You know when we went to Costco last weekend? Well, one of our many impulse purchases was a five pound bag of limes. Five. Pounds. At the time, I had all these visions of cucumber limeade, gin and tonics and maybe even my own special clean version of the key lime pies we grew to love to while in Florida. I had plans for those limes. They were meant for greatness.
And then I got them home and hulked my giant bag of limes onto the counter and thought, Holy hell. What did I get myself into? That’s a lot of limes.
Once I got over the initial shock of lime overload, I started actually using them. I made a giant batch of cucumber limeade (so, yum) which we drank out of quart Mason jars out by the pool. I found myself squeezing lime juice on pretty much everything. On top of grilled fish. Over salads. In my water glass. And into my pot of brown rice.
I know making cilantro lime rice isn’t new by any extent of the imagination, but it is totally new for me. I’m not a huge brown rice fan. When compared to all the delicious, nutritious, awesome grains out there, brown rice falls way low on the list. It’s just so…blah. But a squeeze of lime, a touch of butter and a handful of cilantro, turned blah into pretty amazing. So amazing that I couldn’t stop dipping my fork into the bowl while I was pulling together the rest of dinner (which was, by the way, salmon with peach salsa).
For only having that bag of limes for about a week, I’ve made a damn good dent, thankyouverymuch. I’d say I have about 1/3 of the bag left to tackle. Maybe there is a Key Regular Lime Pie in our collective futures. Or maybe I’ll just make another batch of this rice.
Cilantro Lime Brown Rice
Cilantro lime brown rice– a squeeze of lime, a touch of butter, and a handful of cilantro, turns blah brown rice into something pretty amazing.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups brown basmati rice
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Juice and zest of one lime
- 1/2 cup loosely-packed cilantro, minced
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add rice and stir to coat.
- Add in water, salt, lime juice and lime zest. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, then stir in the chopped cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for spritzing on top of individual servings.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 83Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 299mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
This looks and sounds amazing! Do you think I could achieve this using a rice cooker?
Yes! Just go ahead and set the rice cooker to the normal setting. 🙂
When you have a lot of limes or lemons, grate them and freeze the zest, then juice them and freeze it in ice cube trays for when you have no limes.
Agree with Minerva….reminds me of Chipotle! Only yours looks better!
If you’re going to come home with a huge bag of something from Costco – limes is the way to go!
YUM! I love cilantro lime rice!
I wanted to try this rice recipe and that spiraled into me making an entire Mexican-style feast with spicy beans, oniony chicken, salsa, the whole nine yards!
Oh, and the rice was delicious.
This sounds really good. I love cilantro and rice, so I must try it!
Favourite way to use limes, G&T. Others are to add juice to lentil soup and in salad dressings. I am going to try the cucumber limeade though, that sounds great!
Oh gosh, I love G&Ts. They are definitely my go-to drink. 🙂
Reminds me of Chipotle’s new brown rice. I’m sure this is much yummier and no crazy lines to stand in!
You know what? I’ve never eaten at a Chipotle!