39 Over-the-Top Recipes for Fat Tuesday (2024)

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Fat Tuesday, as its name implies, is meant for feasting on rich, luscious foods. Here are dozens of Fat Tuesday recipes to splurge on before Lent begins.

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Blend of the Bayou

This casserole brings Mardi Gras right to your dinner table. Great for a group, this crab and shrimp dish packs a bit of heat. It’s cheesy, creamy, tangy and ready in just a pinch! Serve it along with the best Mardi Gras drinks.

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For another traditional Fat Tuesday food, try our paczki recipe.

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Shrimp Gumbo

Get your hot sauce ready for this Louisiana staple. Some choose to add tomatoes, bay leaf or another source of protein.

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New Orleans Beignets

Beignets are square-shaped pieces of deep-fried dough topped with confectioners’ sugar. This New Orleans food is notable from the square shape and the fact that it’s hole-less.

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Traditional New Orleans King Cake

King cake is a biblical reference to the story of the three kings. In honor of the three kings bringing gifts to Baby Jesus, there’s a tradition of hiding a little toy baby in the cake. Whoever finds it has one year of good luck!

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Crawfish Beignets with Cajun Dipping Sauce

Tis the season-ing for all things seafood. This savory twist on beignets is spicy and delicious. Not to mention it’s the perfect indulgent meal before Lent.

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Dutch Oven Red Beans and Rice

This one-pot meal is ready in just 30 minutes. If you don’t like spicy food, you can make it more mild in seasoning. However, this dish holds up in authenticity and makes a great go-to dinner.

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Muffuletta

Muffuletta originated in New Orleans. This iconic sandwich has layers of olive salad, mozzarella and meat.

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Easy Jambalaya

This potluck meal is made easy with jambalaya mix. And Fat Tuesday is all about making things easier for yourself. Actually, it’s about bulking up on food before abstaining for Lent. Same thing, right?

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Creole Scallop Cakes

Scallops? Fantastic. Crab cakes? Incredible. Scallop cakes? Absolute game changer. With a spicy honey aioli, you won’t be able to put these down.

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Bacon Shrimp Creole

Some have made this dish with tiger prawns or okra. However, on its own, this shrimp creole is packed with flavor. The bacon topping adds a nice crunch to round out the whole plate.

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Cheesy Cajun Shrimp and Grits

This southern comfort food is the change in breakfast you didn’t know you needed. It’s shrimp-ly the best!

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Cajun Chicken Lasagna

Have you ever wanted more from your lasagna? Of course not, Garfield taught us better than that! But this cajun chicken lasagna is a break from your usual routine. So keep on hating Mondays, but more importantly, keep on eating lasagna.

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Air-Fryer Shrimp Po’Boys

This coconut shrimp Po’Boy is anything but shrimp-le. The spicy remoulade makes for a well rounded sandwich that’s great for lunch.

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Zippy Praline Bacon

Breakfast just got a whole lot zippier. This sweet and spicy bacon veers off the usual track of bacon and eggs. There’s even additional texture with finely chopped pecans.

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Hush Puppies

Hush puppies are necessary for a fish dinner. A perfect side dish, you can’t go without the deep-fried cornmeal cakes during Fat Tuesday.

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Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

Red beans and rice is traditionally made on Mondays (to use up the leftover hambone from Sunday’s dinner), but there’s no reason why you can’t have it on Tuesdays, too. This version uses smoked turkey sausage, instead of smoked sausage, and adds some extra spice with red pepper flakes.

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Spicy Cajun Potato Salad

Cajun seasoning is the star of the show in this potato salad. If that’s not enough kick, you can add pickled jalapeños, pimento olives or peppers!

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Muffuletta Wellingtons

Inspired by the muffuletta, these sandwiches are baked inside pizza dough. A traditional Beef Wellington is beef tenderloin cooked into a puff pastry. However, these sandwiches are a simplified snack-version of the notoriously hard to master dinner.

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Crawfish Etouffee

Étouffée is usually served with shellfish over rice, and this one is no different. This dish is similar to gumbo, except that the broth is thicker. You can serve it with bread to mop up the leftovers.

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Bourbon Pecan Pralines

These pecan pralines are a simple candy that would be best served at a Mardi Gras party. They’re sweet, crunchy and rich!

