Every Dish They Make on the New Season of Queer Eye—Plus Recipes to Recreate the Magic

Of course a New Orleans season was going to be pretty tasty.

When Queer Eye's Fab Five descend on a new city, there's always going to be some foodie fun involved. Antoni Porowski, the show's resident food and wine expert, is sure to debut a tasty recipe in each episode, so it comes as no surprise that the new, New Orleans-based season of Queer Eye is jam-packed with delicious food.

Season seven finds the Fab Five roaming all over the Big Easy, hanging out in verdant community gardens and bustling sandwich shops as they give each episode's hero a life-changing makeover. Antoni takes full advantage of the locale, whipping up simple, classic recipes inspired by cajun and creole cuisine. We rounded up the seven major recipes highlighted across the episodes—and even found a similar recipe so you can cook along with the gang.

Muffuletta

The brothers of Lambda Alpha Chi dubbed this classic New Orleans sammie a MuffuLambda, but you can stick with the original name, if you like. For this recipe tutorial, Antoni coaches the fellas through making their own olive salad from scratch, but you could buy prepared olive salad to take some of the chopping prep off your shoulders. (Central Grocery offers a pretty classic option if you're in the market for some olive salad.) Olive salad may be the star of the muffuletta, but the enormous sandwich also includes a parade of cured meats like prosciutto, mortadella and salami, plus slices of provolone and mozzarella. It's a pretty salty sandwich—so folks who have to watch their sodium intake may want to beware—but if you opt for a recipe like our Vegetarian Muffalettas, you'll have a deliciously healthy Louisiana-inspired meal on your hands.

Classic Summer Salad

In the season's second episode, Antoni has to convince Saints fan Stephanie to incorporate more fruits and veggies into her diet—and a big salad might just be the simplest way to do it. This vibrant bowl includes a base of butter lettuce, plus watermelon chunks, tomato slices, raw sweet corn, sliced avocado, cucumber chunks, red onion slivers and pumpkin seeds. Antoni tops the whole production with a creamy dressing. Our similarly sunny Watermelon & Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette is a great way to recreate the magic of this salad.

Steak Fried Rice

Hibachi cooking might not be native to New Orleans, but this dish still looked pretty dang delicious. In the season's third episode, new wheelchair user Speedy knew exactly what meal he wanted to learn to make—and Antoni definitely delivered. The best part is that you won't need a flat-top grill to mimic the recipe, though it is pretty fun to watch Speedy and Antoni go to town behind an enormous, showy hibachi station. We love making fried rice with a more hands-off method, like with our Sheet-Pan Shrimp Fried Rice, but using a wok is also a great method.

Related:Take a Culinary Trip to New Orleans with These Authentic Cajun & Creole Recipes

Trout Meunière

The Fab Five are always ready to meet folks where they're at, so Antoni helps game, globetrotting Jenni make a pretty sophisticated riff on sole meunière as a sneaky tribute to Julia Child. Subbing in trout makes the dish a bit more Louisiana-local. The fish gets cooked in silky, glamorous clarified butter, then topped with a smidge of brown butter, plus capers and parsley. A similarly simple but delicious dish might be our Herb & Lemon Roasted Striped Bass, which brings in some of the lemon flavor that Antoni incorporates, but you could offer more brown butter flavor by opting for our Trout in Sage Brown Butter. Pair either one with a simple lentil salad with radishes, like we do with our Pan-Seared Cod with Radish & Lentil Salad, to complete the meal Queer Eye-style.

Pasta Alla Norma

Obviously an episode whose central figure is a guy called "Deli Dan" was going to include some delish eats. Unfortunately, Dan actually needs some encouragement to get back to making something other than a sandwich—which is where this eggplant-laden pasta comes in. Antoni's Pasta Alla Norma is covered with a vibrant red tomato sauce, seasoned with garlic and oregano, and chock-full of flavorful eggplant bites. An equally hearty option like our Penne with Sausage & Eggplant Bolognese might just help satisfy a post-episode pasta craving.

Shrimp Étouffée

Mary may be a New Orleans resident, but her familiarity with classic creole dishes is limited, which makes her étouffée cooking experience all the more exciting. Mary tells Antoni that she's a big fan of one-pot meals—to which we heartily agree—and this spicy, smothered shrimp and rice easily comes together in one soup pot. The recipe includes hot sauce, white wine and a heavy dose of holy trinity (celery, onions and bell peppers) to add lots of flavor, and you can find something similar in this classic Shrimp Étouffée from our sister brand, Simply Recipes. We also love simple shrimp and rice recipes like our Asopao de Camarones and One-Pan Garlicky Shrimp & Rice.

Roasted Okra with Lemon Dipping Sauce

The final episode of the season contains no tutorials—instead, Antoni busies himself making loads of appetizers for a fundraising party at the end of the week. One of the apps centers our hero's favorite veggie: okra. Antoni pairs his with a creamy dipping sauce full of bright, fresh lemon zest, but we love pairing our Air-Fryer Okra with a spicy dip for extra kick.