Dirty Cajun Cauliflower Rice – Whole30 and Paleo friendly. A dish inspired by the traditional dirty rice found in Louisiana and other southern states!
Southern cuisine is something I’ve always loved, and when I was in Louisiana last summer, I had dirty rice for the first time ever. It was absolutely amazing, and I probably had three servings in one sitting. Hashtag no shame. Everyone has their own version of dirty rice, and that’s what I love about this dish! It’s so versatile, and you can really make it your own.
Though there are different versions, the one thing they all have in common is the bold flavors used in the dish. Like, punch you in the face flavor explosion. I couldn’t believe how such a simple dish could pack so much flavor in one bite. I was blown away, and will gladly make another trip to New Orleans for some dirty rice and of course the beignets.
My dirty Cajun cauliflower rice is obviously in no way authentic by any means. I took elements of the original dirty rice and applied it to my version. Original recipes (or at least the one I had in Louisiana) will call for chicken liver and/or gizzards, but I wasn’t feeling adventurous and left those ingredients out. I did use ground beef and in place of ground pork sausage, I used andouille sausages. Those two combined are so effin good together!
You should know by now I’m going to tell you I love dishes like this because you can make it your own! Don’t want ground beef? Cool, replace it with ground turkey. Feeling adventurous? Add in the chicken liver and gizzards. Don’t want it too spicy? Use regular diced tomatoes and less Cajun seasoning. Don’t have andouille sausages? Use ground pork sausages which is traditionally used in dirty rice.
This is also a great meal prep dish that can be made ahead of time. You can freeze it in individual containers and heat it up whenever you’re ready to eat it. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! It’s a recent favorite that will obviously be one repeat for the next few weeks.
Dirty Cajun Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 4-6 cups cauliflower rice about 1 large cauliflower head
- 1 lb ground beef
- 12 oz 4 links andouille sausage, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ large onion diced
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp Cajun spice seasoning
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat large skillet over medium heat with 1 tbsp avocado oil.
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Add in ground beef, chopped bell pepper, minced garlic, onion, celery and Cajun spice seasoning. Cook until ground beef is no longer pink and vegetables have soften. Drain any excess liquid.
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Stir in diced tomatoes with green chilies, chicken broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then lower heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes or until liquid reduces by ¾.
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Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add in andouille sausages and saute for 3-4 minutes.
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Remove bay leaf. Mix in cauliflower rice, stir occasionally and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until cauliflower rice becomes tender and remaining liquid has been absorbed.
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Taste to see if you need kosher salt and black pepper.
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