This Instant Pot Cajun Dirty Rice is a delicious Southern favorite made with Cajun flavors. Make this entire dish all in your electric Pressure Cooker with ease.
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I love making rice in my pressure cooker. As you can see from my Instant Pot Copycat Rice-a-Roni and my Instant Pot New York Street Cart Chicken and Rice, rice in the pressure cooker is the way to go. So naturally, when I was craving some delicious and spicy Cajun Dirty Rice, I grabbed my Instant Pot and got to work.
What is Cajun Dirty Rice?
Cajun Dirty Rice is a Creole dish that is made with white rice, meat, onion, celery, bell peppers, and Creole or Cajun seasonings. It gets its name because of the “dirty color” it gets with the addition of the meat and seasonings.
What Goes in Cajun Dirty Rice?
That truly will depend on who you ask...but according to my Husband, an authentic dirty rice will have pork sausage and chicken livers in the mix. The chicken liver taste isn’t too strong but it gives the dish that unique flavor.
He also has informed me that my Dirty Rice recipe taste just like the Bojangles Dirty Rice recipe. Bojangles, a restaurant popular in the South, has a ton of delicious Southern staples. And they are awesome because they taught me how to make biscuits.
If you don’t like chicken livers, or pork, you could always sub with ground beef or ground turkey. But for a true authentic taste, I say give chicken livers a try. Chicken livers can be found in the meat department of your grocery store.
Dirty rice also starts with three vegetables that I love to use in cooking, onions, green bell pepper, and celery.
How to make Cajun Dirty Rice in your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
First, chop your vegetables and prepare your chicken livers by cutting them up into small pieces. Fair warning, chicken livers are slimy and look like goop. They break apart quite easily though. I’ve included this picture of what chicken livers look like so you can be prepared for the ickiness.
Turn your Pressure Cooker on the sauté function and add pork sausage, stirring to break it up in the pot. I use a meat chopper when browning meats that I want crumbled. Then add your chicken livers and continue to stir until all the meat has browned, about 5 minutes.
Next, add your onion, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, Creole seasoning, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce to the meat mixture. Stir and cook until the onions and peppers have softened a little, about 2 minutes. Add rinsed white rice, beef broth, and water to the Instant Pot. Stir with a wooden spoon, ensuring that there are no brown bits of food stuck to the bottom of the Pot. Place Bay Leaf on top of the mixture so it can be removed when the cooking cycle is done. 
Press Cancel on the Instant Pot. Cover with the lid, ensuring the valve is set to “Sealing” and cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes.
Once cooking cycle is complete, allow rice to natural release for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure but switching the valve to “Venting.”
Open your lid and fluff your rice. Add about ¼ cup of chopped fresh parsley to finish your dish.
I hope you enjoy this Cajun Dirty Rice as much as we do. Until next time.
Pin Instant Pot Cajun Dirty Rice for Later
Looking for more Instant Pot Rice Recipes? Try these out:
What to Serve it with?
Fried Chicken (Air Fryer Method)
Instant Pot Cajun Dirty Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork sausage
- ½ lb chicken livers finely chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- ½ green bell pepper chopped
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce
- 2 cups white rice rinsed
- 1 ¼ cup beef broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Select Sauté on your Instant Pot. When indicator reads “HOT”, add your pork sausage. Stir until the meat has broken up, then add your chicken livers. Continue cooking and stirring until all the meat has browned.
- Add onion, celery, green bell pepper, minced garlic, Creole seasoning, dried thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Stir and cook until onions and bell peppers have softened a bit, about 2 minutes.
- Add rice, beef broth, and water and stir with wooden spoon, ensuring all brown bits are removed from the bottom. Place bay leaf on top of mixture.
- Press Cancel on the Instant Pot. Cover with lid, ensuring the valve is set to “Sealing.” cook on high pressure for 6 minutes, then allow it to natural release for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure by turning the Valve to “Venting.”
- Once all pressure is released, open and remove bay leaf. Add fresh parsley to rice. Fluff with fork before serving.
Video
Notes
Notes on Instant Pot Dirty Rice
- I like my rice more on the soft side. If you want more of a firm texture, reduce the amount of water by ¼ cup.
- This dish can be served as a Main Course or Side.
BB says
What type of white rice did you use? There are so many varieties of white rice, which require different amounts of liquid and have different cooking times. And some are harder than others. I use basmati more than any other type of rice as it's high quality and doesn't get mushy. Sometimes I want a softer rice though and use simple white long grain rice. One cup of basmati, however, requires 1/34 cups of liquid. It looks like your recipe only calls for 2 1/4 cups of liquid for two cups of rice. That would likely result in a burn error or undercooked rice.
