Fluffy and flavorful, this Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice is the perfect side dish for any meal! All you need are five ingredients and you'll have this dish ready in no time. Fresh and zesty, everyone will be reaching for more.
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👩🏻🍳 Why You'll Love This Recipe
When making dinner, rice can be seen as an afterthought. You rinse some rice and toss it into a pot or a rice cooker and call it a day. Why fix what's not broken, right?
However, with this easy Instant Pot cilantro lime rice, you'll have everyone reaching for seconds and giving you compliments on how tasty it is!
The best part is that it's not that much more work than making traditional rice, you just have to remember to pick up some cilantro and a few limes and you're good to go.
Trust me, you'll have the make this fresh instead of using cilantro lime rice box mix from the store.
I make this rice at least a few times a month. It goes really well with a variety of dishes such as my easy steak bowls and air fryer fish tacos. I highly recommend you give this a try as it's an easy way to add more flavor to your meals. The fresh cilantro and lime flavors are like a party in your mouth!
Cilantro and lime are a classic flavor combination. Using those 2 ingredients plus a few other pantry staples, you can create a delicious Cilantro Lime Marinade for chicken, beef, pork, or fish. It's so fresh-tasting and versatile, you'll want to use it on everything!
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- vegetable stock - for maximum flavor, I use vegetable stock. You can also use water but it won't be as flavorful. Chicken stock is great as well if you do not need this to be vegetarian friendly.
- lime - you'll need lime juice and lime zest to flavor the rice.
- salt - same as above.
- rice - I use long grain basmati rice to make my cilantro lime rice. It's light, tender, and fluffy!
- cilantro - the more the merrier! Feel free to add extra cilantro to this rice. Of course, make sure you're using fresh cilantro. If they're yellowing or wilty, skip them and grab a different bunch at the store.
🔪 Instructions
- Inside of an Instant Pot liner, combine the vegetable broth, lime zest, and salt.
- Rinse the rice and then add it to the pressure cooker. Do not stir. Simply try to add it as evenly as possible and give it a gentle pat if all the rice is not submerged.
- Pressure cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. NPR before opening the lid. Add the cilantro and lime juice.
- Stir to combine and add more salt/lime juice if desired.
👪 FAQs
NPR stands for Natural Pressure Release. All it means is you just wait for the metal pin in your lid to drop instead of doing a quick release to get all the steam out of your Instant Pot. The steam inside of the pot continues to cook the rice while the pressure is slowly coming down.
You sure can! Simply keep the cooked rice in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to enjoy. Reheat in the microwave. You can even hold off on adding the cilantro and lime juice until ready to eat.
This recipe was tested specifically for basmati rice. Brown rice takes a lot longer to cook so I recommend sticking with white basmati rice.
💭 Other Helpful Tips
- It's much easier to zest a lime before juicing so be sure to do that first.
- If you keep your limes in the fridge, bring them to room temperature to make them easier to juice.
- Roll the lime on the counter to loosen the juices so you get more juice out of one lime.
- Always wash the cilantro before using to make sure any dirt or debris from the fresh herb.
- Always rinse the rice. This helps remove extra starch (as well as any dust) so the rice won't stick together as they cook. This ensures light and fluffy rice!
- Fresh lime juice leads to much tastier rice than bottled lime juice.
📖 Variations
- Want more flavor? Add a pinch of garlic powder or freshly minced garlic to the pressure cooker before cooking the rice.
- Chicken broth is a great alternative to vegetable broth.
🥗 Suggested Main Dishes
Some great recipes to serve with this tasty cilantro lime rice is this Slow Cooker Veggie Fajitas, Chipotle Shrimp and Asparagus Soft Tacos, Shrimp in Butter Lime Sauce, and Fajita Bowls! Serve it as a side dish to any Tex-Mex recipes!
🍞 Related Recipes
- Lemon Dill Rice - Another fresh and zesty rice, this lemon dill rice is a great side dish for any meal.
- Cilantro Lime Asparagus and Rice - If you have extra cilantro and lime, then make this cilantro lime asparagus and rice! It's tasty, flavorful, and hearty.
- Zucchini Walnut Fried Rice - Healthier than traditional fried rice, this zucchini walnut fried rice is hearty, filling, and nourishing!
If you love the cilantro lime flavor combo, you need to try this Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade, a quick and easy recipe that will make your chicken tender and so delicious, no matter how you cook it!
If you love rice, check out this onigiri recipe to make easy Japanese rice triangles or Japanese rice balls with savory fillings, perfect for snacks or a side dish!
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
📋 Recipe Card
Instant Pot Cilantro Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 lime zest and juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 bunch cilantro roughly chopped
Instructions
- Inside of an Instant Pot liner, combine the vegetable broth, lime zest, and salt.2 cups vegetable broth, 1 lime, 1 teaspoon salt
- Rinse the rice and then add it to the pressure cooker. Do not stir. Simply try to add it as evenly as possible and give it a gentle pat if all the rice is not submerged.2 cups basmati rice
- Pressure cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. NPR before opening the lid. Add the cilantro and lime juice.1 bunch cilantro, 1 lime
- Stir to combine and add more salt/lime juice if desired.
Notes
- Use freshly squeezed lime juice for the best results.
- Zest the lime before juicing.
- Roll room temperature lime on the counter to loosen the juices so you get more juice out of one lime.
- Always wash the cilantro before using it.
- Rinsing rice before using helps remove extra starch (as well as any dust) so the rice won't stick together as they cook.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.
Carmy is the blogger behind Carmyy.com and Onepotonly.com where she shares simple delicious recipes that are family friendly and easy to make! You can find her on Instagram and TikTok when she's not on her blog!
Tavo says
Loved how easy to make this lime rice was! It paired fantastically with my Thai Green Curry. Thank u!
Sara says
Great, simple side dish that the whole family loved.
Emily says
We love cilantro lime rice in our house! Thank you for sharing a recipe that uses simple ingredients we have on hand and is prepared quickly!
Andrea says
I'm always looking for flavorful easy to make side dishes. Will be making this fantastic rice ASAP!
MJ says
This is such an easy and flavorful rice. We love this - it goes well as a side for so many different dishes!