One Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice
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One Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice cooked in just 30 minutes, topped with creamy avocado sauce.
It’s been too long. Way too long since a one pot meal has appeared on this here blog. So here it is. One pot cilantro lime chicken and rice. In 30 minutes. You’re welcome.
So the sauce is optional. I mean not optional. What I mean is… technically you could make just the chicken and rice and be perfectly happy with your dinner. You really could. BUT what you really should do is make the sauce. Because it makes the dish ten times better. Nay, fifty times better.
Basically it’s amazing.
One of my most favorite and most popular dishes here on Creme de la Crumb is this —> one pot lemon herb chicken and rice, but when my husband slash official taste tester tried it for the first time I should have known he’d ask where the sauce was. We are sauce people – ranch with everything and the standard three packets of ketchup that come with every to-go order of fries is just NOT enough, why can’t you takeout people get that through your heads??
So when I made this cilantro lime chicken and rice I was prepared. I whipped up a super yummy 10 second cilantro + lime + avocado sauce to go over that chicken and rice and I am sooooooo glad that I did.
So is my husband slash official taste tester.
This whole one pot dish is what busy weeknight dreams are made of. So little effort, so much goodness to be had. One pot to clean up, plus it’s a main and a side all in one and you just can’t beat that because seriously, am I the only one who struggles with coming up with side dishes for your weekly menu? I tend to get excited about the main entree and totally space it on the side dishes so I have to throw something together at the last minute, and I will be perfectly honest… chips and salsa probably becomes a side dish to wayyyy too many of our dinners.
But if you haven’t tried it alongside fettuccine alfredo you’re missing out p.s.
What people are saying about this One Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice
“I made this tonight and yum!!! Absolutely love that it only used one pot and was super quick too. We had some veggies as a side and just put them on top of the chicken in the pot to steam.. save another dish! I found the lime lovely and zesty, will definitely make it again.” – Emma
“This is my first comment on a recipe, ever! This dinner was too good to pass up the moment. So simple and easy, yet so flavorful. Made it for my fiance and my anniversary dinner this evening.” – Katie
“This post is almost a year old, but I found this on a BuzzFeed article, and I just have to say this is AMAZING! Im in love with the sauce.” – Amethyst
“Just wanted to let you know that my 12yo son followed your recipe and made this tonight… and it’s a absolute winner! We all loved it and I see this as part of our regular go-to meal recipes. The sauce was just super lovely… creamy, but not overly rich. Just divine!” – Mama
One Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 ¼ cups chicken broth
- ⅓ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- juice of 3 limes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Sauce
- 1 avocado
- juice of 1 lime
- ¼ cup milk
- handful of cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add butter to a large skillet (one that has a lid) and melt over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add chicken and cook 1-2 minutes on each side just until lightly browned. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Add rice and garlic to pan and stir over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant. Add chicken broth, lime juice, cilantro, salt and black pepper. Place chicken on top of the rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 25 minutes or until rice is fully cooked and liquid is absorbed.
- While chicken and rice are cooking, make the sauce. Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Add more lime juice or a little more milk if needed til pourable.
- Drizzle sauce over chicken and rice. Sprinkle with additional cilantro if desired and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you liked this you’ll love…
I make this recipe all the time and have a few tips:
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides before browning. Make sure to get that chicken nice and golden brown.
2. Cut down to 2 cups of broth and the juice of 2 limes, or else your end result might be pretty wet
3. Have everything prepped before you start browning the chicken – get the stock, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic ready and waiting.
4. If you’re too lazy to make the sauce, just add some sliced avocado at the end and garnish with more cilantro.
It’s a great recipe and perfect for improvising with stuff in your fridge. Love it!
Hi Rachel! So happy to hear that you love this recipe and have been able to make modifications to your exact liking! Thanks for sharing your ideas with us!! 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight and Though it was really good it waS way tOo limy. I think I shOuld have Used one LARGE lime instead of tHree because the avocado cilantro lime sauce was also Pretty limy with One large lime. My only SUGGESTION Would be to add a teaspoon of Chili powder For a touCh of spice. I overheard my nephew telling a friend he was eating the best meal ever.
Love it when I hear younger children say things like that about new food! 😉 Thanks for the great input, Sherry!
Am going to try this recipe out on my boyfriend and am sure he will love it–quick question though: what milk can i SUBSTITUTE (or, would you suggest) for the sauce–very lactose intolerant!
Try using coconut milk!
Just wanted to let you know that my 12yo son followed your recipe and made this tonight… and it’s a absolute winner! We all loved it and I see this as part of our regular go-to meal recipes. The sauce was just super lovely… creamy, but not overly rich. Just divine!
I made this tonight and yum!!! Absolutely love that it only used one pot and was super quick too.
We had some veggies as a side and just put them on top of the chicken in the pot to steam.. save another dish!
I found the lime lovely and zesty, will definitely make it again.
Hi! Two questions, first could like juice be substitute with let’s say lemon? Would it still make a tasty dish? Or other suggestions?
Also, could milk in the sauce be substituted with soy milk?
Thanks!
This is my first comment on a recipe, ever! This dinner was too good to pass up the moment. So simple and easy, yet so flavorful. Made it for my fiance and my anniversary dinner this evening.
Thank you so much Katie for taking the time to comment! I’m so glad you loved this and happy anniversary to you!! 🙂
It looks really delish and I want to make this in the slow cooker for my work peeps. When would I add the rice to the slow cooker and what other adjustments should I make?
This is so tasty! I’ve made both this and the one pot lemon herb chicken and rice in the past week. I’d love to see more recipes like this!
This post is almost a year old, but I found this on a BuzzFeed article, and I just have to say this is AMAZING! Im in love with the sauce.