1mediumlime - juice and zest(about 2 teaspoon zest + 2 tablespoon juice)
¾cupchopped cilantroleaves and tender green stems
Instructions
Instant Pot Recipe
Rinse rice 2-3 times until water runs clear. Soak the rice for 10 minutes while you gather and prepare other ingredients.
Turn on Saute. Add olive oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add the rinsed and drained rice. Stir and saute rice for 3 minutes to toast them slightly. Stir in minced garlic and cook for another minute.
Add water, salt, and lime zest to the rice. Stir and cancel saute.
Close the lid, knob at sealing position. Select pressure cook or manual for 6 minutes at high pressure. Once cooking time is done, wait 5 minutes then release pressure manually by following your cooker's quick release instructions. Let it rest uncovered for 5 minutes.
Add lime juice and chopped cilantro. Using a fork, fluff the rice gently and mix in the lime juice and cilantro.
Stovetop Recipe
Heat a sauce pan on medium-high heat and follow instructions 1-4 from above. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes. After that, turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 5-10 minutes. Now add cilantro and lime and gently fluff and mix with a fork.
Video
Notes
Rice: For best results, use Basmati or a similar long grain rice for a nutty flavor and fluffy texture.
Lime: Buy a juicy, bright colored lime for it's zest and juice. The zest adds an earthy citrusy flavor, so don't skip that step.
Cilantro: Trim off the bottom 2 inches of the stems before using. Use the leaves and light green stem.
Toasting: Toasting the rice takes an extra few minutes, but it adds a nutty flavor to this rice dish. Try not to skip that step.
Make-Ahead: Cilantro lime rice can be made a few days ahead for meal-prep or a party, and even frozen for later use. Check storage instructions above for details.
Quantity: 1 cup uncooked rice makes 3 cups cooked rice. In this recipe, I have accounted for ¾ cup cooked rice per serving. You can adjust that based on your preference.
Note: The nutrition facts below are my estimates based on ¾ cup serving size. If you are following any diet plan, I recommend cross-checking with your preferred nutrition calculator.