Colorful & Fun Mardi Gras Desserts (2024)

Whether it is Fat Tuesday or you are just looking for some tasty sweets, these 30 Mardi Gras desserts will make you feel like you are in the French Quarter of New Orleans celebrating the memorable holiday.

Mardi Gras takes place the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, indicating the start of the Lent season (History).

Even those who don’t celebrate the religious aspects of the holiday will love getting to indulge in delicious foods, especially the popular desserts that come around at this time of year.

Most are familiar with the well-known King Cake for celebrating Mardi Gras, but there are many variations of this classic that can give you a unique treat post-dinner including a King Cake Cheesecake or King Cake Rice Krispie Treats.

However, King Cakes are not the only way to enjoy this holiday.

A Mardi Gras Trifle or Mardi Gras Macarons can be new ways to satisfy your sweet tooth and may become your new favorite dessert for the annual holiday.

If you are hosting a party, a Mardi Gras Candy Charcuterie would be sure to please everyone.

Regardless of which of these Mardi Gras desserts you decide to make, you will be blown away by the endless options for celebrating Mardi Gras!

For any celebration, cupcakes are always a great choice for dessert but with the colorful frosting on these, it is especially perfect for Mardi Gras.

While these look like professional treats, it is simple enough for even beginner bakers to create.

As an extra surprise, you can add a Mardi Gras baby or even add colorful sprinkles inside the cupcake before you frost it all.

There are a few different steps involved in making these cream horns but overall it is not complicated and the end result is well worth the extra time that is dedicated to this dessert.

Chocolate ganache, colorful drizzle, and sweet cream make this a dream-worthy dessert.

Even better, this can be baked for almost any occasion with the right colored drizzle.

Finding a cinnamon roll recipe that only requires two ingredients for the dough is a sure sign of a winner!

Greek yogurt is key for the dough but the options for flavors are endless.

The colorful sugar sprinkles make this perfect for the theme and can even be made at home if you are struggling to find the right mixture in the store.

This bite-sized sweet tastes just like what you would get at a bakery.

Keep in mind the fun process of preparing these may make a bit of a mess and leave you with sticky hands but when you see everyone grabbing for seconds and thirds, you will not think twice about what it took to create these pastries.

Homestyle biscuits make the base of this monkey bread but all of the extra ingredients add a special touch making this perfect for a sweet breakfast or even for a late-night treat.

The cinnamon, pecan, and sugar mixture the biscuits are rolled in soaks up while it is baking meaning that each bite will be delectable.

No monkey bread is complete without the icing on top and with the colorful sprinkles, it adds more to the Mardi Gras desserts festivities.

Grape, lime, and yellow jello with whipped cream and sprinkles are all that are needed for this themed dessert.

As simple as this is to make, it is sure to be a crowd-pleaser thanks to the fruity flavors, cold colors, and sweet sprinkles on top.

Rarely will you find a Mardi Gras celebration without a King Cake but if you want to try something new from the classic flavors, this cheesecake will bring a nice change of pace.

A cinnamon roll batter makes the base of the cake with a classic cheesecake filling and frosting all on top.

A cinnamon sugar swirl adds to the fun and makes this dessert irresistible after the first bite!

These deep-fried pastries are very popular in New Orleans where Mardi Gras is not just a holiday but a full-blown festival to celebrate the special day.

With each color signifying a different value, these eye-catching beignets will be gone in a flash when you set these out as Mardi Gras desserts.

Even if making these seem intimidating at first, rest assured that by following the instructions provided, it’s a breeze!

The colors of this cake roll appear swirled when it is all rolled up giving it a beautiful appearance to go along with the delicious cinnamon cream cheese filling.

There is nothing out of the ordinary in this ingredient list which means it is very likely that you have everything you need for your cake roll ready in your kitchen.

Even the meringue is easy to make with easy-to-follow steps!

When it comes to sweets, there is no such thing as too much which means that the sprinkles, M&M candies, and white chocolate all add up to an indulgent dessert for Mardi Gras.

There is no baking involved in creating this bark.

After the ingredients are all mixed together, all it needs is to cool in the fridge!

Paczki are Polish donuts that are made on Mardi Gras to get ready for the upcoming Lent.

Even though donuts are typically breakfast foods, it takes a bit of time to prepare this so it is much more enjoyable to have this for dessert rather than waking up early to have a sweet breakfast ready.

These fried treats are filled with jam and covered in sugar making them an unforgettable choice for dessert.

Even if you are inexperienced in the kitchen, this dessert will be a breeze to make and perfect for serving guests or taking them to a party.

Marshmallows are skewered together with candy melt drizzled on top.

As long as you use purple, yellow, and green candy melts for the traditional Mardi Gras colors, this is going to be a fine choice for your dessert.

The rum frosting of these cookies is especially delicious and can make anything taste amazing, even if you decide to use the break-and-bake sugar cookies that can be bought at your local grocery store.

Feel free to be generous when frosting your cookies with this special rum frosting and add as many sprinkles as you would like when decorating!

For an alcohol-free version, you can substitute milk or half and half.

Cutting up and serving slices of King Cake at a party is very common at a Mardi Gras party but to make things a little easier, baking up these bites will let everyone serve themselves quickly.

