Want to know the best large gathering food ideas? These are some classic – and possibly new ideas – that you need to know about.
I don’t know about you, but I like having a go-to list of some great recipes to bring to a large gathering! We have loved eating Clean Simple Eats recipes for 3+ years now as a family. It has been a GAME CHANGER! I LOVE the variety they have! I also like how they simplify recipes to make them so you can feel healthy on their plans – all of their recipes that I have made have substitutes, etc. that make it easy to adapt to other ingredients that you like better. I have felt like I have been a great cook, but the creativity they have in some of the recipes is fantastic, to say the least!!
You can download their free app called, “Clean Simple Eats +” and take a look at beautiful pictures of the food. Then after you check out their recipes, you can subscribe to get their recipes for only $15/month. You will fall in LOVE with their recipes!
P.S. I have categorized these food ideas by meat. The reason is that meat usually is the most expensive part of the meal, so you can narrow down what you want to make for your gathering, and I know it helps me to see which recipes might be cheaper than others.
Here are some recipes from Clean Simples Eats that are great Large Gathering Food Ideas!
Vegetable-Based:
Curried Lentil Soup
This is my go-to recipe when I hear someone is needing a meal! It’s a favorite for all. Loaded with lots of fiber! This would be GREAT to give to someone after they have given birth. It would feed their family and soups are good for recovery. I have given this recipe to neighbors who were moving in, and it just took minutes to put together in my instant pot and set the cooking time for 10 min. However, DON’T double in an instant pot. It won’t fit.
Salsa Verde Bean Burritos
I haven’t personally made these yet, but I have heard they are 5-stars and amazing. The recipe looks like it would be easy to make and cheap as well!
Southwest Bean & Salsa Pile-Up
I mostly make this recipe for lunches. I love the unique ingredients (so you would need to buy those ahead of time, you may not have them on hand like I usually don’t). It is so so tasty!! So many flavors that punch together perfectly.
White Bean Chili
This is amazing! We added chips and yogurt to it, so it doesn’t necessarily add up with the plant-based recipe that they have. However, using a variety of beans for protein is amazing. Wouldn’t have guessed from the beginning that it would be one of our favorites.
Tuna:
Hearty Tuna Casserole
I love how easy and simple this recipe is to make! It is super easy to make gluten-free by swapping out the pancake mix for gluten-free pancake mix. The smell of this warms the house while it’s cooking in the oven, giving it a cozy feeling, and is perfect for a winter day!
Open-Faced Tuna Melt
My husband and I are obsessed with this recipe when we need to make something quick for dinner! It is so simple to make, pop it in the oven on broil to have the cheese cook on top, and the mayo mixture just makes the whole recipe taste amazing!!
Chicken:
Aloha Chicken Kabobs
All-time favorite! This recipe is great to make for a crowd! We made this recipe for 28+ people and it worked! Used 3 sheet pans (you could use a skillet too) instead of using kabob sticks for the veggies, grilled the chicken outside on the grill, and made a bunch of rice. It was perfection. Super easy and it feeds a lot! Everyone was in love with the flavor and taste!
BBQ Ranch Grilled Bounty Bowl
I hear these are great recipes to make on the 4th of July! Could be easy to make in bulk – you could have a variety of toppings too.
Chili-Lime Junkyard Fries
Fantastic recipe! It is made in a slow cooker with raw chicken. It is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Clean Simple Eats made it for the show competition, “Dinner Takes All.” They had one hour to prepare a five-course meal, and this is the recipe they made for one of two of the main dishes to present! *The webpage for the Chili-Lime Junkyard Fries doesn’t seem to be working. For now, you can take a look at the picture of this delicious main dish HERE.
Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder
LOVE this recipe! It is sure to please! I would make it in a few pots over the stove if I was making it in bulk.
Enchilada Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
I wouldn’t make this recipe for a crowd of too many people. Maybe just a smaller friend gathering. You need one or two spaghetti squash to feed four people. It is an amazing recipe though!
Fire Roasted Chicken Enchiladas
Great ingredients and super easy to make! It looks professional when cooked. It is super filling! It can be frozen ahead of time.
Mexican Fajita Bowl
This has only a few ingredients, so it’s super easy to through together or to prepare the main ingredients ahead of time! We like to make rice in bulk, buy pre-cooked chicken, and use dried beans that have been cooked in the instant pot. By the way, making black beans in the instant pot is a GAME-CHANGER!! You will want to implement it right away when you learn how EASY it is and how it doesn’t take half of a day in the slow cooker…and then the beans still may be hard. Speaking from personal experience.
Stacked Enchiladas
This wouldn’t necessarily be my go-to recipe to make for a crowd because it isn’t the most convenient recipe to make. I’m sure in bulk it would be a little harder depending on how many people you are cooking for. It uses a lot of bowls and utensils and takes some time to put together. However, the end product is sure to please!
Summer Pesto Pasta Salad
Sooo much flavor and is SO good when grilled. This isn’t a salad with leaves. It is just a mixture of spaghetti. It is amazing! Will be a perfect fit for a summer gathering!
