
Dirty rice is a traditional Cajun dish that combines white rice with chicken livers and/or pork sausage, bell peppers, onions, celery, and seasoning. Here we’ve made a “lighter” version by substituting the white rice for brown rice and ground turkey and turkey kielbasa (sausage) in place of the livers and pork.
Start by preparing the brown rice (I used low sodium chicken broth in place of the water). While the brown rice is cooking, “dry roast” the chopped kielbasa on a hot, dry skillet until browned. Remove the kielbasa from the skillet and place on a paper towel. Then cook the ground turkey in the same skillet until just browned. Set aside. Saute diced onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, creole seasoning, dried thyme, and a dash of cayenne in a pot until tender, then add in the ground turkey. Pour in about a half cup of chicken stock and allow it to cook until almost evaporated, then fold in the kielbasa and brown rice. Salt to taste and garnish with fresh parsley.
- 8 ounces kielbasa, diced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup onions, finely diced
- 1/2 cup bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp Creole seasoning (like Tony Chachere's)
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne (depends on your preference)
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- low sodium-chicken broth or water
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- Prepare brown rice according to directions. Substitute low-sodium chicken broth in place of water, if desired.
- Heat a large skillet to medium-low, then add the chopped kielbasa. Do not add oil. "Dry roast" the kielbasa until it begins to brown, about 5-7 minutes, turning often. Remove from heat and set on a paper towel lined plate. Add the skillet back to the heat and add the ground turkey. Cook until browned and set aside.
- In a large pot, add the olive oil and the butter and heat on medium heat until butter has melted. Add the bell pepper, celery, onions, garlic, 1 tsp Creole seasoning, thyme, and cayenne. Saute until tender. Add back the ground turkey and pour in 1/2 chicken stock. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to saute until stock has almost evaporated.
- Remove from heat and fold in the brown rice and kielbasa, then top with parsley. Salt to taste, if desired. Serve warm.
Wow big flavor Jasmine! I really like the name and yumm sounds amazing!
Thank you, Lynn!!
most welcome Jasmine!
Mmmmm….love turkey kielbasa! The rice looks amazing!
Thanks, Nena! Yes, kielbasa is so good!
Jasmine, this looks really good. Excited to try this π
Thanks, friend!!
Never heard of this style of rice, the sausages would make the dish perfect. Spices. You always make me hungry my friend!
Yes, they were my favorite part! Added the perfect amount of salt to the dish, as well. Thank you, John!
Jasmine, all of your dishes look scrumptious! So want to make this soon! π
Thank you, Anna! So does yours!! π I hope you do!
Hi Jasmine! I love that you replace the livers and pork by turkey, and replace the water by chicken broth, i’m sure all of these make the dish much more flavorful while keeping it healthy! I feel very enthusiastic to the idea of trying to cook your Cajun Rice anytime soon!
I hope you do!
π
Yum! Making my mouth water. Think I’ll make this for the hubs π
It was definitely husband approved on this end!
Looks gorgeous (as usual) and sounds delicious! And thank you for replacing the chicken livers π
Haha, that was for my own benefit, as well! Thanks, Sadie π
Love this recipe and the ingredients in it. π
Thank you, Loretta!! π
Yummm!!