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This easy Dirty Rice Recipe is so easy and perfect for any night of the week. The beef and veggies blend for the best flavor and make the rice so filling and delicious. It is one of our favorite rice recipes.

Dirty Rice in a skillet with a wooden spoon
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Dirty rice recipe is truly a one pot meal. It is hearty and delicious while being so simple. I love cooking the rice in the same pan as the other ingredients. It makes this rice bowl recipe easy and perfect for a weekend night.

No need for lots of different pans or tons of complicated ingredients. I love One Pot Meals! It makes cleanup so much easier and we spend less time in the kitchen and more family time!

Dirty Rice Recipe comes together quickly and easily for a meal everyone will enjoy.

A bowl of dirty rice

What is dirty rice?

It is a delicious combination of rice, ground beef, onion and green pepper all blended together with seasoning. You are going to love this rice dish that is hearty and filling enough to be the main dish!

If you are short on time and need a simple meal, try this delicious Dirty Rice Recipe. It does not get any simpler and everyone will enjoy it.

Dirty Rice in a skillet with a wooden spoon

Why you should make this dirty rice recipe with ground beef

Things are always busy around here and anything I can do to make dinner come together faster is a plus. This simple one pot meal helps me get dinner on table.

It seems we are always running from school and work to activities and more. This is the perfect recipe to get dinner on the table fast and avoid the temptation of take out!

Dirty Rice in a skillet

This one pot meal does not disappoint.

It is also frugal and a great way to stretch your meat. The rice and vegetables help to make the ground beef go even further!

Ingredients needed - ground beef, garlic cloves, celery, onion, fresh parsley, bell pepper, salt, red pepper, black pepper, worcestershire sauce, rice, beef broth, water

Ingredients:

  • ground beef
  • garlic cloves, minced
  • celery ribs, chopped
  • medium onion, finely chopped – you can use green onion as well
  • fresh parsley
  • green bell pepper chopped
  • salt
  • red pepper
  • black pepper
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • uncooked rice (white rice or brown rice)
  • beef broth or chicken broth
  • cup water
A white bowl of dirty rice

How to make dirty rice:

  • Add ground beef, garlic cloves, onion, celery, parsley and green pepper and cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink in large skillet or a Dutch Oven. Note: If your beef is sticking the pan, add a little bit of olive oil to the pan to help prevent it from sticking.
combining the ingredients in a skillet and cooking
  • Stir in salt, red pepper, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce – cook stirring often.
  • Add the rice, broth, ยพ cup water, stirring well with a wooden spoon.
  • Salt and pepper to taste. You can also add bay leaves to the mixture.
  • Bring to a boil, cover reduce heat to medium high heat and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from the heat.
  • Finally, remove the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork and Stir to combine.
a bowl of dirty rice

Tips to make Dirty Rice

When I am making taco meat for dinner, I will go ahead and brown another batch so I can easily freeze it for another meal. I try to always keep several bags of already browned ground beef in my freezer. So I can easily pull out a bag of frozen ground beef and make this dirty rice recipe.

Another time saving tip is to use a small food processor to quickly and easily chop onions and peppers. If you do not have one of these, I highly recommend them.

Dirty Rice in a skillet with a wooden spoon

What do you serve with Dirty Rice?

We like to serve this easy dirty rice with cornbread muffins! You can even serve it with this coleslaw recipe or a nice big salad. These are my favorite side dishes to serve with dirty rice.

We love how you can make this recipe work for your family!

Dirty Rice in a skillet with a wooden spoon

How do you make Cajun rice?

Simply add creole seasonings or cajun seasoning to the rice if you would like to try it with a little Cajun heat. This will make it a classic cajun recipe.

Dirty Rice in a skillet with a wooden spoon

Dirty Rice Recipe Variation: 

We love simple recipes like this and everyone looks forward to when this recipe is on the menu plan for that week. This recipe is the perfect meal that you can change it up with what you have leftover or in your freezer.

With this recipe you can also use ground sausage, ground pork, ground chicken or even chicken livers instead of ground beef or even try it with ground turkey. It is also a great way to sneak in some veggies!

A bowl of dirty rice

Print this Dirty Rice Recipe below:

Dirty Rice

5 from 34 votes
This Dirty Rice Recipe is simple and perfect for busy weeknights. The beef and veggies blend for the best flavor and make the rice so hearty and delicious.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6
Cuisine American
Course Main Course
Calories 328

Ingredients

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Instructions

  • Cook ground beef,garlic cloves, onion celery,parsley and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink in large skillet.
  • Stir in salt, red pepper, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce – cook stirring often.
  • Add rice, broth, ยพ cup water, stirring well. Bring to a boil, cover reduce to medium high heatย and simmer 25 minutes or until rice tender. Remove from the heat.
  • Salt and pepper to taste. You can also add bay leaves to the mixture.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Serve with your favorite sides, like cornbread and a green vegetable!

Nutrition Facts

Calories 328kcal, Carbohydrates 28g, Protein 16g, Fat 15g, Saturated Fat 5g, Cholesterol 53mg, Sodium 658mg, Potassium 381mg, Fiber 1g, Sugar 1g, Vitamin A 915IU, Vitamin C 30.8mg, Calcium 39mg, Iron 2.3mg

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More easy rice recipes to try:

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This easy Dirty Rice Recipe is simple and perfect for busy weeknights. This one pot rice recipe with ground beef is delicious and filled with beef and veggies! This is the best one-pot dinner and can be made with pork, chicken or shrimp too! #eatingonadime #ricerecipes #skilletrecipes #beefrecipes

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About the Author

Hi, I’m Carrie. Welcome to Eating on a Dime!

I’m on a mission to help you cook delicious meals without busting your budget. Together we are going to cook real food… for real families!

5 from 34 votes (33 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Carrie Barnard says:

    Those additions sound delicious! Thanks for sharing Celeste!

  2. Celeste says:

    5 stars
    I kicked this up a notch by adding 2 teasp. Of Tony Checkers Cajun seasoning and a sprinkling of crushed red peppers and used ground pork instead of beef. Came out awesome! Thanks for the recipe!

  3. Vickie campbell says:

    I would love to see the recipe I do not know to make it someone made it and I love it

  4. Linda Brooks says:

    This looks so good, can’t wait to try it.

  5. Missy Webb says:

    I cooked this for my family tonight and it was a hit. Even my picky toddler liked it. I also liked that the calories weren’t too outrageous. We served it with green beans! Thanks for a new repeat dish!

  6. Rhonda says:

    thank you, this looks really good!