Mardi Gras food works best as one long table instead of one big dish. A pot of something dark and slow-simmered anchors the room, a few trays of handheld things keep people circulating, and the sweets wait until the savory plates are empty.
That order matters more than any decoration you could hang: start with the roux, end with the powdered sugar.
A few allergens run through this whole spread, worth knowing before you shop. Shrimp and crawfish show up often, the breading and roux lean on wheat flour, and the dips and desserts both reach for butter and cream, so flag that to anyone who asks what is in the queso. Swaps are noted where they genuinely help, never as an afterthought.
Three recipes near the end carry alcohol, so keep this spread for a grown-up guest list and pour the Hurricane and the Sazerac for the adults only, with something non-alcoholic within easy reach for anyone driving home.
If the room itself still needs work, 21 Mardi Gras Party Ideas With Plenty of Color and Spice covers the beads, the masks and the table before a single pot goes on the stove.
None of this needs a trip to a specialty market. Andouille, crawfish tails and Cajun seasoning sit in most grocery stores by late January, and every dish below scales up with a bigger pot rather than a second recipe.
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Table of Contents
- Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya
- Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
- Crawfish and Shrimp Queso Dip
- Muffuletta Sliders
- Shrimp Po Boy Sliders
- Red Beans and Rice
- Boudin Balls
- Cajun Shrimp and Grits
- Maque Choux
- Crawfish Etouffee
- Shrimp Remoulade Shooters
- Hurricane Cocktail
- Sazerac Cocktail
- Mardi Gras Jello Shots
- Beignets
- Pecan Pralines
- King Cake Bites
- Bananas Foster
- Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya
This is the pot that should be simmering when the first guest walks in, because the smell does half the hosting for you. One pan, one pot, rice that drinks up everything around it: jambalaya is the most forgiving of the big Louisiana dishes, and it holds on the stove for an hour without sulking.
Watch the lid, not the clock, for the last ten minutes. If you lift it to check, the rice loses steam and cooks unevenly, so trust the timer and your nose instead.
Ladle it into shallow bowls rather than deep ones: jambalaya is a dish you want to see all the way across, sausage and rice in the same spoonful.
Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
- 12 ounces andouille sausage sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 can 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- Salt and black pepper to finish
- 3 green onions sliced, for serving
- Hot sauce for serving
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
- Add the chicken and andouille, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on the outside.
- Remove the chicken and sausage to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
- Add the onion, bell pepper and celery, and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion turns translucent.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
- Return the chicken and sausage to the pot, add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, rice, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, thyme, bay leaf and cayenne if using, and stir well.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes without lifting the lid, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from the heat and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes, so the rice finishes absorbing and separates when fluffed.
- Remove the bay leaf, fluff with a fork, adjust the salt and pepper, scatter green onion on top, and serve hot with hot sauce.
Good to Know
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Gumbo is the one dish on this table that argues for starting early, because the roux alone takes half an hour of real attention. Give it that time and the payoff is a pot that tastes like it has been on the stove all day, even on a weeknight.
The color of the roux is the whole test: keep whisking until it looks like melted dark chocolate, not a shade lighter. Walk away too soon and the gumbo stays thin; scorch it and the whole pot turns bitter.
Serve it the New Orleans way, ladled over rice already in the bowl rather than rice on the side, so every spoonful carries both.
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-size pieces
- 12 ounces andouille sausage sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup frozen sliced okra optional
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Cooked white rice for serving
- File powder and sliced green onion for serving
Instructions
- Whisk the oil and flour together in a heavy pot over medium heat to start a roux.
- Cook the roux, whisking constantly, for 20 to 30 minutes, until it turns the color of melted dark chocolate.
- Add the onion, bell pepper and celery straight into the hot roux and stir for 3 minutes, until slightly softened.
- Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds more, until fragrant.
- Whisk in the chicken broth 1 cup at a time, making sure each addition is smooth before adding the next.
- Add the chicken, andouille, bay leaves, Cajun seasoning, thyme and cayenne, and bring to a gentle boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes, until the chicken is fork-tender and the broth coats the back of a spoon.
- Stir in the okra, if using, during the last 10 minutes, until tender but not mushy.
- Remove the bay leaves, taste, and season with salt and black pepper.
