Chipotle just introduced Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice and the world of healthy eaters is all abuzz. Is it worth the extra $2 to bring extra flavor and health benefits to your Chipotle Lifestyle Bowl?

Chipotle’s Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice is keto-friendly, Whole30-approved, paleo, vegetarian, and vegan. One 4-ounce serving of cauliflower rice is 40 calories, 4g net carbs, 3g protein, and 1g fat. It is grilled, chopped cauliflower seasoned with lime juice and fresh cilantro. It is a healthy option if you prefer not to eat white or brown rice.

Photo Credit: Chipotle. Note, your actual portion size of Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice may vary. See my photo below.

What is Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice?

Now available at your local Chipotle location is Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice. It is freshly grilled, riced cauliflower, finished with hand-chopped cilantro, lime, and salt.

The Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice can be used as the base of a burrito or one of the lifestyle bowls (keto, Whole30, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, or high protein), or inside a burrito, tucked in a taco, or even as part of a salad.

The cauliflower rice is available and US and Canadian restaurants for a limited time.

What are the ingredients in Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice?

According to Chipotle, there are 4 ingredients in its Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice:

cauliflower
cilantro
lime juice
salt

If you want to be technical (which sometimes nerds like me like to do), Chipotle doesn’t use straight-up lime juice. According to Chipotle cooks, they use a citrus mix which is a blend of lemon and lime juice. They also spray the grill with sunflower oil to grill the cauliflower rice.

Chipotle Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice nutrition facts.

A 4-ounce serving of Chipotle Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice has 40 calories, 7g carbs, 3 g fiber (so 4g net carbs for low-carb or keto eaters), 3g protein, and 1 g fat.

It has 210 mg sodium, 4% daily value of Vitamin A, 70% Vitamin C, 2% calcium, and 4% iron.

The cauliflower rice alone is 64% carbs, 27% protein, and 9% fat. Source: Chipotle.

Is Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice keto?

Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice is definitely part of a keto diet. One 4-ounce serving has 4g net carbs. Combined with proteins like chicken, steak, or barbacoa, and fats like sour cream, cheese, or guacamole, Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice is a tasty component to a keto-approved meal.

To order a keto-approved bowl at Chipotle choose one of their official keto lifestyle bowls on the menu (with or without cauliflower rice) or create your own. See how in this post: How To Eat Keto At Chipotle: Everything You Need to Know

Is Chipotle's Cauliflower Rice Vegan?

Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice is both vegetarian and vegan. There are no animal ingredients in the cauliflower rice. The plant-based ingredients are chopped cauliflower, cilantro, lime, and salt. The oil used to grill the cauliflower rice is sunflower oil, which is also vegan.

Is Chipotle’s Cauliflower Rice Whole30-compliant?

The Whole30 has a very specific (and short ) list of ingredients its followers can eat. Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice is Whole30-compliant. All of the ingredients in the cauliflower rice (cauliflower, salt, lime juice, cilantro) and the sunflower oil used for grilling the rice, are Whole30-approved ingredients.

In fact, Chipotle has worked with Whole30 founder Melissa Hartwig to create several Whole30 Lifestyle bowls.

Is Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice healthy?

Absolutely. The Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice is low in calories, low in carbs, high in fiber, and low in fat.

Cauliflower "provides antioxidants and phytonutrients that can protect against cancer. It also contains fiber to enhance weight loss and digestion, choline that is essential for learning and memory, and many other important nutrients." Source.

The fiber in cauliflower can aid digestion and help regulate the immune system. And a diet high in plant foods has been shown to reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Cilantro, though there is very little in one serving of the cauliflower rice, has antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties. Source.

Citrus juices, like the lime and lemon juice in Chipotle’s cauliflower rice, have antioxidants, Vitamin C, minerals, and flavonoids. Source.

How much does cauliflower rice cost?

Chipotle's prices vary from location to location, but there is an additional $2 charge for upgrading to Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice from white or brown rice.

The Chicken Keto Lifestyle Bowl (Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice, Chicken, Tomatillo-Red Chili Salsa, Cheese and Guacamole) at my local store (Kansas City, MO) is $11.50.

