We’re busy enjoying our Louisiana favorites this time of year. I am not kidding when I tell you that my kids are just about as excited for Mardi Gras as they are for Christmas. Parades, candy, music, screaming like idiots for beads and plastic cups. If I’m being completely honest with myself, it’s a pretty awesome holiday. It involves lots of yummy food, fun, great music, and very little effort or preparation on my part.
One of my favorite Louisiana foods is Dirty Rice. Now…this recipe comes with a big disclaimer. Dirty Rice is traditionally made with chicken livers and gizzards. I don’t care how good they make your food taste, I cannot cook with them. So, in case you haven’t guessed, I’m not using tiny organ meats in my dirty rice, and no, the color isn’t quite “dirty” enough. But I promise this Not-So-Dirty Dirty Rice still delivers big on flavor. It makes a great one-dish meal or side dish, and it’s perfect for reheating for an easy lunch during the week as well!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Ground pork sausage – AKA breakfast sausage, like Jimmy Dean brand. Spicy or mild, depending on your preference.
- Yellow or white onion
- Celery stalks
- Fresh garlic cloves – Fresh is always best, but garlic powder will work in a pinch.
- Green bell pepper – Green bell pepper has a distinct flavor compared to the sweeter, more ripe yellow, orange, or red varieties. You can use whatever you like, but I like the flavor of the green pepper in this dish!
- Long-grain white rice – Long grain white rice cooks up separate and fluffy. It absorbs liquid without turning sticky. You can use medium grain rice, it will just turn out a little softer and stickier. I wouldn’t recommend short-grain or sushi rice. Jasmine is a long-grain rice that would work well here.
- Black pepper
- Tabasco sauce – This does not make the dish spicy, just adds a nice kick of flavor.
- Salt-based Cajun or Creole seasoning – Like Tony Cachere’s.
- Kosher salt to taste
- Beef broth – Canned, from a carton, or reconstituted from bouillon base are all good options.
- Green onions – Optional.
How to Make Not-So-Dirty Dirty Rice
- You’ll start by browning your sausage. When it’s about halfway cooked you’ll add some chopped onions, peppers, celery, and garlic.
- Once that’s cooked you’ll add some uncooked rice and cook for a few minutes before adding black pepper, Tabasco, Cajun seasoning and beef broth. That gets brought to a boil and everything gets covered and simmered over low heat until the rice is tender.
- After it’s done it just needs to rest for a couple of minutes then you can serve it up, top with green onions if desired, and enjoy!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- We like eating this as a meal with a simple green salad. It also makes a great side dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
You bet! This is a great meal to prep at the beginning of the week and eat as an easy lunch for several days.
You bet. Ground beef, ground turkey, smoked sausage, or a mix of meats work well here.
You can, but you’ll need to increase the beef broth to 4.5-5 cups and simmer the rice for longer – at least 40-50 minutes.
Not-So-Dirty Dirty Rice
Ingredients
- ¾ pound ground pork sausage mild or spicy, depending on your preferences, you can use a 16 ounce roll of sausage if that's what you have
- 1 medium onion minced
- 2 stalks celery minced
- 5-6 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 2 cups long-grain white rice
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 10 dashes Tabasco sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt-based Cajun or Creole Seasoning like Tony Chachere’s; you may want more or less depending on how hot you want your rice to be
- Kosher salt to taste I used 1/2 teaspoon, but again, this will largely be to taste
- 4 cups beef broth high elevations may need up to 1/4 cup more
- Optional: 1/2 cup chopped green onions
Instructions
- Preheat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until it is about halfway browned. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and green pepper and cook until the sausage is cooked and the vegetables are tender and fragrant.
- Add the rice and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the Tabasco, Cajun seasoning, and black pepper and stir until combined. Add the beef broth and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the moisture is absorbed (again, higher elevations may take as long as 45 minutes).
- Season to taste with salt and Tabasco sauce. If desired, toss with green onions before serving. Makes 10-12 servings.
Questions & Reviews
This is basically how I make my dirty rice, but I use ground turkey and add extra spices to make it more sausage-y. It’s so good and I’m glad it doesn’t gizzards or livers in it 😀
THANK YOU! I’ve been looking for a good recipe that DOESN’T use organs!!!
So, I am an animal scientist (beef cattle) turned stay-at-home mom. I love your blog. Just to put your mind at ease, I have toured several meat plants and sausage/hot dog making areas. They don’t put organ meats into the sausage or hot dogs or hamburger (at least not in the plants I’ve been to). They use normal meat that is not quite the right size or shape to sell as a different cut. Thanks for the great recipes!
You poor girl-feel better soon! And I never knew dirty rice had organ meats in it; that’s gross! Thank you for the non-gross version. And the best feel better fix is always chocolate!
I decided I couldn’t wait for Mardi Gras to try this so I made it today. It was DELICIOUS! All my kids loved it, which is a huge bonus. And my husband loved it and my brother-in-law took at least 3 helpings. With 2 cups of rice I thought for sure we would have leftovers (I was serving it as a side to a pork roast) but there’s just a tiny bit of rice left — with all the sausage picked out. 🙂 Not-so-dirty dirty rice is a definitely a keeper!
You gave me a HUGE laugh – I can’t make my dirty rice with those funky pieces/parts either. ICK – the man loves rumaki but in this house, we have to make 2 kinds and mine don’t involve chicken livers.
I’m so glad this showed up in my blogroll – I made the rolls last night for tomorrow’s Roast Beef Po’Boys. Your dirty rice will be a perfect side.
I lived in NOLA for 3+ years and had NO idea that dirty rice contained organs. And I definitely ate and enjoyed it repeatedly while I lived there. I am kind of speechlessly grossed out by this revelation, and also excited to try this not grody version.
Also, as a current victim of a pregnancy cold and as someone who lived through their sewer line cracking and leaking in NOLA (please let’s not discuss the droves of cockroaches that infiltrated our house before we found out the pipe was cracked), just know that you have my most sincere condolences.
Can you make this with brown rice? I’ve ne ver cooked anything Cajun and while I usually cook with white rice I was just curious if brown rice would work as well?
Yes, but a) it will definitely have a different flavor from traditional dirty rice and b) it will take significantly longer to cook (and it may need more liquid). If you’re cool with both those things, you can totally do it. 🙂
Yay for non-organ meat rice! My husband asked me to buy him chicken livers for catfish fishing bait, and I refused. I would not even put that nasty stuff into my cart, let alone anywhere near my mouth!
Your dish looks amazing! ….and like most dishes from Louisiana, so so easy to tweak in order to “make it your own”