Instant Pot Dirty Rice

Rice mixed with sausage, bay leaves, green onions, and bell peppers in black pan

I absolutely love making rice in my Instant Pot. Well, who am I kidding? As you’ve likely deduced by now, I love making everything in my Instant Pot. Rice is no exception.

Rice mixed with sausage, bay leaves, green onions, and bell peppers in black pan

It’s simple and easy, and you’ll get fluffy, perfect rice every time. For the basics of cooking rice with a pressure cooker, check out my Instant Pot Jasmine Rice and Instant Pot Basmati Rice recipes.

But if you’re ready for the next level, let’s talk about Instant Pot Dirty Rice.

Have you heard of this amazing dish? It’s a filling meal with amazing flavor. And it’s so much more than just plain old rice — it’s a wonderful mix of veggies and spicy pork sausage.

I give it a special twist by adding Creole seasoning. You can make it your own by playing around with your choice of spices and meat.

Feeling hungry yet? Let’s get started.

What Is Dirty Rice?

Dirty rice is a rice dish made with meat (pork, chicken, or beef), green bell pepper, celery, onion, and Creole spices.

Dirty rice comes to us from the world of traditional Louisiana Creole cuisine. You’re most likely to come across it in Louisiana’s Creole regions. It can also be found throughout the American South, sometimes called “rice dressing.”

Louisiana Creole cuisine is a lively and colorful style of cooking that blends West African, French, Spanish, and Native American influences.

use long-grain white rice, ground beef, and cajun seasoning for a dirty rice Instant Pot cajun dish

“Creole” is a term that originally referred to people of French and Spanish descent living in colonial Louisiana. Over time, the term Creole grew to include people of African descent and the broader cultural melting pot in the Louisiana region.

The combination of rice, meat, seafood, and vegetables typical of Creole cooking is most famously represented by Jambalaya. However, dirty rice is another delicious and easy one-pot meal that makes for an excellent introduction to the Creole style.

Where Does Dirty Rice Get Its Name From?

We’re used to seeing rice in its basic original color: white or brown.

The name dirty rice comes from the dish’s colorful appearance. The rice takes on a reddish-brown shade from cooking with spices and sausage.

At its core, dirty rice is adorned with flavor. Rather than separately combining plain, colorless rice with a dish at the table, the rice and its partner ingredients are cooked together, infusing the rice itself with incredible flavor and color.

So, cooking dirty rice is more involved than simply “making rice.”

Since dirty rice is prepared with meat and veggies, it makes for a great main course.

What Type of Meat to Use in Dirty Rice?

Instant Pot Dirty Rice is a dynamic recipe, giving you some options on the details. Regarding your choice of meat, I’m personally a big fan of pork sausage. That’s my go-to protein base for this dish.

Still, to make this Instant Pot Dirty Rice recipe, you could also opt for bratwurst, ground pork, or even ground beef. Go with whatever form of ground meat suits your fancy — the rice pairs well with any choice.

Which Rice to Use for Dirty Rice?

There are different types of rice that will all work just fine for this Instant Pot Dirty Rice recipe. My recommendation is to use the rice that you typically prefer or have available.

Personally, I usually make my dirty rice with a short-grain jasmine rice or basmati rice.

Anyway, your Instant Pot rice will come out perfect if you follow these cooking times:

Rice Variety Cooking Time
Basmati Rice 5 minutes
Jasmine Rice 5 minutes
Brown Rice 10 minutes
Wild Rice 15 minutes

For info about other types of rice, check out our Instant Pot rice calculator.

What Is the Perfect Rice to Water Ratio for Dirty Rice?

You always want to end up with fluffy rice that has the right amount of moisture after cooking. So, it’s important to use the right ratio of rice to water.

For stovetop cooking, you probably learned to use more water than rice. However, it’s a bit different with your Instant Pot. The official Instant Pot recommendation is to prepare any sort of rice with a 1:1 rice-to-water ratio.

However, in my experience, I’ve learned that the 1:1 ratio isn’t quite a perfect universal rule. For cooking brown rice, use slightly more water than rice. This will help to prevent undercooking and scorching.

For other varieties of rice, stick with equal measurements of rice and water and you’ll be fine.

How to Prepare Instant Pot Dirty Rice

First, gather up all your ingredients:

Using the Instant Pot Saute setting, cook the sausage until it’s nicely browned.

Toss in the onion and chopped bell pepper. Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.

Add in all of the spices and herbs. You can buy a Creole seasoning mix — which typically consists of some combination of spices like garlic, onion, paprika, cayenne, thyme, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.

After tossing in your spices and herbs, cook for one minute.

Rinse your rice and add it to the pot. Pour in the beef broth and water. Gently stir everything together.

Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.

When cooking time is complete, wait for a natural release for 10 minutes and then do a quick release

Open the lid and serve 🙂

You can it dirty rice as is or check out What To Serve With Dirty Rice for delicious side dish ideas.

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Instant Pot Dirty Rice

This delicious and comforting rice dish will be a family favorite for sure…
4.89 from 17 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: lunch
Cuisine: American
Keyword: creole, dirty, rice
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Corrie

Ingredients

  • 0.5 lb pork sausage casing removed
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ tablespoon Creole seasoning
  • 1 stalk celery chopped
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ cup bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup white rice, rinsed
  • ½ cup water
  • ¾ cup beef broth
  • 1 small bay leaf

Instructions

  • Select the Saute setting on your Instant Pot.
  • Add pork sausage and cook until browned.
  • Add celery, onion and bell pepper. Saute while stirring for 5 minutes.
  • Add spices and herbs and saute for 1 more minute.
  • Add rinsed rice, water, and broth. Stir gently.
  • Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
  • When the cooking cycle is done, allow for a natural pressure release to occur for 10 minutes.
  • Once done, do a quick pressure release and open the lid.
  • Fluff the rice with a fork and serve warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 349kcal Carbohydrates: 38g Protein: 13g Fat: 16g Saturated Fat: 5g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Monounsaturated Fat: 7g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 41mg Sodium: 533mg Potassium: 243mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 312IU Vitamin C: 1mg Calcium: 26mg Iron: 1mg
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3 thoughts on “Instant Pot Dirty Rice

  1. 5 stars
    One thing that was left out was when to add the celery. I almost forgot, but had not turned the pot to start, lol, so I added it at the end. I thought it tasted like something was missing, but couldn't figure out what. After thinking about it, I realized it was the sausage. Now that I'm a widow on a fixed income in this economy, I had to buy a cheaper brand. Nope, never again! I can imagine how wonderful it would be with the better brand and will definitely make again.

    1. Oh thanks for pointing that out, I'll fix it. I usually add the celery with the onion and bell pepper in step 3. But also I agree, the type of sausage can make a big difference! I hope you enjoy it more next time.

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