New Orleans is one of the most fascinating, historically and culturally rich cities in the entire world, so it makes sense that their cuisine would fall into the “world-class” category, too.

It’s a place that really values tradition, passing recipes down from generation to generation, honoring identity and community while doing so. If you really want to understand this beautiful place, you need to first learn how to cook its cuisine properly.

The best way to do so is by taking one of the 5 top New Orleans cooking classes, where you’ll learn from expert locals who know the ins and outs of NOLA like no one else. Let’s jump right in!

Best Cooking Classes in New Orleans

	New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal	Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans	Hands-on Cajun Traditions Cooking Class
Meeting Location:	524 St Louis St, New Orleans	519 Wilkinson St, New Orleans	519 Wilkinson St, New Orleans
Tour Length:	3 hours	3 hours	3 hours
Start Time(s):	6:00 PM	10:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 6:00 PM	10:00 AM, 2:00 PM, 6:00 PM
What’s Included:	Cooking class & full Meal, alcoholic and Non-alcoholic beverages (beer, red or white wine, iced tea, lemonade, and coffee), copy of class recipes	Learn to make chicken and andouille sausage gumbo, shrimp étouffée & bananas foster, alcoholic beverages, bottled water, soda	Learn to make barbecue shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage jambalaya, chocolate bread pudding, alcoholic beverages, dinner, host, guided experience
	Check Tour Availability	Check Tour Availability	Check Tour Availability

Our 5 Top Picks For The Best New Orleans Cooking Classes:

1. New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal
2. Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans
3. Hands-on Cajun Traditions Cooking Class
4. New Orleans Demonstration Cooking Class with Meal
5. New Orleans Small-Group Food Walking Tour and Cooking Class

New Orleans Cooking Class Reviews

1. New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal

What to Expect on the Tour

Let’s start things off on the right foot with the New Orleans Hands-On Cooking Class with Meal experience, taking you far beyond a commercial cooking school experience.

Lasting 3 hours, it’s the perfect way to learn about history, culture, and authentic cuisine all in one go – plus, you’ll learn so much more than you would just by going out for a bite to eat.

They don’t skimp on anything here, taking you through recipes for either yam-crab bisque or gumbo, a main dish of BBQ shrimp and grits or jambalaya, and a dessert of (my personal fav) bananas foster or pralines.

Expect to have the choice in what you learn, since they understand that not everyone likes the same thing. That consideration was extended into everything our guide did, welcoming us in, patiently showing us different techniques, and offering complimentary wine or local beer.

After putting in some hard work, you and the rest of your group will sit down and savor the delicious full meal you’ve all prepared!

What Makes This Tour Great

I don’t even know where to start, because it was all so wonderful! First off, they included a complimentary souvenir apron and a full recipe collection, so we are able to remake the tasty food wherever, whenever!

The small-group setting capped out at just 10 participants, so it was a very intimate, personalized setting with a guide who operated at a steady pace that was easy to follow, answering any questions we had.

You’ll get to cut, season, and completely prep your Louisiana meal, and I love this because it shows you that you can prepare a delicious meal all on your own. T

here are 5 cooktops, which means that everyone will be paired up, making it perfect for couples who are looking for a fun date activity, friends, etc. After, we sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor, washing it all down with red and white wine and Abita amber beer – a popular local brew!

Reserve Tour Now and Pay Later / Free Cancellation Within 24 Hours of Tour Start Time

2. Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans

What to Expect on the Tour

Next up is the Hands-on Cajun Roux Cooking Class in New Orleans, which is one of the best technical skills you can possess if you really want to master Cajun and Creole cooking.

Yet another 3-hour experience, it thoroughly covers everything you need to know about building a proper foundation upon which everything else is built. Expect to gain all of the tools and skills for how to make 3 dishes in your own kitchen with confidence once you head back home.

It was interesting to learn about the similarities between different Louisiana and French dishes, which obviously makes sense when we look back into the state’s origins.

Enjoy a glass of wine while prepping the dark roux for the gumbo, then the light roux for the shrimp étouffée, understanding that different dishes require different types. After your meal is plated and eaten, you’ll all enjoy the famous Bananas Foster dessert.

What Makes This Tour Great

Something that I love about Louisiana is that it just feels so personal – people say “hi” when you pass them on the street, and you can taste that same affection in the food.

