Easy One Pot Rice Dressing Recipe
Try this simple recipe inspired by Cajun rice dressing. Loaded with ground meats and seasoned rice, this recipe is quick and easy to make anytime you’re craving a comforting meal.
Even though I’m a born and raised Texas girl, I grew up right on the border of Southwest Louisiana. Which means I’ve been exposed to a lot of authentic Cajun cooking from friends and family members.
And because of this, a lot of the dishes my family cooks have been influenced by Cajun dishes.
This rice dressing recipe I’m sharing with you today is a dish my family enjoys frequently. It is similar to a Cajun dirty rice – but without the chicken livers or other organ meats.
We frequently make this as a main dish, served with vegetables for a quick weeknight meal. I love making it for dinner because it only uses one pot and basic ingredients I always have on hand.
But it is also a must have on our holiday table as a side dish. It is one of our families’ favorite dishes, right there with cornbread dressing.
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Ingredients for Rice Dressing
There are a lot of variations out there for rice dressing, but as you’ll see, this recipe is basic and simple when it comes to the ingredient selections.
- Ground Meat – You can use ground beef, pork or a combination of the two.
- White Rice – Long-grain white rice is my preference for this dish.
- Beef Broth – You can substitute water if you don’t have broth on hand.
- Green bell pepper, onion, and celery – Often referred to as the “holy trinity” in Cajun cooking, you don’t want to skip these!
- Cajun Seasoning – You can use your favorite store-bought blend or make your own. If I’m using store bought, it’s probably going to be Slap Ya Mama or Tony’s.
- Oil, butter or bacon grease – Just enough to saute your chopped vegetables in. Bacon grease is my preferred fat for this dish.
- Green Onion
Optional Additions
- Cream of Mushroom Soup – You can add in a can of cream of mushroom soup if you choose. Personally, I don’t think it needs it and prefer to make rice dressing without it.
- Mushrooms – Fresh sliced mushrooms are another option you can add in to this dish.
- Roux – Adding in a tablespoon or two of roux to your rice dressing or dirty rice recipe gives it a nice, deep flavor and a nice brown color. Right before I add the liquid in, I add the roux and stir in with the meat and vegetables.
Supplies Needed
Large heavy skillet or dutch oven with a lid – If you have any Magnalite, now is the time to pull it out. If not, just use the heaviest deep sided skillet or pot you have with a lid. I use my Caraway Dutch Oven for dishes like these.
How to Make Rice Dressing
You’ll start by browning your ground pork or beef over medium heat. Season with a little salt and black pepper.
While your meat is browning, dice up your green pepper, onion and celery and set to the side.
Once your meat is nice and brown, remove from the skillet. Add in a little butter, oil or bacon grease, and start to saute your green pepper, onion and celery.
Once your vegetables have started to soften, add the meat mixture back into the skillet. Season with your Cajun seasoning blend.
(Unless you’re familiar with the Cajun seasoning blend you’re using, I would wait until the end to add salt if needed. Certain store-bought blends are pretty salty, which means you could end up with an overly salty dish if you add too much additional.)
Add in the uncooked rice and beef broth at this time. Bring the mixture up to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer and cover. You’re just allowing this to simmer long enough for the rice to cook, usually about 20 minutes.
I remove the lid a couple of times during cooking and give it a good stir just to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
And that’s it! Once your rice is tender and the liquid gone, remove the lid and add some sliced green onions to your rice dressing mix.
Add More Rice
You can definitely up the amount of rice used in this recipe. If I’m making this as a side dish, I prefer to use 2-3 cups of rice instead of 1 1/2 cups.
If adding more rice, you’ll need more liquid. To figure out how much liquid you need, just double the amount of rice. So, if you’re using 2 cups of rice, use 4 cups of broth.
Easy Rice Dressing
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven or Deep Sided Skillet needs lid
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground meat beef, pork, or a combination of both
- 1.5 cups long grain white rice rinsed; see notes on using more rice
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2-3 stalks celery sliced
- green onions for garnish
- 1-2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning blend
Instructions
- Start by browning your ground meat of choice in a deep skillet or Dutch oven. Lightly season with salt & pepper while browning.
- Remove ground meat from pot and set aside. Add in a little butter, bacon grease, or oil if needed. Add onion, pepper, and celery to the pot and cook until softened.
- Add meat back to pot, along with rinsed rice & Cajun seasoning. Stir around for a minute or so, and then add in beef broth.
- Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to lowest setting and cover with lid. All to cook until liquid is absorbed, and rice is tender – about 20 minutes. You will need to stir every so often to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Remove lid and garnish with green onions.
