Looking for the best Mardi Gras recipes? We’ve got you covered 19 Easy Cajun and Creole Recipes to Celebrate Mardi Gras!
With a distinctive cuisine that is the very definition of soul food, and home to one of the most famous Mardi Gras celebrations in the US, New Orleans dishes are all the inspiration you need for your perfect Mardi Gras party menu. It is best known for its two main regional food styles: Cajun and Creole; New Orleans is a melting pot of cultural influences, including Native Americans, Spanish, French, Italians, and Africans. he will not find it anywhere else in the world. We think you’ll love these popular New Orleans-inspired dishes so much, you’ll want to celebrate Mardi Gras with these recipes all year long!
Easy Cajun and Creole Recipes for Mardi Gras!
1. Authentic New Orleans Gumbo
through Better Living
Bold cuisine with French, African, and Native American influences, gumbo is a must-have Mardi Gras food for your Fat Tuesday party. Made with sauteed onions, peppers and celery, called the “Holy Trinity” in Louisiana Creole and Cajun cuisine, Gumbos can include anything from vegetables, in a version called gumbo z’herbes, to andouille sausage, chicken and seafood. The best part about gumbo is that no two flavors are alike.
2. Oysters Rockefeller
through Caroline’s Cooking
Invented in 1899 by Jules Alciatore, the son of the founder of the famous New Orleans restaurant Antoine’s, this delicious New Orleans oyster appetizer is so rich that it was named after oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. The original recipe is a family secret, but one thing is for sure, if you serve these oysters, they won’t last long. Get this crowd-pleasing version Caroline’s Cooking.
3. Shrimp Creole
through Recipes from a pantry
This classic Creole dish is a New Orleans favorite and perfect for shrimp lovers. The prawns are sauteed with onions, peppers and garlic, herbs and spices and then cooked in a tomato sauce. Try using Gulf or Louisiana shrimp for best results and serve over rice. You will be hooked! Get the recipe at Recipes From a Pantry.
4. Dirty rice
through Southern Discourse
Dirty rice is a classic Cajun and New Orleans side dish that’s the perfect side to blackened fish, chicken, or other local favorites. While old recipes call for cooking the rice with chicken liver (which gives it its distinctive color), we think this Southern Discourse recipe is just as tasty without it.
5. New Orleans Cornmeal Crusted Catfish Po’ Boy
through Better Living
Po’ Boys became a New Orleans staple in 1929, when brothers Bennie and Clovis Martins decided to serve free sandwiches on French bread from their French Quarter cafe to striking streetcar workers. As Martin said, “We fed those men for free until the end of the strike. Every time we saw one of the striking men coming, one boy would say, ‘Here comes another poor boy’”. There are all kinds of po’boys in New Orleans today, but some of the most popular are the seafood variety, from shrimp, crab, fish and oysters to soft shells. Try this cornmeal crust Catfish Po’Boy dressed with lettuce, tomato and remoulade sauce.
GET THE RECIPE
6. Drowned trip
through Jennifer Cooks
This is one of our favorite Mardi Gras recipes! Étouffée, (pronounced eh-too-fey) French for “suffocated,” is another favorite New Orleans dish that’s 100% comfort food. Made by sautéing seafood (often crab or shrimp) with spices, celery, onion, and garlic, then served with rice, it can be considered Cajun and Creole, depending on the seasoning. If you can’t find crab tails near you (Walmart often carries them believe it or not), opt for shrimp instead. Try a simple but absolutely delicious version Jennifer Cooks.
7. Red Beans and Rice
through Budget bytes
Red Beans and Rice is one of those simple Louisiana Creole dishes that doesn’t look like much, but will definitely keep you coming back for more. Traditionally served on Mondays as a way to use up leftover pork bones from Sunday dinners, red beans (not kidneys) ‘Holy Trinity’ (garlic, celery and pepper) and smoked meats such as andouille sausage. Over rice and with a little or a lot of hot sauce and you have yourself a special dish. Try this delicious version from Budget Bytes.
8. Muffaletta
through Spicy Southern Cuisine
If you love Italian-style meats, a New Orleans muffuletta is a must-have on your Mardi Gras food menu. Invented by Salvatore Lupo, also a Sicilian immigrant He founded the famous New Orleans Central Grocery (open since 1906) the original muffuletta is a ham, salami, mortadella, swiss and provolone sandwich served on an Italian roll. But what sets the muffuletta apart is the olive salad: a mix of olives in pickled vegetables that adds a layer of savory and salty flavor that makes for the perfect sandwich bite. If you want to try the original muffaleta and don’t live in the New Orleans area, you can support small businesses and orders. muffalettas straight from Corner Grocery and send it to your home. You can also make your own with this delicious recipe Spicy Southern Cuisine.
