• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Contact Privacy Policy

Nourish Plate

Easy family-friendly recipes for busy people!

  • Instant Pot
  • Air Fryer
  • Slow Cooker
  • Chicken
  • Dessert
  • Side Dish
  • Recipe Index
  • Home
  • Latest Recipes
  • Recipe Index
Contact Privacy Policy
  • Instant Pot
  • Air Fryer
  • Slow Cooker
  • Chicken
  • Dessert
  • Side Dish
  • Recipe Index
Home » Instant Pot » Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

22 Comments By Nourish Plate on April 5, 2020 | updated July 6, 2021

Jump to Recipe Share Pin
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe

My favorite thing to order at Chipotle is their cilantro lime rice, so here’s my copycat version made in the Instant Pot. It’s full of flavor and really easy to make. And turns out light and fluffy every single time. Plus, it’s vegan and gluten-free.

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice in a white bowl with a fork and a wedge of lime

If you’re a fan of cilantro-lime rice like me, then you’re going to LOVE this version. It’s made in the Instant Pot which means that you’ll get consistent results every time you make it.

I used a cheap rice cooker for years, but when I got my Instant Pot, that’s all I use to cook rice.

Adding cilantro, lime juice, and zest to the cooked rice makes it super flavorful and tasty. It will make the perfect side dish to your favorite Mexican inspired meal and a great base for bowl recipes, as well as an ingredient for burritos and tacos.

I love my Instant Pot so much that I use it to cook almost everything. From breakfast recipes, to lunches, dinners, and desserts. I even use it to make the best homemade yogurt.

To make this flavorful rice, I put rice into my Instant Pot for only 20 minutes altogether. This gives me some time to do other chores, to come back to this delicious bowl of rice.

Table of Contents

  • Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice Ingredients
  • How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice in the Instant Pot?
  • What to Serve This Rice With?
  • Storing Instructions
  • Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
    • Equipment
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Notes
    • Nutrition
      • did you make this recipe?
    • You may also like…

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice Ingredients

To make this recipe, you will need the following simple ingredients:

Long grain rice (I used basmati rice but any long-grain rice works perfectly here), vegetable oil, salt, fresh cilantro leaves, bay leaves, and a couple of limes.

Cilantro Lime Rice ingredients

How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice in the Instant Pot?

Here’s how I made this delicious rice:

  • Start by rinsing the rice thoroughly in a colander until the water runs clear to remove any debris and surface starch from rice grains.
  • Add vegetable oil to the bottom of the pot, and spread it so it covers the pot very well.
  • Add the drained rice, salt, bay leaves, and water.
  • Stir everything together quickly, then cover the pot with the lid.
  • Press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK on high, and set at 4 minutes.
  • Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure and cook for 4 minutes, then naturally release the steam for 10 minutes. Carefully open the lid, and fluff the rice with a fork.
Steps showing how to make Cilantro Lime Rice in Instant Pot
  • Add chopped cilantro, lime juice, and lime zest to the cooked rice (while it is still in the instant pot).
  • Stir and fluff the rice again, and serve warm.
Fluffy Cilantro Lime Rice in an instant pot with a black serving spoon

What to Serve This Rice With?

This Cilantro Lime Rice is a great side dish to any Mexican meal, a great base to bowl recipes and an ingredient for burritos and tacos. This is why I always cook a batch of it in my Instant Pot. You can serve it with:

  • Quesadillas
  • Mexican Shredded Chicken
  • Tacos
  • Enchiladas
  • Creamy Salsa Chicken
  • Burrito Bowls
Cilantro Lime Rice served in a bowl with a wedge of lime

Storing Instructions

  • Fridge: You can store Cilantro Lime Rice in the fridge in a tightly-closed container for up to 5 days. 
  • Freezer: Avoid freezing Cilantro Lime Rice as cooked rice becomes hard when frozen and its texture becomes grainy. However, if you don’t mind the change in the texture, then you can freeze it after being completely cooled in a freezer-safe, airtight container. Therefore, in terms of food safety, it is totally fine to freeze rice up to 6 months. 
  • To reheat, defrost the rice in the fridge overnight before reheating. Then, add a bit of boiling water to the rice and stir for a few minutes until it warms up.

For more delicious and nourishing recipe ideas, click here. Also, make sure to check out my other Instant Pot recipes.

Recipe
Recipe
5 from 50 votes
click the stars to rate!

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
6
Easy and flavorful Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice which turns out light and fluffy every single time.
Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 2 cups long-grain rice I used basmati
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 cups water or enough water to cover the rice by ½ inch
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves lightly packed
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 lime zested

Instructions

  • Rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs clear.
  • Add vegetable oil to the bottom of the pot, and spread it so it covers the pot very well.
  • Add the rice, salt, bay leaves, followed by water. Add 3 cups of water (or enough water to cover the rice by ½ inch).
  • Stir everything together quickly, cover the pot with the lid.
  • Press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK on high, and set at 4 minutes.
  • Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure and cook for 4 minutes, then naturally release the steam for 10 minutes. Carefully open the lid, and fluff the rice with a fork.
  • Mix in chopped cilantro, lime juice, and lime zest. Mix well, and serve.

Notes

  • Rinse the rice thoroughly to remove any debris and surface starch from rice grains. 
  • Use cilantro leaves and tender stems
  • Rice to water ratio recommended for this recipe is 1 to 1.5. 

