Fluffy, separate grains of long-grain rice cooked with bay leaf, then tossed with lime juice, zest and plenty of chopped cilantro. The base for a homemade burrito bowl.
Estimate. Prices vary by location; tax and delivery fees are not included. Pantry staples (salt, oil…) are not included.
Ingredients
servings of about 3/4 cup
Pantry
Pantry
Pantry
Pantry staples are not included in the cost estimate.
Ingredient cost
Homemade
~$2.27
for 6
(~$0.38 each)
Homemade
~£1.51
for 6
(~£0.25 each)
Method quantities are for the original 6 servings of about 3/4 cup.
Kitchen gear
Medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid
Fine sieve
Rimmed baking tray
Microplane or fine grater, for the lime zest
Method
Put the rice in a sieve and rinse it under cold running water, rubbing the grains with your fingers, for 1 to 2 minutes until the water runs almost clear. Shake well to drain.
2 min
Bring the water, bay leaves, half the oil and the salt to a boil in a medium saucepan with a tight lid. Stir in the rice once, bring back to a boil, cover and turn the heat to the lowest setting.
Cook for 16 minutes without lifting the lid. Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes more.
26 min
Remove the bay leaves and tip the rice onto a large tray. Spread it out with a fork and leave it for 5 minutes so the steam escapes and the grains firm up.
5 min
Mix the lime zest, lime juice and the remaining oil in a large bowl. Add the warm rice and the cilantro and fold together gently with a spatula, lifting from the bottom, until every grain is coated.
Taste and add more salt or a squeeze more lime. Serve warm. Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate within an hour and eat within a day, reheating once until steaming hot.
Tips for a closer clone
Measure the water exactly. Rinsed rice already holds some water, so the usual 1 to 2 ratio makes it sticky.
Fold, do not stir: stirring breaks the hot grains and turns the rice mushy.
Add the cilantro only when the rice is warm, not hot, so it stays bright green.
Zest before you juice; the zest gives the lime flavor that lingers, the juice only gives sourness.
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About this dupe
UK and US
Cilantro is called coriander in the UK; use the leaves and the tender upper stems. Use basmati or a plain long-grain rice, not easy-cook (parboiled) rice, which stays firm and does not take up the lime in the same way. Chipotle’s London restaurants list it on their menus as coriander-lime rice.
vs the original
White cilantro-lime rice is on the menu in the US and at the chain’s UK restaurants (menu status reviewed Oct 14, 2026). It is not sold as a priced side in our data, so there is no savings line.
Why the rice matters more than the seasoning
Lime and cilantro are easy. What makes this kind of rice is the texture: grains that stay separate and a little firm, so they hold up under beans, salsa and meat. That comes from rinsing off the surface starch, using slightly less water than the packet says, and letting the steam escape before the lime goes in.
What it costs: ingredient costs are estimates for the amount used, from supermarket listing prices checked on Oct 15, 2026 (Target.com in the US, Trolley.co.uk for UK supermarkets). Prices vary by store and week.
Where this recipe comes from
Untested: a starting point written with AI help and checked against our recipe rules. Nobody has cooked it yet. Make it, rate how close it gets, and tell us what you changed. How we label recipes