- Ladle the gumbo over rice in each bowl and finish with file powder and sliced green onion.
Good to Know
Crawfish and Shrimp Queso Dip
This is the dip that earns its spot before anyone has sat down, because it needs nothing but a bag of chips and a warm bowl. Crawfish and shrimp turn an ordinary queso into something that actually tastes like Louisiana instead of a game-day shortcut.
Keep the heat low once the cheese goes in: processed cheese melts smooth but scorches fast, and a grainy queso cannot be fixed, only hidden under more cream.
If crawfish tail meat is hard to find where you shop, doubling the shrimp instead works just as well.
Crawfish and Shrimp Queso Dip
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp chopped small
- 1/2 pound cooked crawfish tail meat roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 can 10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
- 1 pound processed cheese cubed
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 2 green onions sliced, for serving
- Tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and bell pepper, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the shrimp and cook 2 minutes, until pink and opaque.
- Add the crawfish and diced tomatoes with green chiles, and stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low, then add the processed cheese, pepper jack and heavy cream.
- Stir constantly for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cheese melts into a smooth dip that coats the back of a spoon.
- Stir in the Cajun seasoning and cayenne if using, then taste and adjust.
- Transfer to a warm bowl, scatter green onion on top, and serve with tortilla chips, keeping it warm over low heat.
Good to Know
🛍 Shopping guide
Muffuletta Sliders
The full-size muffuletta is a two-hand, napkin-ruining sandwich, which is exactly wrong for a party where people are also holding a drink. Shrinking it to sliders keeps the olive salad and three meats but makes it something she can eat standing up.
Letting the rolls bake together in one tray and slicing after is the move: it keeps the filling in place and means one pan feeds a crowd instead of twelve fussy assemblies.
The olive salad is doing most of the flavor work here, so do not skimp on it even if the jar looks small.
Muffuletta Sliders
Ingredients
- 12 slider rolls left connected in their tray
- 1 cup olive salad giardiniera, olives and garlic, chopped fine
- 4 ounces thinly sliced salami
- 4 ounces thinly sliced ham
- 4 ounces thinly sliced mortadella
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Slice the connected rolls in half horizontally as one piece, keeping top and bottom intact, and set the bottom half in the pan.
- Spread the olive salad evenly over the cut side of the bottom half, letting the oil soak in slightly.
- Layer the salami, ham and mortadella over the olive salad, covering edge to edge.
- Lay the provolone over the meat, then set the top half of the rolls back in place.
- Stir together the melted butter, garlic powder and oregano, then brush over the tops of the rolls.
- Cover loosely with foil and bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
- Uncover and bake 3 to 5 minutes more, until the tops are lightly golden.
- Rest for 2 minutes, then cut along the roll lines into 12 sliders and serve warm.
Good to Know
🛍 Shopping guide
Shrimp Po Boy Sliders
A full po boy is a loaf of French bread and a lot of commitment. The slider version keeps the crunch and the sauce but fits in one hand, which matters when the room is standing and talking and nobody wants to put their drink down.
Fry the shrimp close to serving time: a coating that sits too long in the fridge goes soft, while the sauce and rolls hold perfectly well waiting on the counter.
If she would rather skip frying altogether, a quick toss of the shrimp in a hot skillet with the same seasoning works nearly as well.
Shrimp Po Boy Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- Vegetable oil for frying (about 2 cups)
- 12 slider rolls split
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Creole mustard
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 tomato thinly sliced
- Dill pickle slices for serving
Instructions
- Soak the shrimp in the buttermilk for 15 minutes at room temperature.
- Stir together the cornmeal, flour and Cajun seasoning in a shallow dish.
- Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until a pinch of cornmeal sizzles immediately, about 350°F.
- Lift the shrimp from the buttermilk, letting excess drip off, then dredge in the cornmeal mixture, pressing gently to coat.
- Fry the shrimp in batches for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden, crisp and curled into a loose C shape.
- Drain the fried shrimp on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Stir together the mayonnaise, Creole mustard and hot sauce to make the spread.
- Split the rolls and spread the sauce on both cut sides.
- Layer lettuce, tomato, a few shrimp and a pickle slice on each roll, close, and serve right away while the shrimp are crisp.
