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.
Dirty Rice is Southern comfort food at its finest!
Dirty Rice is Southern comfort food at its finest!So, in case you're new to this Southern rice dish, it's called Dirty Rice because the rice turns a “dirty” brown color while cooking with 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). Whatever you call it, this dish is as delicious as it is simple to make!
Dirty Rice vs Jambalaya Rice:
While both are beloved Louisiana rice dishes, Dirty Rice gets its name (and signature flavor) from the bits of ground meat, liver, and Cajun spices that “dirty” the white rice. Jambalaya, on the other hand, is more of a hearty, stew-like meal made with rice, tomatoes, and a mix of proteins like sausage, chicken, or shrimp. Dirty Rice is meat-forward and boldly seasoned, while Jambalaya is more saucy and tomato-based.
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. Add 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.
Creole vs Cajun Seasoning:
Though often used interchangeably, Cajun and Creole seasonings have distinct flavor profiles. Cajun seasoning (used in this recipe) is bolder and spicier, with a rustic blend of paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Creole seasoning is milder and has more herbs, often featuring oregano, thyme, basil, and even celery salt.
For Dirty Rice, seasoning is everything. Without it, it would taste like plain white rice. Cajun seasoning adds that unmistakable Louisiana kick—spicy, smoky, and just a little wild. It's a must for this recipe! Slap yo Mama's is a popular brand I'd recommend.
Instant Pot Dirty Rice:
Turn to sauté setting and brown meat. Add and sauté veggies and spices then 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.
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Recipe
Dirty Rice
Equipment
- Meat Chopper optional
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground beef (227g), 80/20
- ½ lb ground sausage (227g), (I use Jimmy Dean pork sausage)
- ½ cup minced chicken livers or gizzards* (120g)
- 1 teaspoon salt (6g)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (1g)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (30g)
- 1 onion , diced
- ½ cup celery (50g), diced
- 1 green bell pepper , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning (5g)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups long-grain white rice (370g), or basmati rice
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (960g)
- ½ cup chopped green onion (50g)
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley (8g)
Instructions
- Cook meat: 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.½ lb ground beef, ½ lb ground sausage, ½ cup minced chicken livers or gizzards*, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 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.¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 onion, ½ cup celery, 1 green bell pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, 2 bay leaves
- Simmer: 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.2 cups long-grain white rice, 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Serve garnished with green onion and parsley.½ cup chopped green onion, ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
Notes
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
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I originally shared this recipe August 2020. Updated September 2023 and June 2025.
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Good flavorful meal. Flour roux a nice touch. I was able too use up some ragged veggies and small bags of meat from freezer. Onions and peppers a little chunky. Some tomato paste helped I think . What else ya got?
Easy yum
Big hit at the church social today!!!
Could you make dirty rice with Italy sausage?
Yes, sure.
Absolutely perfect recipe!! If you’re thinking of omitting the chicken livers, I highly recommend you don’t. They provide a unique flavor that you can’t get elsewhere. I double the recipe and freeze so we have it for the holidays. Yummy!!
Very good! Husband loved it! I did not add chicken livers!
It HAS to have livers to be considered dirty rice. That’s like omitting eggs from chinese fried rice and still callin it fried rice. It’s not.
It’s perfect 👌 I used some of the spices to season the meat and used beef instead of chicken stock. It was soo good 💫💫💫💫💫