Plan one of these easy Mardi Gras recipes for a family-friendly dinner on Fat Tuesday and turn up the jazz music! You're just minutes away from a fun and festive family meal even on the busy weeknight.
When you want to "laissez les bons temps rouler" or "let the good times roll" for Mardi Gras but you're a busy parent and it's a school night, what are you supposed to do??
The answer? Turn to one of these easy Mardi Gras recipes for a simple family dinner to enjoy the holiday.
The Crockpot and Instant Pot recipes will help you get a festive meal on the table quickly and let you have a taste of New Orleans with your kids.
What is Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras is also known as "Fat Tuesday" and is the last day before Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent begins.
As a Catholic family, we observe the traditional fasting during Lent and abstain for meat every Friday until Easter. You can read about our favorite meatless meals for Lent here.
But on Fat Tuesday, it is the last day we get to enjoy a little bit of overindulging with all the meat and butter and sweets!
Mardi Gras Dinner Ideas for Families
Since Mardi Gras naturally falls on a Tuesday, we have to manage family dinner on a busy weeknight.
I love to plan ahead a few extra things to make the meal fun and festive for the kids even when we're super busy:
- Stream Some Jazz: This fun New Orleans Brass playlist by Spotify would make perfect dinner music for the evening.
- Declare the King or Queen: Hide a plastic baby inside your dessert and the person who finds it in their slice is declared king or queen of the rest of the night. (HINT: Tuck it into the dessert AFTER you bake it so the plastic doesn't melt!) We bought this hysterical plastic crown for my husband to wear instead of a party hat on his birthday and it comes out for Mardi Gras each year, too.
- Watch Disney's Princess and the Frog: If you have time after dinner, bring dessert into the living room and enjoy a viewing of this Disney classic! You can stream it on Amazon or Disney+.
20 Mardi Gras Recipes for Family Dinner
Celebrate Fat Tuesday at home with your family with the easy weeknight dinner recipes.
You'll find slowcooker and Instant Pot recipes to keep things simple and all the Cajun-inspired dishes to make your family feel like they're down in New Orleans for the night.
The first recipe that comes ot mind for Mardi Gras is this easy slowcooker jambalaya. You can serve it with or without the rice and it is a great prep-ahead dinner for a busy night.
If your kids don't like things spicy, this sweet bourbon chicken can be made in the slowcooker, too. Serve it over herby rice for a comforting meal.
One of my go-to Instant Pot cooking methods, I love that you can saute the sausage right in the pot before stirring it together with the rice and Cajun-seasoned tomato sauce.
This easy air fryer jerk chicken could also be roasted in the oven with those sweet red, orange, and yellow bell peppers with onions mix.
Serve it over my Charleston red rice or alongside my roasted sweet potatoes.
Sprinkle chicken tenderloins with a drizzle of olive oil and Cajun seasoning blend and cook them as directed in this air fryer chicken tenderloins recipe.
Chop up the Cajun chicken and stir it into this homemade alfredo pasta for a deliciously spicy mix. It would be awesome with roasted cherry tomatoes on top, too!
Use some Cajun seasoning to make this grilled tilapia recipe. Serve it with your favorite roasted veggies and a dollop of Charleston red rice.
This baked red rice with bacon is the perfect side dish for many of the dishes mentioned above!
Prefer festive Mardi Gras recipes but want to keep things on the lighter side? Try this sweet mojito salsa over grilled fish for a healthy alternative to the holiday meal.
Pasta is always a great choice when feeding kids and this baked cheese tortellini is always a hit with the crispy breadcrumb topping.
But is it appropriate for Mardi Gras?? YOU BET. There's Cajun seasoning mixed into that savory tomato sauce. But no worries, it's not too spicy.
Sweet corn, tender shrimp, and savory sausage are mixed into this hearty shrimp stew with pleny of Cajun flavor.
This comforting and creamy pasta rosa could use andoiulle sausage and Cajun seasoning in the mix if you want to make it especially festive.
Slice up spicy andouille sausage and mix it with the red peppers and red onion for this sheetpan dinner idea.
We LOVE using spicy sausages like andoiulle in this baked sausages and potatoes dinner. Pick up a Creole mustard for serving on the side.
Use crumbled chorizo if you want to make this savory sausage crescent roll swirl recipe a little spicier for the holiday. Use creole mustard in place of Dijon, too.
This decadent garlic butter shrimp skillet would definitely be a hit for Fat Tuesday! Serve it with toasted bread for soaking up every drop of the delicious white wine butter sauce.
Make a Cajun-inspired cocktail sauce and then serve this 3-minute seasoned shrimp recipe for dunking. It's a great snacky dinner to serve with other fun munchies for the family.
What's a holiday without a dessert? For the busiest nights, these shortbread pecan pie bars could be made ahead and are the perfect crunchy ending to your meal.
Looking for something a little more over the top? This bourbon cake has an awesome praline frosting for a double whammy on the night's theme.
Mardi Gras' most traditional dessert is the infamous king cake w ith purple, green, and yellow decorations on top. Who will find the plastic baby??
If my husband could pick just one dessert, he'd absolutely go with this bourbon bread pudding with raisins. YUM.
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