Cilantro Chicken & Rice | One-Pot Meal
This easy one-pot Instant Pot Cilantro Chicken and Rice uses fresh herbs, chile peppers, lime juice, and chicken thighs for a quick and flavor-packed weeknight dinner.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe: There’s no browning or sauteing with this recipe, so it comes together with just a few minutes of hands-on preparation. Plus, the chicken and rice cook in the flavorful cilantro sauce so everything is juicy, tender, and fresh-tasting.
After years of testing various ways to make quick and easy chicken dishes in the Instant Pot, we’ve perfected the chicken-and-rice strategy so this dish comes together with minimal effort and maximum flavor.
This is one of our favorite one-pot chicken recipes to make in the Instant Pot. If you’re a fan, try our Instant Pot BBQ Shredded Chicken, Spanish-Style Chicken and Rice, and Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole.
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED
Here’s what you need for this one-pot cilantro chicken and rice recipe:
- Cilantro. You’ll use the whole bunch!
- Aromatics. The flavor of the sauce comes from onions, garlic, and fresh chile peppers.
- Dried seasonings. You’ll also add oregano, cumin, and allspice to round things out.
- Lime juice. We recommend using fresh lime.
- Chicken. We use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Rice. Opt for long-grain white rice so it cooks at the right time without getting mushy.
- Broth. You can use homemade or storebought chicken broth.
How to Make Cilantro Chicken and Rice in an Instant Pot
✅ This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
This recipe starts with a blender or food processor to make the sauce. You’ll puree the cilantro, onion, garlic, chile peppers, dried spices, salt, pepper and lime juice with a half-cup of water until it’s nice and smooth.
Next, grease the pressure cooking pot with nonstick spray to prevent the chicken from sticking or burning on the bottom. Add the chicken to the pot along with the chicken broth, then the rice on top. Without stirring anything, pour your cilantro sauce over the rice.
Cook the chicken and rice on high pressure for 9 minutes, then release the pressure manually. Remove the lid and use tongs to transfer the chicken to a bowl, where you can shred them with two forks or your hands. Stir the rice into the sauce and add any additional salt and pepper if you’d like.
Serve the cilantro chicken and rice with fresh lime wedges and tomato for garnish. Enjoy!
Important Tips for Making Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- The order you add the foods in this recipe is important. It should go: Chicken, broth, rice, then sauce on top.
- Do not stir the mixture after you add the rice to the pot. This is to prevent the rice from burning on the bottom of the pot.
- The chicken releases a lot of liquid as it cooks, so you only need one can of chicken broth, or 14 ounces if you’re using homemade.
- If you like heat, you can use any chile pepper you want in the sauce. We kept ours on the mild side.
- To keep your sauce less spicy, be sure to remove the seeds from the peppers first.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cilantro Chicken in an Instant Pot
Keep cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
Yes, just be sure to cut the chicken breast into equally sized pieces so they cook fully.
You can serve the shredded chicken in a bowl with rice, or add it to a salad for extra greens.
The spice level is entirely up to you! You can use hotter peppers and keep the seeds in for more heat, or keep things mild by removing the seeds and using a mild pepper like poblano.
MORE Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
We have dozens of family-friendly chicken recipes to make in your Instant Pot, including:
- Easy Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot Chicken Tacos, featuring juicy shredded chicken served in taco shells with your favorite toppings.
- Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup can be made with fresh or frozen chicken–it’s a great hack if you forgot to defrost dinner!
- Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken has a sweet and nutty sauce that’s delicious over white rice.
Do you LOVE this recipe?
Leave us a review below to tell us why!
One-Pot Cilantro Chicken & Rice
Ingredients
- 1 medium bunch fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
- 1/4 yellow medium onion peeled
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 mild or medium chile peppers seeded and roughly chopped (we use Anaheims or poblano)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Juice from 1 lime
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs well trimmed and pounded to the same thickness throughout
- 1 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
- Lime wedges for serving
- Diced fresh tomatoes for serving
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, combine cilantro, onion, garlic, chile peppers, oregano, cumin, all-spice, salt, pepper, lime juice and 1/2 cup water. Set aside.
- Spray the bottom of the pressure cooking pot with nonstick cooking spray, then add the chicken thighs. Add the chicken broth, then add the rice in an even layer. DO NOT STIR and gently layer the cilantro puree on top.
- Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and elect High Pressure and 9 minutes cook time.
- When the cook time ends, use a quick pressure release. Remove the chicken thighs from the pot and shred. Stir the rice until well combined and salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve, scoop a serving of rice, then top with the shredded chicken. Garnish with lime wedges, diced tomatoes, and cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
FOR MORE FROM PRESSURE COOKING TODAY
🥘 Browse our collection of the best pressure cooker / Instant Pot recipes.
💬 Follow Pressure Cooking Today on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.
👥 Join our Electric Pressure Cooker Facebook Group. Our positive community of pressure cooking fans use all brands of electric pressure cookers, so it’s a great resource if you have questions about your particular brand.
Can this be doubled? I need a recipe for 12. If not easily done, can I do the chicken in the IPot and the rice and sauce separately, and then combine them?
We all love the recipe, but made to much for us. Can you freeze the left overs?
Hi Sharon – yes, it will freeze well. I would freeze the chicken and rice separately in individual servings.
Delicious 😋 Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Louise!!
I love cilantro and can’t wait to try this. Your recipes are always enjoyed here and become favorites. I’m sure this will be no exception!
Thanks so much Nancy! Please let us know how you like it.
Allergic to cilantro. Substitute?
Diane you can substitute parsley for cilantro giving it more for a chimichurri vibe.
I’m asking like Ruth. My husband doesn’t care for cilantro. Any substitute?
Hi Shery – it does seem to be a controversial herb. You can substitute parsley for cilantro giving it more for a chimichurri flavor.
Hi Ladies,
I am not a fan of celantro, What could I use in place of?
Hi Ruth – you can substitute parsley for cilantro giving it more for a chimichurri flavor.