Instant Pot Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice–this quickly cooked seasoned rice made in you pressure cooker is just like Cafe Rio’s and it makes the perfect addition to any Mexican dish for dinner.
Instant Pot Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice
Today’s recipe for Instant Pot Café Rio Cilantro Lime Rice is a good one. If you’re not familiar with Café Rio it’s a really great fresh Mexican joint here and it is our go-to restaurant. But sometimes it’s fun to throw a party and make a homemade Café Rio dinner. In fact, I’m doing that today (recipe for Instant Pot Café Rio Chicken is coming soon)! I love this rice because it can be made soooo quickly in the Instant Pot. You only need 8 minutes of cooking time. It takes a total time of 18 minutes in the pot. But that is totally HANDS OFF time. You can be chopping up lettuce or preparing guacamole or doing a million other things while this rice cooks.
I have decided that the Instant Pot is the best way to make rice! I love it! I’ve made brown rice already in it and it turned out beautifully. In fact the Instant Pot is a terrific way to cook a lot of grains like wheat berries or steel cut oatmeal. What shall I try next? Barley? Quinoa? If you can’t tell I’m really loving my new Instant Pot toy. What would you like to see me cook next?
More Café Rio Copycat Recipes
Café Rio Black Beans in the Instant Pot
Café Rio Slow Cooker Black Beans
Recommendations
Café Rio Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Salad
Slow Cooker Café Rio Chicken Salad
Slow Cooker Café Rio Pulled Pork by Oh Sweet Basil
Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette by Our Best Bites
What Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Did You Use?
For this Instant Pot Instant Pot Café Rio Cilantro Lime Rice recipe I used this Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker. It’s 6 quarts, so the same size as most slow cookers. It cost me around $80 on Amazon.
Instant Pot Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups water
- 2 2/3 cup white rice (short grain or long grain)
- 1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 (4 oz) can green chiles
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Press the sauté function on your Instant Pot. Melt the butter and then add in the onion. Cook until translucent. Add in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add in the water, rice, bouillon, cumin, green chiles, cilantro, lime juice and salt.
- Turn off the sauté function. Cover the pot and turn it to manual. Press the timer to 8 minutes for short grain white rice or 3 minutes for long grain white rice. Make sure the valve is set to “sealing.” When the timer beeps let the pot sit for about 5 minutes.
- Turn the valve gently to “venting.” If any foam comes out then turn the valve back to sealing and try again in a minute to release the pressure. Once pressure is released remove the lid and stir a bit and then serve.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot for this recipe.
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Can you use Minute Rice?
I haven’t tried it but if I did I would literally use a 1 minute cooking time with 5-10 minute natural pressure release, possibly reduce liquid a bit.
Ok thank you! I will try it sometime. I just used regular rice this time because I had some, but I just wondered about the Minute Rice.
This turned out good. Just needed bit more salt and also added some pepper to it. Sure makes a lot, so froze 3 containers for future meals.
★★★★★
Yeah, it makes a ton!
This rice recipe tasted delicious, but it was super sticky. Not quite what I would have at Cafe Rio or Costa Vida., or what your picture looked like. Any suggestions?
★★★★
Perhaps rinse the rice. That will help get off some of the starch.
Thank you Karen, I will try that.
I have just purchased an insta-pot. Is a 6 qt. insta-pot big enough to double this recipe in?
yes!
Could I do this on the stove top?
Here is a recipe for a stove top version: https://ohsweetbasil.com/cilantro-lime-rice-cafe-rio-copycat/
Could you cut this recipe in 1/2?
Yes I think that would work just fine. Cut all ingredients in half and keep cooking time the same.
What would I use to substitute the chicken bouillon to make this a vegetarian dish? It looks fantastic and I’m eager to try it.
I would use four cups of vegetable broth instead of four cups of water and then leave out the bouillon.
This recipe looks amazing! Do you think it would work with Jasmine rice?
Yes I think you could use jasmine rice. I would use 2 2/3 cups jasmine rice and 2 2/3 cup water. Rinse the rice before adding it to the pot. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.
Would the time be the same if the recipe is doubled?
Yes Ma’am!
Could you use the “rice” button?
I’m sure you could! Read this article for more info: https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/instant-pot-duo-and-smartcooker/
Could you use brown rice in this recipe?
yes, I think you could. I would do 2 cups brown rice with 2 1/2 cups water. The cooking time will be 22 minutes.
22 minutes in the instant pot??
no, the recipe says ” Press the timer to 8 minutes. Make sure the valve is set to “sealing.” When the timer beeps let the pot sit for about 5 minutes.”