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Lasagna Rolls

My Italian lasagna roll-ups are not complicated; they require only basic ingredients to assemble. Prepared spaghetti sauce helps me save time and get dinner on the table sooner. —Mary Lee Thomas, Logansport, Indiana

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Ragin’ Cajun Eggplant and Shrimp Skillet

One person’s overabundant garden is another person’s new favorite meal. This recipe was born out of a summer harvest that stretched into fall and we could not be more thankful for the result. The key components to this dish are shrimp, eggplant and tomato. But it wouldn’t be cajun without bell peppers and red pepper flakes. (This is the difference between Cajun vs Creole.)

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Bananas Foster Sundaes

Bananas Foster is a New Orleans original made from bananas and vanilla ice cream with a rum-based sauce. This recipe includes some outliers like orange juice and nutmeg. Orange you glad I didn’t say banana (juice)?

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Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie

This chocolate bourbon pie is the showstopper you didn’t know you were looking for. Prepare to dazzle your friends at your next party with this crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside delight.

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Cheddar Corn Biscuits

Red Lobster has nothing on these cheesy corn biscuits. The dough can be made ahead of time and frozen for a truly authentic restaurant experience.

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Louisiana Pecan Bacon Bread

You’ve never had bread like this before. With pecans, bacon, onion, green pepper, sugar and cream cheese, you truly won’t know what to expect. This sweet and savory bread makes for a great gift and an even better conversation starter.

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The Best Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is a Thanksgiving tradition in my house, and I was on a quest to create the ultimate version. This might be it!—James Schend, Taste of Home Deputy Editor

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Banana Beignet Bites

A fun take on traditional beignets, these are more rounded and banana flavored! Great for kids, or adults who like bananas, they’re ready in just 30 minutes.

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Shrimp Chowder

Nothing says Fat Tuesday like a shrimp chowder. This creamy and rich soup will have you ready for a nap. The only thing that can make this better is a side of garlic bread to go with it.

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Butterscotch-Pecan Bread Pudding

You’re not bread-y for how often you’ll crave this slow cooker dessert. Toppings like whipped cream and a butterscotch drizzle make this dessert absolutely irresistible.

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Cornbread Casserole

This freezer-friendly casserole is perfect for a party or potluck. Sprinkle chopped jalapeño peppers over this side for an extra bit of spice.

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Cajun Crab Burgers

A crab cake as a burger with cajun remoulade is nothing short of ingenious. This is the perfect Fat Tuesday lunch.

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Shrimp and grits has never looked so good. With Cajun seasoning, tomatoes and lemon juice, this breakfast is anything but bland. Start off your day with a bit of pep in your step.

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Crazy Delicious Baby Back Ribs

These tangy BBQ baby back ribs are exactly the type of fatty meats that embody Fat Tuesday. There’s a reason why they’re noted to be “crazy delicious”.

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Bananas Foster Baked French Toast

Nothing beats a dessert that’s thinly disguised as a breakfast food. With challah or egg bread, this Bananas Foster French Toast is pillow soft and great for a Mardi Gras breakfast.

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Coconut-Bourbon Sweet Potatoes

Coconut, bourbon and pecans are the driving force behind your new favorite dessert casserole. It’s the combination of yams and pecan pie that maybe you weren’t looking for, but now you definitely need.

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Oyster Cheese Appetizer Log

Imagine all the joy of a yule log cake but as an oyster cheese appetizer. It’s smokey, nutty and cheesy. Frankly, it’ll blow any cheese board out of the water.

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Southern Loaded Sweet Potatoes

This southern classic stuffs sweet potatoes with pork and coleslaw. Don’t make any spud-den movements as sweet and savory fight for dominance in this compact dinner.

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This spicy chicken spaghetti is a light pasta with heavy flavor. It’s only missing bell peppers to complete the Cajun holy trinity of onions, bell peppers and celery.

Alyssa has been with Taste of Home for just over a year, but has been in food and lifestyle publishing since 2018. As an associate editor, she writes and edits recipe collections and runs several newsletters, including Top 10, Slow Cooker & Casseroles, Quick Dinners and Balanced Plate.When she's not planning her next trip overseas, you can find Alyssa trying out new Chicago restaurants or watching a movie.