Dirty Rice

  • 5MINS
  • 25MINS
  • Serves 4
  • 391KCAL

Our Dirty Rice is the best slimming-friendly fried rice recipe, and a really easy meal for anyone counting calories or following a diet plan like Weight Watchers.

  • Batch Cook pinchofnom.com
  • Dairy Free pinchofnom.com
  • Everyday Light pinchofnom.com

NutritionPer Serving

  • Calories391
  • Carbs45g
  • Protein35g
  • Fat7.5g
  • Saturates2.2g
  • Sugars4.9g

Dirty Rice - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!

Yes, Dirty Rice: A combination of fried rice and dirty rice. Chinese and Cajun together to form the tastiest fried rice ever.

We’re huge fans of Asian flavours as they are rich and savoury, and this Dirty Rice is no exception!

Food often reminds us of places we’ve been in times past. We had dirty rice whilst on a business trip to the US and it got us thinking… could we combine dirty rice with fried rice? You bet we can!

Technically speaking – this Dirty Fried Rice isn’t “dirty rice” in the traditional sense. The “dirty” comes from the colour typically produced by adding chicken livers to the dish, but we’ve skipped them in our recipe; feel free to add them in.

What diets is this Dirty Rice suitable for?

This recipe is suitable if you’re gluten free as long as you swap out the following ingredients for gluten free versions;

  • Stock cubes
  • Worcestershire Sauce

You could also enjoy this Dirty Rice if you’re dairy free.

Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.

Do you need any special ingredients to make Dirty Rice?

There are no fancy ingredients in this Dirty Rice. You can pick up the Cajun Seasoning in most supermarkets – just check the nutritional values of whichever brand you choose to use as they can vary.

Hints & Tips

Below we added some of our communities most common hints and tips. We hope you find them useful.

NEW TIP
Tasty, filling and easy!
Used chicken mince instead of pork and added button mushrooms plus half a yellow pepper for extra veg!
1
This is an absolute favourite in our house!
I often add baby corn as an extra veg

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‘So quick and easy to make, always delicious’

Mel Jones

This post contains affiliate links: what this means

We recommend investing in a good frying pan that will last for many years and has a lid, like this one on Amazon.

If you can’t find cajun spice mix at the supermarket (or use lots of it!) you can get it in bulk online too.

How many calories are in this Dirty Rice?

There are 391 calories in each portion of our Slimming friendly Dirty Rice. This means it falls into our Everyday Light recipe category.

This Dirty Rice is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.

As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.

Step 1

Cook the rice according to the packet instructions, adding the bay leaf to the water before cooking. Set the rice aside once cooked.

Step 2

Add the stock cube to the 125ml of boiling water.

Step 3

Mist a large frying pan with low calorie cooking spray, then cook the onions, pork mince and bacon until they are nicely browned

Step 3 pinchofnom.com

Step 4

Add the Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and allow to cook for another minute.

Step 4 pinchofnom.com

Step 5

Add the celery and stock, stir and cook for a minute.

Step 6

Stir in the peppers and spring onion. Cook for a minute or two, until they just start to soften

Step 6 pinchofnom.com

Step 7

Finally, stir in the cooked rice, making sure it is all has a nice deep golden colour.

Dirty Rice - Pinch of Nom Slimming RecipesWhat should you should serve with Dirty Rice?

Dirty Rice is really a meal in itself. If you wanted to serve it as an accompaniment then you could serve a smaller portion of the rice as a side!

Can you cook Dirty Rice another way?

This recipe isn’t suitable for alternative cooking methods. It is super quick and easy to make!

How do you know when Dirty Rice is cooked?

When the rice is tender, the meat is browned and cooked through, and the vegetables tender, this recipe is cooked!

This should take approx 25 minutes on the hob.

Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.

How long can you keep Dirty Rice in the fridge?

Freezing and reheating rice is often a concern for a lot of people, and it’s one of the things we get asked about quite frequently.

As we all know you can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice, but, it’s not actually the reheating that can cause issues, it is, in fact, the way that the rice has been stored beforehand where the problem begins.

Without getting too technical uncooked rice can contain spores that are resistant to heat and can survive the cooking process. If cooked rice is left standing at room temperature these spores can grow into bacteria. At this point, the bacteria will be destroyed by reheating the rice thoroughly.

If you intend keeping any leftover rice dishes then you should do the following:

  • Cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) then fridge or freeze it immediately. You can split larger portions up into smaller batches to cool quicker.
  • Freeze as soon as the rice is cold.
  • Reheat and use any leftover rice (stored in the fridge) within one day.
  • When you reheat any rice, always check it is steaming hot all the way through.
  • Don’t reheat cooked rice more than once.

For more information about reheating rice please take a look at the NHS website.

Can I freeze Dirty Rice?

Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to consider the advice above, and do the following;

  • Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
  • Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.

Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!

How do I reheat Dirty Rice?

From chilled: Place in a microwave proof container with loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.

From frozen: Allow to defrost, and heat covered in the microwave for 3-5 minutes then stir. Cook for a further 5-7 minutes until piping hot.

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Dirty Rice

Our Dirty Rice is the best, slimming-friendly fried rice recipe, and a really easy meal for anyone counting calories or following a diet plan like Weight Watchers or similar.
  • Prep Time
    5 MINS
  • Cook Time
    25 MINS
  • KCals 391
  • Carbs 45G

Ingredients

  • 200 g long grain or basmati rice
  • 400 g 5% pork mince
  • 4 bacon medallions diced
  • 1/2 red pepper sliced
  • 1/2 green pepper sliced
  • 1 red onion diced
  • 2 sticks celery chopped
  • 3 spring onions chopped
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 125 ml water
  • 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
  • 1 generous dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • low calorie cooking spray

We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check out our oven temperature conversion guide.

