My easy dirty rice recipe is an incredible side dish made from scratch with Creole spices, ground beef, chicken livers, and bacon. Liver haters, you’ll love this crazy delicious Creole classic because you can leave it out if you want!
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No, it’s not dirty. But the name is fun, isn’t it? Dirty rice is a classic soul food that is flavorful, full of texture, and guaranteed to level up your rice game.
As with most soul food, ingenuity turns what you have available into big, bold flavors. And what better way to use chicken livers? Ground beef and bacon boost the flavor. You could skip the bacon, but why?
What Is Dirty Rice?
The name might put you off if you’ve never heard of it. But it originated in Southern Louisiana as pure soul food. The blend of white rice, spices, aromatics, and small pieces of meat, like chicken livers and gizzards, ground beef, or sausage, is delicious.
The liver (I’ve given you an alternative to liver in the recipe) and ground beef turn the rice an unexpected dirty brown color. Over the years, this flavorful rice meal has evolved with many variations. I use whatever I have in the fridge because I can’t resist Immafying it. Plus, it’s a great way to use leftover rice.
How to Make Dirty Rice
- Make the rice, fry the bacon (and andouille sausage if desired) and the aromatics, then add the ground meat and break it up.
- Add veggies and aromatics, then add broth or water and simmer. Fluff the rice.
- Add the cooked rice and mix thoroughly, heat through, remove the bay leaf, and enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- This Southern dirty rice recipe is a great way to use leftovers! Leftover meat, veggies, and rice make a super-fast meal.
- Omit or add some ingredients to suit your palate, such as skipping the liver or adding jalapenos to spice up your rice dish.
- Creole seasoning already has cayenne pepper, but feel free to add more if desired.
Make-Ahead and Leftovers
Like most fried rice recipes, you can make this one the day before. And since it freezes well (2-3 months), a double batch isn’t a bad idea. A splash of broth or water will bring it back to life when reheating.
To complete a drool-worthy meal with dirty rice, you’ve got to have an equally easy coleslaw. Fresh skillet cornbread or hush puppies, and spicy chicken wings or Cajun shrimp are also fantastic pairings. Another ingenious way to use it is as a rice dressing for your holiday turkey.
More Deliciously Seasoned Rice Recipes to Try
This blog post was originally published in May 2017 and has been updated with additional tips and new photos.