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This coconut lime rice is a delicious side dish (one of our family's favorite actually), incredibly easy to make and ready in under 15 minutes! Rice is perfectly cooked in coconut milk and water and then mixed with lime juice, lime zest and fresh cilantro. Creamy texture and great flavors = perfect combo!
💙 Why you'll love it
- Perfect side dish - coconut lime rice is one of the easiest way I know to dress up simple rice. Say bye to tasteless, flavorless rice!
- So quick - ready in 10 minutes only, there's absolutely no preparation in this recipe! All you need is to put everything in a saucepan, wait a bit and there you go.
- One pan - you won't spend another evening doing dishes, no mam! Because this rice only requires one saucepan 🙂
- Just delicious - with its creamy texture and its mild coconut flavor, it's a deliciously amazing side dish!
🥕Other side dishes you'll love
Garlic Parmesan smashed potatoes
Crispy Air Fryer carrot fries
Authentic Swiss Rösti
Oven-baked zucchini fries
🥥Ingredients
You'll need those simple ingredients to make this coconut cilantro lime rice. You can find the quantities in the recipe card below.
- Rice - prefer long-grain rice, such as the Basmati rice that I used or Jasmine rice. Avoid sushi rice or short-grain rice.
- Coconut milk - full fat coconut milk is the best! You can find it in most grocery store.
- Water
- Lime - for zest and juice.
- Fresh cilantro to add extra flavour.
🍗 What to serve it with?
This rice is the perfect accompaniment to so many dishes! Here are a few delicious options to serve it with:
- Chicken - grilled chicken skewers, Tandoori chicken wings, crusted Romano chicken, chicken Tikka Masala or any chicken recipe that you like!
- Curry recipes - such as this carrot, potato and fish curry or this quick and easy red lentil dahl.
- Seafood - it's common knowledge that rice is delicious with seafood! So you might want to try this Greek shrimp Saganaki, this Teriyaki glazed salmon or even this easy shrimp ceviche.
- Veggies - red pepper, grilled eggplants or zucchinis would be delicious with this rice in summer! And in winter, oven-baked butternut squash would be perfect.
- Spice it up with a pinch of Cayenne pepper or red chili flakes.
🍴Utensils
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Buy Now → ✨How to make this easy coconut lime rice?
Recipe instructions and quantities are in the recipe card below.
- Rinse the rice a few times under running water, to remove excess starch.
- Place the rice, water, coconut milk and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring often to prevent the rice from sticking.
- As soon as it comes to a simmer, cover and cook at a gentle simmer for 11 minutes, removing the lid from time to time to stir.
- Then remove the saucepan from the heat and leave cooked rice for 5 minutes to rest, still with the lid on.
- Add lime zest, fresh lime juice and cilantro.
- Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary (more or less salt, more or less lime juice, more or less cilantro, etc.) and enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Chef's tips to make the perfect rice
- Shake your coconut milk before using - to homogenize the liquid.
- Mix rice and liquids before water starts to simmer, to prevent the formation of rice balls.
- As soon as water starts to simmer, turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid. This way, rice will absorb liquid evenly.
- If you don't like cilantro - I know many people think cilantro tastes like soap. Actually, 4-14% of the U.S. population think that! But don’t worry. You can swap it out with another fresh herb: thai or regular basil, parsley, dill or chives.
💡Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, I used stove top, but Instant Pot is another option.
Place coconut milk, water and rice in the Instant Pot, close the lid and set the timer following the cooking time indicated on the package. Once the cooking cycle is complete, allow the steam to release naturally for five minutes, then cautiously release the remaining pressure. Uncover, use a fork to mix everything up, add lime zest, lime juice, cilantro and enjoy!
It's probably because you've cooked your rice too long or because you didn't follow my recipe. Follow the exact quantities indicated to have the best results.
Coconut milk is mixed with water to cook this rice. So the coconut taste will be very mild and subtle. If you want a more pronounced coconut flavor, I suggest to add grated toasted coconut flakes, to taste.
You can use light coconut milk, but I personally find it less flavorful.
I really wouldn't recommend it, as you won't even feel a slight coconut flavor.
I wouldn't recommend it as well, you wouldn't have the same result.
❄️ Storage and freezing
- Store - once completely cold, place cooked rice in an airtight container. You'll be able to keep it for 3 to 4 days.
- Reheat - simply put your dish in the microwave on high heat for 1 to 3 minutes. Because of the fridge, rice might have lost its creaminess. If you want it back, put 1 or 2 tablespoons of water before reheating.
- Freeze - rice freezes perfectly. Put it in a freezer bag, on which you have previously added the recipe name and date, remove as much air as possible and place it in the freezer.
- Defrost - leave the freezer bag in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. If you think this is too long (I totally agree haha!), put rice in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high heat for a few minutes.
📖 Recette
Coconut lime rice with cilantro (quick + easy recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Rinse the rice a few times under running water, to remove excess starch.
- Place the rice, water, coconut milk and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring often to prevent the rice from sticking.
- As soon as it comes to a simmer, lower the heat, cover and cook at a gentle simmer for 10-11 minutes, removing the lid from time to time to stir.
- Then remove the saucepan from the heat and leave cooked rice for 5 minutes to rest, still with the lid on.
- Add lime zest, fresh lime juice and cilantro. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary (more or less salt, more or less lime juice, more or less cilantro, etc.) and enjoy!
Notes
- Store - once completely cold, place cooked rice in an airtight container. You'll be able to keep it for 3 to 4 days.
- Reheat - simply put your dish in the microwave on high heat for 1 to 3 minutes. Because of the fridge, rice might have lost its creaminess. If you want it back, put 1 or 2 tablespoons of water before reheating.
- Freeze - rice freezes perfectly. Put it in a freezer bag, on which you have previously added the recipe name and date, remove as much air as possible and place it in the freezer.
- Defrost - leave the freezer bag in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. If you think this is too long (I totally agree haha!), put rice in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high heat for a few minutes.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
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