Healthier and Easy Mardi Gras Recipes (2024)

Main Dish | Mardi Gras

ByStephanie Wilson

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Celebrate the best of a Louisiana Mardi Gras with these classic and easy healthier Mardi Gras Recipes and ideas!

Healthier and Easy Mardi Gras Recipes (1)

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Easy Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Healthier and Easy Mardi Gras Recipes (2)

“Few dishes are more comforting than a warm bowl of gumbo. Read on to learn how to make the best batch ever.”

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Jambalaya

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“An easy Jambalaya recipe is pure comfort food filled to the brim with flavour. The aromatic trinity of Cajun/Creole cooking: onion, celery, and bell peppers (capsic*ms), sautéed in andouille drippings with garlic, herbs and Cajun spices! Adding chicken and shrimp to this pot of tomato rice makes this one amazing meal in the comfort of your own homes!”

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Quick and Easy Instant Pot Jambalaya

“Travel to Cajun country with this amazingly delicious Instant Pot Jambalaya. It’s truly one of my favorite Instant Pot rice dishes. The flavors transport you to Louisiana and it’s hearty enough to fill up your people. Its one-pot convenience makes it perfect” for Mardi Gras!

For a stove-top Jambalaya that is equally delicious, try my Easy One Pot Jambalaya!

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Garlic Clove Shrimp

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“This sweet and spicy shrimp dish features punchy Creole seasoning making it the best way to get your party started.”

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Stovetop Crawfish Boil

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“Nothing screams spring in New Orleans quite like a crawfish boil. The smells of fresh ground hot cayenne pepper, entire heads of whole garlic cloves, smoky paprika, simmering onions, and roasting thyme combining in the humid Louisiana air are a sure-fire sign that spring has sprung, and that Mardi Gras is right around the corner.”

You may also enjoy making Easy Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil!

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Shrimp and Sweet Corn Grits

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“Fresh corn gives this southern staple even more flavor.”

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Crawfish Étouffée

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“Crawfish Etouffee is a classic Louisiana dish with a buttery, rich, and intensely flavorful sauce and heaps of fresh crawfish tails, herbs, and spices. This fabulous dish’s secret is a good roux and the holy trinity with extra garlic thrown in. It’s guaranteed to have everyone asking for seconds or even thirds!”

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Shrimp and Grits Appetizer

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“Give what’s normally a main dish a new twist by serving it as a starter.”

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Cajun Crabcakes

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“Jalapeno remoulade complements the sweet taste of crab meat in this Louisiana classic.”

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Easy Cajun Gumbo Stew

Healthier and Easy Mardi Gras Recipes (11)

This easyCajun Gumbois a slow-cooked amazingly delicious stew, packed with flavor, vegetables, and served over cooked rice. This simplified recipe shaves hours from its traditional preparation without sacrificing flavor.

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Easy Beignets

Healthier and Easy Mardi Gras Recipes (12)

“Beignets are closely related to a fritter orfunnel cake.They are usually yeasted and raised doughs, but we skipped the yeast to create a super-simple and quick version. They are less sweet than a doughnut and dusted with powdered sugar instead of glazed.“

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Easy King Cake

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“This Easy King Cake is a Mardi Gras dessert or breakfast and it’s a twist on our family’s favorite Cream Cheese Tea Roll. The king cake is decorated with bold yellow, green and purple sugars, the colors of Mardi Gras, and filled with sweetened cream cheese before baking.”

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Banana Cream Pie Recipe

Healthier and Easy Mardi Gras Recipes (14)

“Bananas Foster is a classic New Orleans recipe, but the calories add up thanks to tons of butter and sugar — and then it’s poured over ice cream! Have all the flavor for a fraction of the fat and calories by opting for a Banana Cream Pie instead.”

