A fun twist on a Cajun classic, this one-dish Easy Dirty Rice Pilaf is packed with crunchy, fresh veggies, ground beef, and quick-cook rice pilaf. It’s perfect for the whole family and our go-to on busy weeknights!
Are y’all ready for back-to-school? Sheesh. It has already happened for us, and I cannot wrap my head around the fact that my oldest is in all-day school. She just started 1st grade today! I left her at her desk, and as I was walking out, I admit I got a little teary eyed. Because I knew I would miss her, it was a new milestone, and I couldn’t believe my baby was growing up so fast.
But in the back of my mind, I thought about how crazy my already busy days were about to become—especially when my 4-year old starts preschool again—and I’m not gonna lie…some of the tears were for that. 🙂 That’s why I’m excited to share this Easy Dirty Rice Pilaf recipe with you. Because if you have kids who are starting school and your days are about to get hectic, if you work all day and don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen, if you don’t love to cook, or if you want to spend more time binge watching Netflix/exercising (I commend you)/cleaning (I could use some help here–hint, hint), or baking dessert (I can send you my address), this recipe is FOR YOU.
Now I know a recipe name with “dirty” in it doesn’t exactly make your mouth water, but let me explain what dirty rice is. It’s a classic Cajun dish made with rice, bell peppers, onion, celery, and chicken livers or giblets. For my Easy Dirty Rice Pilaf, I use ground beef instead of the chicken livers because—just no. Plus, I wanted to use up some ground beef I had in my freezer. The result was something so yummy, so fast, so EASSSSSSSAY that I had to ask myself Is this really all it takes??!! Now I gotta give a shout-out to Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice Pilaf. You zap it in the microwave for 90 seconds and it’s DONE, shaving valuable minutes from your cooking time. Best part? You also won’t have loads of dishes to do because this is a one-dish meal, my friends. Just throw the rice in the pan with your ground beef, veggies, and seasoning, and you’re good to go!
- 1 lb. ground beef
- ½ large onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup celery, sliced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 8.8-oz pkgs Uncle Ben's Ready Rice Pilaf
- ½ Tbsp Cajun seasoning
- ½ cup canned corn kernels
- 2 green onions, sliced
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef. Drain grease.
- Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Meanwhile, cook rice pilaf according to package directions for microwave cooking.
- Add pilaf, Cajun seasoning, and corn to ground beef mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and stir to combine. Cook until heated through.
- Divide into 4 bowls and sprinkle each serving with green onions. Enjoy!
