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How to Feed a Crowd Without Ordering Pizza

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Got a lot of people comng over that you’ll need to feed? Here are some of my favorte easy and cost-effectve ways to feed a crowd wthout orderng pzza!

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    How to Feed a Crowd Wthout Orderng PzzaGet HelpWhat to Feed a Large Group

Before kds, meetng out at bars and restaurants or hostng dnner partes were the ways that my husband and I most often socalzed and we loved t. When kds came along, however, somethng changed: somehow meetng frends at a restaurant wth toddlers n tow just wasn’t as relaxng. Smlarly, ntrcately planned three or four course meals that I cooked over a day or two just weren’t realstc. So, we made a shft—we started hostng famly gatherngs at our house.

These nformal get-togethers were meant to gve kds the space to run around and parents the tme to actually catch up. But as the kds have gotten older ths has also come to mean cookng for 15, 16, or even 20 people, whch then begs the queston: what do you cook f you have to feed a crowd but don’t want to order pzza?

After years of tral and error, great successes, and some stressful falures, I have learned a great deal about how to make feedng a large group of people as smple as possble. Read on to dscover what I’ve learned, some trcks to make the plannng and executon easer, and a collecton of recpes that have worked well for me over the years.

How to Feed a Crowd Wthout Orderng Pzza

For me, when I’m plannng out how to feed a large group of people I have two prortes: 1) keep t smple and 2) stay wthn budget.

Keep It Smple

I love feedng people and I love feedng them well. So I tend to want to go bg and memorable when t comes to hostng. But after a number of tmes makng extravagant meals for large groups and beng both exhausted by t and dsmayed when my over-the-top meals met wth reluctant small-person audences, I was remnded of advce my husband and I receved when we were plannng our weddng: at bg partes, guests wll only remember the food f t’s really terrble, so serve sold good food and you’ll be fne!

Ever snce that breakthrough moment, whenever feedng a large group I have opted to make one bg man dsh and then accompany t wth varous sdes or toppngs so that everyone can make the meal ther own, even the pcky ones.

Feed a Large Group for Cheap

Let’s be honest, when you’re feedng a large group of people, the food costs can get pretty overwhelmng very quckly. Here are some ways to try to feed a large group on a small budget:

    Go vegetaran. Not only s t usually cheaper to skp the meat, but you also can make just one meal that wll nclude vegetarans and meat-eaters alke, whch makes your lfe easer. Grans are your frend. Hearty and easy to make n bulk. They wll fll belles wthout breakng the budget. Legumes for the wn. Beans, beans, beans! They provde great proten, are very fllng, and are SUPER cheap. Don’t make meat the man event. Don’t want to go vegetaran? Instead of servng meat as the man offerng, consder usng t to add flavor to your meal. Examples nclude, a stew wth more vegetables than meat, a pasta sauce or casserole that uses half the called for amount of meat, chl where you’ve got beans to cut the amount of meat needed, etc. Use cheaper cuts. If you want meat to be the man event, consder a cheaper cut of meat that you can prepare ahead of tme. Cheaper meats tend to need low and slow cookng to make the most of them, so pull out your slow cooker or get started the nght before.

Get Help

Let’s be honest, though, even when you keep the meal smple and the budget n check, hostng a large group of people s stll a lot of work. So I would strongly encourage you to get help when you’re tryng to feed a large group of people. Here are some ways you can get help.

Let People Brng Dshes

You know the standard queston you always get asked, “what can I brng?” Have an answer! Ask someone to brng a salad, another to brng a dessert, and another to brng a tasty appetzer. Then, all you are responsble for s a man dsh and maybe some sdes.

Or, f you are reluctant to share what you need (I know, askng for help can be hard), the other opton s to make the event a potluck and let people just brng what they want. Sure you may end up wth more cookes than you need, but at least there wll be plenty of food for folks to enjoy.

Everyone Ptches In

As you are gettng ready for your vstors, ask your famly for help. Here are ways they can do that:

    Meal prep– from washng lettuce to measurng ngredents to makng a dsh on ther own, there are lots of ways your famly can help wth the cookng. Cleanng the house– vacuumng, dustng, cleanng bathrooms, and pckng up toys are all ways your famly can take some of the load off of your shoulders. Set up– settng up tables and chars, puttng out plates and utensls, fllng water ptchers, are all great optons for helpers. Settng up outsde– f you’re hostng outdoors, your famly can help by mowng the lawn, puttng away toys, and settng up tables and chars.

Consder Dsposables

For years I nssted on only usng real plates, glasses, and utensls, and for groups up to 15 or so, I stll do that. But when we host a large group, I now have learned that t s wse to opt for dsposable plates, cups, utensls, and napkns. It reduces the drty dsh ples n the ktchen and makes clean up so much easer. To help to mtgate the envronmental mpact, I lke to use compostable optons.

What to Feed a Large Group

Now that I’ve share some trcks and tps for how to keep t smple, save money, and get help, I wanted to also share some deas of what to feed a large crowd.

As I mentoned before, I lke to serve one smple man dsh and then accompany wth toppngs or sdes so that people can personalze the meal to ft ther needs and desres. For the man dsh there are three categores of food that I turn to when I am plannng on feedng an army:

    beans/legumes casseroles soups or stews

These are all fantastc optons because they can be easly made n bulk and relatvely nexpensve. Here are some of my favortes that ft nto each category:

Beans or Legumes

Brazlan-Style Power Bowls: Prepare the components and let everyone buld ther own bowl.

Red Beans and Rce Burrtos: Make the fllngs for burrtos and then let everyone fll and wrap ther own.

Lentl Stew wth Honey Gnger Yogurt: A bg batch of ths wll fll hungry stomachs. Serve some yogurt plan, just n case there are any guests who mght be overwhelmed by a flavored yogurt. And f you want a hearty sde to add to the mx, consder makng ths verson of Gordon Ramsay’s mashed potatoes, whch some consder to be the best mashed potatoes recpe.

Casseroles

Festa Casserole wth Cheddar Cornbread Crust: Serve ths crowd-pleaser wth a bg salad on the sde or extra vegges, grated cheese, and salsa to use as toppngs.

Baked Pesto Penne wth Italan Sausage: Ths dsh always gets raves and s smple to make vegetaran by ether usng meatless sausage or mxng n some sautéed mushrooms for a meaty texture. Serve t wth a green salad and you are done!

Soups or Stews

Classc Gazpacho wth Dced Avocado (Cold Vegetable Soup): Ths summer classc can be made ahead of tme and pull out of the frdge whenever people are ready to eat. Serve t wth crusty bread and some cheese and everyone wll be happy!

Soup-er Easy Black Bean and Corn Soup: As the name mples, ths smple-to-make soup s a great one to prepare ether ahead of tme or at the last mnute. Serve t wth tortlla chps and guacamole and salsa, or even nachos.

Tuscan Farro, Vegetable, and Whte Bean Stew: Make ths one ahead of tme, but keep the farro separate untl servng so that t doesn’t soak up all the lqud. Everyone wll love the creamy texture pared wth the chewy farro. Serve t wth a bg green salad and savory muffns or a crusty bread.

Lke these recpes? Check out The Scramble’s famly-frendly meal plans to see just how smple gettng dnner on the table can be!

Need more hostng nspraton, check out my post on how I overcame my fear of entertanng.

Do you have favorte dshes you use to feed a crowd? I’d love to hear about them n the comments.

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Wednesday 5th of April 2023

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