Why This Recipe Works

So flavorful — The combination of pork, beef, onion, pepper, garlic, chili powder, herbs, savory broth, and rice is so very delicious! There’s just a kick of spice to this dish too that keeps you coming back for more.

Easy — It doesn’t get any easier than one pot dishes. And this Cajun dirty rice is made simpler by cooking everything in one pot. You think you need to cook the meats separately? Nah, just scoot over the veggies to one side and use the other to cook the meat, then stir together! Genius.

Simple ingredients — No fancy ingredients here. You can find everything in this dish at any old grocery store. This dish is a great way to use up some of those veggies that might be going bad in your veggie drawer too.

Great for meal planning — I mentioned that I love having this dirty rice for leftovers. It packs up so easily and has everything you could want in a lunch or dinner (or breakfast — no judgment here) on the go the following day (and the next, and the next).

Ingredients

Olive Oil — I use extra virgin but you can use whatever you have on hand. It’s a good base for sauteing the veggies.

Ground Pork — Any ground pork variety you like is great.

Ground Beef — The mixture of ground beef and ground pork makes this dish so flavorful.

Yellow Onion — Dice one yellow onion or substitute a white onion.

Red and Green Bell Peppers — The combo of red and green onions is great in this dirty rice dish and looks pretty in the dish to boot.

Celery

Garlic — I use minced garlic in a jar but you can mince your own if you like.

Salt and Cracked Black Pepper — Add any kind of salt and pepper that you have to taste

Long Grain White Rice — Long grain white rice really soaks up all that yummy Zoup Chicken Base. Plus, you can’t have dirty rice without rice!

Beef broth – or beef broth concentrate combined with hot water.

Herbs De Provence or Italian Herb Blend — Either of these spice blends will work in this dish.

Chili Powder — I use all sorts of chili powder varieties, whatever brand you have is great.

Curly Parsley —Finely chop some fresh, curly parsley for garnish, or use dried parsley if that’s what you have.

Here’s How You Make It

six steps of preparing cajun dirty rice recipe

If using broth concentrate, you’ll need to first stir together the hot water and the concentrate. (photo 1)

Next, you’ll want to drizzle a large skillet (choose one with a lid) with olive oil and heat it up over medium-high heat. (not pictured)

Now, add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic and sauté it all together for 2 minutes. Scoot the sautéed veggies over to one half of the pan. (photos 2-3)

To the empty half of the pan, add the ground pork and beef and brown it, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks, for 4-5 minutes. (not pictured)

Once the meat is browned, stir everything in the pan back together. Then, add the rice, salt, pepper, chili powder, Herbs de Provence, and the broth mixture. (photo 4)

Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, add the lid, and cook the dirty rice all together for 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is tender. (photo 5)

Fluff the dirty rice with a fork, stir in chopped parsley, and serve. (photo 6)

southern dirty rice in skillet with Zoup broth concentrate on side

Expert Tips

This Cajun Dirty Rice can be kept in a container with a lid in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can put this dish in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 5 months.
You can easily substitute ground chicken or turkey (or both) for the pork and/or beef. For even more Cajun flavor, swap the ground meat for andouille sausage.
Spice this dirty rice dish up by adding red pepper flakes before simmering. Or, top with your favorite hot sauce or some diced, pickled jalapenos before eating.

southern dirty rice on a platter with a spoon

5 from 13 votes (12 ratings without comment)