Get the Banana Cream Pie Recipe by Ellie Krieger >>

More Recipes to Try

  • 45 Easy Lent Recipes for the Lenten Season
  • Easy Cajun Gumbo Stew
  • Easy One Pot Jambalaya
  • Simple Chicken Perloo: South Carolina Classic
  • Instant Pot Jambalaya Recipe: Incredibly Quick and Easy

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Healthier and Easy Mardi Gras Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are 3 traditional foods of Mardi Gras? ›

Try classic Mardi Gras recipes like shrimp étouffée, jambalaya, or red beans and rice, or fix something unexpected for a group of party guests like warm gumbo dip or cornbread hush puppies. No collection of Mardi Gras recipes would be complete without sweets.

What do the French eat on Fat Tuesday? ›

Candlemas (la Chandeleur) and Shrove Tuesday (Mardi-Gras) are the highlights and the tradition is to indulge in “crêpes”, the delicious thin French pancakes and “beignet”, French doughnuts which are crispy fried dough pastries dusted with icing sugar.

What is the sweet treat that people eat during Mardi Gras? ›

King Cake. You can't mistake a King Cake for anything else. This round, cinnamon-filled cake made with braided dough, covered in icing and colored sugar, contains a little plastic baby and is famous as a Mardi Gras dessert. The three colors symbolize justice (purple), faith (green) and power (gold).

What are you supposed to eat on Fat Tuesday? ›

Depending on your tradition, religion, or culture, people enjoy a variety of foods on Fat Tuesday, including pancakes, king cake, jambalaya, or a crawfish boil.

What to drink on Mardi Gras? ›

Hurricane co*cktails, sazeracs, and other New Orleanian specialties: browse more than 30 drink recipes that are perfect for celebrating Mardi Gras.
  • Mint Julep. ...
  • Sloe Gin Fizz co*cktail.
  • Spicy Bloody Mary Mix.

What do Catholics call Fat Tuesday? ›

Fat Tuesday is also called Shrove Tuesday. According to the Diocese of Little Rock, Shrove Tuesday comes from the term “to shrive,” meaning “to confess,” or to hear confessions–a way to prepare our hearts for the beginning of Lent dating back to the Middle Ages.

What is the new name for Fat Tuesday? ›

Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of consuming rich, fatty foods in preparation for the Christian fasting season of Lent, during which the consumption of such foods is avoided.

What do Italians eat on Fat Tuesday? ›

After the Epiphany until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday we enjoy Chiacchiere (crispy fried dough dusted with powder sugar or dipped in rich dark chocolate), Castagnole (fried soft dough filled with vanilla pastry cream or Sicilian ricotta), Frittelle (deep fried dough flavored with fennel seeds and golden raisins or ...

What dessert is famous in New Orleans? ›

Beignets. Sometimes called a "French donut," these decadent treats were brought to Louisiana by the Cajuns. A beignet is a square piece of dough that, once fried, forms a slightly doughy, slightly crispy pillow that is then the perfect canvas for a coat of powdered sugar.

What do Christians celebrate on Mardi Gras? ›

Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is traditionally celebrated on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of the Christian season of Lent. Mardi Gras, which marks the end of the Carnival season, is a Christian holiday celebrated globally on the day before Lent commences.

What is Mardi Gras what is usually eaten during this event? ›

But all over the world, Mardi Gras is a day to indulge in foods you don't normally get to indulge in. Rich, sweet fried doughnuts, thick meaty stews, and cake smothered in icing. Not just pancakes (though they're good too).

What is Mardi Gras traditionally? ›

Mardi Gras, festive day celebrated in France on Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday), which marks the close of the pre-Lenten season. The French name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, from the custom of using all the fats in the home before Lent in preparation for fasting and abstinence.

What are five traditional foods or drinks served on Valentine's Day? ›

Here's an overview of a few foods traditionally eaten on Valentine's Day.
  • Honey. Like love, bees can produce delicious sweetness and a harsh, bitter sting. ...
  • Herbs. Savory herbs bring out the flavor of many classic dishes. ...
  • Strawberries. ...
  • Wine. ...
  • Chocolate.
Feb 1, 2023

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