Good to Know
Red Beans and Rice
Red beans and rice is the dish locals eat on a Monday, which tells you everything about how little fuss it asks for. Canned beans instead of dried ones get this on the table inside an hour without losing the point of it.
Mash a few beans against the side of the pot as it simmers: that is what thickens the liquid into something that clings to the rice instead of running off it.
It is also the cheapest dish in this whole spread, built from pantry beans and one package of sausage.
Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound smoked sausage sliced into rounds
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cans 15 ounces each red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 smoked ham hock optional
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Cooked white rice for serving
- Sliced green onion and hot sauce for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, add the sausage, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until browned.
- Add the onion, bell pepper and celery, and cook 5 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the beans, broth, ham hock if using, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, bay leaves and thyme, and stir.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover, and simmer 35 to 40 minutes, mashing a few beans against the pot to thicken.
- Remove the ham hock if used, shred the meat, and stir it back in.
- Remove the bay leaves, taste, and season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon over bowls of white rice and top with green onion and hot sauce.
Good to Know
Boudin Balls
Boudin balls look like a lot of effort and take about twenty minutes, most of it rolling. The filling is already cooked and already seasoned, so all a host is really doing is breading and frying.
Shape them ahead and chill the tray: cold balls fry up with a crisper shell and hold their shape better than ones breaded at room temperature.
Serve them with something cool to dip into, since the filling comes out of the fryer genuinely hot.
Boudin Balls
Ingredients
- 1 pound boudin sausage casings removed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- Vegetable oil for frying (about 3 cups)
- Remoulade sauce or Creole mustard for serving
Instructions
- Scoop the boudin filling into a bowl and divide into 20 even portions, about 1 1/2 tablespoons each.
- Roll each portion into a smooth ball between your palms, pressing out any air pockets.
- Set up a breading station: flour in one dish, beaten eggs in a second, panko mixed with Cajun seasoning in a third.
- Roll each ball in flour, dip in egg, then coat fully in the panko, pressing gently so it sticks.
- Heat the oil in a deep pot to 350°F, checked by dropping in a pinch of panko that should sizzle and rise immediately.
- Fry the balls in batches of 5 or 6 for 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until deep golden on all sides.
- Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- Cool 2 minutes, then serve warm with remoulade sauce for dipping.
Good to Know
Cajun Shrimp and Grits
Shrimp and grits reads like a breakfast dish until the Cajun seasoning and bacon fat get involved, and then it reads like the main event. Keep it in a chafing dish or a slow cooker on warm and it covers brunch and late-night snacking in one bowl.
The grits are the part people rush, and rushing is exactly what makes them gritty. Twenty full minutes of low simmering, stirred often, is what turns them creamy.
If stone-ground grits are not on the shelf, quick grits work too, just watch the package time instead of the one here.
Cajun Shrimp and Grits
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup stone-ground grits
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup chicken broth for the sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 green onions sliced, for serving
Instructions
- Bring the 4 cups of chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan.
- Whisk in the grits, reduce to low, cover, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often, until thick and no longer gritty.
- Stir in the cheddar and butter until melted, season with salt and pepper, and keep covered off the heat.
- Toss the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning in a bowl.
- Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, until crisp, then remove it, leaving the fat behind.
- Add the shrimp to the fat and cook 2 minutes per side, until pink, opaque and curled.
- Add the garlic and red bell pepper and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Pour in the 1/4 cup broth and lemon juice, scraping up browned bits, and simmer 1 minute until slightly thickened.
- Spoon the grits into bowls, top with the shrimp and sauce, and scatter bacon and green onion on top.
Good to Know
Maque Choux
Every Mardi Gras table needs one dish that is not meat, rice or fried, and maque choux is it: sweet corn in a light cream sauce, bright enough to sit next to anything on this list.
Frozen corn works just as well as fresh, which matters if Mardi Gras lands before the corn stands do.
It also happens to be the dish vegetarian guests can actually eat without substitutions, if you leave out the bacon.
Maque Choux
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 slices bacon chopped, optional
- 1 small onion diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 4 cups corn kernels fresh or frozen
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 green onions sliced, for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, add the bacon if using, and cook 4 minutes, until it begins to crisp.