It comes as no surprise that the vibe in this class was perfectly aligned with that vibe, too, with a very small-group setting and a kind, engaging host to lead you. We learned all about how to make gumbo, étouffée, and Bananas Foster from scratch, which I was already looking forward to recreating at home before the class even ended.

Our host was so much fun and did such a great job of instructing us that I’d recommend it for families, friend groups looking for a fun activity, or even solo travelers who want to learn about New Orleans on a more intimate level.

Reserve Tour Now and Pay Later / Free Cancellation Within 24 Hours of Tour Start Time

3. Hands-on Cajun Traditions Cooking Class

What to Expect on the Tour

The Hands-on Cajun Traditions Cooking Class goes beyond just learning recipes – you can expect to get a proper look into the local culture, traditions, and history, tying into cuisine.

If you’re short on time and really want to maximize the experience, I highly recommend opting for this 3-hour class. It felt very “homey” and cozy, with a friendly chef there to lead the way, taking you through how to prepare jambalaya, New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp, and chocolate bread pudding.

Your tour takes place at the Mardi Gras School of Cooking, where you’ll get to join a few other classmates to whip up some authentic NOLA fare.

Expect to learn from the very best, with professional techniques, the ins and outs of seasoning (what really makes the food taste as it should), and how to prepare your ingredients. This was by far one of the highlights of my first New Orleans trip, and I’m sure it’ll be one of yours, too.

What Makes This Tour Great

I believe you’re much more inclined to learn and remember skills when your instructor is more like a friend than a stranger whom you have just met.

You’ll definitely get the former with this class, featuring chefs who are personable, funny, engaging, and of course, incredibly talented at what they do. We learned all about the French-Canadian origins, being exiled by the British and taking up the swamps and bayous of southern LA!

As if all that weren’t already enough, our guide even offered us plenty of great recommendations of restaurants to try, and other things to see and do, beyond the realm of food!

It certainly helped us create a memorable time in New Orleans, and I can truly say there wasn’t one bite of food I didn’t love on this trip (especially what we made in class!).

Reserve Tour Now and Pay Later / Free Cancellation Within 24 Hours of Tour Start Time

4. New Orleans Demonstration Cooking Class with Meal

What to Expect on the Tour

The New Orleans Demonstration Cooking Class with Meal is the shortest of any of the tours on this guide, yet it still packs in a ton of value. Not only that, but if you’re looking for a proper New Orleans cooking class on a budget, this one is hard to beat.

It’s perfect if you aren’t quite ready to take on the prep and cooking yourself, but would love to sit back, relax, and watch as your expert chef prepares it all in front of you from scratch.

Expect not just to sit there in silence, but listen as your guide regales you with interesting historical and cultural commentary that tie directly into each dish you’re about to enjoy.

Learn all about the various cultures that make up Cajun and Creole dishes, with an interesting array of flavors that are hard to find anywhere else. After each demonstration, enjoy some generous samples and wash them down with local beer, iced tea, or coffee.

What Makes This Tour Great

This tour is wonderful for visual learners or those who simply don’t want to take the time to prepare everything, step by step. Instead, you’ll shave a substantial amount of time off and get straight to the point – not to mention, at a very affordable price.

It’s a great way to gain insight into the authentic cooking methods, what local cuisine typically features, and it’s also fantastic for trying new things without having to commit to an entire plate of it.

With that being said, the menu changes at times, so you can expect to try gumbo, jambalaya, corn and crab bisque, shrimp or chicken creole, shrimp and artichoke soup, crawfish étouffée, bread pudding,

Bananas Foster, pralines, and pecan pie. You’ll get to learn and try more than you would at a restaurant, for around the same price!

Reserve Tour Now and Pay Later / Free Cancellation Within 24 Hours of Tour Start Time

5. New Orleans Small-Group Food Walking Tour and Cooking Class

What to Expect on the Tour

Last but certainly not least is the New Orleans Small-Group Food Walking Tour and Cooking Class, which is by far the longest and most comprehensive of the bunch.

Expect to engage in the perfect combination of a proper food walking tour along with a cooking class, thanks to the chef-led cooking demonstration afterward. If you’re only going to be in New Orleans for a day or two, I’d recommend this tour over any other!

