30 Classic New Orleans Recipes

Photo: Teresa Sabga

Whether you're celebrating Mardi Gras or just feeling festive, feast on our versions of recipes―Cajun, Creole, and otherwise―inspired by the cuisine of Crescent City.

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Cajun Red Beans and Brown Rice with Andouille

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez

View Recipe: Cajun Red Beans and Brown Rice with Andouille

We use nourishing whole grains and mix in veggies to create a family dinner without the fuss. Prep the beans overnight to reduce cooking time the next day.

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One-Pan Jambalaya

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: One-Pan Jambalaya

This Jambalaya recipe is loaded with flavor thanks to a hit of Cajun seasoning and Andouille sausage. Andouille, a smoky, garlicky pork sausage, adds depth, but you can use any flavorful chicken or pork sausage. Pair this hearty recipe with crusty bread for dipping and serve it up at your next tailgate, office party, or casual weekend gathering. Jambalaya has a tendency to bring people together, so consider doubling the recipe and inviting neighbors.

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Saucy Crawfish with Whole Corn Grits

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Saucy Crawfish with Whole Corn Grits

Substitute shrimp for the crawfish, if you prefer. Toasting the flour brings nutty flavor to the sauce, similar to a brown roux. Microgreens make an elegant garnish.

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Cajun Crab and Quinoa Cakes

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Cajun Crab and Quinoa Cakes

These cakes are served with a simple tartar sauce to cool down the Cajun-style spice rub.

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Cajun-Spiced Smoked Shrimp with Rémoulade

Photo: Charles Masters

View Recipe: Cajun-Spiced Smoked Shrimp with Rémoulade

No grilling skillet, no problem: Thread the shrimp on skewers instead. The delicious, tangy, and cool rémoulade is the perfect condiment.

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Blackened Chicken with Dirty Rice

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Blackened Chicken with Dirty Rice

Bring classic New Orleans' fare to the table with this dazzling duo. Perfectly seasoned blackened chicken and spicy dirty rice make the perfect pair.

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Shrimp Po'boys

Photo: Randy Mayor

View Recipe: Shrimp Po'boys

New Orleans turns out one of the world's most exuberant sandwiches and calls it a poor boy: always joking down there, always delicious. Delightfully crunchy and deliciously messy, this lighter po'boy delivers classic satisfaction.

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Sheet Pan Jambalaya

Photo: Jamie Vespa

View Recipe: Sheet Pan Jambalaya

Admittedly, this is not a classic jambalaya recipe. But it does capture the ingredients and flavors that are characteristic of jambalaya—bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, sausage, shrimp, rice, and Creole seasoning. It’s just a chunkier, fresher take on the classic. Bell peppers, onions, and sausage get a head start on the pan, and then shrimp and tomatoes get added. As the veggies cook on the pan, they release some of their flavorful juices; and then you add the rice, which soaks up all the tasty liquid. It’s a perfect candidate for sheet-pan cooking.

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Crab Cakes with Spicy Rémoulade

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Crab Cakes with Spicy Rémoulade

Serve these succluent crab cakes over mixed greens with a side of this must-have rémoulade. Delicious crab, combined with crunchy panko crumbs, and crisp onions and peppers are the secret to our signature crab cakes. Cooking Light Editor Scott Mowbray raves, "These are the best crab cakes we've ever made!"

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Crab and Vegetable Gumbo

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Crab and Vegetable Gumbo

The gumbo-blend vegetables contain chopped celery, onion, bell pepper, corn, and okra. If you can't find this particular blend, substitute a mixture of frozen okra and corn.

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Pan-Fried Shrimp with Creole Mayonnaise

Photo: Johnny Autry and Randy Mayor

View Recipe: Pan-Fried Shrimp with Creole Mayonnaise

Serve a lighter version of fried shrimp with a creamy Creole dipping sauce. Fresh, seasonal veggies make the perfect accompaniment.

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Cajun Shrimp Linguine

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Cajun Shrimp Linguine

A jolt of ground red pepper spice things up nicely, while creamy half-and-half smoothes out the edges. Serve with Lemony Broccoli Spears.

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Chicken Gumbo

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Chicken Gumbo

This quick-cooking gumbo is a delight for both the cook and hungry diners. Don't be fooled by its speedy preparation: There's nothing basic about the flavor of this gumbo.

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Red Beans and Rice

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Red Beans and Rice

If you want stick-to-your ribs fare, this dish is it: The beans and brown rice deliver complex carbohydrates and protein, both of which take longer to digest. We love the smoky heat of andouille sausage, but regular smoked turkey sausage links or hot Italian sausage also work.

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Creole Shrimp and Creamed Corn

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Creole Shrimp and Creamed Corn

This dish is a fresh, tasty twist on shrimp and grits. The shrimp mixture takes on bold flavors from Creole seasoning, smoked paprika, thyme, and garlic—making for a robust mixture that’s complemented by the sweetness of the creamed corn. Aim for large shrimp here so the dish feels a little more special; we suggest 16/20 count shrimp or 10/15 count if you want them even bigger.

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Open-Faced Blackened Catfish Sandwiches

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Open-Faced Blackened Catfish Sandwiches

Don't skip out on the creamy cilantro slaw. It pairs wonderfully with oh-so-savory blackened catfish.

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Blackened Grouper Sandwiches With Rémoulade

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez

View Recipe: Blackened Grouper Sandwiches with Rémoulade

Firm white fish like grouper, tilapia, and mahi mahi are perfect for crusty sandwiches because they won't fall apart after cooking.