Tanya says
I've used both long grain rice and basmati for this recipe. I've never gotten a burn signal or undercook rice either. Please let me know if you happen to give it a try 🙂
BB says
I made this recipe with the 365 brand of Basmati in my 8 quart Instant Pot. I did, however, use 1/2 cup of extra liquid, and it came out perfect. I didn't use chicken livers, which may have also accounted for a need of a little extra liquid. Thanks for the recipe. It's very much like what I've made on the stove top for years. It's nice to have an Instant Pot version. This was the first time I'd made rice in my Instant Pot. Now I'm anxious to try other rice recipes.
Tanya says
Awesome! So glad you liked it and thank you for the feedback ?
Lynette says
I *love* Zatarain’s rice, which is basically parboiled rice. It finishes exactly like Uncle Ben’s rice, so it never comes out too sticky and clumpy like regular, cheaper rice that skips this step. (I see no reason why rinsing plain, “unconverted” rice and draining it well wouldn’t accomplish the same goal, along with a pat of butter or bit of oil stirred in the pot.)
On the other hand, I’ve tried to replace the rice in a couple of recipes with Basmati rice, which I LOVE (esp. that popcorn aroma!) but can never get it to cook correctly for me!
This recipe is awesome...it tastes exactly like my Mama’s dirty rice she used to save to make on holidays...but yet, it’s NOT *truly* complete without ALSO adding the pre-boiled, ground gizzards & hearts ? too! Yum!
Mike says
This is the first meal I've made in my new instantpot, A+ for taste, but D for user error, as I kept getting the burn notification. I'll have to experiment more ?
Tanya says
Hi Mike, what brand of IP do you have? I believe some may be more sensitive than others. That being said, I'd suggest trying the rice button for rice dishes. Here's a helpful article about burn signals and the IP. https://www.paintthekitchenred.com/instant-pot-burn-message/
Samantha says
Turned out great. I made it for a pot luck. I was gross out by chicken liver but apparently they are needed because everyone loved it
Tanya says
Yay! So glad you liked it. I agree, the chicken livers are a game changer.
Kevin says
Can I make it without the chicken livers, or do the chicken livers add some flavor to the dirty rice
Tanya says
Hi Kevin, they add flavor. I know some people don't add it because they don't like cooking with it, but it adds to the flavor profile.
Elizabeth says
I just got an Instant Pot today and this is the first meal I made in it. So easy! Tanya, my daughter and her friends gobbled this up! We are from New Orleans and your recipe nails it. Thank you! Also, your daughters are such cutie pies! 🙂
Tanya says
Yay! That makes me so happy 🙂 So glad you all liked it and thank you 🙂
Beth says
I love Bojangles dirty rice so I will try this soon. Is the pork sausage seasoned at all or just ground pork (or breakfast sausage or Italian sausage?)?
Tanya says
Hi Beth, it's just ground pork. No additional seasonings.
Dell says
Wonderful... simply the best Dirty Rice I have ever made. Added a few splashes of Green Chili Sauce after it was in the bowl to top it off. Thank you for the recipe.
Tanya says
Oooo, I like the addition of Green Chili Sauce
Dell says
@Tanya,
It has been two years with your recipes. You are awesome.
I have made your recipe and used the traditional ingredients... did some substitutes and everything turned out - As they say, a good foundation is everything.
Sometimes, when times are skinny, it is just hamburger and still this recipe works.
Thank you.
Tanya says
Thanks so much Dell!
Josh says
That was the bomb works so good in the insta pot
Jess says
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elaine Benoit says
Oh, my gosh! This looks incredibly scrumptious! I love cajun flavors and adore what you did to this rice! I can not wait to make it!
Tanya says
Thank you so much Elaine 🙂
Jill says
I have always said I could have been a real chef because my tolerance for "ick" is so low, LOL So I'd probably sub out the chicken livers. Regardless, your finished rice looks great! I like that you made this traditional recipe for the Instant Pot.
Jill says
could NEVER have been. Sorry, wanted to clarify.
Demeter says
What a fun dish! Love that you can make the whole thing in an instant pot. 🙂
kim says
My whole family loves this meal! I love how easy it can be made in the instant pot too!
Tayler Ross says
I'm always looking for new Instant Pot recipes! Can't wait to try this one!
Mandy Enright says
I love an easy quick rice dish! Perfect for some spicy cajun food on a cold day
Gina says
Looks yummy. I’ll be making this soon, Thanks for the recipe.