10-Minute Cilantro Lime Brown Rice Recipe - The Kitchen Girl (2024)

FAQs

Is the brown rice at Chipotle cilantro-lime? ›

Every morning in each of our restaurants, we make our cilantro-lime brown rice from scratch. We simmer the whole-grain rice with bay leaves to add savory flavors, then season it with lemon and lime juices and toss it with cilantro for a slightly tart, fresh taste.

Lime juice lends sweetness and just a touch of bitterness, while lemon juice adds a little sourness. But the real secret to this famed rice isn't what you may think it is. It's not some special spice blend or magical cooking method — it's a bay leaf.

Every morning, we make our cilantro-lime white rice from scratch in each of our restaurants. We steam it with bay leaves to impart their herbal fragrance, then season it with lime and lemon juices and toss it with cilantro for its fresh, slightly tart flavor.

Choose your rice

The brown rice contains less sodium and more fiber than the white rice. If you did choose the burrito or tacos, you might want to skip the rice (210 calories) altogether since you're getting your grains in your shell.

Build flavors early on!

We love sauteeing some onions or leeks in butter with some thyme before adding rice to the pot, but you should use what you have around! Ginger and garlic both make for exceptional brown rice. If you're going the spice route we love turmeric, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika with brown rice.

Nutrient Content: Cilantro lime rice typically contains rice, cilantro, lime juice, and sometimes a small amount of oil or butter for flavor. These ingredients offer various nutrients, including carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Cilantro is rich in antioxidants and has potential health benefits.

One cup of raw cilantro weighing about 16 grams (g) provides: 3.68 calories.

Brown rice is a more nutrient-dense product than white rice. Because of this, brown rice may help reduce blood sugar levels and aid in managing weight. But white rice is good for people with certain digestive issues and those who can't digest fiber-rich foods well.

Are Chipotle black beans or pinto beans healthier? ›

Spoiler alert: It's a tie! They are both incredibly healthy. The nutrition differences between black beans vs. pinto beans are almost negligible, and they both provide plenty of protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

The rice and beans Chipotle uses are non-organic and conventionally grown. But, again, this isn't what keeps me up at night. My distress stems from the fact that seed oils are incorporated into both the rice and beans served at Chipotle.

Ironically, Chipotle's use of cilantro is rather contentious, and the inclusion of it in both its white and brown rice is quite controversial. In fact, the brand's cilantro rice has become somewhat infamous because people are so divided over it; there are those who love it and those who absolutely hate it.

"Our guests crave real, plant-based options so we developed a new flavor packed recipe that aligns with our Food with Integrity standards." In January 2021, Chipotle featured Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice across all U.S. and Canadian restaurants, resulting in an incremental sales lift while also attracting new guests.

Chipotle Brown Rice (4 oz) contains 36g total carbs, 34g net carbs, 6g fat, 4g protein, and 210 calories.