- Add the onion and both bell peppers, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the corn and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, until the corn turns bright yellow and smells toasted.
- Pour in the heavy cream and Cajun seasoning, and stir to combine.
- Simmer 5 to 7 minutes, until the cream reduces slightly and coats the corn.
- Taste and season with salt and black pepper.
- Spoon into a bowl, scatter green onion on top, and serve warm.
Good to Know
Crawfish Etouffee
Etouffee means smothered, and that is the whole technique: crawfish tails folded into a roux-based sauce just long enough to warm through, never long enough to toughen.
The roux here is lighter than gumbo’s, cooked only to the color of peanut butter, so do not let it run past that stage or the sauce turns bitter instead of nutty.
Shrimp stands in perfectly if crawfish tail meat is not sitting in the seafood case that week.
Crawfish Etouffee
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups seafood or chicken broth
- 1 pound cooked crawfish tail meat
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Cooked white rice for serving
- Sliced green onion for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, then whisk in the flour to make a roux.
- Cook the roux, whisking constantly, for 5 to 7 minutes, until it turns the color of peanut butter.
- Add the onion, bell pepper and celery, and cook 5 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, and cook 1 minute, until the paste darkens slightly.
- Whisk in the broth a little at a time until smooth, then stir in the Cajun seasoning and cayenne.
- Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it coats the back of a spoon.
- Stir in the crawfish and simmer 5 minutes more, just until heated through.
- Season with salt and pepper, then spoon over rice and scatter green onion on top.
Good to Know
Shrimp Remoulade Shooters
These are the one item on the table built to be picked up and finished in two bites, no plate required, which makes them the easiest thing to pass through a crowded room.
Layer the tomato and avocado before the shrimp goes in: it keeps the colors distinct instead of muddy, and it gives the spoon something to cut through on the way down.
Build them in small clear plastic cups if the party is standing-room only; they survive a packed buffet table better than glass does.
Shrimp Remoulade Shooters
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium shrimp peeled and deveined, tails removed
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning for the poaching water
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Creole mustard
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 cup finely diced avocado
- 1/2 cup finely diced tomato
- 2 tablespoons finely diced celery
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 12 small clear shot glasses or shooter cups
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the Cajun seasoning, then add the shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until pink and curled.
- Drain and plunge the shrimp into ice water for 2 minutes, then drain again and pat dry.
- Chop the cooled shrimp small, setting aside 12 whole shrimp for the rims.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise, Creole mustard, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, hot sauce and garlic.
- Fold the chopped shrimp and diced celery into the sauce, then season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon a layer of diced tomato into each glass, followed by a layer of diced avocado.
- Top each glass with a mound of the shrimp remoulade.
- Chill at least 30 minutes, until cold throughout.
- Just before serving, hook one whole shrimp over the rim of each glass.
Good to Know
🛍 Shopping guide
Hurricane Cocktail
No New Orleans drinks table is complete without the Hurricane, the sunset-colored rum punch that started as a way to move surplus rum and became the city’s signature glass.
Shake it hard and strain it over fresh ice, then let the grenadine sink on its own rather than stirring it in: that slow pour over the back of a spoon is what gives the drink its layered color.
For a crowd, batch the rum and juices in a pitcher ahead of time, the way 12 Big Batch Cocktails for a Party Where the Host Gets to Sit Down lays out, and add the grenadine float to each glass as you pour.
Hurricane Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 ounces light rum
- 2 ounces dark rum
- 2 ounces passion fruit juice
- 1 ounce orange juice
- 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 1/2 ounce grenadine
- Ice
- 1 orange slice and 1 maraschino cherry for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Add the light rum, dark rum, passion fruit juice, orange juice, lime juice and simple syrup.
- Shake hard for 15 seconds, until the shaker feels ice-cold to the touch.
- Fill a hurricane glass with fresh ice.
- Strain the shaken cocktail into the glass.
- Slowly pour the grenadine over the back of a spoon so it sinks and pools at the bottom.
- Garnish with the orange slice and cherry, and serve with a straw.
Good to Know
🛍 Shopping guide
Sazerac Cocktail
The Sazerac is New Orleans’ other claim to cocktail history, older and drier than the Hurricane, and it rewards a host who takes the extra thirty seconds to rinse the glass properly.
