Name: Easy Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 Cups White Rice, unrinsed (long grain, Jasmine, or Basmati); 2 ¼ Cups Water; 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil; ⅓ Cup Cilantro, chopped; 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice; 1 Tablespoon Lime Zest; Salt to taste

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Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice is made with perfectly cooked rice, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and lime zest, and makes a quick and easy side dish!

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice is a flavorful side dish full of fresh flavors that takes about 30 minutes to prepare from start to finish. It’s an easy dump-and-go recipe that only requires a few ingredients.

The rice turns out light and fluffy with hints of cilantro and lime in every bite. It’s the perfect addition to Chile Relleno Casserole, Chicken Taquitos, and Flat Iron Steak Fajitas.

Since ours is made in an Instant Pot, you know it’s going to be easy. In fact, there are only five steps to the cilantro rice. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

Instant Pot cilantro lime rice in a bowl. — Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice makes the perfect side dish for any Tex-Mex meal.

How to make Instant Pot cilantro lime rice:

As you will see in the photo below, everything is done in the Instant Pot. To begin, juice and zest the lime and chop the cilantro, then set those ingredients aside.

Next, add the rice, water, and oil to the stainless steel insert of the Instant Pot. If you saw our recent Instant Pot White Rice post, you’ll know that I don’t rinse rice when cooking in the Instant Pot.

It goes against what most other recipes recommend, but I’ve found that rinsing the rice makes it gummy. I just dump it in dry and unrinsed.

If you’d prefer to rinse the rice, go for it. It’s important to do what works for you.

Next, stir the ingredients, and make sure the rice is submerged in the water. After that, put the lid on the cooker and close the valve so everything is sealed.

Then, press the, “rice,” button, and it should show 12 minutes on low pressure. We use this Instant Pot, and the rice button automatically adjusts to a low pressure setting.

Collage style photo showing how to make Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice. — Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice only requires a few ingredients.

Once the timer goes off, press cancel, and allow the Instant Pot to complete a ten minute natural release before opening the valve to let out the remaining steam.

Last, fluff the rice with a fork, then stir in the fresh cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, and salt.

Serve the rice immediately with your favorite main dish. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Close up view of cilantro lime rice in a bowl. — Serve this rice with extra lime wedges or topped with fresh chopped cilantro.

How do you make minute rice with cilantro lime?

Use this recipe for Minute Rice in the Instant Pot, and omit the frozen vegetables. When the rice is done, add the fresh cilantro, lime zest, and lime juice.

How do you keep the rice from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot?

Every model of Instant Pot cooks a little differently. If your model of Instant Pot tends to burn food more easily, add a little more water to the rice to prevent it from sticking.

Can this recipe be doubled?

Yes, this recipe can be doubled as long as it doesn’t go over the “max fill” line in the Instant Pot. If you double the recipe, the time does not need to be doubled.

How do you make this recipe if there is no “rice” button?

This Easy Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice recipe shows how to make cilantro lime rice without a rice button. It uses slightly different instructions and amounts of ingredients, but it looks fantastic!

Top down view of fluffy rice with cilantro and lime. — Store leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat over low heat to keep the rice from drying out.

Other Instant Pot recipes you may love:

Don’t forget to check out our Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice web story!

Yield: 4 Cups