31 Mardi Gras Recipes to Celebrate Carnival with Cajun Flavor (2024)

31 Mardi Gras Recipes to Celebrate Carnival with Cajun Flavor

Slow Cooker Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya

A New Orleans feast isn't complete without a bowl of steaming hot jambalaya. The traditional dish features meat, rice, veggies, and a blend of Creole spices. For this Mardi Gras recipe, we used shrimp and chicken in a slow cooker version that will have you shouting "Yum!" after every bite. In a hurry? Try our one-pot jambalaya recipe that's ready in 30 minutes.

New Orleans-Style Muffuletta

Piled with Italian meats and cheese, a muffuletta is the ultimate deli sandwich Mardi Gras recipe to serve at your gathering. The homemade olive salad is the staple ingredient that defines this New Orleans classic and sets this sandwich apart.

Shrimp and Sausage Boil

Put on a delicious seafood boil to pay tribute to the Cajun South on your Mardi Gras menu. Shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and corn get fantastic flavor thanks to concentrated shrimp boil seasoning. Line the table with butcher paper and simply throw your seafood on the table so everyone can easily grab and eat. (The cleanup is a breeze, too!)

French Market Beignets

These fried dough pastries are a New Orleans tradition commonly enjoyed with a café au lait (coffee with hot milk). While they may not be quite like Café Du Monde's famous beignets, our homemade dough fries to perfection before getting topped with powdered sugar. They're best eaten fresh, so get 'em while they're hot!

Red Beans and Rice Soup with Cajun Chicken

This Mardi Gras recipe for red beans and rice gets the soup treatment. The chicken and smoked sausage as the protein become one of the most delicious one-pot meals you'll ever taste. Make it in a Dutch oven and serve it with a side of corn bread for a bit of sweetness to accompany the Cajun spices.

Cajun-Seasoned Vegetarian Gumbo

Gumbo is usually chock-full of seafood and/or meat, but this vegetarian Mardi Gras recipe for the thick, heavily spiced soup is a BH&G favorite. Thanks to tons of black beans, stir-fry veggies, and okra, you won't even notice there's no meat. Bonus: This gumbo's flavor develops beautifully in your slow cooker.

Red Beans Creole

Red beans and rice is a Mardi Gras recipe that's a staple dish any time of the year, but it's especially comforting on cool days. After simmering all day in the slow cooker, the beans and rice combo get a spicy Cajun kick.

Baked Cajun Seafood and Rice

Shrimp, crab, green bell pepper, onion, rice, and classic Cajun flavors combine in one dish for an easy and delicious Mardi Gras recipe. To keep your meal budget-friendly, use refrigerated lump crabmeat. It's delicious and less expensive than fresh crab. Look for it at the meat and seafood counter of your supermarket.

King Cake

Decorated in traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and yellow, king cake is first served on January 6, the Twelfth Night. If you want to follow the Carnival tradition, whoever gets the hidden token (usually a mini plastic baby, but in this case a pecan) in their piece becomes the king or queen for the week and bakes another king cake. This festive ritual continues each week until Mardi Gras, the day before Lent.

Lemon Icebox Pie

New Orleans restaurant Clancy's is known for its signature lemon icebox pie. So, if you can't make it to Louisiana, make your own. The tangy citrus-infused custard pie will help cool you down after enjoying all those spicy Mardi Gras recipes.

Cajun Snapper with Red Beans and Rice

Cajun seasoning, lemon peel, and parsley spice up fresh snapper for a slightly more sophisticated Mardi Gras recipe. Red beans and long-grain rice complete the dish. The quick-cooking fish and pre-cooked rice allow this dinner to come together in a flash.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Hard Sauce

Bread pudding served with a smooth, rich whiskey sauce is a New Orleans classic, making it a great Mardi Gras dessert option. Prepare this indulgent bread pudding recipe up to a day in advance to allow the bread to soak up all that delicious vanilla and white chocolate flavor.

Chicken Andouille-Stuffed Peppers with Roasted Green Beans

Stuffed peppers get a spicy boost from Cajun seasoning and andouille sausage with this easy one-pan recipe. Voila! Traditional Mardi Gras flavors are served in a nontraditional way.

Pralines

Pralines are a rich, sugary confection made from cream, pecans, and butter, popular in the South. The sweet treats are the perfect Mardi Gras recipe to end your celebratory seafood meal. Work quickly to drop the pralines onto parchment or wax paper once the mixture is at the correct temperature because it tends to harden fast.