9. Excursions in Boiling
through This Ole Mom
Nothing says New Orleans and Louisiana more than crawfish boil. Get your hands dirty as you eat it cooked with spices, potatoes, corn and smoked sausage. For such a simple dish, it’s so delicious! Get this recipe straight from a New Orleans local This Ole Mom.
GET THE RECIPE
10. Cajun shrimp and grits
through African bites
There are wonderful Creole and Cajun rice from New Orleans. But if you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out. A popular Southern dish, grits is a mixture of cornmeal (and sometimes rice) that is cooked with rich ingredients like milk and cheese. A dish that pairs perfectly with a spicy side dish, try this delicious African Bites Cajun Shrimp and Grits recipe.
11 Grillades and Grits
through Spicy Southern Cuisine
With eggs, Grillades and Grits (also known as Grits and Grillades) a popular Creole brunch or breakfast dish from NOLA can be served for a satisfying dinner. Pronounced GREE-yahd, medallions of beef, pork, or veal are usually pan-fried and then simmered in Creole-cured tomatoes or brown sauce. This tastes even better the next day.
12. Blackened fish
through A girl named Adri
For a light but flavorful dish that’s perfect for anyone who likes it spicy, try this Blackened Catfish recipe from Adri. Redfish is also popular in Louisiana and can be substituted for catfish, flounder and trout. Make this with Red Beans and Rice or Jambalaya.
13. New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
through Cupboard Kitchen
There is no shortage of delicious shrimp dishes in New Orleans or Louisiana. But the funny thing about New Orleans BBQ shrimp is that they’re not really barbecued. The shrimp are sautéed in a tangy, spicy sauce that’s buttery and totally addictive. Make this delicious recipe from Closet Cooking that’s so easy and so good.
14. Brennan’s Bananas Foster
through CopyKat
If baking isn’t your thing, this easy-to-prepare yet delicious dessert made with bananas flambéed in a banana liqueur and rum caramel sauce is a New Orleans delight that you can quickly whip up in your kitchen. This recipe was created by Chef Paul Blangé, Owen Brennan, owner of Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans in 1951, to find a way to highlight one of New Orleans’ greatest imports: the banana. Topped with vanilla ice cream, this dessert remains one of Brennan’s and New Orleans’ most popular dishes.
15 King Cake
through Barbara Bakes
No Mardi Gras party without King Cake! It’s a cake made with a rich cinnamon-filled dough, frosted and then decorated with sugar in eye-catching Mardi Gras colors of green, gold, and purple. The tradition of King Cakes was introduced to New Orleans by French settlers in the 1870s and is a Mardi Gras must. It was originally eaten on Epiphany (January 6), known as Twelfth Night, to usher in the Carnival season. There are many styles of King Cake available, but one thing is for sure: if you bake a plastic baby (representing baby Jesus) inside, you are responsible for bringing the King Cake to your next Mardi Gras party. . It’s the rule! Try this popular recipe from Barbara Bakes.
16 Bon Ton Cafe’s Bread Pudding
through CDK Kitchen
Bread pudding is a New Orleans tradition, just what you’d expect from the food here: pure and simple comfort food with little frills. Stale French bread is sliced into small pieces, dipped in cream, egg and vanilla, baked and then drizzled with a whiskey-infused vanilla sauce. There are countless versions and unique twists on Bread Pudding in the Big Easy, but one of the city’s most popular versions comes from Bon Ton Café. Get the official recipe linked below.
17 Traditional New Orleans Beignets
through Sugar and Charm
Great for breakfast, dessert, or as an afternoon treat, this light and airy French-style square donut is most unique because it doesn’t have a hole. Most famously served at Café du Monde in the French Quarter with a generous dusting (or should we say mountain) of powdered sugar, New Orleans’ favorite donuts are eaten with a cafe au lait.
18 Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
through Lined spatula
Pecan pie is another favorite dessert you’ll see on New Orleans menus. And there are many different versions of this sweet, gooey, nutty cake that the place serves. We love this pecan pie from Striped Spatula, which takes the flavor of this pie to another level with chocolate and another New Orleans favorite: bourbon.
19 chocolates
through Sweet Pea’s Kitchen
It has the sweet, buttery, nutty aroma of a freshly made praline that is absolutely intoxicating. Pronounced prah-leen in Louisiana, you’ll find these treats in stores all over New Orleans, but seeing the art they’re made at one of the specialty candy stores is a treat in itself. Made with brown sugar or white sugar, cream, butter and pecans, you’ll be surprised how easy these treats are to make. You will find that one batch is not enough. Plus, they make great gifts!
