Instant Pot Dirty Rice

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.

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.

“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.

New Instant Pot Rice Dishes

Once you’ve tried making dirty rice in the Instant Pot, you’ll realize that you’ve got the ultimate tool for cooking rice. So get ready to be on the hunt for your next rice creation to take a shot at.

I’ve been in the lab fine-tuning all sorts of pressure cook rice dishes. I’m not kidding around when it comes to Instant Pot rice — there are over 70 amazing recipes waiting for you.

You’ll find one-pot meals like Instant Pot chicken and rice, super healthy options like Instant Pot Black Rice. And dishes from around the world like Instant Pot Mexican Rice.

And we can’t forget about our favorite course: dessert. Don’t miss out on the classic Instant Pot Rice Pudding.

Rice is a staple throughout the world — it’s probably the single most fundamental ingredient out there. But it’s also a dynamic starting point for all manner of dishes. With your Instant Pot, enjoy exploring the endless possibilities for healthy and hearty cooking with rice.

Instant Pot Wonderful Dirty Rice