by Texas Homesteader ~
Cilantro-Lime Rice is a quick & easy rice dish. A delightful side dish that goes with Tex-Mex meals or meatloaf, chicken, etc
Cilantro Growing In The Garden
Cilantro has a pretty short growing season. It bolts and seeds at the very first whiff of heat. Here in zone 8 that happens pretty early in the spring.
Although I only use coriander (aka: cilantro seed) occasionally in my cooking, allowing my cilantro to go to seed virtually guarantees that I’ll have volunteer cilantro plants in my garden the next spring.
But while it’s growing I make sure to put fresh cilantro to good use. I love this Cilantro Rice recipe. And it’s so easy too!
Keeping Cooked Rice From Being Sticky
I’ve learned it’s important to rinse rice before cooking. This rinses off the excess starch and helps your rice to cook up fluffy, instead of a blob of starchy mess. #askmehowiknow.
So before I ever start my recipe, I measure out my rice and put it in a hand-held strainer. I run fresh water through the rice until it runs clear. Once it’s rinsed I’ll set it aside as I prepare to cook it.
Sauté Aromatics – Garlic & Onion
You can use butter for this step, but in our home Bacon Grease is king! So I add about a tablespoon of bacon grease to the bottom of my pan and turn the heat on to medium. When the grease is melted I add my chopped onion.
After a couple of minutes I also add my minced garlic and rinsed rice. A few minutes longer and I’m ready to cook my rice.
Cooking Rice – What Works For Me
Now conventional wisdom says to cook long-grain rice you add 1 part rice to 2 parts water or broth & simmer for 20 minutes.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but every time I follow those standard cooking directions I end up with a clump of mushy, over-cooked, slightly burned-to-the-bottom rice.
Why? I’m not sure. I don’t know if it’s the power in my stove’s gas burners or what. But that’s the way it turns out each & every time I try to make rice that way. Does that happen to you too?
If so, here’s how I now cook our long-grain rice.
I add broth to the rinsed rice bring it to a simmer. Then I cover the pot, lower the heat and set my timer for 10 minutes.
After that time I turn the heat off but allow the rice to remain covered for an additional 10 minutes. This steams the rice for the remaining ‘cooking’ time without danger of scorching it to the bottom.
After that 10 minutes is up I’ll remove the lid and inspect my rice. With a fork I’ll fluff it up and look for any remaining broth in the bottom of the pan.
If there’s any remaining broth I’ll recover the rice and give it a few minutes more for the rice to soak up the remaining broth before inspecting it again.
Zero-Waste Lime Juice & Zest
I always have a whole lemon and a whole lime in my freezer to use in cooking. (It’s my Zero-Waste Citrus Tip, y’all)
I use a vintage juicer to extract the juice and then zest the thawed lime. Now both juice & zest stand ready for my rice dish.
I’ll sample a few grains of rice to make sure it’s cooked to my liking. Is it firmly soft but not crunchy nor mushy? Yep!
So now I’ll add my chopped fresh cilantro, the lime juice and zest and fluff again with a fork. Time to serve!
What goes With Cilantro Lime Rice?
We don’t stick with Tex-Mex Themed meals for serving this cilantro lime rice. But our favorites are:
Instant Pot Roast
Air Fryer ‘Fried’ Chicken
Carnitas Tacos
Sheet Pan Beef Quesadillas
Stacked Chile Relleno Casserole
Taco-Stuffed Peppers
Pulled Pork Enchiladas
It’s so good, and so easy. Plus it assures that I can utilize that fresh cilantro from the garden while it’s at the peak of freshness.
Did you make this Cilantro/Lime Rice? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!
Rice With Fresh Cilantro & Lime
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice, rinsed
- 2 cups broth (mine is unsalted)
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced (or to taste)
- 1/2 onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 Tablespoon butter (I used bacon grease)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- Salt to taste (I use 3/4 tsp)
- 1 Tablespoon lime zest
Instructions
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Rinse rice until water runs clear, then set aside.
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Into pan add a Tablespoon of butter or bacon grease and the chopped onion. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, then add minced garlic & rinsed, drained rice. Sauté one minute more
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Pour in 2 cups broth I add ¾ teaspoon for my unsalted broth) and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, then turn heat off and leave pan covered 10-12 additional minutes. (Sample the rice for texture - it may need a couple more minutes of steaming. If not, proceed to next step.)
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Stir in ½ cup chopped cilantro, 1 Tablespoon lime juice & 1 Tablespoon lime zest. Fluff with fork and serve.
~TxH~
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Other Side Dishes We Love
Rice
- Rosemary Rice
- Buttered Rice w/Fresh Sage & Garlic
- Cilantro-Lime Rice
- Texas-Style Spanish Rice
- Favorite Ways To Flavor Plain Rice
Beans
- Ranch-Style Beans
- RancherMan’s Green-Bean Casserole
- Cooking Dry Pinto Beans in An Instant Pot
- Fun Flavor Variations For Plain Pinto Beans
- Black-Eyed Peas With Rotel Tomatoes
Vegetables
- Roasted Vegetables
- Fried Okra Fritters
- Simple Homemade Creamy Coleslaw
- Mashed Potatoes Into Potato Cakes
Other
…and MANY MORE!
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I made this cilantro lime rice last night. I batch-cooked the rice in the Instant Pot, then pulled out a portion of cooked rice and added butter, chopped cilantro and lime juice & zest. My family loved it! A nice way to change up plain white rice.