Gather the beads, wear your faux-feathered face mask and glitzy costumes, and indulge in these three traditional Mardi Gras recipes all made vegan.

Mardi Gras – which translates to "Fat Tuesday" in French – is all about cheerful celebrations and rich, fatty foods to fill up on before the 40-day long fasting period leading up to Easter known as Lent. The bolder the costume and richer the desserts, the better.

So, whether you're celebrating the holiday at the parade in New Orleans or at home, start your celebrations with a comforting bowl of vegan gumbo for lunch or dinner made with soy sausage, vegetables, spices, and more. Typically, all eyes are on the colorful, vibrant dessert table, so save room for the best part.

After dinner, dancing, and a day of celebrations, keep the party going by enjoying vegan baked beignets covered in powdered sugar and treating yourself to the famous yellow, green, and purple ring-shaped king cake. Inside the cake hides a tiny porcelain baby, and if you end up with the baby in your slice, tradition dictates that you will be the one to buy or bake the cake for next year's Mardi Gras celebration.

1. Vegan Gumbo

This easy vegan gumbo is delicious, heartwarming, and full of flavor and texture, a perfect dish to serve for Mardi Gras. Traditional Louisiana gumbo is made with meat and/or seafood, but you won’t miss those ingredients in our vegan version thanks to a well-flavored broth and a lovely mix of veggies.

Vegan Gumbo is totally customizable, so feel free to give or take whatever ingredients you like. Vegetables like cauliflower, mushrooms, green beans, spinach, sweet potatoes, or tomatoes would all work great here. Instead of brown lentils, you can use white, black, kidney, or pinto beans, black-eyed peas, or corn. Flavor your broth the way you like with extra chili, garlic, tomato sauce, or herbs. And add extras like vegan sausage, beefless strips, or konjac ‘shrimp’.

Recipe: Vegan Gumbo

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2. Vegan Baked Beignet

Celebrate the Mardi Gras parades and festivities by baking a batch of airy, fluffy beignets. Traditional Beignets are typically deep-fried, but baking is much easier! Not everyone has a deep fryer and deep-frying in a pot or pan can be too much of a task.

Now, because these are baked they won’t be as rich as their deep-fried counterpart. But if you want to indulge in some deep-fried dough (we don’t blame you if you do), then don’t worry; we've got you covered! You can still use the same recipe to fry these up. If you are going to fry it, just be sure to do it in batches and not all at once!

Recipe: Vegan Baked Beignets

3. Vegan King Cake

Celebrate Mardi Gras with a colorful Vegan King Cake decorated with beads and sprinkles. This King Cake is moist and tender, with a delicious cinnamon filling and sweet vanilla icing. Traditionally King Cake is made with butter, eggs, and milk, but our version is completely dairy-free and vegan.

This cake is easy to make with a few simple ingredients, however, it can take a while to make it (with proofing and cooling times), so it’s best to prepare the cake the day before, then decorate it on the day of your party.

Don’t forget to hide a little plastic baby inside your cake (or just decorate with it, to avoid any choking hazards)! Tradition says that whoever finds the baby will be brought luck and prosperity, and will have to provide the cake for next year's celebration.

Recipe: Vegan King Cake Recipe

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