Copycat Café Rio Cilantro Lime Rice [+ Video]

Craving the fresh, zesty flavor of Café Rio’s cilantro lime rice? This copycat recipe brings the perfect balance of fluffy rice, tangy lime, and aromatic cilantro, making it the ideal side dish for tacos, burritos, or even just a delicious bowl on its own. With a few simple ingredients, you can recreate that vibrant, savory taste at home.

*This is a sponsored post due to my partnership with the Utah Dairy Council.

I’ve found that when I make Mexican food lately I really want rice and beans with it, just like the restaurants do. I didn’t used to care, but I’ve really grown to like the rice and beans. We especially love how easy this rice is. There’s a touch of butter in the rice too. Let’s not forget that. A little dairy can totally change a dish for the better. True story.

I’ll include a whole section below for recreating a whole Café Rio meal that includes this easy rice recipe! Mmmm…now I’m craving some Café Rio!

Ingredients for Cilantro Lime Rice

Whether you’re planning to eat this rice as a side dish for some chicken fajitas or as the base for burrito bowls, you’re family is going to love it! Let’s jump further into the all the ingredients you will need!

• Rice: Just regular long-grain white rice will work great. Jasmine rice and basmati rice would also work.
• Water: used to cook the rice
• Unsalted Butter: adds richness and flavor
• Chicken Bouillon: Adds flavor to the rice as it simmer.
• Garlic: Fresh minced garlic will give you the best flavor.
• Cilantro: You can’t have too much fresh cilantro in my opinion, so grab a bundle from the produce section of the grocery store and chop it up.
• Lime: Fresh lime juice is definitely preferred, but if you don’t have lime, the bottled lime juice will work.
• Diced Green Chiles: I like to leave the juice in for added flavor. You can dial up the spice here with medium or hot canned chiles. We stick with mild in our house.

The measurements and details for each recipe can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice on the Stove Top

I almost always cook rice on the stove top these days. I used to be loyal to the rice cooker, but as time has gone on, I’ve found myself enjoying being a little more hands on with rice. It takes a tiny bit more work, but for me, it’s worth it. Here are the steps for making this cilantro lime rice recipe including a photo of each step below.

1. Pour: Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Start with the water followed by the rice. Then add the green chiles, garlic, butter, bouillon, chopped cilantro, and the fresh lime juice.
2. Boil: Give everything a good stir to combine and bring it to a boil.
3. Simmer: Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to low, put a lid on it and let it cook for 20-30 minutes until the rice is tender.
4. Fluff: Remove the lid, fluff the rice with a fork and serve!

These instructions are also contained in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice in a Rice Cooker

Making this recipe on the stove top is easy enough, but if you want it even easier, use a rice cooker! Add all the ingredients to the rice cooker, give it a good stir and then set it to cook. Put the lid on and you’re done. When it is done cooking, fluff the rice and serve.

Looking for Low Carb??: We have a low carb version of this recipe as well. Try our cilantro lime cauliflower rice!

What Can You Substitute For Cilantro?

You can substitute cilantro with an equal amount of fresh parsley, tarragon, dill or a combination of the three.

What to Serve with Cilantro Lime Rice

If you’ve never been to Café Rio, let me paint you a picture. It’s a quick service restaurant and you walk down the cook line and order exactly what you want as you make your way toward the register watching your entire meal be made right before your eyes.

It’s similar to Chipotle or Costa Vida. You can choose a salad, tacos, a burrito, a quesadilla, nachos or enchiladas. Then you pick the type of meat you want followed by all the toppings. Everything is so fresh and delicious! Here are few more of our Café Rio Copycat Recipes to create your own meal at home:

• Café Rio Sweet Pork
• Crock Pot Café Rio Shredded Chicken
• Café Rio Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

My recommendation…put a homemade flour tortilla down into a shallow bowl and top it with a scoop of this cilantro lime rice. Then add a scoop of our favorite Mexican black beans followed by a pile of the sweet pork or shredded chicken. Top that with some shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, a sprinkle of cotija cheese and a good drizzle of the tomatillo dressing. There’s no way you won’t love it!

Storing and Reheating

Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 5 days. They can be reheated on the stove top or in the microwave. I like to add a little chicken broth or water before reheating it so that it doesn’t dry out.

Rice also freezes well. Let it cool completely and then place it in a freezer-safe container. It will keep for up to 3 months and then let it thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat as mentioned.

Watch How to Make This Cilantro Lime Rice at Home…

Learn how to make delicious and flavorful cilantro lime rice just like the popular side dish from Café Rio. This copycat recipe is easy to follow and takes less than 30 minutes with only 5 minutes of actual hands-on work. I have a feeling this recipe is going to be on your regular dinner rotation whenever you make a Mexican main dish.

More Mexican Side Dishes:

• Traditional Mexican Street Corn
• Best Mexican Black Beans
• Restaurant Style Salsa
• Instant Pot Refried Beans
• Elote Grilled Mexican Corn Salad
• Best Pinto Beans Recipe
• Mexican Cream Corn

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