Chill the glass first, stir rather than shake so the drink stays clear, and use the absinthe only as a rinse: it should perfume the glass, not flavor the whole pour.
Serve it to guests who find the Hurricane too sweet; it is the grown-up option on the same bar cart.
Sazerac Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1/4 ounce absinthe for rinsing the glass
- 2 ounces rye whiskey
- 1/4 ounce simple syrup
- 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
- Ice for stirring
- 1 lemon peel for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a rocks glass in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.
- Pour the absinthe into the chilled glass and swirl to coat the inside completely, then discard the excess.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice, then add the rye whiskey, simple syrup and bitters.
- Stir for 20 to 30 seconds, until the mixing glass feels very cold.
- Strain the cocktail into the absinthe-rinsed glass, with no ice.
- Twist the lemon peel over the glass to release its oils, then drop it in or rest it on the rim.
Good to Know
Mardi Gras Jello Shots
These are the purple, green and gold cups everyone photographs before anyone drinks one, and they take patience more than skill: three thin layers, each one set firm before the next goes on.
Pour each layer only once the one below is firm to the touch; a warm layer poured too soon melts straight into the one underneath and the colors bleed together.
Swap the vodka for an equal amount of cold water in any or all layers to make a batch safe for a mixed crowd, and label the tray clearly either way.
Mardi Gras Jello Shots
Ingredients
- 1 3 ounce package lime gelatin
- 1 3 ounce package lemon gelatin
- 1 3 ounce package grape gelatin
- 3 cups boiling water 1 cup per flavor
- 1 1/2 cups cold water 1/2 cup per flavor
- 1 1/2 cups vodka 1/2 cup per flavor
- 24 small plastic shot cups 2-ounce size
Instructions
- Set 24 shot cups upright in a muffin tin or on a rimmed baking sheet so they stay steady while you pour.
- Stir the lime gelatin into 1 cup boiling water until fully dissolved, about 2 minutes, with no grains visible.
- Whisk in 1/2 cup cold water and 1/2 cup vodka.
- Pour a thin layer, about 1/2 inch, into each cup, then refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes, until firm to the touch.
- Dissolve the lemon gelatin in 1 cup boiling water, whisk in 1/2 cup cold water and 1/2 cup vodka, and let it cool to room temperature.
- Once the green layer is firm, pour an equal layer of the yellow mixture over it, then refrigerate another 30 to 40 minutes, until firm.
- Dissolve the grape gelatin in 1 cup boiling water, whisk in 1/2 cup cold water and 1/2 cup vodka, and cool to room temperature.
- Pour the purple layer over the firm yellow layer, filling each cup almost to the rim.
- Chill at least 2 hours, until all three layers are fully set and spring back gently when pressed.
- Keep refrigerated until serving, and peel each cup away or let guests push the shots out themselves.
Good to Know
Beignets
Beignets are the reason the sweets go last: a plate of hot, pillowy squares under a blizzard of powdered sugar is the exact right note to end a spicy table on.
Let the dough rise fully before rolling it out. Rushed dough fries up dense instead of airy, and the whole point of a beignet is that first bite of mostly air.
Dust them heavily while they are still warm; the sugar melts slightly into the surface instead of sitting on top and sliding off.
Beignets
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water 110°F
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 packet
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 7 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 1/4 cup shortening softened
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Stir the warm water, granulated sugar and yeast together, and let sit 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy on top.
- Whisk in the eggs, evaporated milk and salt.
- Add 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth, then add the shortening and remaining 3 cups flour, mixing to a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- Knead on a floured surface for 3 to 4 minutes, until smooth.
- Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, until roughly doubled.
- Punch down the dough and roll it out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut into 2-inch squares with a knife or pizza cutter.
- Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a deep pot to 360°F, checked with a thermometer.
- Fry in batches of 4 to 5 for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until puffed and golden, flipping once.
- Drain on a paper towel-lined rack.
- Cool 2 minutes, then dust heavily with powdered sugar while still warm, and serve immediately.
Good to Know
Pecan Pralines
Pralines are candy, not baking, which means the whole recipe lives or dies on one number on a thermometer rather than on timing or technique.
Watch for soft-ball stage, 235°F, and stop the moment it hits: a few degrees past that and the pralines turn hard and grainy instead of creamy.
