19 New Orleans-Inspired Recipes for Your Mardi Gras Party
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Celebrate Carnival with jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish, and a Sazerac.
Curate a menu of Mardi Gras food for celebrations throughout the season. From hearty jambalaya to spicy gumbo, fluffy beignets, and classic cocktails, these recipes originated in New Orleans or celebrate the city's trademark flavors with local chefs Justin Devillier, Kelly, English, Kelly Fields, Michael Gulotta, Emeril Lagasse, and Isaac Toups. Combine Cajun, Creole, and Gulf flavors for dishes deserving of all the beads.
Beignets
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
Fry up beignets at home when you want an irresistibly puffy treat. Butter and evaporated milk make the dough extra tender, which is a lovely contrast when these fry up to a crisp.
Oysters Rockefeller
This renowned baked oyster dish was created at Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans in 1899 by the proprietor, Jules Alciatore. This is Emeril Lagasse's take on the dish.
Sazerac
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
The official cocktail for the city of New Orleans combines rye whiskey, cognac, bitters, absinthe, and a bit of sugar, with an herbal sweetness and a strong backbone of whiskey.
Monday Night Red Beans and Rice
Pableaux Johnson's simple, hearty red beans and rice dinner is famous across the South. Long-cooked and creamy, properly made red beans integrate the core flavors of the south Louisiana aromatic trinity — onion, green bell pepper, and celery — along with the savory richness of pork and a kick of garlic. The true star of this dish is the Camellia beans.
New Orleans-Style Jambalaya
In this New Orleans-style recipe, rendered fat from a combination of andouille sausage, bacon, and smoked sausage serves as the base for building flavors, and the Creole dish with roots in French, African, and Spanish cuisines keeps going from there.
Crab-and-Shrimp Étouffée
No flavor goes to waste in this étouffée from 2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi. It's inspired by memories of his grandmother Cassie Phillips' definitive version of the dish.
Barbecue Shrimp Po’boy
Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman
Smoky, spiced shrimp are the heart of this classic New Orleans-style po’boy sandwich.
Bananas Foster
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
Invented at New Orleans landmark Brennan's Restaurant in 1951. Bananas are cooked with a citrusy brown sugar and rum sauce, then topped with crispy pecans.
Vieux Carré
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
Channel the decadence and debauchery of Prohibition-era New Orleans with a classic Vieux Carré recipe from Neal Bodenheimer.
Grillades and Cheesy Grits
Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
A New Orleans classic, grillades rely on succulent beef top round that’s cooked low and slow for hours until it becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender. Chef Michael Gulotta serves it with savory, cheesy grits and a luscious gravy using the fond from the beef at Mopho in New Orleans.
Blue Crab Beignets
The beignet batter thinly coats a creamy, warm crab filling with a crispy, light crust in this recipe from The New Orleans Kitchen coauthors Jamie Feldmar and Justin Devillier, chef/proprietor of La Petite Grocery, Balise Tavern, and Justine in New Orleans.
Creole Crawfish Pie
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox
Across south Louisiana restaurants, street food stalls, and eateries, numerous chefs and cooks all claim to offer the best crawfish pie — a flaky, buttery pie filled with herbs, aromatics, and, of course, Louisiana crawfish tails.
Okra Mac and Cheese with Andouille Sausage
Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
Introduced to New Orleans in the early 1700s, okra was originally referred to as ki ngombo. This Angolan word was later shortened to gombo, or gumbo, to describe the hearty soup traditionally thickened with okra. New Orleans chef Kevin Belton brings okra’s thickening power and a little Louisiana flair to his baked mac and cheese.
Creole Crawfish Nachos
New Orleans icon Big Freedia is a legitimate force: She's the face of bounce music, author of the memoir Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva, and star of the TV show Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce. She drapes her signature nachos in spicy cheese sauce and buttery, Creole-seasoned crawfish, saying: "It's so New Orleans."
Shrimp and Grits with Mustard Seed Chowchow
At Bellegarde Bakery in New Orleans, chef Isaac Toups loves Bellegarde stone-ground grits for their creamy texture and buttered popcorn flavor.
Chicken and Okra Gumbo
One of Louisiana’s signature dishes, gumbo is is strongly influenced by Native American, French, Creole, and African cuisines. It typically includes okra, andouille or other smoked sausage, shrimp, and other meats and vegetables. Chef Rembs Layman suggests using store-bought rotisserie chicken, canned chicken broth, and jerk paste for this quick, easy version.
Emeril’s Muffuletta
The muffuletta is the quintessential New Orleans sandwich of cured meats, cheese, and tangy olive salad piled onto a sturdy Italian loaf. Emeril Lagasse's deluxe version includes several upgrades.
King Cake with Caramel Crunch
This traditional Mardi Gras dessert has a caramel crunch layer that gives the rich cake even more texture and sweetness. The recipe is from James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Kelly Fields of the wildly popular New Orleans bakery cafe Willa Jean.
Cheese Fries with Crayfish and Gravy
A crayfish boil can require a lot of time, energy and patience. Crayfish meat on top of fries is less of a commitment, but even more drool-inducing with spicy pimento cheese, andouille gravy, and crawfish, crab, or shrimp.
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