boasts the best music, entertainment, and food in all of America, so compiling a list of my favorite New Orleans recipes was no easy task.
There are so many fantastic recipes to choose from. There are obvious (but still delicious) things like gumbo, jambalaya, rice, beignets and pralines.
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However, those aren’t the only things New Orleans chefs continually do well
.
Even “simple” food, such as cornbread, fried okra, and cookies, tastes better in
New Orleans.
It took me quite some time, but I was finally able to narrow down a list of 25 of my favorite New Orleans/Cajun recipes.
You could call them “the best of the best,” I suppose.
What do you think of NOLA cuisine? What dishes are your favorites?
1. New Orleans Gumbo
You’ve never had gumbo
until you’ve had New Orleans gumbo, and that’s just a fact. NOLA’s chefs make gumbo like no one else in the world.
This recipe is probably the best I’ve found for authentic New Orleans gumbo
.
The chicken is tender, the sausage is juicy and tasty, and the shrimp add just the right amount of umami flavor
.
In addition, there are also plenty of vegetables, herbs, and condiments for you to enjoy. This gumbo recipe is hard to beat.
Arabic numeral. Jambalaya
People often confuse jambalaya and gumbo, but the two are actually very different. Gumbo
is more
like a stew, while jambalaya is a thick and filling rice dish
.
The two share similar ingredients: peppers, onions, sausages, chicken, shrimp, and more
.
Both are also extremely filling and full of spices and flavor. Jambalaya is a little less soupy.
3. Dirty Rice
First of all, the dirty rice you can buy in a box is not Louisiana-style dirty rice. On the one hand, it lacks beef, pork sausage and vegetables.
Secondly, this dirty rice recipe is the stuff! It only takes 30 minutes to do, requires minimal practical work and tastes great.
Served primarily as a side dish, this dirty rice could easily be a meal in itself
.
4. New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
For me, this dish is completely about spices and sauce. Shrimp is totally secondary.
It could be pork, beef or chicken under all that sauce, and I’d still love it anyway
.
Both the spice mix (paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt) and the sauce (butter, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and water) are perfectly delicious.
I
love food, and I’ve discovered many great combinations of ingredients over the years, but those particular ingredients taste great together.
They make shrimp spicy, smoky, tasty and only slightly salty
.
Plus, garlic and butter make everything taste better. Trust me in this: meat doesn’t matter in this dish.
5. Red Beans and Rice
Authentic New Orleans-style red beans and rice take about an hour to make, but they’re super delicious and worth the time it takes you to prepare
.
It’s earthy and herbaceous, and has just the right amount of heat
.
Whether you add the sausage or leave it out, this is a dish you won’t want to miss
.
6. New Orleans Muffuletta
A great muffuletta has four key components: good bread, crispy and tasty olive salad, tender meat, and the perfect selection of cheeses
.
This recipe does exactly well. Everything from the top of the sandwich to the bottom is a grade A-quality muffuletta ingredient.
It leaves nothing out and doesn’t add unnecessary things
.
Also, if you pre-pre-pre-make your olive salad, you can put the entire sandwich together in just 10 minutes
.
7
.
We usually think of beignets as sweet and fried desserts. These crayfish beignets are nothing like that.
They’re fried, but that’s where the resemblance to
sweet beignets ends.
These are crunchy seafood products, and every bite is filled with onions, shrimp, crayfish, and cayenne pepper
.
The Cajun dipping sauce is sour and tasty, and perfectly complements the beignets
.
8. Brabant Potatoes
These potatoes are buttery and full of garlic flavor, and are some of the tastiest you’ve ever eaten
.
In addition, they require only seven ingredients (two of which are salt and pepper) and are ready in just 30 minutes
.
They have crispy skins, but their interior is soft and tender. I also like to add some diced scallions to mine.
9. Fried
okra
may sound crazy, but the closest I’ve come to replicating NOLA-style okra is with this imitation fried okra recipe from Cracker Barrel
.
The breading is thick and well seasoned, and the okra is fresh and crunchy
.
It’s the perfect accompaniment or a tasty midday snack that you can eat on the go
.
10. Maque Choux Corn
This spicy, creamy corn dish is a staple at most Mardi Gras celebrations, but with this recipe, you can make it in the comfort of your home
.
All you’ll need is corn, butter, onions, peppers, jalapeños, Cajun seasonings, salt, and heavy cream
.
You can have it ready to serve in just over half an hour
.
11
. Sweet Cornbread
This cornbread is sweet, crumbly and delicious. All ingredients are common pantry staples, and you can do it without any problems.