Expect to eat and learn a ton, but with plenty of strolling in between stops, you’ll have some time to digest and not feel overwhelmed.

Moreover, the walks from stop to stop offer the perfect opportunity for sightseeing and learning about culture, architecture, and local history from your guide. You’ll learn plenty of general overview along with some personal anecdotes and insider facts that can’t be found anywhere else.

What Makes This Tour Great

This was a longer tour, yes, but it’s also some of the most fun I’ve ever had! Our guide was a blast, taking us to different eateries to sample local faves like gumbo, jambalaya, biscuits with molasses, bread pudding, pralines, coffee, and so much more.

Not only that, but there are a few different start times to choose from, making it easier to fit into your schedule for the day.

After we went to the array of different eateries, we watched a cooking demonstration back at the cooking school, learning how to whip up an authentic NOLA dish and sitting down to enjoy it with the rest of our group.

Of course, food and menus may change depending on the day, but you can count on it being memorable, no matter what.

Reserve Tour Now and Pay Later / Free Cancellation Within 24 Hours of Tour Start Time

A Guide to Cooking Classes in New Orleans

The first thing you smell in a New Orleans kitchen is a roux going dark. Flour and oil in a heavy pot, stirred until it turns the color of an old penny, and the whole room leans in.

I have cooked Creole and Cajun food in real kitchens, and I still think a class here is the fastest way to understand this city. You eat New Orleans in a day. You start to cook it in an afternoon.

Here is how to pick the right class and what you should walk away knowing.

Why Take a Cooking Class Here

New Orleans food is built on technique, not on a secret ingredient. Once you can make a roux and chop the trinity, half the menu opens up to you.

That is exactly what a good class teaches, and it is hard to learn from a cookbook. A local cook standing next to you, telling you when the roux is about to burn, is worth more than any recipe.

It also untangles the thing most visitors get wrong. Creole and Cajun are not the same cooking, and an hour at the stove makes the difference obvious in a way no menu ever will.

This is not for everyone. If you want a quiet afternoon where you mostly watch, the big demonstration classes can feel like dinner theater.

If you want to stand at a stove and build a gumbo from the roux up, book a hands-on class and read on.

When to Go

Spring is the best time to cook here, and it comes down to crawfish. The season runs roughly January into June, peaks in March and April, and a hands-on class in that window often means a crawfish étouffée or a backyard boil.

Carnival season, from Twelfth Night on January 6 through Mardi Gras, brings king cake into every class and bakery in town. It is festive and crowded, so book early.

Summer is hot and wet, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that sits on you. The cooking does not stop, but you will want a morning class and air conditioning by noon.

Fall cools off and the festival crowds thin. October and November are some of the easiest months to get a private class with a chef who has the time to teach.

What You Will Cook

The Roux and the Trinity

Almost everything starts in the same two places. A roux, which is just flour cooked in fat, and the holy trinity, which is onion, celery, and green bell pepper diced and ready to go.

A Cajun gumbo wants a dark roux, cooked low and slow until it is nearly chocolate, and it will turn on you the second you stop stirring. A blond roux, barely colored, is what you want for an étouffée.

Learning to read those colors is the real lesson of the day.

The Dishes

Gumbo is the one most people come for. You will learn whether to thicken it with that dark roux, with okra, or with filé, which is ground sassafras leaf stirred in off the heat at the very end.

Jambalaya teaches you rice cooked in the pot with everything else, not spooned over it later. The Creole version in the city carries tomato and the Cajun version out in the country does not, and now you know why the red and the brown ones look so different.

Most classes also send you home knowing étouffée, which means smothered, usually shrimp or crawfish over rice. Many finish on something sweet, either beignets dropped in hot oil and buried in powdered sugar or pralines, the pecan candy.

Locals say that first syllable flat, prah rather than pray. Get it wrong and they will correct you kindly.

Eat Before You Cook

Taste the target before you try to hit it. A bowl of gumbo at Dooky Chase in Treme, where Leah Chase cooked Creole food for decades, tells you more than any lecture about what yours should taste like.

For the refined end of the city’s cooking, lunch at Commander’s Palace in the Garden District is the benchmark, turtle soup and bread pudding soufflé included. For beignets and chicory coffee, you already know it is Café du Monde, and the line moves faster than it looks.