The Whole30 Lifestyle bowl (Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice, Chicken, Fajita Veggies, Fresh Tomato Salsa and Guacamole) is also $11.50.

The Vegan Lifestyle bowl (Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice, Sofritas, Black Beans, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa and Shredded Romaine Lettuce) is $9.25.

Review of Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice (Keto, Vegan)

My review of Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice.

The portion size of Chipotle’s cauliflower rice was underwhelming.

Above is my photo of the keto Carne Asada bowl with cauliflower rice I ordered last week. It looks a little different than Chipotle’s photo of cauliflower-abundance at the top of this post, right? This was the saddest looking, smallest lifestyle bowl I have ever received from Chipotle. It pains me to say that as I am a huge Chipotle fan.

A serving of Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice is supposed to be 4 ounces. While I did not separate out the cauliflower rice in my bowl and weigh it, there was literally hardly any in my bowl.

Also, the fact that my to-go order was actually COLD, not room temperature as I might expect, won't affect my review. We are in the middle of a pandemic, so I shall be understanding.🙄

The taste of Chipotle's cauliflower rice was pleasant, but it was soggy.

A bite of the cilantro-lime cauliflower rice by itself was pleasant. I like cauliflower and it definitely had a cauliflower taste with a hint of acid from the lime juice and brightness of the fresh cilantro.

If you’ve never tried cauliflower rice before, know it does not taste the same as white rice. Cauliflower rice tastes like cauliflower - sort of nutty with bitter undertones. White rice tastes very neutral and doesn’t have much flavor at all.

Cauliflower rice also does not have the same soft, slightly sticky texture as white rice. The grilled cauliflower rice at Chipotle is tender, but still had a bit of a bite - which is a good thing.

While I thought the cauliflower rice was seasoned well, it was soggy. I have never noticed white or brown rice being soggy in the bottom of my burrito bowl, and this was disappointing. This was a little surprising since Chipotle grills their cauliflower rice.

When eating a normal forkful of my keto carne asada bowl, it just seemed too overpowering, especially the saltiness.

I am not a food critic, so I am not be explaining this correctly, but when a big scoop of rice is the base of a Chipotle burrito bowl it cuts the intensity of the other flavors. It breaks up the heat and spice and saltiness of the other ingredients, like salsas and seasoned meats.

The cauliflower rice, maybe because there was so little, didn't do this. I am all about the spice, so that's fine, but my lifestyle bowl unusually salty. There was nothing to cut the saltiness of my carne asada, cheese, mild and green salsas, and guacamole.

I love Chipotle, but I did not love this bowl with the cauliflower rice.

Would I order the cauliflower rice again?

I really like the idea of cauliflower rice. I am all about low-carb veggies so I love the extra nutritional boost of cauliflower rice in my Chipotle bowl. And the flavor was good but there was SO LITTLE in my bowl that it is not worth the $2 upcharge to me. And that makes me really sad.

I might order it again just to see if I got a skimpy order, but if my second experience is like the first I won’t be ordering it again, especially for the extra cost.

If you like cauliflower rice, give it a try.

My experience might have been unusual, so if you are a low-carb, vegetarian, paleo or Whole30 eater who likes cauliflower rice, I recommend trying it once to see what you think. I have talked to friends who love it, and it seems to be selling really well.

How long will Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice be on the menu at Chipotle?

As of January 4, 2021, Chipotle stated their cauliflower rice is available “for a limited time.” They did not give an end date. I’m guessing, if it proves to be a popular menu item, the cauliflower rice will be added to the menu permanently.

So that’s the (figurative) scoop on Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice. It is definitely vegan and keto and healthy. If you are into cauliflower rice or want to give your Chipotle bowl a little nutritional boost, and you don’t mind the $2 upcharge, give it a try.

—The Keto Minimalist

Be sure to check out my “How to Eat Keto at Chipotle” Restaurant Guide for more information on the ingredients and nutrition at Chipotle.

Struggling with keto?

If you are not losing weight, or can't shake the keto flu, or are not getting the results you want, check out the Keto Resources page. It has links to helpful keto content. 😊

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