Dirty Rice with Ground Beef
A cozy, one-pan Dirty Rice with Ground Beef made with white rice, sautéed vegetables, and warm spices. Simple, hearty, and perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef (lean, about 90% if possible)
- 1 cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 cup green bell pepper, finely diced
- 0.5 cup celery, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked (rinsed and drained)
- 2.25 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 0.5 teaspoon dried oregano
- 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
- 0.25 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for a little heat)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables by finely dicing the yellow onion, green bell pepper, and celery, and mincing the garlic so they are ready to go when you start cooking.
- Rinse the long-grain white rice under cold water until the water runs mostly clear, then drain it well and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet or wide saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, for about 5 to 7 minutes until it is browned and no longer pink.
- If there is excess fat in the skillet, carefully spoon off a bit, leaving about 1 to 2 tablespoons so the rice and vegetables have some flavor to cook in.
- Add the diced onion, green bell pepper, and celery to the browned beef and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant, so it does not burn.
- Add the rinsed and drained white rice to the skillet and stir well, letting the rice toast lightly in the mixture for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, dried oregano, dried thyme, and cayenne pepper, and stir until the beef, vegetables, and rice are evenly coated with the seasonings.
- Pour in the low-sodium beef broth and stir, scraping the bottom of the skillet gently to release any browned bits into the liquid.
- Bring the mixture up to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low so it simmers softly.
- Cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid and let the dirty rice cook undisturbed for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Once the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and let the skillet sit, covered, for another 5 minutes to allow the steam to finish cooking the rice and to help everything settle.
- Remove the lid, fluff the dirty rice gently with a fork to separate the grains, and stir in the chopped fresh parsley.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with a little more salt or black pepper if needed, then serve the dirty rice with ground beef hot.