Crescent rolls are filled with cinnamon and cream cheese for a decadent sweet treat.

Icing and colored sugar in purple, yellow, and green will have your dessert screaming Mardi Gras!

While this may seem more of a snack than a dessert, the sweet additions make it perfect for grabbing a handful as you end your Mardi Gras night.

Muddy Buddies make the base of this treat, but if you would rather prepare your own, they are easy to prepare with instructions included.

Feel free to be a little wild with the chocolate melts and the M&Ms to make it feel more like a dessert!

Are there any celebrations that are not made better with the addition of yummy cupcakes?

Mardi Gras is not an exception to this!

With the bright colors and smooth buttercream frosting, you will definitely be glad you decided to bake these.

There are many ingredients that make this treat but they all come together perfectly for an irresistible treat!

Pretzels make up the base with nuts, Rolo candies, and sprinkles all adding to the fun of celebrating a day that is all about eating and indulging.

This all comes together in about half an hour but despite how fast and easy it is to make, it will be a real crowd-pleaser.

Macarons can be tricky to prepare but that gives you the perfect excuse to practice making these in the days or weeks leading up to Mardi Gras.

These have a cinnamon cream cheese filling, reminiscent of a classic King Cake.

There are many different ways to decorate these macarons including swirling the colors, adding sprinkles, or drizzling melted white chocolate on top.

Originating in New Orleans, bananas foster is always a delicious choice for dessert but can be slightly adapted to make it perfect for a Fat Tuesday dessert.

Some rum adds a bit of a kick while King Cake flavored ice cream adds extra cinnamon flavor.

Even if you decide to use vanilla ice cream, the resulting dessert is an especially delicious way to celebrate Mardi Gras.

The Oreo balls that make the base of the truffles only require two ingredients with an optional plastic baby added in.

Since this is a no-bake dessert, you can expect to have two dozen truffles ready in about 15 minutes!

The quick preparation of this means you can make a batch for yourself to snack on as you prepare the batch that is designated to be shared with others!

Creating your own pound cake for Mardi Gras is a guaranteed way to have a moist, vibrant, and pleasing dessert that is not always found on a dessert table on Fat Tuesday.

Between the cinnamon swirl within the cake and the sweet glaze poured on top, this dessert is both fun to make and fun to eat.

For a holiday that is all about treating yourself and indulging in all of your favorite foods, this charcuterie board made of candy is an exciting way to celebrate.

Sticking to the colored theme of the holiday, purple, green, and gold candies are used for this dessert board.

Some great options to include on your charcuterie board are jelly beans, chocolates wrapped in foil, M&Ms, lollipops, and sprinkles, but you can use whatever your favorite candies are for this.

If you want to cut back on the time spent in the kitchen baking your Mardi Gras desserts or want to explore something new, these Rice Krispie Treats are a delicious way to please everyone.

Cereal, marshmallows, and colorful frosting make this perfect for adults and children alike.

A fun change to make could be using buttercream frosting with food coloring for an extra creamy touch.

For a more elegant dessert, these trifles are perfect for Mardi Gras.

Cake crumbs are layered with frosting for this treat meaning that each bite gives you something mouth-watering and delicious.

If you prefer to use something besides frosting, some great options are buttercream, whipped cream, mascarpone, or white chocolate ganache.

While pecan pralines are not always associated with Mardi Gras, this caramel cookie is straight out of New Orleans so it is fitting for a Fat Tuesday celebration.

These are loaded with crunch from the pecan with a melt-in-your-mouth caramel surrounding it all.

The cookies become hard when they are all set so you will want to keep them in an airtight container to keep the crisp crunch that comes with biting into them.

Mardi Gras takes place at the end of winter or the beginning of spring so by baking a lemon cake, you get a lot of fresh spring flavors.

Lemon oil and lemon syrup add special flavors but lemon zest can also be added.

The inside of the cake gives you a beautiful swirl with traditional Mardi Gras colors while the sprinkles on top of the glaze add to the theme.

These cookies have an impressive design but with a fleur de lis cookie press, the task of shaping the cookies is made much easier.

These have a classic spritz cookie taste but with extra decor from food coloring, sanding sugar, and gold dragees.

Double-stuffed Oreos are the key to these beautiful and tasty cookies but the vibrant chocolate melts and gold sugar sprinkles make it the beautiful dessert you will find yourself making every Mardi Gras!

Aside from melting the chocolate, there is no baking involved with these cookies so they can be prepared very easily.

The most difficult part of this is letting the cookies rest in the fridge for an hour since you will want to start snacking right away.

If Mardi Gras is a big celebration in your household, these are a great way to let the kids get involved in preparing some treats.

There is a lot of freedom in how to decorate these so they can make each one unique from the others.

If you prefer to make these yourself, they also are perfect for a party favor or to package and share with friends.

These are a fun twist on cake pops, with the added benefit of fitting into the Mardi Gras theme.

Crumbled chocolate cake makes the base of your cakesicles with the added benefit of rum making these taste more like Mardi Gras.

Sprinkles and candy melts also add to the festive appearance of this Mardi Gras dessert.

The bottom line