23 Recipes for the Best Mardi Gras Dinner Menu Ever
Celebrate with these Southern dishes.
Hector Manuel Sanchez
Mardi Gras is an annual holiday that is traditionally celebrated on Fat Tuesday to mark the culmination of the feasting period that falls before Christian Lent. Religious history aside, the holiday has come to be associated with street parties and parades, colorful masks, general debauchery, and, of course, plenty of rich, fatty foods.
So when you’re planning your Mardi Gras dinner menu, look for dishes that are comforting, satiating, and packed with more than enough flavor. Speaking of flavor, it wouldn’t be a Mardi Gras feast without plenty of Cajun and Creole influence, whether you’re spicing up grits or transforming an otherwise bland piece of fish into a drool-worthy meal. While you might not make it to Bourbon Street this year, we promise you’ll find everything you’re looking for with this Mardi Gras spread that includes sides, drinks, desserts, and more!
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Passion Fruit Hurricane
The hurricane is one of the most popular drinks served in New Orleans, and it’s surprisingly easy to make at home. This version of the NoLa classic is especially citrus-forward thanks to the inclusion of orange juice, lime juice, and passion fruit syrup.
Crab Cake Sliders With Capers
Crab cakes are a Southern staple, which means they’ll be right at home as part of your Mardi Gras meal. These particular crab cakes are topped with a shower of briny capers and sandwiched between buttery dinner rolls with sweet-potato wedges on the side.
Hot Crawfish Dip
Will Dickey
You can’t have a Mardi Gras celebration without some Louisiana crawfish, and this recipe is a great way to transform the crustacean into a creamy, spicy dip that goes perfectly with crackers or slices of toasted baguette. If you can’t procure fresh crawfish, opt for frozen crawfish meat.
Old Bay Cheddar Grits With Andouille and Tomatoes
Andouille is a smoked meat made using pork, pepper, onions, and seasonings. While it is French in origin, it’s also a staple of New Orleans cuisine thanks to French immigrants who brought it to Louisiana. Here, the spicy sausage is paired with blistered grape tomatoes and grits that have been flavored with Cheddar cheese and Old Bay seasoning.
Classic Cajun Crawfish Étouffée
The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
If you’re not familiar with étouffée, it’s seafood—traditionally shellfish—poached in a light gravy and served over rice. This recipe is filled with veggies and crawfish, which are covered in a delicious and tasty sauce made with fish stock, dry sherry, and more. While this dish might look and sound complicated, it comes together in about an hour.
Jambalaya de Covington
It’s nearly impossible to mark Mardi Gras without digging into a bowl of jambalaya, which is typically a combination of rice, meat, and vegetables. This recipe is made with smoked turkey, ham, and sausage, and comes from Covington, Louisiana. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Gochujang Gumbo
Gumbo is a Creole soup from Louisiana, and this untraditional variation includes gochujang—a spicy-sweet Korean chili paste. However, the inclusion of andouille sausage, sliced okra, and shrimp are a nod to the soup's Southern roots. Top with sliced scallions and minced red Fresno chiles for even more flavor.
Blackened Salmon and Rice
This blackened fish is flavored with paprika, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, and garlic powder, which gives it plenty of spice and flavor. The side of corn and parsley-studded rice helps to balance the heat.
Muffaletta-Style Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Fred Hardy
A muffaletta is a hero-style sandwich hailing from New Orleans consisting of Italian bread, provolone, salami, ham, and jarred olive salad. In this recipe, the olive salad is perked up with a squeeze of lemon juice, and the sandwich is served alongside a lemony honey-mustard salad for a complete meal.
Smoky Shrimp and Grits
For a shrimp and grits dish that’s easy to make and ready in just 20 minutes, bookmark this recipe. It calls for you to peel the shrimp entirely before cooking, which means your dining experience will be a bit less messy. If you want to kick things up a notch, go ahead and add a fried egg on top of each serving.
Cajun Mac and Cheese
Jen Causey; Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey
Mac and cheese is always a slam dunk, and this Cajun version is perfect for your Mardi Gras menu. The dish is made with typical ingredients, such as elbow pasta and two types of cheese, but it gets a flavorful, spicy boost courtesy of Cajun seasoning, andouille sausage, and more.