Nutrition

Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 392mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 180IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

did you make this recipe?

Make sure to follow on Pinterest @nourishplate and on Instagram @nourishplate

You may also like...

  • 10 Delicious Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
  • Crispy carnitas in a cast iron skillet
    Instant Pot Carnitas
  • Instant Pot risotto
    Instant Pot Risotto
  • Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Recipe
« Previous
Instant Pot Yogurt
Next »
Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

Reader Interactions

    Leave a Review! Cancel reply

    Have a question or just want to say how much you loved the recipe? We love hearing from you! Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
    Made this? Rate it!




    Comments & Reviews

  1. Laura says

    June 29, 2021

    I don’t have an Instant pot, but have a rice cooker. Would you use the same ingredients & amounts in a rice cooker? TIA for any info.

    Reply
    • NourishPlate says

      July 6, 2021

      Hi Laura,

      I would just follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking basmati rice in the rice cooker.

      Reply
  2. Elle Tee says

    June 24, 2021

    You might want to correct the typo in the title of the recipe. Right now it reads “Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Juice”. “Juice” should be “rice”. The recipe looks yummy! I plan to make it tonight.

    Reply
    • NourishPlate says

      July 6, 2021

      Thank you so much for the heads up Elle! I just fixed it. I hope you enjoyed.

      Reply
  3. Natalie says

    March 1, 2021

    Sorry, I see that you’ve answered a very similar question already. For some reason the other comments didn’t show up until after I’d posted mine!

    Reply
  4. Natalie says

    March 1, 2021

    Can I ask why the oil is added? Genuinely curious as I too only now cook rice in the instant pot. I’ve cooked all sorts of variations in there but never with oil. The rice doesn’t ever seem to clump (as long as the timing is correct), so I’m just wondering what the oil adds? Love the idea of coriander and lime. Definitely trying it!

    Reply
    • Diana says

      March 3, 2021

      Hi Natalie, it’s to avoid clumping, gives a better taste, and makes sure that you don’t get a burn message. But you can definitely skip it if your rice always turns out fine.

      Reply
  5. Erin says

    November 8, 2020

    Curious about how much water to add if using 3qt instant pot. Any idea? I didn’t see what size you use (sorry if I missed,), but guessed 6qt. I have both sizes, but would like to use 3qt for rice. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Marianne says

    August 9, 2020

    How would you modify for brown rice?

    Reply
    • Diana says

      August 9, 2020

      Cook for 25 minutes with NPR, the water to rice ratio is 1:1. Enjoy!

      Reply
  7. Sue D says

    August 2, 2020

    Every time I make rice in the instant pot, it turns out sticky. I use Jasmine rice, rinse and rinse it well. 1:1 water/rice. I’ve tried NPR for the allotted time (with and without keep warm on), and QR. Same results every time, good but sticky. What am I doing wrong?

    Reply
    • Diana says

      August 9, 2020

      Hi Sue, Jasmine rice is meant to be sticky so if you want separated grains then go for basmati rice. Make sure that you wash it very well, and the keep warm setting should be off.

      Reply
  8. Jennifer says

    July 8, 2020

    Curious about use of vegetable oil, is it necessary? I’ve never cooked rice in oil unless I’m browning it first, does it make a difference to the end result?

    Reply
    • Diana says

      July 9, 2020

      It gives a better taste and to avoid getting a burn message if you have one of the new models of the Instant Pot. It’s not necessary though, you can try without it and see how it goes.

      Reply
  9. Stacey says

    May 9, 2020

    Hello! I was wondering if I could double this recipe in the instant pot? Would I need to adjust cook times?

    Reply
    • Diana says

      May 9, 2020

      Hello Stacey! Of course you can double it. But keep the cooking time the same. Enjoy!

      Reply
  10. Heather says

    May 5, 2020

    5 stars
    This was so good. My husband and my 16 month old both loved it

    Reply
    • Diana says

      May 5, 2020

      I’m so glad you enjoyed that Heather! Thank you for that wonderful review!

      Reply
  11. Heather says

    May 3, 2020

    5 stars
    Followed recipe exactly. Loved it! Thank you

    Reply
    • Diana says

      May 3, 2020

      Heather, I’m so happy to hear that the recipe was a hit! Thanks so much for letting me know.

      Reply
  12. Rebeca Toth says

    April 22, 2020

    5 stars
    Love this recipe although I will leave out the lime zest next time as it was bitter but maybe just add a little!

    Reply
    • diana says

      April 22, 2020

      I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it, Rebeca! Thank you for taking the time to leave this review!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

FREE eBook + Latest Recipes!

Subscribe to the newsletter for all the latest recipes!


Favorite Recipes

  • Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Recipe
  • Serving ground beef casserole with a serving spoon
    Ground Beef Casserole
  • Chicken cheesesteak sloppy joe served in a hamburger bun with fries on the side
    Slow Cooker Chicken Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
  • Crispy Air Fryer French Fries
    Air Fryer French Fries
  • Mushroom Stew
  • Instant Pot Hamburger Helper served in a bowl
    Instant Pot Hamburger Helper

FREE eBook + Latest Recipes!

Subscribe to the newsletter for all the latest recipes!

Nourish Plate Logo
back to topBack To Top
©2023, Nourish Plate. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy
Design by Pixel Me Designs
×

FREE eBook + Latest Recipes!

Subscribe to the newsletter for all the latest recipes!