Please do not screenshot this. Recipes are updated often

Instructions

  1. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions, adding the bay leaf to the water before cooking. Set the rice aside once cooked
  2. Add the stock cube to the 125ml of boiling water
  3. Mist a large frying pan with low calorie cooking spray, then cook the onions, pork mince and bacon until they are nicely browned
  4. Add the Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and allow to cook for another minute
  5. Add the celery and stock, stir and cook for a minute
  6. Stir in the peppers and spring onion. Cook for a minute or two, until they just start to soften
  7. Finally, stir in the cooked rice, making sure it is all has a nice deep golden colour

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75 comments

See what others have to say

Janet BeauchampSunday 9th January 2022

Defrosted some chicken mince by mistake so used that. Lovely dish.

Reply

    HollyMonday 10th January 2022

    Hey Janet, thanks so much for your message we are glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe!

    Reply

AnnieWednesday 8th December 2021

My husband and I love this dish and it is coming back into rotation for a, tasty and comforting, easy weeknight meal which will help us keep on track. I make it one night and then we both have left overs for lunch the next day. Not going to be able to do that for long as my kids are getting bigger and are starting to eat when we do.

Reply

    SharonThursday 9th December 2021

    Hi Annie, we’re so pleased to hear you both love this recipe and you make it regularly.Hope your children will enjoy it too!

    Reply

Claire JenkinsWednesday 7th April 2021

Sorry if I sound stupid but I e brought all your books but cant work out how much a serving is as I want to calorie count. Can you please let me know how i work out a serving to weigh. I’m dyslexic and this has totally thrown me. Thank you.

Reply

    HollyWednesday 7th April 2021

    Hey Claire, We work out our recipes on the serving size not by weight. To work out your own weight of a serving you would need to make the finished dish and divide servings, as the weight will vary due to variation of ingredients and water content it’s not something we can do as an exact measure. If you scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page on the website there is a little arrow by servings and you can alter up or down to serve more or less people. Hope that helps!

    Reply

Sallyann PopeTuesday 18th August 2020

You use pork and bacon in dirty rice I don’t eat either of these meats can I use beef instead how much difference would it make

Reply

    LisaTuesday 18th August 2020

    Hi Sallyann
    Yes, any sort of mince will work well in this recipe. Hope you enjoy it!

    Reply

Julia SherwoodFriday 19th June 2020

Hi how do you recommend cooking from frozen without a microwave please?

Reply

    Holly LevellSaturday 20th June 2020

    Hi Julia, Once defrosted just pop it into a frying pan like the one this Dirty Rice was cooked in. When reheating any rice, always check it is steaming hot all the way through and don’t reheat cooked rice more than once. Hope that helps!

    Reply

KristianSunday 5th January 2020

In this dish it states 200g of rice, is that rice that has been already cooked in the method mentioned? Or take 200g out the packet and the cook it as stated?

Reply

    Sharon FitzpatrickThursday 7th May 2020

    Hi Kristian, the 200g of rice is the uncooked weight, so straight out of the packet. Hope that helps and that you enjoy this dish!

    Reply

Colin SmithSaturday 13th July 2019

I love this recipe I make it quite a lot for the lads at work. But I like to use smoked bacon as it gives it a slightly smokey flavour and I add button mushrooms sliced in quarters. Ive also cooked it using 5% fat minced beef, gives it a totally different flavour, still very nice. I know it’s supposed to be served as a side dish but its filling enough to serve as a main dish, I know its got peppers in the recipe but I love to stuff a red pepper with it bake it in the oven with melted cheese on the top served with some fresh homemade garlic bread

Reply

    Sharon FitzpatrickFriday 8th May 2020

    Hi Colin, thanks for you great comment. It’s good to hear that you love this recipe and like the idea of stuffing a red pepper with the Dirty Rice. Sounds delicious!

    Reply

VanessaSaturday 6th July 2019

I’m making this for a bbq, can you have it cold, thank you.

Reply

    Holly LevellTuesday 12th May 2020

    Hi Vanessa, the Dirty Rice would still be tasty cold for your bbq!

    Reply

DanSunday 24th March 2019

Hey guys,

We absolutely love this dish and plan to cook it for some friends who are visiting this weekend. Can anyone recommend anything to go with it? Like side dishes etc? Any thoughts and recipes would be much appreciated. Thanks all.

Reply

Helen HaywoodFriday 15th March 2019

Hi. Can I use the packs of microwaveable rice to do this recipe?

Reply

Denise LawrenceSaturday 7th April 2018

I made this last night, absolutely yummy loved by everyone. Changed the veg to suit what we like – a lovely easy meal to make.

Reply

Vicki WodehouseThursday 5th April 2018

I used quorn mince and only a wee bit of veg stock, put a bit smoked paprika as omitted the smoked bacon and was lovely too

Reply

Melanie CravenMonday 2nd April 2018

Can you make this in an actifry ?

Reply

JuliaMonday 12th March 2018

Fabulous, quick and easy and loved by three teenage boys! What a winner!!!

Reply

SharonSunday 25th February 2018

If I’m making it for 2 people how much stock would I use, if I half the ingredients, would I half that as well. Thanks

Reply

GailMonday 29th January 2018

Hi,
I’ve just tried dirty rice for the first time and it was delicious. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
I would love something similar but using prawns, any chance of a new version? I have noted that you’ve recently published a dirty rice with beef, I must now try this too.

Reply

katieSaturday 27th January 2018

Omg this is amazing was recommend by a friend as I was getting bored of the same old thing. I loved it exactly what I needed. Xxx

Reply

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