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Seared Cajun-Style Steak with Green Tomato Relish

Photo: Victor Protasio

View Recipe: Seared Cajun-Style Steak with Green Tomato Relish

Many seasoning blends now offer low- or no-salt options, making spice rubs an easy, instant way to spruce up quickly seared chicken, seafood, or steak without overdoing the sodium.

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Fried Catfish with Hush Puppies and Tartar Sauce

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

View Recipe: Fried Catfish with Hush Puppies and Tartar Sauce

Proof that you can get fried food to fit into a healthy diet. Coat the fillets and prepare the batter for hush puppies while you wait for the oil to come up to temperature. You can also make the tartar sauce up to two days ahead and keep it refrigerated.

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Smoky Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Smoky Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo

This is certainly not a soup to disrespect. To build all that great flavor with lower sodium, we began by making a quick homemade shrimp stock reduction, drawing lots of shrimp flavor from the shells. We slashed more sodium by ditching the sausage and instead using meaty chicken thighs for richness. The briny shrimp needed just a light dusting of smoked paprika to take the flavor to a whole new level—no extra salt required. Canola oil replaced saturated fat--heavy butter in the nicely darkened roux.

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Creole Deviled Eggs

Photo: Romulo Yanes

View Recipe: Creole Deviled Eggs

Chef Stage, of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in New York City, remembers his mother's deviled eggs, which he updates for this recipe with vibrant Creole seasonings.

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Brown Sugar Bourbon Sparkler

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Brown Sugar Bourbon Sparkler

This festive drink is the perfect choice, whether your letting the good times roll on Bourbon Street or celebrating this lively holiday in your own neighborhood.

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Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce

Photo: Randy Mayor

View Recipe: Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce

This bread pudding is a slimmer, trimmer, and top-rated (by our picky Test Kitchen judges) redesign. Baking Tip: The layer of sauce in the middle of the pudding is the secret to this velvety-rich interior.

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Oven-Fried Shrimp and Okra Louisiana Po'boys

Photo: Line T. Klein

View Recipe: Oven-Fried Shrimp and Okra Louisiana Po'boys

We buttermilk-battered shrimp and baked it in a hot oven to golden crispiness, adding fresh okra to the mix for some extra Gulf state color. Creamy caper-spiked remoulade keeps things moist, and hot dog buns make this Cajun country treat right-sized.

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Shrimp Étouffée

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

View Recipe: Shrimp Étouffée

This flavorful New Orleans classic is a quick meal that tastes like it has been slow cooking all day. Serve it with crusty French bread.

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Brennan's Bananas Foster

Becky Luigart-Stayner

View Recipe: Brennan's Bananas Foster

A hit in every dessert class, bananas foster was created at New Orleans's Brennan's Restaurant in the 1950s. For best results, be sure to use firm, ripe bananas.

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Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Photo: Iain Bagwell

View Recipe: Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Gumbo is usually a labor of love. The brilliant accelerator here is that we sauté chicken and veggies in the roux while it cooks and develops the trademark deep, rich color and nutty flavor (instead of browning the roux separately). Test Kitchen Director Vanessa Pruett says, “Drippings from authentic andouille sausage start a strong foundation, adding spicy, garlicky goodness to the dish.”

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Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Photo: Johnny Autry

View Recipe: Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Jambalaya is a classic Creole dish that combines rice with a variety of other ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, peppers and some type of meat or shellfish. This easy one-dish meal features both smoked sausage and shredded rotisserie chicken.

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Creole Tomato Salad

Randy Mayor

View Recipe: Creole Tomato Salad

New Orleanians rave about Creole tomatoes, grown exclusively in south Louisiana. If you can get them, they're perfect for this simple no-cook salad, but if you don't live in the area, use your favorite

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King Cake Cupcakes

Photo: Teresa Sabga

View Recipe: King Cake Cupcakes

King Cakes can be a portion-control nightmare. The cinnamon croissant-esque cake is topped with gobs of sticky-sweet glaze and buckets of colored sugar sprinkles. With our recipe makeover, you still have the experience of waiting for a yeast dough to rise and rolling it out. But instead of one big ring, we’re turning the dough into individual cinnamon buns. We keep the sugar numbers low by containing the sugar to a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle in the swirl and a tiny swirl of glaze on top. You’ll get all the flavors of your favorite Mardi Gras King Cake, but you won’t walk away feeling like you definitely understand why they call it Fat Tuesday.

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30 Classic New Orleans Recipes

1 of 30

Cajun Red Beans and Brown Rice with Andouille

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One-Pan Jambalaya

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Saucy Crawfish with Whole Corn Grits

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Cajun Crab and Quinoa Cakes

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Cajun-Spiced Smoked Shrimp with Rémoulade

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Blackened Chicken with Dirty Rice

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Shrimp Po'boys

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Sheet Pan Jambalaya

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Crab Cakes with Spicy Rémoulade

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Crab and Vegetable Gumbo

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Pan-Fried Shrimp with Creole Mayonnaise

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Cajun Shrimp Linguine

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Chicken Gumbo

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Red Beans and Rice

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Creole Shrimp and Creamed Corn

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Open-Faced Blackened Catfish Sandwiches

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Blackened Grouper Sandwiches With Rémoulade

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Seared Cajun-Style Steak with Green Tomato Relish

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Fried Catfish with Hush Puppies and Tartar Sauce

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Smoky Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo

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Creole Deviled Eggs

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Brown Sugar Bourbon Sparkler

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Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce

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Oven-Fried Shrimp and Okra Louisiana Po'boys

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Shrimp Étouffée

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Brennan's Bananas Foster

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