Our favorite easy Dirty Rice recipe is a popular Cajun dish made with white rice cooked with beef, sausage, chicken, veggies and spices. I love that it’s made in just one pot and it’s a meal everyone loves.
If you enjoy Cajun and Creole recipes be sure to try my New Orleans Gumbo, Red Beans and Rice, and Jambalaya.
Dirty Rice is Southern comfort food at its finest! It’s called Dirty Rice because the rice turns a “dirty” brown color while cooking with the diced meats and spices. You’ll also hear Dirty Rice called “Cajun Rice” or “Rice Dressing”, but they’re all variations of the same rice dish (they may use different types of meat or add more or less veggies, or spices).
How to make Dirty Rice:
Cook Meat and Veggies: Add ground beef, sausage and liver (or chopped chicken thighs) to a large pan over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned. Dump in flour and stir. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and sauté then toss in garlic, Cajun seasoning, cayenne, oregano, thyme and bay leaves and stir to combine.
Add Rice: Add rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat all allow to rest for 5 minutes. Remove lid, gently fluff rice with a fork, reapply lid and rest for 5 more minutes.
Serve: Garnish with green onion and parsley before serving this cajun rice. Dirty Rice is a hearty meal alone, but you could also serve it with a green salad, okra, Swiss chard, tomato cucumber salad, artisan bread or skillet cornbread.
Instant Pot Dirty Rice:
Turn to Sauté setting and brown meat. Add and sauté veggies and spices then pour in rice and 2 cups of chicken broth. Cook on manual/high pressure, for 4 minutes with a 10-minute natural release. Remove lid, gently fluff rice with a fork, reapply lid and rest for 5 more minutes. Garnish with green onion and parsley before serving.
Make Ahead Instructions:
Chop all of the veggies, and even measure the spices ahead, for quick dinner prep. You could also cook the meats and store them in the fridge for a few hours before cooking the remaining meal.
Recipe
5 from 158 votes
Dirty Rice
This easy Dirty Rice recipe is a popular Cajun dish made with white rice that becomes "dirty" in color when cooked with beef, sausage, chicken, veggies and spices. It's made in just one pot and is a hearty, flavorful meal everyone will love!
Servings 5
Calories 594
Prep 5 minutes mins
Cook 35 minutes mins
Total 40 minutes mins
Equipment
Meat Chopper optional
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground beef , 80/20
- ½ lb ground sausage (I use Jimmy Dean pork sausage)
- ½ cup minced chicken livers or gizzards*
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 onion , diced
- ½ cup celery , diced
- 1 green bell pepper , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups long-grain white rice , or basmati rice
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup chopped green onion
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
Add ground beef, sausage and liver to a large saucepan over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned.
Add flour and stir. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté for 2 minutes. Add garlic, Cajun seasoning, cayenne, oregano, thyme and bay leaves and stir to combine.
Add rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat all allow to rest for 5 minutes. Remove lid, gently fluff rice with a fork, reapply lid and rest for 5 more minutes.
Garnish with green onion and parsley before serving.
Notes
Chicken Livers: you can leave them out, or substitute small uncooked, chopped pieces of chicken thighs, or stir in chopped cooked chicken at the end.
For the Instant Pot:
Turn to sauté setting and brown meat. Add and sauté veggies and spices. Add rice and 2 cups of chicken broth. Cook on manual/high pressure, for 4 minutes with a 10-minute natural release. Remove lid, gently fluff rice with a fork, reapply lid and rest for 5 more minutes. Garnish with green onion and parsley before serving.
Make Ahead Instructions: Chop all of the veggies, and even measure the spices ahead, for quick dinner prep. You could also cook the meats and store them in the fridge for a few hours before cooking the remaining meal.
Nutrition
Calories: 594kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 31gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 875mgPotassium: 743mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 3584IUVitamin C: 32mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 6mg
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I originally shared this recipe August 2020. Updated September 2023.
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About The Author
Lauren Allen
Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.
