Cool fall evenings mean cozy weeknight meals. Make this Cilantro Lime Rice in the Instant Pot during your weekly meal prep and the possibilities are endless.
If you like cilantro, check out these Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce or these Steamed Carrots with Cilantro Lime Gremolata.
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The cilantro lime combo in this rice makes a great base for Mexican-inspired rice bowls but also works well with many other combos as well. It uses only 5 ingredients, making it an easy, tasty side dish or base for all of your rice bowl creations!
Contents:
Let's make a copycat of Chipotle's brown rice!
If you are a fan of Mexican food and live in an urban or suburban area, you've likely been to Chipotle at least once. Their cilantro lime rice takes center stage in many of their dishes. This copycat version of their brown rice is a great addition to your weekly meal prep routine. It pairs well with just about any Mexican food making it the ideal side dish for Taco Tuesday.
Since it's made in the instant pot, the hands-on time is just 10 minutes.
This is the perfect recipe to add to your everyday meals recipe collection. Read on to learn more about how to make this Cilantro Lime Rice, or jump straight to the recipe to start cooking!
Recipe Ingredients + Substitutions
The full list of ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
You only need 5 ingredients to make this brown rice.
- Long-grain brown rice: I like the texture of long-grain rice for this recipe. You could substitute short-grain, however, the recipe was not designed that way so the cooking time would change.
- Cilantro: This recipe definitely calls for fresh cilantro as it's one of the star ingredients.
- Lime zest and juice: Be sure to zest the lime before you juice it! You'll need one lime.
- Mirin: Also called sweet rice wine, can be found in the Asian cooking section in most larger grocery stores.
How to make this recipe
I love this dish because it’s a one-pan meal and it’s really easy to make and requires very little hands-on time, which means it’s ideal for a weeknight dinner or as part of your meal prep routine.
Step 1 | Cook the rice. Add the rice and water to the Instant Pot and set it to manual, high pressure for 20 minutes. Then let the Instant Pot do the work for you!
Step 2 | Finish the rice. Once the rice is finished cooking, as the lime juice, cilantro and mirin to it and mix well.
Step 3 | Serve or store. Either serve the rice with your dish of choice or cool it and store it for later.
Why Use an Instant Pot?
It took me a while to get into using the Instant Pot, but now that I have, I'm hooked. While an Instant Pot is not always quicker than cooking something on the stovetop, it does mean you don't have to watch over cooking grains or other dishes while they cook. You just set the Instant Pot and let it do its thing. Genius!!
Instant Pot and High Altitude
Since moving to Colorado I've learned all about high altitude baking but did you know that high altitude can also affect cooking times when you are using a pressure cooker? It depends on the recipe but you'll often need to increase the cooking time by about 5% for every 1,000 feet above 2,500 feet in elevation.
Variations
- Add black beans: After the rice has cooked, mix in about a half cup of drained and rinsed black beans.
- Add peppers and onions: If you want to create a fajita-like side dish, sauté some peppers and onions and then toss them into the rice after you've mixed in the cilantro and lime juice.
How to store for meal prep
Once cooked, mixed and cooled, the rice can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days. You can also freeze cooked rice for about 2 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can but I don't recommend it as it's a key ingredient in this dish.
You could, however, the recipe instructions are designed for long-grain rice and short-grain rice cooks more quickly so you would need to adjust the cooking time.
If you are going to store the rice for later use, cool it as quickly as possible. This is most easily done by either dividing it into smaller portions or spreading it out on a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate it within one hour of cooking.
What you'll need for this recipe
Instant Pot Mini Duo Plus – The three-quart Instant Pot is the perfect option for those who are cooking for two or making small-batch recipes.
Serving Suggestions - try this brown rice with:
Serve this Cilantro Lime Rice with just about any Mexican food for a delicious meal. You can add it to refried black beans for a great side dish or use it with:
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Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain brown rice
- 1 ¼ cups water
- zest and juice from one small lime
- 1 teaspoon sweet rice wine, mirin
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the rice. Add the rice and the water to your Instant Pot. Lock the lid and set the steam valve to its “sealing” position. Select the "PRESSURE COOK" or “MANUAL” button and cook for 20 minutes on high pressure. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
- Mix the rice. Fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the zest, juice, mirin and cilantro. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
- If you live at a higher altitude you'll want to adjust your cooking time accordingly, about 5% for each 1,000 feet over 2,500 ft in altitude. For me, at 5,000 ft that means 22 minutes of cooking time.
This post was originally published in November 2018. It was updated in September 2023 with some new information and photos. No changes were made to the original recipe.
Gloria
What a great side dish for any protein. Love the flavours, and you can never go wrong with a great rice recipe. Always a crowd pleaser and leftovers are even better. Top this with some shrimp and call it dinner. My family would love it.
Amanda Mason
I LOVE my Instant Pot. I use it all the time and rice is one of my favorite things to make in my IP. I had no idea about the altitude aspect though!! Interesting! I'm so going to try your recipe! Looks delish!
Farwin | Love & other Spices
I love my Instant Pot. Made some good meals when I was sick. I love how easy this rice is. Interesting to know about high altitude cooking times!
Anne Lawton
I love cilantro lime rice but have never made it in an instant pot, I'm going to give it a try!
lauren
This is a perfect side dish for taco Tuesdays or enchiladas! I especially love that it uses brown rice, which I find sometimes tricky to do in the IP. The sweet rice wine must add the best but subtle taste.
Leslie Haasch
I just got an Instant Pot as a wedding gift, and I am racking up a long list of recipes to make in it - adding this to my list, stat!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme
Cilantro lime rice is the best! I have never tried it in an instant pot, it looks amazing! Need to buy one asap!!
Amy
I just got an instapot and have been looking for recipes. This looks so easy and delicious—can’t wait to try!
georgie
this looks beautiful! I love flavoured rice, and especially love cilantro and lime together! This would be such a gorgeous edition to taco tuesday!
Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life
I JUST had cilantro rice on a burrito at Chipotle and was thinking "I bet I could make this at home... but even better!" Girl, you must have been reading my mind! This sounds like just the thing and I love that it's instant pot friendly.
Urban Foodie Kitchen
Hi Claire - glad I could help! 🙂
Julie
Since our conversation about baking at high altitude, I've been curious about the Instant Pot -- thank you for answering that without me having to do any research, haha. We love our Instant Pot but I have yet to try rice in it; adding this to the must-make list!
Urban Foodie Kitchen
You're welcome! Rice is easy in the IP - you'll love it!
Charity
I have not gotten up the nerve to try rice in the instant pot yet. I really should try it because I'd love to get rid of the rice cooker. My cabinets are full!