For the sandwiches, a fried shrimp po’boy dressed with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, or a muffuletta heavy with olive salad, shows you the other half of how this city eats. Neither one turns up in most classes, so eat them on your own time.

Eat first, cook second. Your roux will make more sense once your mouth knows where it is headed.

What to Drink With It

This is where my sommelier side speaks up. Big tannic reds fight the cayenne and lose, so save the Cabernet for another night.

Creole and Cajun food likes high acid and a little chill. A dry Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc cuts through a roux, Champagne or any honest sparkling wine loves anything fried, and a Beaujolais served cool is the red that works best with gumbo.

When in doubt, drink what the city drinks. Cold Abita beer, or a Sazerac built on rye and Peychaud’s bitters, holds up to all of it.

Where to Take a Class

The French Quarter is the obvious base, and it is where the best known classes run. Pick by how much you want your own hands in the food.

• New Orleans School of Cooking. The institution, on St. Louis Street in the Quarter. Lively demonstration classes where someone cooks gumbo and jambalaya in front of you and tells stories while you eat the results.
• NOCHI. The New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute on Howard Avenue runs hands-on recreational classes in a proper teaching kitchen. This is where you go to cook, not to watch.
• Private classes with a chef. Smaller sessions, often in a home kitchen or booked through an experience platform. You pay more, you cook more, and you can ask the questions a big room never gets to.
• Market to table classes. Some start at the Crescent City Farmers Market or the French Market, shop for the day’s cooking, then carry it to a kitchen. The best way to learn a cuisine is to buy its ingredients first.

If you only have time for one and you want to leave able to cook, choose hands-on over demonstration. You can watch a demo on a screen at home.

You cannot smell your own roux turning over a phone.

What It Costs and How to Plan

The range is wide, so match the class to what you want. A group demonstration class runs roughly $35 to $45 a person and is more show and meal than lesson.

A true hands-on class usually lands between $130 and $200 a person, more if it includes a market trip or a long meal at the table. Private classes with a chef start higher and climb from there.

Book hands-on and private classes a week or two ahead, and more during Carnival and Jazz Fest in late April and early May. Confirm what you cook versus what you watch before you pay, because some classes sold as hands-on are mostly demonstration.

Eat lightly beforehand. You will taste everything you make, and a good class sends you out full.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a demonstration class or a hands-on class better?

It depends on what you want. A demonstration class is relaxed, entertaining, and ends in a full plate, which suits a group that mostly wants a good meal with a little learning.

A hands-on class is where you pick up the skill. If you want to cook gumbo at home next month, pay for the one that puts a spoon in your hand.

Will the food be too spicy for me?

Probably not the way you fear. Real Creole and Cajun cooking is seasoned and layered rather than just hot, and a good instructor builds the heat in stages so you stay in control.

Tell the chef before you start. Any decent class adjusts the cayenne to the room.

Can I take a class if I do not eat shellfish or pork?

Yes, but say so when you book, not when you arrive. Shrimp, crawfish, andouille, and tasso run through this cuisine, so the chef needs a day to plan a chicken or vegetable version.

A private class handles this best. A large group demonstration is the hardest to adapt.

When is crawfish in season?

Roughly January through June, with the best supply and price from March into May. Outside that window a class will use shrimp or chicken instead, which is fine, just not the same spring treat.

If a crawfish boil is the reason you are coming, plan for spring and confirm with the school first.

Are these classes worth it if I already cook well?

Yes, if you pick the right one. Skip the beginner demo and book a private or market to table class where you can push the chef on roux ratios, filé versus okra, and why their grandmother did it a particular way.

You are paying for regional knowledge, not for knife skills you already have. That is where the value sits for a confident home cook.

Shayanne DeCastro

Shayanne is a freelance writer, wine snob and marketer based in LA, California. Describing herself as a nomad, she has lived in many different cities including Boise, Idaho and Seattle, Washington as well as Guadalajara, Mexico. She is forever on the move.

Being an extremely active person, she loves to snowboard, skateboard, and ski. She enjoys sharing her love for active sports with others through her “how to” sports guides as well as food and wine reviews. Her love for wine and good food shines through every paragraph. While she travels, Shayanne loves to try new restaurants and wineries.  If there is a wineries or good restaurant in your town, you will probably meet her one day.