New Orleans Food Shipped: What You Can Get From Home

Yes, you can get real New Orleans food shipped almost anywhere in the country. King cakes, Camellia beans, live crawfish, even Hubig's Pies will show up at your door if you know where to order. Some things still won't travel, and we'll get to those.

We hear this question constantly. Somebody walks into the shop on Chartres Street, buys a shirt for their brother in Denver, then leans over the counter and asks, quietly, whether there's any way to send him a king cake. There is. Here's what we've been able to verify.

King Cakes

This is the big one, and the good news is that several New Orleans bakeries ship during Carnival season. Haydel's Bakery ships king cakes nationally through Goldbelly, with traditional versions and filled ones like praline pecan.

A word of advice: order early in the season. A king cake that sits on a truck for a week doesn't do anybody any favors, and the shipping windows fill up as Mardi Gras gets close. Eat it the day it arrives, and be clear with your office about the baby rule before you put it in the break room. Whoever gets the baby brings the next one.

If you're curious about the stranger corners of king cake history, we once wrote about Larry Ragusa's King Cakes, the greatest fake bakery in New Orleans history. Don't try to order from them.

Camellia Beans

Red beans on Monday require Camellia, and if you've moved somewhere that doesn't stock them, this is probably the first thing you missed.

Camellia has been around since 1923, when Lucius Hayward founded the company and named it for his wife's favorite flower, according to Biz New Orleans. These days the beans are sold in stores across about a dozen states, and the company runs its own online shop at shop.camelliabrand.com. Stock up. You'll go through them faster than you think.

If you can't get them at all, we're working on a whole piece about cooking red beans without Camellia. It's a hard life, but people manage.

Hubig's Pies

For a long time this section would have been a sad one. The Hubig's factory burned in 2012, and for years the little fried pies in their wax paper sleeves were just a memory. The owners rebuilt, and about a decade later the pies came back.

Now Hubig's is shipping nationwide through Goldbelly, with 12-packs of hand pies in a mix of flavors. It's hard to overstate how happy this made a lot of people in town.

Crawfish

Yes, people ship crawfish. Live ones, even.

Louisiana Crawfish Company, based in Natchitoches and farming since 1985, ships live crawfish to the door and works with carriers including FedEx and Southwest Airlines to get them there. It also sells boiled crawfish packs on Goldbelly if you'd rather skip the pot.

Live crawfish are seasonal, and spring is the peak, so plan around that. If you're hosting your first boil in exile, read our guide to the New Orleans crawfish boil first. Your neighbors in Minneapolis have never seen anything like what you're about to dump on their picnic table.

Leidenheimer Bread

Here's where it gets tricky. A po-boy without Leidenheimer bread is just a sandwich, and the folks who've moved away know it.

Leidenheimer has been baking in New Orleans for more than 125 years, and it does ship bread around the country. The catch is that, according to the company, all orders are wholesale and not available for individual purchase. So you can't order a single loaf to your apartment. What you can do is use the distribution search on their site to see if a restaurant or grocer near you carries it. Some po-boy shops outside Louisiana bring it in for exactly this reason.

If you find one, go. Our local's guide to po-boys will tell you what to order and why you should say "dressed."

Central Grocery Muffulettas

Central Grocery on Decatur Street has been around since 1906 and calls itself the home of the original muffuletta. The store was badly damaged during Hurricane Ida in 2021 and was closed for more than three years, finally reopening in December 2024, as Fox 8 reported.

We couldn't confirm whether they're shipping right now, so check with them directly before you plan a muffuletta party around it. If they are, a whole muffuletta feeds a crowd and travels better than you'd expect, because the olive salad needs time to soak in anyway.

Andouille

For red beans or gumbo, you want real andouille, and some of the most famous comes from LaPlace, just upriver. Jacob's World Famous Andouille has been smoking sausage since 1928 and, according to L'Observateur, has shipped orders as far as Hong Kong. Call or check their site for current ordering.

What Doesn't Ship Well

Some things you just have to come home for. Snowballs, obviously. Fresh-fried beignets. Oysters on the half shell from a bar where the shucker knows your name. A plate lunch from a corner spot that doesn't have a website. Nobody has figured out how to put those in a box.

For everything else, bring a little New Orleans to your kitchen. Our Po'Boy Patent Tea Towel belongs next to the stove while that bread is warming. The Cooking Up A Storm cookbook, a collection of Times-Picayune recipes lost and found after Katrina, will get you through the dishes you can't order. And if somebody asks why you're so particular about all this, the New Orleans Is My Favorite Restaurant shirt answers for you.

Shopping for someone else who misses home? Our gift guide for people who miss New Orleans pairs well with a box of Hubig's.

New Orleans Food Shipped: FAQ

Can you get king cake shipped from New Orleans?

Yes. Several New Orleans bakeries ship during Carnival season. Haydel's Bakery, for example, ships nationally through Goldbelly. Order early, since shipping windows fill up close to Mardi Gras.

Can I buy Leidenheimer bread online?

Not as an individual. Leidenheimer ships nationally, but the company says all orders are wholesale. Use the distribution search on its website to find a restaurant or store near you that carries it.

Are Hubig's Pies still made?

Yes. The factory burned in 2012, and the pies returned about a decade later. They now ship nationwide through Goldbelly.