They keep for two weeks on the counter, which makes them the one sweet here that can be made well before the party starts.
Pecan Pralines
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes.
- Clip on a candy thermometer and cook, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 235°F (soft-ball stage), 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove from the heat immediately, and stir in the pecans and vanilla.
- Beat with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes, until it turns from glossy to slightly matte and starts to thicken.
- Working quickly, drop heaping tablespoons onto the prepared sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.
- Let cool and harden at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, until firm enough to lift without bending.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Good to Know
King Cake Bites
A full king cake needs a bakery trip and a plastic baby somebody might choke on at a crowded party, so these bites keep the colors and the cinnamon without either problem.
Freeze the shaped balls for fifteen minutes before dipping; a ball that is still soft falls apart the second a fork goes near the melted chocolate.
Alternate the purple, green and gold sugar across the batch rather than coating every ball the same way, so the tray reads as one spread instead of twenty identical candies.
King Cake Bites
Ingredients
- 1 box 15.25 ounces yellow cake mix, baked and cooled completely
- 1/2 cup cream cheese frosting
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 16 ounces white chocolate melting wafers
- Purple green and gold sanding sugar, for decorating
Instructions
- Crumble the cooled cake into fine crumbs in a large bowl, until no large chunks remain.
- Add the cream cheese frosting and cinnamon, and mix until the crumbs clump into a moist, uniform dough.
- Roll into 30 balls, about 1 tablespoon each, pressing firmly so they hold together.
- Place on a parchment-lined tray and freeze 15 minutes, until firm to the touch.
- Melt the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, until smooth.
- Dip each ball into the melted chocolate with a fork, turning to coat completely, then tap off excess.
- Set the dipped balls back on the tray.
- While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle each with a stripe of purple, green or gold sanding sugar, alternating across the batch.
- Refrigerate 30 to 45 minutes, until the shell is fully set and hard to the touch.
- Keep chilled until serving, and let sit at room temperature 5 minutes before eating.
Good to Know
Bananas Foster
Bananas Foster was invented in New Orleans and still shows off best tableside, caramel bubbling around soft banana halves while a scoop of ice cream waits underneath.
If an open flame near the stove makes anyone nervous, skip the flambe step entirely and simply simmer the rum in for a minute instead; the flavor difference is small.
Spoon it over the ice cream the second it leaves the pan: the sauce keeps cooking in the bowl, and that is part of the point.
Bananas Foster
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 just-ripe bananas halved lengthwise and crosswise
- 1/4 cup dark rum
- 1/4 cup banana liqueur optional
- Vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it becomes a smooth, bubbling caramel.
- Lay the banana pieces cut-side down in the caramel and cook 2 minutes, until they soften and the edges turn golden.
- Carefully flip and cook 1 minute more on the other side.
- Remove the skillet from the heat, pour in the rum and banana liqueur if using, then return to the heat.
- Tilt the pan to let the alcohol catch the flame if cooking on gas, standing back with a lid nearby, or simply simmer 1 to 2 minutes until the alcohol smell mellows and the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
- Spoon the warm bananas and sauce immediately over scoops of vanilla ice cream, and serve right away.
Good to Know
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking?
Cajun cooking is rustic, roux-based country food from Louisiana’s Acadian settlers and skips tomatoes, while Creole cooking is the city version that layers in tomatoes, butter and French technique.
Why is there a baby hidden inside king cake?
The tiny plastic baby represents the Christ child from the Epiphany story, and tradition holds that whoever finds it in their slice has to host the next king cake party.
Do you need alcohol to celebrate Mardi Gras?
No, alcohol is not required to celebrate Mardi Gras. A spread of jambalaya, gumbo and beignets carries the whole party on its own, and any of the cocktails here can be poured as mocktails instead.
How far ahead can Mardi Gras food be made for a party?
Gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee and red beans all taste better a day later and reheat well on the stove; fried items like boudin balls and po boy shrimp are best shaped ahead but cooked just before guests arrive.
How much food should I plan per person for a Mardi Gras spread?
For a buffet with several dishes like this one, plan on about 1 to 1.5 cups total of the main savory dishes per person, plus one or two bites each from the smaller appetizers and desserts.
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