Ideas for Feeding a Crowd

As we approach a very popular time of year to gather and celebrate special moments, you might be thinking how am I going to feed a crowd without being a stressed mess at the party? If you’ve hosted gatherings, with several dozen guests or a hundred, you know what I’m talking about. This blog is written to inspire you with some ideas and handy links for some popular crowd-pleasing favorites that can be fully prepped and made at least one day ahead time. You’re welcome!

Avoid Stress

To avoid undue stress choose items and sides that can be prepared a day or two ahead and SCHEDULE the time and help to make it go quickly. You will relieve a great deal of stress knowing the food is ready to go or ready warm up, and you won’t be dealing with last-minute surprises. Imagine burning a large batch of your main item just hours before. Now you have a real problem and you likely won’t relax until the day is over.

Just for you, I’ve collected make-ahead recipes that are great for feeding a crowd. I’ve included links to take you right to the creators’ recipes to save you some time planning!

Recipes & Tips

• Perfect Pulled Pork Recipe by Kevin&Amanda
  • Use Pork Shoulder Roast w/bone in for best results!
• Homemade Sloppy Joes for 50 by Easy Budget Recipes
  • 12 1/2 lbs of Lean Ground Beef = about 50 sandwiches
  • You can use your own favorite recipes but experts warn you to be cautious of multiplying your ‘spices’ (I’ve made this mistake and it’s a costly one)
  • Experts say you can simply figure 10 lbs. of ‘lean’ ground beef per 50 sandwiches, 20 lbs. for 100, and so on… in any case the size of the buns you use can affect this
  • Recommend a smaller bun size as it’s less likely to fall apart in your guests’ hands
• 50 of Our Best Slider Recipes from Taste Of Home
  • Find a recipe that can be made ahead and simply heated up
  • Kings Hawaiian Rolls are the most popular vessel for sliders
  • Save money! I pay 21 cents per bun vs. 50 cents at a grocery store, when I grab the 32 pack of Kings Hawaiian Rolls at Sam’s Club
  • Most recipes call for the slider buns, you’ll get higher yield using regular ones
• Taco Bars are a HIT
  • Don’t know how to figure out how much you’ll need and then all those toppings? Use this neat Taco Bar Calculator by Omni Calculator
  • While I’m sure you have your favorite Beef Taco recipe, don’t forget the Chicken!
    • Slow Cooker Shredded Chick Taco Meat for a Crowd by Boulder Lacavore
  • TIP: A great added benefit, but one to consider, are your Vegetarian guests that may consume more toppings without the meat so add extra shredded lettuce to accommodate. Have Vegan guests? Grab a bag of the best rated Vegan Shredded Cheese! Many guests will likely opt for creating a taco salad on their plate. WHY? It’s much easier to eat in public while enjoying conversation without the juices running down your hand or worse yet, your forearm.

Stress-Free Planning Summary

• Plan your Recipes and Shopping List ahead… you’ll naturally save money!
• DON’T double, triple, or quadruple those spices when using a small batch recipes… avoid costly time and mistakes!
• First time making a recipe? Try a normal-sized batch to ensure you like it!
• When storing large pieces of uncooked meat, don’t stack them or you might smash the precious juices right out of them leaving you with dry meat.
• Have good options of large and small Ziploc containers handy for both food storage and those leftover #avoidwaste #freezeit #planning

Your entire goal is to avoid stress and have fun. So plan ahead and get anything done as far ahead of time as you can.This gives you peace of mind. What’s that worth to you? Helps you avoid asking yourself questions, at 2 am when you can’t sleep, like… Am I missing something? Did I forget something? What if it doesn’t turn out? You have at least a day of built-in cushion to recover from unplanned cooking mishaps. You can go back to sleep now.

In a world and time when we have so much on our minds and so much additional stress, be kind to you. Make a plan and work ahead. Kindness matters, especially when you give it to YOURSELF!