Cilantro Lime Rice (Instant Pot)

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Ready in under 30 minutes, this Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice is light, fresh, and zesty. While a simple recipe, this instant pot rice dish makes for a fluffy and flavourful side dish that goes with everything.

You’ll love how effortless it is the make this simple cilantro lime rice in the instant pot. All you have to do is cook your rice in the pressure cooker with some broth and lime then mix in the cilantro. Easy as pie!

Close up of a bowl of cilantro lime rice.

This recipe was originally posted over at Dizzy, Busy, and Hungry as a guest post.

Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Rice Recipe

It only requires a handful of ingredients to make this super flavourful rice.
You can quickly whip this up and let the instant pot do all the work. Just like a rice cooker, once it’s in the appliance, you don’t have to babysit it.
This recipe goes well with a variety of mains such as my easy steak bowl, chipotle chicken, hot honey chicken, and more.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Cilantro Lime Rice in the Instant Pot

Ingredients needed to make cilantro lime rice in the instant pot.

vegetable stock — for the most flavor, I use vegetable stock as my liquid base. You can also use water but it won’t be as flavorful. Chicken stock is a great alternative if you do not need this to be vegetarian-friendly.
lime — lime juice and lime zest add a ton of flavor to the rice. Use fresh lime juice and not bottled lime juice.
salt — same as above.
rice — I use long grain basmati rice so the recipe comes out light, tender, and fluffy! Always rinse rice before using as it helps wash away any dirt and extra starch.
cilantro — the more the merrier! Feel free to add extra cilantro to this rice. Avoid any yellowing or wilting cilantro, try to buy a fresh, vibrant bunch.

How to Make Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Set of two photos showing liquid and rice added to an instant pot.

Combine the vegetable broth, lime zest, and salt inside the Instant Pot liner.
Add the rice and make sure it’s evenly spread by patting it down. No need to stir.

Set of two photos showing cilantro mixed into the cooked rice.

Pressure cook on high pressure for 3 minutes then NPR before opening the lid. Add the chopped cilantro and lime juice.
Mix until well combined. Add more salt and lime juice if needed.

A spoonful of instant pot cilantro lime rice.

Recipe Tips and Notes

Zest the lime before juicing as it’ll be difficult to zest a juiced lime.
To get more juice out of a lime, bring it to room temperature then roll it under the palm of your hand on your kitchen counter to loosen the juices.
Don’t skip washing the cilantro! There’s usually a bit of dirt and debris in fresh cilantro.
Rinse the rice at least twice before using it to ensure you remove the dust and extra starch.

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: once cooled, store the cooked cilantro lime rice in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Freezer: allow the rice to cool before transferring them into an airtight container or souper cubes before storing them in the freezer. The rice can last for up to 3 months in the freezer.

My Recommendation

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What is NPR?

NPR is natural pressure release where you leave the lid’s knob on sealing and allow the pot to depressurize on its own without venting it.

Can I use brown rice?

The timing of this recipe was only tested for white rice. As brown rice takes longer to cook, I do not suggest substituting the rice with this recipe.

Serving Suggestions

Here are some of my favourite recipes to serve alongside this Instant Pot cilantro lime rice:

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

5 from 21 votes

Print Rate

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 3

NPR: 10

Total Time: 23

Servings: servings

Ingredients

2 cups vegetable broth
1 lime zest and juice
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white basmati rice, rinsed
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped

Equipment

Instant Pot

Instructions

Combine the vegetable broth, lime zest, and salt inside the Instant Pot liner.
Add the rice and make sure it’s evenly spread by patting it down. No need to stir.
Pressure cook on high pressure for 3 minutes then NPR before opening the lid. Add the chopped cilantro and lime juice.
Mix until well combined. Add more salt and lime juice if needed.

Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition Per Serving

Author: Carmy

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

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