• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
DadCooksDinner
  • Home
  • Rotisserie
  • Recipes
  • Tools
  • Books
  • Merch
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Books
  • Tools
  • Merch
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Books
    • Tools
    • Merch
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Pressure cooker

    Instant Pot Dirty Rice

    Published: Feb 21, 2023 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    A bowl of Cajun dirty rice with an instant pot and a jar of Cajun seasoning in the background

    Instant Pot Dirty Rice. The traditional Cajun side dish made in a pressure cooker.

    This year's Fat Tuesday recipe is Cajun dirty rice. And yes, I know the name is a little risqué for rice. One of my kids got a lot of giggles at the high school lunch table because of it - but her table mates were also begging her to let them try it.

    A bowl of Cajun dirty rice with an instant pot and a jar of Cajun seasoning in the background
    Instant Pot Dirty Rice

    Dirty rice is a traditional “Use up whatever we’ve got” recipe. It's cooked with chicken broth, and a little bit of meat, to make the rice a substantial side dish or a main course on its own.

    For more dirty rice background, check out Dirty Rice History & FAQs at Zatarains.com. If you're looking for more pressure cooker Cajun recipes, check out my Instant Pot Brown Rice Jambalaya, Instant Pot Whole Chicken with Cajun Spice Rub, or Instant Pot Cajun Pinto Beans.

    Inspired by: Emeril Lagasse, Dirty Rice

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How to make Instant Pot Dirty Rice
    • Substitutions
    • Equipment
    • Scaling
    • Storing Leftovers
    • Instant Pot Dirty Rice
    • 💬 Comments

    Ingredients

    • Vegetable oil
    • Bulk pork sausage
    • Onion
    • Bell pepper
    • Celery
    • Garlic
    • Cajun seasoning
    • Fine sea salt
    • Long grain white rice
    • Chicken broth
    • Bay leaf
    • Green onion
    • Parsley
      See recipe card for quantities.

    How to make Instant Pot Dirty Rice

    Cook sausage until no longer pink

    Heat the vegetable oil until shimmering in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode - high. Add the sausage and cook, stirring and breaking it up, until it is crumbled and has lost its pink color, about 5 minutes.

    Add the aromatics and spices

    Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic to the pot with the sausage. Sprinkle with the cajun seasoning and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, stirring scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes.

    Everything in the pot

    Stir the rice into the sausage and onions, then add the chicken broth or water (and another ½ teaspoon of salt if using homemade broth). Scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to make sure there are no browned bits sticking, then float the bay leaf on top.

    Pressure cook for 4 minutes with a 10 minute Natural Release

    Lock the lid. Pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes (use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook- Custom mode). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.

    Serve

    Unlock the lid on the pressure cooker, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Discard the bay leaf, then stir in the green onions and parsley. Serve and enjoy!

    Substitutions

    • Meat: Like I said above, this is a "use up whatever you've got" kind of recipe. Chicken livers, ground beef, ground pork, and uncooked sausage are all traditional. If you have a little leftover ground meat, you can use it. I use hot sausage, because I like the extra spices it brings to the rice. Any country or breakfast sausage will work, but I would avoid maple syrup sausage. If you use unseasoned meat, sprinkle it with ½ teaspoon of salt before adding it to the pot to brown, otherwise everything cooks the same.
    • Rice: Any white rice will work in this recipe; long grain white rice is traditional. If you want to use brown rice, use the timing from my Pressure Cooker Brown Jasmine Rice recipe after cooking the sausage and sautéing the aromatics and spices.

    Equipment

    A 6-quart pressure cooker. (An Instant Pot pressure cooker is my favorite)

    Scaling

    This recipe doubles easily in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cut all the ingredients in half and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. The cooking time does not change; it takes the same amount of time to cook the rice, no matter how much you have in the pot.

    Storing Leftovers

    Cooked rice does not keep for long - it carries bacteria spores (Bacillus cereus) that multiply in warm temperatures. If you need to store cooked rice, cool it down quickly in the refrigerator, or freeze it within an hour of cooking. Store refrigerated rice for 2-3 days or frozen rice for up to 3 months, and make sure to reheat it completely (to at least 165°F) before eating. (Source: Safe Handling of Cooked Rice, University of Wisconsin Extension).