For an extra treat, add a topping of syrup, honey or butter before serving
.
It also tastes great with salty foods like rice and beans, gumbo or buttermilk
.
12. New Orleans Beignets
If you know
anything about New Orleans cuisine, then you already know what
beignets are.
Sweet, fried and covered in powdered sugar, these sweet rolls put donuts to shame
.
They take a while to make because the dough has to go up, but the recipe is not complicated and you will love the results.
Some people like to serve their beignets with chocolate sauce or jams, but for me, they are perfect just as they are, no extras are needed.
13. Po’Boy Shrimp
Most of the work on these delicious sandwiches goes into making the creamy Cajun sauce. Fortunately, even that is not very difficult.
If your shrimp are precooked, it’s just a matter of assembling.
If you have to cook the shrimp first, it will take you about 20 minutes to make the sandwich.
There’s not much, just bread, Cajun sauce, shrimp, cabbage, and seasonings, but you don’t need anything else to taste phenomenal.
14. New Orleans Po’Boy Rolls
You can’t make a po’boy if you don’t have the right rolls for the job
.
This recipe shows you exactly how to make these hot, fluffy rolls using just six everyday ingredients
.
15. French Room Cheese Spread
This delicious cheese spread is creamy, crunchy, sweet and salty at the same time
.
The cheese is soft and rich, and the sugary nuts on top take it to another level
.
Serve with crackers, fruit slices or vegetables
.
16
. Popeye cookies If you’re going to make cookies, you could also make the best cookies, and
Popeye cookies are definitely the best
.
Dense, flaky, and wonderfully crispy on the outside, these cookies will quickly rise to the top of your “favorites” list.
17. Popeye’s
French Fries Popeye’s isn’t
lazy when it comes to potato chips either. I think it’s the seasoning that makes them so delicious.
Coated with chili powder, sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic, oregano, paprika, turmeric and onion powder, these potato chips are too good
.
18. New Orleans Grillades and Grits
Tender, juicy beef chops, thick tomato and herb sauce, and vegetables sautéed on a bed of warm grits, just thinking about it makes my belly rumble
.
This meal takes some time to prepare, but once you take the first bite, you will agree that it was worth it.
You won’t need side dishes, either. This hearty meal will fill you up.
19. French Bread from New Orleans
French bread
may not seem that impressive, but it’s super tasty
.
The exterior is perfect, crispy golden brown, and the interior is dense, padded and highly absorbent
.
It is the ideal bread to drink gumbo or dip in garlic butter or creamy Cajun sauce
.
20. New Orleans Baked Mac
and Cheese Call it baked
macaroni and cheese, baked spaghetti, or anything else you like. This baked dish is cheesy, creamy and a little spicy.
It’s not like
most macaroni and cheese you’ve tried, but it’s not exactly like spaghetti either
.
It’s a unique dish that’s hard to describe, but it’s excellent nonetheless
. 21. New Orleans
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
The name says it all with this famous New Orleans dessert. It’s a warm, flaky cake crust filled with chocolate, bourbon and pecans.
It’s like a chocolate cake, nut cake and a hard glass of bourbon, all wrapped in a delicious dessert
.
Take this to a family gathering and you’ll come home with an empty cake tray
.
22. New Orleans Hurricane Cocktail
The Sazerac may be New Orleans’ “official cocktail,”
but the hurricane is one of the most popular. There’s not a bar in
all of NOLA that can’t make a bad hurricane, but who needs a bar when you can do it at home?
All you’ll
need is some dark and light rum, orange, passion fruit, and lemon juices, grenadine and some fruit to decorate
.
A couple of these, and you’ll be drunk in no time
.
23. Bananas Foster
You can make this delicious dessert in about 15 minutes with just seven ingredients
.
Bananas are sweet and tropical, and the ice cream and dark rum sauce add even more sweetness and complexity to the already fantastic dish
.
24
. New Orleans Pralines
Chewy, nutty and exceptionally sweet, pralines are a New Orleans delicacy that not everyone can do well
.
However, with this recipe, you should be able to make excellent golden-brown pralines without too much trouble
.
And if you get it wrong the first couple of times, don’t worry about it. That just means you can eat the “mistakes” and try again.
25. New
Orleans King Cake
No New Orleans recipe list is complete without a King Cake. This light and colorful cake is a tradition of the carnival season.
You’ll love the beautiful swirl inside, and the multicolored sugary icing is equally appealing.
Make sure you don’t forget to add the baby! Someone in your circle of friends needs that year of good luck.