Corn Spoon Bread
Cornbread is a quintessential Southern side, and this version, which is technically corn spoon bread, is more like a soufflé, with texture similar to that of British Yorkshire pudding. This dish, which pairs well with spicy foods, is ready in just 45 minutes.
BBQ Remoulade
Remoulade is a cold sauce that’s popular in New Orleans. While this version isn’t a typical remoulade that you might find at a restaurant on Bourbon Street because it uses barbecue sauce instead of the standard hot sauce and Worcestershire, feel free to use this homemade condiment on crab cakes, shrimp, and French fries.
Shrimp and Brown Butter Grits
The Southern classic that is shrimp-and-grits gets an upgrade in the form of brown butter. Just be sure to watch the butter carefully to make sure it doesn't burn, and don't skip transferring it to a bowl—it will continue to brown even after it's off the heat. You’ll be surprised to find out how well the rich butter pairs with the smoked paprika-seasoned shrimp and juicy grape tomatoes also found in this dish.
Related: 15 Healthy Fish and Shrimp Recipes for Any Night of the Week
One-Pot Chicken Sausage and Beans
Smoky andouille chicken sausage is the star here, and its flavorful drippings coat the crunchy breadcrumb topping to tie everything together. In this dish you’ll also find ground pork, crushed tomatoes, and plenty of cannellini beans. If you like spice, add a dash of Cajun seasoning to amp up the flavor.
Shrimp and Sausage With Saffron Rice
While shrimp and sausage is a classic New Orleans combo, this recipe pairs the proteins with saffron rice. A cup of frozen peas adds some veggies to this hearty meal.
Turkey Burgers With Cajun Grilled Onions
For a recipe that’s familiar but has some NoLa flavor, give these turkey burgers a try. Each patty is made with grated Gruyère, minced garlic, and chili powder, in addition to dark meat turkey. Then, once the burgers are done, you'll top each one with grilled sliced onions that have been sprinkled with Cajun seasoning.
Easy Stovetop Shrimp Boil
A shrimp boil might sound like a tricky undertaking, but we promise that this recipe can easily be executed at home. In fact, all you really need to do is throw onions, lemon, garlic, potatoes, sausage, artichoke, shrimp, and corn into a large stockpot and bring everything to a boil with some dry seasoning. For that spicy New Orleans flavor, we suggest using Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seafood Boil seasoning. You won’t regret it!
Kidney Beans and Rice
Red beans and rice has been a traditional dish in New Orleans for decades, and is typically eaten on Mondays because it was originally made with the ham bone left over from Sunday dinner. Thanks to the ease of this recipe, which requires just 10 minutes of hands-on work, you can enjoy this tasty side on Mardi Gras and beyond.
Beignets
If you can’t make it to Café Du Monde for the restaurant’s famous beignets, go ahead and make them yourself. This recipe is surprisingly easy to follow, and yields 24 decadent fritters so you can share with friends.
Lemon-Thyme Rhubarb Bread Pudding
For a delicious dessert that will compliment your Mardi Gras feast, opt for this tart, sweet, rich, and custardy bread pudding. Rhubarb, which is in season as spring begins, is paired with lemon zest and thyme to bring out the stalky vegetable’s herbaceous notes. Serve it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for a decadent upgrade.
Related: 20 Best Romantic Dessert Recipes
Mardi Gras King Cake
Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Torie Cox
It wouldn’t be a Mardi Gras meal without a king cake. This recipe doesn't need braiding or filling, but the celebratory dessert is still topped with a simple powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water glaze, and sprinkled with purple, green, and gold sanding sugar. Just remember, if you find the trinket baked inside the cake, it means luck and prosperity is headed your way!
Pecan Pralines
Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Torie Cox
Pecan pralines are often called New Orleans’ signature candy. The tasty treats are firm with a fudge-like texture that's offset by the crunch of nutty pecans throughout. A sprinkle of salt balances out the sweetness. Serve these on a plate for dessert, or send your Mardi Gras guests home with some confections for the road.
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