Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (2024)

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.

01of 22

Louisiana Lump Crab Cakes

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (1)

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

02of 22

Steak Diane

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (2)

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

03of 22

Blue Crab Beignets

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (3)

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

04of 22

Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Sweet Corn Coulis

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (4)

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

05of 22

Smoked Ham Hock and Lentil Soup

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (5)

"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

06of 22

Grillades and Cheesy Grits

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (6)

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

07of 22

Sweet Potato Pie

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (7)

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

08of 22

Pasta Salad with Feta and Herbs

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (8)

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

09of 22

Oysters Rockefeller

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (9)

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

10of 22

Curried Pumpkin and Buss Up Shut (Paratha Roti)

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (10)

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

11of 22

Shrimp and Grits with Mustard Seed Chowchow

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (11)

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

Shrimp and Crab Gumbo

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (12)

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

13of 22

Crème Fraîche Biscuits

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (13)

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

14of 22

Okra Gumbo with Blue Crabs and Shrimp

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (14)

In this recipe fromThe 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

15of 22

Creole Shrimp with Garlic and Lemon

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (15)

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

16of 22

King Cake with Caramel Crunch

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (16)

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

17of 22

Spicy Crab Spaghetti

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (17)

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 asfresh basil.

Get the Recipe

18of 22

Spicy and Sticky Baby Back Ribs

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (18)

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

19of 22

Bellegarde Bakery Ciabatta

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (19)

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

20of 22

Chile-Lime Crab Salad with Tomato and Avocado

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (20)

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

21of 22

Pita Bread

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (21)

Chef Alon Shaya of New Orleans' Shaya restaurantmakes 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

22of 22

Spiced Pickled Beets

Great Recipes from Top New Orleans Chefs (22)

Chef Martha Wiggins spices her pickled beets with cinnamon, bay leaves, allspice, and cloves for the perfect co*cktail snack.

Get the Recipe