Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe

Easy and all natural Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice. This rice side is a favorite when surf, turf, and black beans are on our menu. We love the flavor of lime and cilantro together in this recipe because it’s a nice switch up from other rice recipes. Perfect for seasonal food rotation and ready in 20-minutes. Plus, it’s literally no sweat.

MODIFIED: MAY 31, 2024 BY ERIKA GARIBAY

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Enjoy this lime cilantro rice recipe with your soups, mains, and in BRC’s.

My peoples that don’t like rice in burritos, don’t be mad at me for my burrito stuffing suggestion! LOL

Sometimes rice in a burrito be like that! It’s pretty great in fish and shrimp burritos con todo, too! 🙂

Why You should make Cilantro Lime Rice

I surprised myself by this too. There are quite a bit of combos for this rice, but my favorite is with hot and spicy dish seafoods, and dumplings.

The rice soaks up all the good stuff and all the flavors just work with the tangy lime.

To provide an example, favorited copycat recipes for lime cilantro rice from Chipotle call for bay leaf but I haven’t ever really been a fan of bay leaf in my cooked rice [like ever], unless it’s for a specific soup.

Herb Tip: A heads up, if you like bay leaf flavor, just add 1 leaf (fresh or dried) to this recipe, and that will be enough.

I’ve modified the rice for additional flavor and nutritional value by using the aromatics of garlic and onion (small chopped or onion pieces; however you prefer your onion flavor cooked in rice). I use a small chopped onion and I go over the deets in the ingredient notes section.

Ingredients

Ingredient Quick List: rice, oil, water, broth of flavor choice, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime, salt.

• Rice, 1 cup
• 2 cups liquid (broth, water, or combination of both at equal parts)
• 1/4 whole onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Sea salt
• Fresh lime juice
• Finely chopped cilantro

Ingredient Notes

• White onion is used but if you don’t have it, you can use brown onion as well but it may present a slight yellowish hue if you used chopped brown onion. The rice will be totally fine if you use it as whole piece and allow it to cook out.
  • If you don’t like chopped onion in rice, omit the chopped, and add a few whole pieces for flavor instead. It will release the flavor as it cooks, then just remove cooked onion before serving. You’ll get it’s nutrients, flavor, and still have it your way at home!

• Rice varieties used for this rice are often long grain and basmati.
  • Jasmine is a common favorite but long grain and basmati are also IT, and easy to access!

• Garlic – Fresh garlic cooks really well in the instant pot because of the high pressure it is under.
  • If there are eaters that don’t like garlic, it’s ok to use granulated garlic as substitute. (I do this often when I am all out of the fresh garlic cause I’ve used it all up in salsas most of the time.)

• Lime – use real lime, and for even more tangy flavor add some lime zest. Careful not to grate in the white, because that part is bitter.

• Cilantro – if the cilantro being used is a bit wilted, wash the sprigs and let them sit in a small bowl for water to hydrate before drying and chopping it up.
  • use only leaves and remove hard stems if softer textures are preferred.

Step-By-Step Instructions

To make Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Please refer to your instant pot guide for safety instructions.

A printer-friendly recipe card with instructions is available at the bottom of this post.

Cover with kitchen towel to retain moisture and keep warm.

The fresh cooked instant pot Arroz con Cilantro is Ready! 🙂

Foods to eat This with

Wondering what to serve with this tasty lime rice? Here’s are a few ideas of what we like to serve it with.

• Chicken Milanesa
• Camarones a la Diabla
• Shredded Beef Tacos
• Skirt Steak and Grilled Peppers

Any leftovers with a fresh pot of rice are always a great option for easy meal ideas.

Note from Erika: Be sure to comment suggestion combinations below. This helps our LQC Community with ideas. Join in on the good flavor. Thank you 🙂

Ways to Flip [Cilantro Lime Rice]

• Chicken and Rice Bowls
• Alongside Curry
• Veggie dinner with calabacitas, and our frijolitos peruanos.
• Burritos (for those who like rice in their burritos!)

Pro tips / Receta Notes

Recipe yield: about 2 1/4 cups, 5 servings.

Storage: Rice always taste best freshly made! But leftovers definitely happen. To prevent food waste store in proper food storage with airtight lid. This helps keeps this rice from drying out when in refrigeration.

To reheat the rice. Add 1 tsp of water to refrigerated rice per serving to prevent drying out cooked rice.

Reminder to remove the cooked garlic cloves once done cooking instant pot. Since their flavor has released into this fluffy and delicious rice you’ll want to take them out to avoid them mushing up your rice.

Want to spice it up? Add a whole serrano pepper (or jalapeno) after you lightly fry the rice in oil. Just wash and dry it well before adding.

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Equipment

• Instant pot
• Pan or pot
• Knife
• Stirring spoon