Sausage Links:
Breakfast Burritos
Although I haven’t made this recipe with the sausage links – I made the plant-based version – it was a hit in our family! I normally don’t go for eating tortillas or burritos; however, these breakfast burrito recipes are fantastic and are loved by the CSE community too.
Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels
Although pepperoni is a type of sausage, I understand that the two words: pepperoni and sausage should not be used interchangeably if I understand correctly. However, I wanted to put it in this category because otherwise this delicious meal would be left in its category of pepperoni as the main meat. Ann amazing meal! It DOES take a lot of time to make though! So you might want that as a heads-up. HERE is a video of the creators showing how they made it. Like it says in the video comments, you can bake the pinwheels in a greased muffin tin so that they can hold their shape better.
Turkey Sausage Lasagna
This recipe has a few unique ingredients that I have to make sure I have on hand before cooking. I love this because the flavor is rich and unique. I love how it is healthy, has a hidden healthy vegetable, and feels so filling to eat it!
Bacon:
Boss Baked Mac & Cheese
When I have asked others what their favorite recipe is from Clean Simple Eats, I pretty much always hear that this is an all-time classic favorite. I don’t know how the creators made it; however, it is “Practically perfect in every way”, to quote Mary Poppins. I think you can’t ever go wrong with mac & cheese, and having it boss-baked just adds a new level that makes every adult want to remember how dear their childhood favorite is once again! This recipe also calls for sausage links, but usually, I just do bacon. HERE is the reel of this recipe.
Country Breakfast Skillet
I haven’t yet made this recipe either. I have made the plant-based version though! So many people rave about this recipe, that it would be weird if I didn’t post it on this blog post. I think it could be easy to put together and feed a crowd too! It seems more of a breakfast recipe to me, but I think if you made it for the main dish for a dinner, it would be well-received.
Ground Beef / Ground Turkey:
Best Ever Chili
Making soup is a good idea if the event is less formal – then you don’t have to worry about spilling. It is a great option to make soup to spread out the ingredients to make the dish last longer for more people.
One Pan Cheddar Beef Rotini
So far, this recipe has been given 38 ratings with five stars on their app! It is like a “healthified” hamburger helper. Attached, is the Reel showing how they made the recipe!
Shepherd’s Pie
This can be frozen and made ahead of time! The smells are amazing!! It is by far one of my favorites to make during winter when we need something cozy, warm, and delightful!
Southwest Sweet Potato Noodle Salad
This was the first-ever recipe we made from Clean Simple Eats, and it’s what completely converted us to using their recipes! My all-time favorite.. and probably always will be! It has a special place in my heart, haha and it’s super easy to make!
Spaghetti Pizza Pie
With these, you could have a variety of toppings available if you are going to make this as the main dish. You can make it gluten-free by using rice noodles, veggie noodles, etc.
- Here’s a tip that someone said they like to do if they are making this recipe in bulk: “I always double the recipe and bake it all in a 9×13 pan. It would be easy to do several pans and just have them in the fridge ready to cook!”
Taco Fries
The toppings are fantastic! It might take some time to make the cashew sour cream. Overall, a great recipe. You can make it faster by buying fries at the store and then all you have to do is brown the meat.
Queenstown Nachos
You could create a nacho bar with this idea!
What are your favorite meals for feeding a crowd?
This post was all about large gathering food ideas for a friends gathering and ideas to feed a crowd.
IF YOU LIKED THIS POST ABOUT LARGE GATHERING FOOD IDEAS, YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE POSTS TOO:
- 5 Social Gathering Essentials | A Beginner’s Guide
- 35 Gathering Quotes for Women, Friends, & Neighborhood Parties
- 70+ Incredible Neighborhood Party Ideas To Try Right Now
https://better-to-gather.com/35-gathering-quotes-for-women-friends-neighborhood-parties/
This post was updated on April 5, 2023.
For reference, here is the list:
Vegetable-Based:
- Curried Lentil Soup
- Salsa Verde Bean Burritos
- Southwest Bean & Salsa Pile-Up
- White Bean Chili
- Hearty Tuna Casserole
- Open-Faced Tuna Melt
Chicken:
- Aloha Chicken Kabobs
- BBQ Ranch Grilled Bounty Bowl
- Chili-Lime Junkyard Fries
- Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder
- Enchilada Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Fire Roasted Chicken Enchiladas
- Mexican Fajita Bowl
- Stacked Enchiladas
- Summer Pesto Pasta Salad
Sausage Links:
- Breakfast Burritos
- Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels
- Turkey Sausage Lasagna
Bacon:
- Boss Baked Mac & Cheese
- Country Breakfast Skillet
Ground Beef / Ground Turkey:
- Best Ever Chili
- One Pan Cheddar Beef Rotini
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Southwest Sweet Potato Noodle Salad
- Spaghetti Pizza Pie
- Taco Fries
- Queenstown Nachos