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Love Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice but hate the price tag? You will love this easy recipe for Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice. Made effortlessly with white or brown rice seasoned perfectly with fresh cilantro and bright lime, this easy recipe delivers a copycat version for pennies per serving.
Serve this Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice with Copycat Chipotle Sofritas, Instant Pot Barbacoa, or Chicken Al Pastor, and enjoy the flavor of Chipotle at home.
Kristen's Tips for Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
When it comes to making perfectly cooked, fluffy, rice, the Instant pot is the way to go! There is no baby-sitting, no starchy overflow, and the rice cooks evenly every time.
But to ensure success and to replicate the flavor in Chipotle's famous rice, you will want to keep the following tips in mind. Some of them seem counterintuitive, but as my recipes for Instant Pot Brown Rice and Instant Pot White Rice prove, these tips are crucial for success.
- Yes, you DO need to rinse your rice. Trust me on this one! Rinsing the rice will remove the surface starch and prevents your rice from being gummy.
- For every 1 cup or rice, use 1 cup or liquid. Ignore the directions on the bag or box of rice. Unlike a saucepan on the stove, the Instant Pot locks in the moisture which means you need less liquid than when cooking rice on the stove.
- Do NOT use the rice function. The rice function varies between models, which means inconsistent results. Using the manual or pressure cook button puts you in charge.
- Let pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes. A little bit of patience goes A LONG way when it comes to making rice. This allows the liquid to be fully absorbed, ensuring a fluffy texture
- A fresh lime is key. You need both the zest and juice of lime to give this rice its signature tang and brightness. Bottled lime juice is a bit artificial testing.
5-Star Reader Review
Best instant pot version of the chipotle rice I've found! I stirred in a little bit of olive oil with the lime juice and cilantro, but otherwise no changes. -Melanie O.
How To Make Cilantro Lime Rice in the Instant Pot
Whether you are just learning to use an Instant Pot or a pro, this section will walk you through how to make Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice that will rival Chipotle with the least amount of effort on your part!
Step One: Rinse Rice
Place the rice into a colander and rinse until the water runs clear. It will take 2-3 minutes, but is CRUCIAL to a fluffy texture.
Step Two: Layer Ingredients
Pour the broth (or water) into the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Stir in the salt and lime zest. Add in rinsed, damp rice, and gently push down the rice with a spoon. DO NOT STIR!
Step Three: Pressure Cook + Natural Pressure Release
Using the manual or pressure cook button (NOT the rice button), set to cook on high pressure for 3 minutes for white rice or 22 minutes for brown rice.
Once the cooking cycle is complete, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes, but honestly a full natural pressure release is best here. If you do a quick release of pressure, the rice will be gummy, starchy, and even a bit crunchy. AKA a mess!
Step Four: Fuff & Finish
After pressure has been released, remove the lid from the pressure cooker. Add in the fresh lime juice and minced cilantro and fluff rice with a fork, as you incorporate flavors into cooked rice. Fluffing the rice with a fork versus stirring the rice keeps the rice from breaking down and getting mushy.
Ways to Serve Cilantro Lime Rice
- Burrito Bowl: Save serious money by skipping Chipotle and making a homemade burrito bowl by topping a generous serving of this rice with Instant Pot Beef Barbacoa, taco meat, shredded chicken taco meat, Instant Pot carnitas (or crockpot carnitas), Chicken Al Pastor, or Sofritas. Add shredded cheese, corn salsa, tomato salsa, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, etc, as desired.
- Burritos: Instead of a burrito bowl, roll your favorite toppings along with the rice into a store-bought or homemade tortilla.
- As a Side Dish: Perfect for any Tex-Mex meal like chicken enchiladas or fish tacos. I also love to serve Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice alongside baked salmon or chicken pineapple kabobs.
More Instant Pot Rice Variations
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups long-grain rice , brown or white
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, or water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lime zest, about 2 medium limes
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, about 2 medium limes
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon lime zest inside the inner pot the Instant Pot.
- Place 2 cups long-grain rice into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under water until the water runs clear. Drain well and then add the rice to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Gently push the rice down into liquid so that it is fully submerged, but do NOT stir.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and be sure the vent knob is pointed towards sealed. To set the cooking time, hit manual or pressure cook (not the rice button) and adjust the cooking time to HIGH pressure for 3 minutes for white rice OR 22 minutes for brown rice.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally. Then once the lid unlocks, open the inner pot. Add 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice and ¼ cup cilantro (minced), and use a fork to fluffy the rice, while incorporating the lime juice and cilantro through the rice. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is officially my favorite way to make cilantro lime rice! Super easy and comes out perfect every time!
YAY! I love hearing that Anna.
Hi. I would like to make your recipe but was wondering how much is a serving? 1/2 c cooked rice, 2/3 c or 3/4? 8 Servings is great but trying to plan for a wedding and need to know how big the servings are to allow for 8. Thanks for your time
Hi Carol! Each cup of dried rice makes about 3 cups of cooked rice. So this recipe makes about 6 cups of rice. So each serving is 3/4 cup. I hope that helps!
24 minutes for brown rice and only 3 minutes for white? Is that correct? Why the huge difference?
Hi Lauren! Yes, that is correct. It simply takes longer to cook whole grain rice than white rice. You can see that is the case when prepared on the stove as well. The reason is that the white rice has had the bran and germ removed, making it easier to break down while it cooks, but also losing key nutrients and fiber.
Can I double and triple at one time in the instapot without compromising the outcome? I need to make 50 servings?
Hi Natalie! I have doubled this recipe with success, but I am not sure tripling will work. You need to be sure you don't exceed 2/3rds of the way full, so it will depend on your size of the instant pot. When doubling recipes the timing should remain the same 🙂
Made this tonight and it was so easy and wonderful. Got the “do again” from my guy. Now my rice cooker will go into storage. Thanks for the great recipe.
Yay!!! I love hearing your success and it is ALWAYS a great thing when your family and friends ask for a repeat.
Cilantro lime rice is a must for taco nights at my house. So glad I came across this recipe; it makes taco night so much easier and it's so yummy!
I am so glad you enjoyed Jillian! This recipe is SUPER easy!
This was great for putting it in burritos.