The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (2024)

If you are celebrating Mardi Gras, you will love these delicious, tried and true Gluten Free Mardi Gras recipes. They are perfect for any fat Tuesday celebration!

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (1)

Table of Contents

What is Mardi Gras?

Mardi Gras is a fun festival in late spring that is celebrated by many people in the world including France, Brazil, and the United States (especially New Orleans).

It is traditionally celebrated on the day before Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Mardi Gras is known for its colorful parades, costumes, masks, and parties, and is often associated with wild indulgence and partying, and over-the-top revelry. It is considered almost a kick-off for the period of fasting and reflection that comes with Lent.

If you have ever been to a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans, you know how much fun it can be. The downside is that it is often difficult to find gluten free foods in New Orleans. Mr. Fearless Dining was there for a conference, and it was a struggle for him to find gluten free things to eat there.

If you are new to gluten free, I have a lot of easy gluten free resources including this easy beginner’s guide to living gluten free.

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (2)

What do people eat at Mardi Gras?

During Mardi Gras, people often enjoy traditional cajun foods. Some of the more popular Mardi Gras dishes include:

  • Jambalaya: a Creole dish made with rice, vegetables, and meat or seafood.
  • Gumbo: a stew made with a roux base and typically containing meat or seafood, vegetables, and a blend of spices.
  • Crawfish Boil: a seafood dish made by boiling crawfish, potatoes, and corn in a spicy broth. If you have never made crawfish, this is a great crawfish boil tutorial to try!
  • Rice and Beans – a cajun rice and beans dish that often includes rice and beans and occasionally meat.
  • Beignets: a type of deep-fried doughnut dusted with powdered sugar, often served with café au lait.
  • King Cake: a sweet cake decorated with icing and sprinkles in the Mardi Gras colors (purple, green, and gold), often served during the festival season.

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes:

I like to start with dessert first because that is my favorite thing to make. The gluten free beignets are easy to make, and they are such a fun recipe!

Gluten Free Beignets

Sandi Gaertner

If you haven't tried making gluten free beignets yet, you are in for a special treat. These fried beignets are light and fluffy. They are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside!

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (3)

There are several meals that are considered traditional to serve over Mardi Gras. Here are my favorites:

Instant Pot Jambalaya

This Instant Pot Jambalaya recipe is a Cajun inspired one dish recipe with shrimp, andouille sausage, chicken and rice that will make a spicy dinner for your family.

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (5)

Gluten Free Jambalaya Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Sandi Gaertner

Easy jambalaya stuffed baked potatoes. This baked potato recipe is perfect for Mardi Gras!

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (6)

Cajun Rice and Beans with Sausage

Sandi Gaertner

A budget friendly delicious cajun rice and beans dish. This makes a hearty meal with lots of yummy leftovers!

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (7)

Crawfish Etouffe

If you are looking for a great crawfish etouffee recipe, this is the one! This recipe is made with all real food, clean ingredients and is gluten free.

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (8)

Shrimp and Grits

Creamy shrimp and grits is a classic Southern dish. Rich and full of flavor but quick enough to make for an easy weeknight meal.

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (9)

Gluten Free Air Fryer Catfish

Sandi Gaertner

Everyone will love this crispy delicious gluten free air fryer catfish. I also include stovetop frying directions for those who do not own an air fryer.

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (10)

Dirty Rice

This dirty rice recipe has yummy cajun flavors, hearty meat, and lots of aromatic veggies to make a super quick and delicious dinner!

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (11)

Lastly, here are a couple of easy appetizers to serve. They both have delicious cajun flavors.

Hot Jambalaya Dip

Everyone will love this Mardi Gras food as an addition to your Fat Tuesday party menu.

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (12)

Muffletta Deviled Eggs

These Muffuletta Deviled Eggs bring a taste of the Big Easy in a deviled egg to your Mardi Gras celebrations.

Check out this recipe

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (13)

The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (14)
The Best Gluten Free Mardi Gras Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are 3 traditional foods prepared during 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 is the most popular food in Mardi Gras? ›

One of the most popular dishes is King Cake, a sweet pastry that is decorated with colorful icing and sprinkled with sugar in the colors of Mardi Gras: purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Another popular Mardi Gras dish is gumbo, a stew made with seafood or meat, vegetables, and a roux-based sauce.

What is the trick to gluten-free baking? ›

Gluten-free flours often contain fine starches, so they absorb more liquid than conventional flour. To address this, gluten-free recipes usually call for more liquid and produce looser batters. They may also call for a larger quantity of leavening, like baking powder, to help add volume and lighten the texture.

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

Mardi Gras King Cake

They're traditionally sweet pastry shaped into a ring (like a crown) and covered with icing and colored sprinkles (gold for power, green for faith, and purple for justice). Whoever finds the toy baby inside their slice is king for the year (and has to bring the cake next Mardi Gras!).

What is the difference between gumbo and jambalaya? ›

What Are the Differences Between Gumbo and Jambalaya? The main difference between these two dishes is their use of rice. Gumbo is really a soup or stew that's often served over a little rice, while jambalaya is made with the rice cooked into the dish, making the grain an integral part of it.

What to avoid when cooking gluten-free? ›

If You're Given the Green Light to Cook

When you're eating gluten-free, you must avoid the grains wheat, barley, rye, and most oats. This is tricky because these grains and ingredients made from them are included in many packaged products.

What to avoid for gluten free baking? ›

Some baking ingredients that contain gluten (and thus are not suitable for a gluten-free diet) include:
  • Wheat.
  • Semolina.
  • Spelt.
  • Durum.
  • Emmer.
  • Einkorn.
  • Rye, sometimes referred to as pumpernickel.
  • Barley.
Mar 29, 2021

Can I just replace flour with gluten free flour? ›

Gluten-Free Bread Flour can be swapped 1:1 for all-purpose flour and bread flour by both weight and volume.

What is New Orleans signature dessert? ›

Beignets were first introduced to the city by the French-Creole colonists in the 18th century. The concept is simple – dough is fried then covered with mounds of powdered sugar – but the result is extraordinary.

What is the most popular dessert in New Orleans? ›

Beignets. Louisiana is so proud of this sweet pastry that in 1986 the legislature voted the beignet the official state donut.

What dessert was invented in New Orleans? ›

Bananas Foster is an American dessert that originated in New Orleans made with cooked bananas served in a butter, brown sugar and rum sauce. The caramelized liquor-based sauce is often prepared via flambé. This dessert can be served with vanilla ice cream or as a crêpe filling, but it may also be eaten on its own.

What are traditional foods for 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 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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