22 Classic New Orleans–Inspired Recipes for a Sumptuous Mardi Gras Party Celebrate Carnival season with iconic dishes (and drinks) like jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish, king cake, and a Sazerac. By Ashley Day Ashley Day Ashley Day is Food & Wine's associate editorial director. She's edited and directed food and travel content at USA TODAY, the Institute of Culinary Education, and Chef & Restaurant magazine, and contributed to The Food Institute, The Daily Meal, and the recipe app meez. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on February 9, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Curate a menu of Mardi Gras food for celebrations throughout the season. From hearty jambalaya to spicy gumbo, pillowy beignets, and classic cocktails, these recipes originated in New Orleans or celebrate the city's trademark flavors with local chefs like 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 during Carnival. Creole vs. Cajun Food: What Are the Differences? Keep all of your recipes at your fingertips. With the MyRecipes app you can easily save and organize your favorites from anywhere, including Instagram and TikTok, in one convenient place. Get the free app. 01 of 22 Beignets Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless You don't have to be in New Orleans to enjoy a warm, freshly made beignet. The Crescent City's signature sweet is easy to fry up at home with just 40 minutes of active work time. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 22 Oysters Rockefeller Chris Simpson / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Born at Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans in 1899, this legendary baked oyster dish gets a spirited update in Emeril Lagasse’s version. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 22 New Orleans–Style Barbecue Shrimp Alex Lau / FOOD STYLING by MARGARET MONROE DICKEY / PROP STYLING by CLAIRE SPOLLEN Mosquito Supper Club chef-owner Melissa Martin offers three options for deglazing the pan: wine for a bright, acidic finish; beer for a slightly bitter and deeper flavor; or cola for a sweeter note with a warm spiced edge. Whichever you choose, you'll coat the shrimp with a rich, spicy, and tangy sauce, thanks in large part to butter. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 22 Monday Night Red Beans and Rice Victor Protasio The late Pableaux Johnson's red beans and rice recipe is famous in the South. Properly cooked, creamy beans from Camellia Brand (a venerated New Orleans company) integrate the core flavors of the south Louisiana aromatic trinity: onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Savory pork adds richness, and garlic gives the dish a kick. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 22 New Orleans–Style Jambalaya Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Jambalaya starts with a briny shrimp stock and rendered sausage and bacon fat, then builds savory, caramelized depth as each ingredient is cooked before being added to the pot. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 22 Sazerac Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon The official cocktail of New Orleans combines rye whiskey, Cognac, bitters, absinthe (or Herbsaint, a substitute developed locally), and a touch of sugar for a drink with herbal sweetness and a strong whiskey backbone. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 22 King Cake Alex Lau / FOOD STYLING by MARGARET MONROE DICKEY / PROP STYLING by CLAIRE SPOLLEN No dessert is more emblematic of Mardi Gras than the traditional king cake: a tender, yeasted, ring-shaped pastry swirled with cinnamon sugar and topped with cream cheese icing and festive green, purple, and gold sanding sugars. You can even tuck a tiny toy baby in the dough for good luck. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 22 Crab-and-Shrimp Étouffée Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christina Daley 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. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 22 Barbecue Shrimp Po’boy Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman Erick Williams recommends using baguettes or rolls with a thin, crackly crust and soft interior so the smoky, spiced shrimp and mayonnaise in this classic New Orleans po'boy can soak into the bread without making it soggy. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 22 Bananas Foster Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Invented at New Orleans landmark Brennan's Restaurant in 1951, this dessert features bananas cooked with a citrusy brown sugar and rum sauce then topped with crispy pecans. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 22 Milk Punch Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Oset Babür-Winter Creamy and sweet with a balancing heat from bourbon, this quintessential Mardi Gras drink is traditionally served in the morning to kick off Fat Tuesday. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 22 Grillades and Cheesy Grits Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley New Orleans chef Michael Gulotta cooks succulent beef top round low and slow to serve the city's classic grillades with cheesy grits and a velvety gravy made with the beef fond. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 22 Blue Crab Beignets Greg DuPree The beignet batter thinly coats a creamy, warm crab filling with a crispy, light crust in this savory, modern-classic recipe from The New Orleans Kitchen coauthors Jamie Feldmar and Justin Devillier, chef-owner of La Petite Grocery in New Orleans. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 22 Creole Crawfish Pie Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox Like many other Creole dishes, this savory double-crusted pie starts with a roux, cooked until it's the color of peanut butter. "Relax, have a sip of wine, and enjoy this process. If you can make a roux, you’ve mastered the key to good Creole cuisine," say Louisiana sugarcane farmers Angie and June Provost. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 22 Fried Boudin Balls with Creole Mustard Dipping Sauce Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman A Cajun staple throughout Louisiana and Texas, boudin balls are formed with pork, chicken liver, rice, vegetables, and aromatic seasonings before they're fried to a golden crisp. The Creole mustard dipping sauce completes this Southern delicacy. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 22 Emeril’s Muffuletta Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Emeril Lagasse pulls out all the stops for this New Orleans classic, piling three types of cold cuts with mozzarella, provolone, and a briny olive salad made with capers and giardiniera onto soft Italian bread. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 22 Jambalaya Soup Food & Wine / Photo by Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen / Food Styling by Emily Hall This recipes takes the main elements of classic jambalaya and makes it into a soup that serves six and is ready in about 40 minutes. Dig into a bowl richly flavored with the holy trinity (onions, bell peppers, and celery) as well as plump shrimp, smoky sausage, and tender rice. Get the Recipe Save 18 of 22 Hurricane Cocktail Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Chirkin This tall tropical drink was created in the early 1940s at the historic New Orleans bar Pat O’Brien’s. Our version owes its sweet-tart taste to a boozy blend of white and dark rum, passion fruit puree, and citrus juices. Get the Recipe Save 19 of 22 Creole Crawfish Nachos © W&P Design New Orleans Bounce music icon Big Freedia slathers her signature nachos in spicy cheese sauce and buttery, Creole-seasoned crawfish. "Crawfish is something my mom made all the time when I was a kid, so I can make crawfish in many forms," she says. "It's so New Orleans." Get the Recipe Save 20 of 22 Shrimp and Grits with Mustard Seed Chowchow Victor Protasio New Orleans chef Isaac Toups uses Bellegarde Bakery's stone-ground grits for their buttery popcorn flavor and creamy consistency, pairing them here with Cajun-seasoned sautéed shrimp. Chowchow, a tangy relish of tomato and bell pepper, can be made up to a week in advance. Get the Recipe Save 21 of 22 Chicken and Okra Gumbo © Quentin Bacon One of Louisiana’s signature dishes, gumbo is strongly influenced by Native American, French, Creole, and African cuisines. It typically includes okra, andouille or another 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. Get the Recipe Save 22 of 22 Louisiana Cheese Fries with Crayfish and Gravy © Jonny Valiant A crawfish boil can require a lot of time, energy, and patience. Crawfish meat on top of fries is less of a commitment, but even more drool-inducing with spicy pimiento cheese and andouille gravy. Swap out the crawfish — aka crayfish — with crab or shrimp for a different experience. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food Holidays & Occasions Mardi Gras Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit