Food World Cuisines North American Cuisines Cajun and Creole Cuisine Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs By Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 6, 2023 Trending Videos Photo: Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen New Orleans is a city rich with many things, not the least of which are its culinary traditions. If you find yourself in the Crescent City, the list of must-visit restaurants is decidedly long, from iconic mainstays like Commander's Palace to legendary neighborhood spots such as Dooky Chase and relative newcomers Campère Lapin and Turkey and the Wolf. Many of these destinations originated or re-create classic dishes among our best New Orleans recipes, from gumbo to Gulf shrimp and grillades. If a trip is not in the cards anytime soon, or if you're looking to serve a memorable New Orleans dining moment for Mardi Gras or a themed meal, this recipe roundup features dishes from some of the city's best chefs. Try your hand at Emeril Lagasse's Oysters Rockefeller, Kelly Fields' King Cake with Caramel Crunch, or Isaac Toups' shrimp and stone-ground grits — whatever you choose, it's bound to be delicious. 01 of 22 Louisiana Lump Crab Cakes Denny Culbert Melissa Martin of Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans shared this recipe from her book, Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou. “When you grind shrimp in a food processor, it becomes sticky, and just a small amount will hold crabmeat and smothered vegetables together well enough to form into patties,” she advises. “You’ll need a pound of crab meat for this recipe.” Get the Recipe 02 of 22 Steak Diane Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen When planning the 1998 reopening of the Emeril's Delmonico in New Orleans after a historic renovation, chef Emeril Lagasse wanted to bring back the tableside service that was so popular in dining rooms long ago. Steak cooked Diane-style has come to mean sautéing thinly sliced or pounded filet mignon in butter and then flambéing and basting it in a luxe Cognac sauce; Lagasse adds sliced mushrooms to the pan for more rich flavor. Get the Recipe 03 of 22 Blue Crab Beignets Greg DuPree Chef Justin Devillier's beignet batter thinly coats a creamy, warm crab filling with a crisp, light crust. The batter is loose and can be tricky to shape at first; keep frying and practicing — your beignets will improve with each batch. These are ideally eaten while still very hot, so make them while enjoying aperitifs in the kitchen. Get the Recipe 04 of 22 Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Sweet Corn Coulis Photog by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Tender, juicy sweet peas and yellow corn kernels make for a light and refreshing salad atop a silky, creamy corn coulis in this easy-to-double recipe by Meg Bickford of Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Tangy sour cream and buttermilk balance the natural sweetness of the vegetables and Gulf shrimp. Get the Recipe 05 of 22 Smoked Ham Hock and Lentil Soup Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell "I love making this lentil soup when the weather begins to cool," says 2017 Food & Wine Best New Chef Nina Compton, chef-owner of New Orleans hot spot Compère Lapin. "The ham hock aroma hangs around the kitchen beautifully; the smell alone makes you warmer. Adding a little ginger and lemongrass brightens the soup and reminds me of being back home in St. Lucia. Using local okra reminds me of my Louisiana home and adds a different texture." Get the Recipe 06 of 22 Grillades and Cheesy Grits Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley A New Orleans classic, grillades rely on succulent beef top round that’s cooked low and slow for hours until it becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender. Served with savory, cheesy grits and a luscious gravy using the fond from the beef, chef Michael Gulotta’s grillades and grits is comfort food at its finest. Get the Recipe 07 of 22 Sweet Potato Pie Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones Chef Susan Spicer's sweet potato pie is seasoned with cinnamon, allspice, and freshly grated nutmeg, but it's the bourbon-pecan praline sauce poured on top that gives this pie a New Orleans accent and sets it apart. Get the Recipe 08 of 22 Pasta Salad with Feta and Herbs Eric Wolfinger This Southern-inspired pasta salad from Mason Hereford’s Turkey and the Wolf gets a touch of tangy heat from hot sauce and loads of crunch from nutty sunflower seeds. Use Duke’s mayonnaise for an extra-tangy bite to the dressing. Get the Recipe 09 of 22 Oysters Rockefeller Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen First created at Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans in 1899, this famous baked oyster dish was named for the Rockefeller family because of its incredibly rich sauce. Try making it at home with star chef Emeril Lagasse's expert recipe. Get the Recipe 10 of 22 Curried Pumpkin and Buss Up Shut (Paratha Roti) Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Chef Nina Compton's curried pumpkin is packed with warm spices, aromatic ginger, and rich coconut milk for a perfectly balanced bite. Fresh habanero chiles add a touch of fruity heat to the chunks of tender pumpkin and softened callaloo leaves. Buss up shut gets its name from "busted-up shirt," which describes the flatbread's torn, crinkled texture, perfect for sopping up flavorful curry. Get the Recipe 11 of 22 Shrimp and Grits with Mustard Seed Chowchow Victor Protasio New Orleans–based chef Isaac Toups loves Bellegarde Bakery's stone-ground grits for their creamy texture and buttered popcorn flavor. Chowchow can be made up to a week in advance and is delicious with grilled meats or other rich dishes. Get the Recipe 12 of 22 Shrimp and Crab Gumbo © Tina Rupp This gumbo from chef-owner Donald Link of Herbsaint in New Orleans owes its flavor to the roux, a mix of flour and oil that's cooked until it's coffee-colored. Get the Recipe 13 of 22 Crème Fraîche Biscuits © Petrina Tinslay When they're not adding a Southern ingredient to a French recipe, chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing (former executive chef of Brennan's) are adding a French ingredient to a Southern recipe. Here, crème fraîche takes the place of buttermilk in these extremely fluffy biscuits. Get the Recipe 14 of 22 Okra Gumbo with Blue Crabs and Shrimp © John Kernick In this recipe from The Dooky Chase Cookbook, the legendary New Orleans chef Leah Chase used okra — and lots of it — to thicken this no-roux gumbo, along with the traditional Creole trinity of onions, bell peppers, and celery. Get the Recipe 15 of 22 Creole Shrimp with Garlic and Lemon © Quentin Bacon Eco-minded chefs are cooking with wild American shrimp, but not just for ethical reasons. "They taste cleaner and crisper, since they swim in the tides," says Tory McPhail, former longtime executive chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Get the Recipe 16 of 22 King Cake with Caramel Crunch Oriana Koren Pastry chef Kelly Fields of NOLA's Willa Jean bakery makes this traditional Mardi Gras dessert with a caramel crunch layer to give the rich cake more texture. "With cream cheese icing for a less-sweet approach, I find myself craving this cake year-round," she says. Get the Recipe 17 of 22 Spicy Crab Spaghetti Victor Protasio At Pêche in New Orleans, chef Ryan Prewitt uses a light sauce to dress his housemade whole-wheat pasta recipe. Look for fresh crabmeat, not pasteurized, as well as fresh basil. Get the Recipe 18 of 22 Spicy and Sticky Baby Back Ribs © Quentin Bacon To create the flavorings for these ribs, chef Donald Link combines eight spices for a rub and prepares a barbecue sauce with homemade pork stock. An easier way is to cut back the number of spices in the rub to the five essentials and use canned beef broth in the barbecue sauce. Get the Recipe 19 of 22 Bellegarde Bakery Ciabatta Victor Protasio At Bellegarde Bakery in New Orleans, baker Graison Gill is part of a generation of renegade bakers who are eschewing industrially ground white flour in favor of grinding their own flours from crops like red Ruby Lee wheat and heirloom corn. This recipe uses yeast rather than sourdough starter, which lets the flavor of the fresh flour come through. Get the Recipe 20 of 22 Chile-Lime Crab Salad with Tomato and Avocado © Anna Williams The mix of fresh crab, avocado, and juicy heirloom tomatoes here is a classic combination. But chef Sue Zemanick makes it seem new by tossing the salad with a vibrant, spicy dressing spiked with jalapeño. Get the Recipe 21 of 22 Pita Bread Laura Rege / Food & Wine Chef Alon Shaya of New Orleans' Shaya restaurant makes these beautiful pita breads in a 700°F wood-burning oven. You can recreate the heat at home with a pizza stone and your broiler. Shaya recommends letting the dough rise for the full two days for the best flavor. Get the Recipe 22 of 22 Spiced Pickled Beets © John Kernick Chef Martha Wiggins spices her pickled beets with cinnamon, bay leaves, allspice, and cloves for the perfect cocktail snack. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! 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