    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    A bowl of Cajun dirty rice with an instant pot and a jar of Cajun seasoning in the background

    Instant Pot Dirty Rice


    ★★★★★

    5 from 3 reviews

    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 35 minutes
    • Yield: 6 cups of dirty rice 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    Instant Pot Dirty Rice. The traditional Cajun side dish made in a pressure cooker,


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
    • 1 pound bulk pork sausage (I use a tube of breakfast sausage)
    • 1 medium onion, minced
    • 1 bell pepper, seeded and minced
    • 1 stalk celery, minced
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning (store bought or homemade)
    • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 2 cups long grain white rice
    • 2 ½ cups chicken broth (preferably homemade) or water
    • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (if using homemade broth or water)
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 3 green onions, minced (optional)
    • ¼ cup minced parsley (optional)

    Instructions

    1. Cook sausage until no longer pink: Heat the vegetable oil until shimmering in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker set to Sauté mode adjusted to high (medium-high heat in a stovetop PC). Add the sausage and cook, stirring and breaking it up, until it is crumbled and has lost its pink color, about 5 minutes.
    2. Add the aromatics and spices: Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic to the pot with the sausage. Sprinkle with the cajun seasoning and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté, stirring often and scraping browned bits from the bottom of the pot, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
    3. Everything in the pot: Stir the rice into the sausage and onions, then add the chicken broth or water (and another ½ teaspoon of salt if using homemade broth). Scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to make sure there are no browned bits sticking, then float the bay leaf on top.
    4. Pressure cook for 4 minutes with a 10 minute Natural Release: Lock the lid. Pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes (timing is the same for Instant Pots and stovetop PCs). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
    5. Serve: Unlock the lid on the pressure cooker, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Discard the bay leaf, then stir in the green onions and parsley. Serve and enjoy!

    Equipment

    Flat edged wooden spoon

    Buy Now →

    6-Quart Pressure Cooker

    Buy Now →
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 25 minutes
    • Category: Side Dish
    • Method: Pressure Cooker
    • Cuisine: Cajun

    Keywords: Instant Pot Dirty Rice, Instant Pot Cajun Rice, Pressure Cooker Dirty Rice, Pressure Cooker Cajun Rice

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @DadCooksDinner on Instagram and hashtag it #DadCooksDinner

    What do you think?

    Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

    Related Posts

    Pressure Cooker Shrimp Etouffee
    Pressure Cooker Coconut Rice
    Pressure Cooker Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf
    Instant Pot White Rice
    Instant Pot Field Peas and Snaps
    Instant Pot Coconut Rice
    My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes

    Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe to DadCooksDinner via email and share this post with your friends. Want to contribute directly? Donate to my Tip Jar, or buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site. Thank you.

    More Pressure cooker

    • A bowl of Instant Pot Lentil and Hambone Soup
      Instant Pot Lentil and Hambone Soup
    • Instant Pot meatball soup with carrots and farfalle pasta
      Instant Pot Meatball Soup (With Homemade or Frozen Meatballs)
    • Instant pot pulled pork sandwich with barbecue sauce
      Instant Pot Pulled Pork
    • A plate of cooked chicken thighs, with an Instant Pot and a jar of paprika
      Instant Pot Quick Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

    Sharing is caring!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Edgar says

      November 06, 2022 at 7:11 pm

      This is our go-to recipe for dirty rice!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        November 07, 2022 at 6:10 am

        Thank you!

        ★★★★★

        Reply
    2. David Marrione says

      November 21, 2020 at 10:59 pm

      Do you know if the pressure cook timing and Natural Release timing would be the same for a “boxed” Dirty Rice, like Zatarain’s Dirty Rice (Zatarains’s brand foods have been a long time staple of New Orleans Kitchens). Just wondering.. Found a box in my pantry and was hoping to make it in the pressure cooker vs the stove.
      Thanks, in advance, for your suggestions and feedback.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        November 22, 2020 at 7:33 am

        Yes, it looks like the timing should be the same, because Zatarains has “normal” rice in the box.

        Reply
    3. Katie says

      October 20, 2020 at 5:09 pm

      My husband and I enjoyed this meal very much. I followed the recipe except for adding 2 stalks of celery and 2 bell peppers. The prep time took me a little longer but I’m a slow chopper. Thanks for sharing! I will be making again.

      ★★★★★

      Reply

    Questions? Made the Recipe? Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner! I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Three bowls of cooked Pinto Beans on a wood table
      Instant Pot Pinto Beans (No Soaking)
    • Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco)
    • Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
      Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
    • Pressure Cooker Brown Jasmine Rice

    Recent

    • Grilled Bratwurst with sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard
      Pan Grilled Bratwurst and Sauerkraut
    • Cast iron skillet with a spiral of potatoes
      Cast Iron Spiral Skillet Potatoes
    • A plate of sauerkraut and pork ribs with mustard
      Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut
    • A plate of fettuccine alfredo, sprinkled with red pepper flakes
      Instant Pot Fettuccine Alfredo

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Dad Cooks Dinner

    74 shares