Chimichurri Rice (Instant Pot)

This Instant Pot chimichurri rice is a quick and easy side dish bursting with refreshing herby flavor. This minimalist dish pairs delightfully tender, fluffy rice with sharp, herbaceous, and mildly spicy chimichurri sauce. It’s super versatile and is perfect for pairing with shrimp, chicken, or steak and grilled veggies to make a well rounded, yummy summer dinner.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Simple ingredients – only requires a handful of simple ingredients that are largely pantry staples, like rice, fresh herbs, olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings.
• Quick and easy side dish – between the Instant pot doing the heavy lifting on the rice making and the food processor blending up the chimichurri, this recipe is light on actual labor and is quick to throw together.
• Flavor packed – fresh herbs, olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes load this chimichurri rice with a ton of light and vibrant flavor.
• Super versatile – chimichurri rice is sort of like a blank canvas for creating the perfect complete dinner. Pile on grilled shrimp, chicken, steak, fish or tofu for a protein boost. Toss in prepared seasonal produce, like zucchini, squash, or tomatoes, for an extra zip of freshness and flavor.

Ingredients

• Rice – white or brown rice work for this recipe. We prefer to pressure cook ours for perfectly cooked and delightfully fluffy rice.
• Fresh herbs – fresh parsley, cilantro, and oregano give chimichurri it’s herby punch.
• Olive oil – for a some plant-based fat and tons of flavor without making this sauce too heavy or greasy.
• Red wine vinegar – adds a little acidic sharpness to the sauce.
• Garlic – a piquant ingredient that adds some bite to the chimichurri. You can use the full 8 cloves for a super pungent sauce or reduce it to 4 cloves to make it more mild.
• Seasonings – red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper bring all the chimichurri flavors together.

Tips for Making Chimichurri Rice

1. Soak the rice 20 minutes before cooking for even fluffier rice. Soaking rice removes starchy residue on the outside of the grains and reduces the cook time. The end result is fluffier, non-clumpy rice. If you don’t have time to soak the rice, at least rinse it a few times, as this will still help remove the excess starches.
2. Use slightly more liquid than rice . Even though most pressure cooker recipes use a 1:1 liquid to rice ratio, we prefer to add just a little extra liquid to our rice for the best results. We have tried many variations of liquid to rice ratios and found that about ¼ cup of extra liquid consistently results in perfectly cooked, fluffy rice, while using equal parts liquid and rice more often results in crunchy, clumpy rice.
3. Let the pressure vent naturally when the rice is done cooking in the Instant Pot. Doing so will improve the texture of the rice. Once it is done naturally venting, fluff the rice with a fork and toss with the chimichurri.
4. Use the right cooking time for the type of rice you’re using. White rice takes only 5 minutes to pressure cook, while brown rice takes 22 minutes (more than four times as long as white rice). If you use Jasmine or basmati rice, you may need to adjust the time as well.

How to Make Chimichurri Rice

Soak the rice in water for 20 minutes. While the rice soaks, make the chimichurri sauce.

In a food processor, combine the parsley, cilantro, oregano, red wine vinegar, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Pulse until coarsely processed. Transfer the processed ingredients to a serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the olive oil over the mixture and let it stand for at least 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

While the chimichurri sits, pressure cook the rice. Combine the rinsed rice and broth in the pressure cook. Set the pressure cooker to “pressure cook high” for 5 minutes for white rice or 22 minutes for brown rice. It may take up to 10 minutes for the pressure to build up.

When the timer goes off allow the pressure to naturally vent (it helps with achieving fluffier rice). Once the pressure has bled off, turn the valve to venting to release any residual pressure and fluff the rice with a fork. Mix the chimichurri sauce into the rice and fluff again before serving.

How to Store

Store leftover chimichurri rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To reheat rice, add a little bit of oil to a frying pan along with the rice and a splash of broth or water. Add a little bit of leftover chimichurri sauce (if you have any) and heat over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until warmed throughout.

Recipe Variations

• Rice or grain – we alternate between white and brown rice, but other grains like farro, Israeli couscous, and quinoa are also excellent with chimichurri sauce.
• Herbs – typical chimichurri recipes rely on parsley and cilantro to make the herby base, but feel free to use just one herb or to add to it with other fresh herbs like thyme, basil, oregano, or rosemary.
• Cooking method – our go-to method for cooking rice is pressure cooking because it’s easy, hands-free, and makes consistently tender, fluffy rice. But you can make rice over the stove or in a rice cooker too or use the “pasta cooking” method.

What to Pair with Chimichurri Rice

• Protein – chimichurri rice is the perfect base for proteins like shrimp, steak, chicken, salmon, flaky white fish, or tofu. Try them grilled, pan-seared, or oven-baked.
• Vegetables – we love incorporating summer veggies like zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, tomatoes, eggplant, corn on the cob, and green beans with this summertime dish. Sauteed, oven-roasted, steamed, air fried, grilled or raw are all great options.
• Bread – load up the carbs! A slice of homemade white bread, garlic bread, dinner rolls, or homemade breadsticks are perfect for dipping in leftover chimichurri sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Check out our other herby grain and pasta recipes

• Zucchini risotto
• Pesto risotto
• Cilantro lime brown rice
• Avocado pesto pasta
• Pesto orzo salad
• Lemon pesto pasta