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Make one more make them all! This collection of classic New Orleans recipes will help you celebrate Mardi Gras (aka Carnival or Fat Tuesday) in style.
Every year, Mardi Gras falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first day of lent, a religious season observed by people of the Catholic faith.
While Mardi Gras is technically just one day, some places have turned it into a week-long celebration. Along with New Orleans, Brazil and Venice have some of the largest festivals.
I love Mardi Gras because it’s a chance to enjoy some of the best dishes from New Orleans without fighting the crowds and chasing down beads. Shrimp Po’ Boys, Gumbo, and Beignets are some of my personal favorites (and I’d never turn down a King Cake, either).
Try a new recipe or make your old favorites. Whatever your plans, I hope they include plenty of good food come Fat Tuesday!
Table of Contents
The Main Event
New Orleans cuisine features a powerful fusion of French, Spanish, West African, and Native American influences. Sometimes spicy and always exploding with flavor, these are the classics you won’t want to miss.
Eats
Shrimp Étouffée
Chicken and Turkey Recipes
Blackened Chicken
Mardi Gras Recipes
Wisconsin-Style Jambalaya
Casserole Recipes
One Pot Cajun Pasta
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Shrimp Creole
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Sheet Pan Clam Bake
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Blackened Salmon
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Crab Cakes with Remoulade
Appetizers and Sides
You’ll either be adding bacon or deep-frying, and I’m not sorry about it at all. I can’t think of a better way to eat my veggies than with a crunchy coating!
Side Dish Recipes
Collard Greens
Mardi Gras Recipes
Dirty Rice
Soup and Stew Recipes
Hoppin’ John
Mardi Gras Recipes
Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade
Appetizer Recipes
Hot Corn Dip
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Oysters Rockefeller
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Grilled Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw
Soup and Stew Recipes
Corn Chowder
Desserts
Whether you’re hunting for a plastic baby in your King Cake or setting your Bananas Foster aflame, there is no shortage of excitement and drama with Mardi Gras desserts.
Fruit Dessert Recipes
Bananas Foster
Candy Recipes
Pecan Pralines
Cake and Cupcake Recipes
Funnel Cakes
Pie and Tart Recipes
The Best Pecan Pie
Drinks
New Orleans is littered with famous cocktails, the most famous being the Sazerac but followed closely by the Hurricane (named after the glass, not the storm).
Cocktail Recipes
Daiquiri
Cocktail Recipes
Grasshopper Cocktail
Cocktail Recipes
Mint Julep
Cocktail Recipes
Hot Toddy
Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.