Cajun Crawfish Étouffée

Étouffée means "smothered" in French, a Cajun and Creole technique of cooking veggies or meat in a small amount of liquid in a covered pan. So this crawfish Étouffée is not just delicious but also a traditional Mardi Gras recipe.

Bananas Foster Crisp

Back in the 1950s, bananas Foster was first created in New Orleans. Now the dish inspires all sorts of recipes, like this rich crisp. Split the recipe into two ramekins, a crème brulee dish set, or one pie dish to suit your serving preference.

Cajun Shrimp and Corn Bread Casserole

Shrimp and corn bread combine in this simple yet delicious Mardi Gras recipe you can make in a cast iron skillet. This casserole dish has black-eyed peas that hold the dish together and add an extra fiber boost.

Cajun Chicken Lasagna

If a classic lasagna frequents your regular family dinner menu, just wait until you try our Cajun version. This comforting dish is a perfect way to celebrate Mardi Gras while getting creative with those boneless chicken breasts sitting in the fridge.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

This jazzy gumbo is a great Mardi Gras recipe for any menu. A deep, coppery-brown roux and slices of okra are the secret to the dish's rich flavors and signature thick texture.

Gluten Free Creole-Style Shrimp and Grits

This gluten-free version of shrimp and grits is an excellent Mardi Gras recipe for anyone with allergy restrictions. If you don't have gluten-free flour, try our unbeatable homemade mix.

Cajun Chicken Salad with Cornbread Croutons

Yesterday's cornbread gets a new life with this flavor-packed salad recipe that is a satisfying switch from otherwise heavy winter dishes. It also takes only 35 minutes to prepare, so it's a great option for a weeknight dinner or a quick potluck side.

Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Dumpling Pie

For a quality Mardi Gras meal made in one-pot, this Cajun-infused dumpling pie is hard to beat. If you're out of Cajun seasoning, swap it out for Creole seasoning or mix up your own batch using our Test Kitchen's recipe at the bottom of the recipe.

Doberge Cake

Ingenious New Orleans bakers took the famous European dobos torte and fashioned this super-rich dessert. The doberge (pronounced DO-bash) cake is a tall confection constructed of many thin layers of moist cake separated by creamy custard and iced with different frostings. The traditional homemade cake makes a perfect Mardi Gras recipe to finish your meal.

Sausage and Egg Po' Boys

The classic New Orleans sandwich gets an early-morning twist with this hearty po' boy made from a spicy remoulade, breakfast sausage, hard-cooked eggs, and (of course) lots of your favorite hot sauce. If you have any remoulade leftover, it makes a great accompaniment to hash brown potato cakes or oven-roasted potatoes.

Salted Almond Praline Tart

Talk about a stunning dessert! Part cheesecake and part tart, this pretty pastry with a straight-from-Louisiana spin can be topped with whatever seasonal fruits you like—such as berries, sliced citrus, or fresh stone fruits. Just don't skimp on the sweet and crunchy salted almond praline topping. It's a game-changer!

Cheesy Grits Bowl

This take on classic Southern-style grits, loaded with smoked Gouda and white cheddar cheese, is a comfort-food Mardi Gras recipe. We've topped our bowl with sauteed wild mushrooms, but it's equally good with creme fraiche and fresh herbs.

Shrimp and Grits

Southern chef Sean Brock shares the shrimp and grits recipe he makes at home. Each bite is filled with flavor thanks to country ham, green onions, and butter. Add lemon juice to the dish to brighten things up.

Red Beans and Rice with Squash

Squash may be a nontraditional ingredient in red beans and rice, but it's in season during the winter months. This Mardi Gras recipe showcases the subtle sweetness of butternut squash when paired with smoked sausage and kidney beans.

Slow Cooker Cajun Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is a fan-favorite any time of year, but Cajun seasoning and hot sauce make this a must for Mardi Gras. Toss in cooked andouille sausage and bell peppers to make it a one-pan meal.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Pecan Praline Glaze

A rich vanilla bean cake gets even more decadent with a drizzle of homemade pecan praline glaze. This Mardi Gras recipe is best served for dessert at room temperature the day it's made.

Pretzel-Crusted Air-Fryer Crab Cakes

Put a new twist on classic crab cakes by coating them in pretzel crumbs and cooking them in the air fryer. They make a delicious and easy Mardi Gras appetizer recipe.