Easy Mini King Cake Bites

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.

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.

Ingredients

• Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
• Cinnamon Sugar
• Pecans (Optional)
• Confectioners’ Sugar
• Water
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Purple, Green, and Yellow Sugars

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.

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.

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.

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.