Healthy Dirty Rice with Extra Veggies

Think classic cajun dishes mean high calorie and heavy meals? Not necessarily! This healthy dirty rice is a beautifully lightened up version of a classic that will leave your heart and your tummy happy.

After this recipe, you’ll never want to make dirty rice from a box again! I promise. It is so easy. Before I really started cooking almost all my meals from scratch, I thought cajun style meals were, while delicious, really unhealthy, and not friendly to the waistline. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

This healthy dirty rice recipe is not entirely traditional, but your mouth really won’t know the difference.  There are a lot of ways to be your own chef and customize this recipe to make it as healthy as you would like.

Truth be told, I almost never make this recipe exactly the same way twice in a row.  It started out as a “use all the veggies in the fridge” sort of a thing.  We liked it so much that now it’s a favorite around here.

Healthy Dirty Rice With Extra Veggies

You will need:

• 3 cups cooked rice that has been cooked in low sodium chicken broth
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion – diced
• 1 large celery stalk – sliced
• 1 bell pepper – cut into small chunks
• 1/2 cup cooked black beans
• 4 tsp cajun seasoning (or more if you like it really cajun-y)
• tomato for garnish

If you want to healthy this recipe up even more, might I suggest the following substitutions

• Instead of white rice – brown rice or cauliflower “rice’
• Instead of lean beef – ground turkey
• To make Vegetarian/Vegan – substitute with extra black beans or lentils, and cook the rice in vegetable stock instead of chicken.

To make things more simple for yourself on those busy weeknights, meal prep certain items like the rice, beans, and meats ahead of time! That way you can just dump it in a pan when you’re ready!

Instructions:

1. Cook your rice in chicken broth according to package directions – any rice here works
2. Brown your beef in a large skillet.  If using lean beef it is not necessary to drain the fat, but if not using lean then you may want to do that
3. Turn the heat to medium.  Add your onion and cajun seasoning to the pan.  Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions start to soften a bit.
4. Add in celery and bell pepper, and and black beans. Cook for another few minutes.
5. Add in your cooked rice and give everything a good mix.
6. Taste to check for seasoning, adjust as necessary.
7. Garnish and serve. The tomato is optional, but it’s something my mom used to do when I was a kid and I’ve always loved it and still continue to garnish my dirty rice with fresh tomato.

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If you’re a fan of cajun flavors but want a little extra something in the way of veggies and freshness, this dirty rice is the perfect solution!