What to Serve with Dirty Rice? 10 BEST Side Dishes

It may look “dirty,” but it’s one of the most delicious dishes you could taste.

Made with white rice and bits of beef, chicken, or pork, dirty rice is a traditional Louisiana Creole dish.

It also contains onion, bell pepper, black pepper, cayenne, and celery.

Depending on the occasion, the dish is typically served as a primary or side dish.

Hence, you understand that it’s versatile and make a nice pairing with many items.

So now you may also wonder what to serve with dirty rice.

The good news is that you can serve many items, so you don’t need to worry too much.

Cajun chicken breasts, poached eggs, roasted vegetables, cajun shrimp, and baked beans are some dishes to enjoy with dirty rice.

Why Consider Serving Side Dishes with Dirty Rice?

You can enjoy rich and earthy dishes by themselves because they can fill you up and keep you full for a long time.

But you need to balance your meal with different items.

Hence, though dirty rice is a dish that shines on its own, you need to have extra items.

Veggies, cooked or raw, seafood, and eggs can make excellent companions with the yummy and hearty rice dish.

If dirty rice is going to be your main dish at an occasion you’re hosting, side dishes will be useful.

You’ll have enough to feed your guests and also have the chance to experience a plethora of flavors.

What to Serve with Dirty Rice? 10 BEST Side Dishes

1 – Lemon Green Beans

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There’s no need to make things too complicated when you have an impressive star dish like dirty rice.

Simple items like sautéed green beans can make your meal exciting and complete.

The veggie also offers freshness with a crisp-tender texture.

Hence, green beans not only enhance the flavor of the rice but also cleanse your palate.

A tiny amount of lemon juice gives a hint of tanginess, making it even more flavorful.

Canned green beans have added salt, so it’s best to use fresh variety.

They grow all year round, so you can easily find them.

2 – Mexican Corn on the Cob

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Also called elote, this dish makes you want to eat more.

Elote is similar to grilled corn which you eat but with Mexican flavors.

The corn also tastes lovely with dirty rice.

If you want slightly charred corn, remove the husk before grilling.

Plain-grilled corn is delicious, but it’s extraordinarily tasty when you add crumbled cotija cheese, mayonnaise, butter, lime juice, chili powder, and cilantro.

When it comes to corn, freshness is where the sweetness lies.

Look for silk or tassels if you don’t know how to select fresh corn.

It must be smooth, silky, and pale. The paler it is, the fresher it will be.

3 – Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce

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Dirty rice has meat, but you can still serve a meat side dish alongside.

If it’s extraordinarily yummy, like beef brisket, then the pairing is out of this world.

Beef brisket is a tougher cut of meat, so it takes more time to cook.

But it’s worth the effort because the result is tender and juicy meat that melts in your mouth.

Since you have to slow-cook the brisket, it isn’t necessary to marinate the meat.

The brisket will absorb the seasoning when it’s cooking.

BBQ sauce and a dry rub comprising various spices give you juicy, sweet, tangy, and slightly hot-flavored meat.

4 – Roasted Vegetables with Balsamic Vinegar

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Vegetables pair perfectly with dirty rice, no matter how you cook them.

A plate of colorful roasted veggies with some balsamic vinegar can be a perfect side dish for the yummy rice dish.

All veggies taste amazing when roasted, so you can include different items.

But be sure to cut them in the same size so that they cook evenly.

Potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, onions, zucchini, and sweet potatoes make a great combo.

You can keep it simple by adding only salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

Add some fresh herbs for aromas, such as thyme, rosemary, basil, or cilantro.

5 – Poached Eggs

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Perfectly poached eggs put on top of dirty rice; what can taste better than the combo? The pairing provides both taste and nutrients, as eggs have plenty of them.

When it’s about poached eggs, keeping it simple is the key.

You don’t have to add anything except for a bit of vinegar.

You can sprinkle a little salt and pepper after they’re cooked.

You can make perfect poached eggs with the freshest variety.

So when buying them, inspect the eggs for cracks or breakage.

They should also be clean, and you must always choose refrigerated eggs.

6 – Fried Green Tomatoes

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How about some fresh and tangy-flavored tomatoes to go with dirty rice? Even fresh chopped tomatoes taste good but fry them coated in panko breadcrumbs, and you’ll have crunchy and juicy tomatoes.

Fried green tomatoes follow the same method of cooking as other veggies.

Coat in a flour mixture, followed by a dip in whisked eggs, and roll in breadcrumbs and fried.

You may make the dish in a skillet, oven, or air fryer according to convenience.

Use large unripe tomatoes for the best results.

If you want a crunchier texture, add cornmeal to the breadcrumb mixture.

7 – Cajun Chicken Breasts

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Do you usually love oven-baked chicken breasts? Everyone does.

They also make a lovely pairing with dirty rice.

The combo will amaze you with deliciousness, and the meal will make you full too.

Twist the dish a little bit by adding cajun seasoning.

Add Italian and lemon-pepper seasoning if you want to experience even more flavors.

You’ll be amazed at the taste when you take a bite.

The dish is also easy to make even though it’s very tasty.

It’s also popular and a favorite with everyone.

So, make sure to bake a large batch or several batches to satisfy everybody.

8 – Cajun Shrimp

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Like cajun chicken breasts? We promise cajun shrimp is no less incredible when it comes to taste.

The dish also complements dirty rice and adds a crunchy texture.

The crunchy and juicy shrimp dish has cajun seasoning and, therefore, the name.

It’s also a little spicy since it has cayenne powder in the spice mixture.

You can serve the shrimp separately or add it to the rice.

You must make the dish with fresh shrimp, either wild or farmed.

The wild variety is more nutritious, but the farmed one is more consistent and widely available.

The latter is also less expensive.

9 – Baked Beans

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Beans and rice are both hearty and compatible.

You’ll have a meal that makes you full when you combine the two.

Baked beans are also a favorite comfort food, so everyone will have a good time when they eat.

Canned beans are convenient for making the dish, but the dried variety tastes better as you can control what you add and leave out.

The latter takes more time, but the results will be good.

White beans, such as navy beans, are the most used variety for baked beans.

But you can also use red, black, pinto, and kidney beans.

Include some veggies like carrots, onion, herbs, and spices.

10 – Tangy Coleslaw

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The list will be incomplete without adding a salad.

So, we include the most popular dish; coleslaw.

It not only complements dirty rice, but it offers lovely flavors.

Coleslaw is also easy to make as you can get prepared slaw ingredients for the dish.

You can also experiment with the dressing.

Typically, you use a mayo-based or vinaigrette dressing.

One is creamy, while the other is tangy.

You can make a different dressing for this menu with mayonnaise, cider vinegar, and mustard.

Add a little honey if you want your slaw to have a touch of sweetness.

Once you toss everything together, you’ll have sweet, sour, and creamy coleslaw with a crunchy texture.

Conclusion

If dirty rice is your star dish, cook any item mentioned above.

Depending on how many guests you invite, you can choose several dishes to serve with the yummy rice dish.

You can mix and match so that you have variety.

For example, you can serve coleslaw, baked beans, and beef brisket at one time or cajun shrimp, roasted veggies, and lemon green beans at the next event.

It will keep the meal enjoyable and not feel monotonous.