
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