Easy Mini King Cake Bites

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Easy Mini King Cake Bites are a quick treat to celebrate Mardi Gras. Made with a few convenience items, you can have them ready in no time!

Pin Easy Mini King Cake Bites to make them later.

Seven King Cake Bites on a plate with a purple rim.

Mardi Gras is upon us. A King Cake is a well-known tradition. Mardi Gras is the culmination of the season of carnival that begins on Epiphany and ends on Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before Ash Wednesday.

Why You’ll Love these King Cake Bites

  • They are super easy to make.
  • Kids can easily get in on the fun of making these mini King Cake Bites.
  • Start with refrigerated crescent rolls for an inexpensive treat.
  • Serve them for breakfast or dessert.
  • Easily mix up the sanding sugars for other occasions. Use red and green for Christmas, blue and white for Hanukkah, or red, white, and blue for July 4th.
  • This recipe is easily doubled.
Six mini king cakes on a white platter with Mardi Gras beads on the side.

Ingredients

Pro Tip: To make life easier, mix the sugar colors together and sprinkle on the bites. They will look different, of course, but you’ll still have the Mardi Gras colors.

What is a king cake?

Depending on where you live, King Cake has different versions. Most familiar to us in the United States is a sweet twisted cinnamon roll-style dough topped with icing or sugar. Mardi Gras is fun and festive and these individual King Cakes are a nice addition to any celebration.

These mini King cakes are bite-size treats packed with cinnamon sugar then drizzled with a sweet glaze and topped with decorator sugars in the traditional colors of Mardi Gras – purple, green, and gold.

They will disappear quickly so you may want to double the recipe, which is easy to do since this recipe starts with refrigerated crescent rolls. Enjoy these for breakfast or dessert.

Pro Tip: I usually always have cinnamon sugar in a shaker in my pantry for my kids to use on toast or bagels. It’s easy to make. I mix three tablespoons of sugar with one teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

What do the colors of Mardi Gras mean?

The colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. The Rex Parade (the name of the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans) had a theme, Symbolism of Colors, that gave meaning to the colors.

Purple stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. It is said they were chosen in 1892.

Step-by-step images for making king cake bites.

How do you make King Cake Bites?

When you separate the crescent dough into rectangles, pinch the seams together. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on the rectangles.

Starting on the long side of the dough, roll up jelly-roll style and pinch the dough closed. Cut each log of dough into eight pieces.

Fit two cut pieces into each mini muffin tin side by side. Bake according to the instructions in the recipe. Cool completely and decorate.

This is an alternative to making the traditional King cake. 

Check out my fun mini version of Mardi Gras Cupcake too.

Six King cake bites on a white platter with Mardi Gras beads on the table.

How do you serve Mini King Cake Bites?

My family likes them for breakfast though they would be an easy dessert for just a few people. As I already mentioned, you can easily double the recipe.

My kids enjoy mini king cake bites with milk while my husband and I enjoy them with coffee. 

They could be the sweet part of a heartier breakfast such as my Cheddar and Chive Eggs over Cheesy Hash Brown Waffles. No matter how you choose to serve these mini King cakes they will be a festive treat.

A photograph showing the inside of a mini king cake bite with the cinnamon swirls. A hand is holding it.

More food for Mardi Gras

If you want to serve my mini King Cakes as part of a larger Mardi Gras celebration, here are some recipes straight out of NOLA.

  • Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice – This Red Beans and Rice Stew is creamy, smoky, spicy, and satisfying. It will take you on a mini vacation to Louisiana.
  • Cajun Gumbo – A hearty stew made with shrimp or chicken and okra and ready in under an hour.
  • Muffuletta Sandwich – A hearty sandwich made with cheeses, Italian meats, vegetables, and a tasty mozzarella spread.
  • Shrimp Dirty Rice – Shrimp dirty rice is a version of the traditional Creole dirty rice dish, made with shrimp, Andouille sausage, and aromatics.

Easy Mini King Cake Bites

King Cake is a Mardi Gras tradition. This mini version is a fun treat.
4.99 from 72 votes
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time27 minutes
Course: Breakfast and Brunch
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
  • 6 teaspoons cinnamon sugar
  • ½ cup finely chopped pecans, optional

For glaze:

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Purple, green and yellow decorating sugars

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray mini muffin pans (you will need 2) with baking cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Unroll crescent rolls and place on cutting board. Separate at vertical perforations, pinching the diagonal perforations together well. You should have 4 rectangles. Sprinkle each rectangle evenly with about 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon sugar and 1 tablespoon of the pecans, if using. Starting at long end roll up jelly roll style pinching seam well. Repeat with each rectangle. Cut into 28 total pieces.
  • Place 2 pieces in each mini muffin cup. Snuggle them in together. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 – 12 minutes, until golden. Remove pans to cooling rack. Cool completely in pan. Remove when cool.

To make glaze:

  • Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl until drizzling consistency. Swirl glaze covering tops of each mini cake. Do about half and then sprinkle those with purple, green and yellow decorator sugars. Repeat with remaining.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is easily doubled.

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45 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    These are so festive and fun! I love making them for Mardi Gras, but I am making with fall colors for the weekend!

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