Confession: I typically lose sleep the evening earlier than internet hosting a cocktail party. I blame it on a mix of pleasure and nerves, however wow, entertaining might be tense. As a part of my mission to resolve my internet hosting nervousness, I’ve compiled a listing of scrumptious, straightforward, and cheap meals for big teams that I all the time return to—and that each visitor will love.
These recipes clear up the dilemma of deciding what to cook dinner for big teams however keep away from the hefty price ticket that may typically include group dinners. As we all know, cooking for greater than 4 folks can get actual expensive, actual quick. The underside line? Spectacular doesn’t need to imply costly. These meals make the most of grocery retailer staples, store-bought components, and reasonably priced meats—with out sacrificing taste or high quality.
Learn on for my go-to cheap meals for big teams, plus Camille’s suggestions for cooking for a crowd.
Camille’s Prime Suggestions for Cooking for a Crowd
Do all attainable prep prematurely so as to benefit from the night, too. Something that may be made beforehand is essential. It takes the stress out of your day-of prep and makes positive you get to benefit from the social gathering your self. Soups, sauces, and salad dressings might be made completely prematurely so when the clock strikes blissful hour, you’re forward of the sport. It’s additionally useful to do any knife work prematurely and retailer your chopped items within the fridge. That means, when it’s time to cook dinner, you’ve already executed loads of the grunt work.
Select crowd-pleasing dishes that everybody can get pleasure from. Whenever you’re cooking for a bunch, it’s necessary to contemplate your company’ dietary wants. Dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and/or vegan recipes fare properly for big teams. That means, everybody can savor the second collectively. Comforting meals are additionally all the time a success at dinner events. If it’s one thing you’re keen on, the percentages are excessive that your company will find it irresistible, too!
Leverage batch cooking and “build-your-own” elements. Sheet pan recipes, casual spreads, and topping bars are heroes with regards to meeting. Prep the principle elements and let your company construct their completed items. Not solely does this make your job simpler, nevertheless it’s a good way to spark dialog and creativity!
Meat & Rooster Recipes for Giant Teams
Why We Love It: These simpler-than-they-seem Mexican-inspired tacos are considered one of Camille’s favourite summer season meals for weeknights and entertaining. Because of a zesty marinade and the proper mixture of garlic, herbs, and spices, they pack loads of daring and vibrant taste. Plus, they use flank steak—a scrumptious however comparatively low cost minimize that makes for tasty tacos. Merely add toppings of your selection and luxuriate in!
Hero Ingredient: Tacos are nothing with out their toppings. I go for loads of cilantro and salsa verde. And don’t skimp on the guacamole.
Serve With: 4-Ingredient Watermelon Mint Margaritas, please.
Why We Love It: Camille took this traditional technique of getting ready rooster and turned the amount up with a twist. Marinating rooster in yogurt tenderizes the meat, lending tons of taste and making a scrumptious crust. It makes for the proper cheap meal for a big group as a result of you may merely scale up as wanted, marinate forward of time, and throw your rooster on the grill. No stress!
Hero Ingredient: This recipe is about as straightforward and easy because it will get. With so few components, what’s included all performs a key function. That being mentioned, the lemon infuses your marinade with contemporary, summery taste.
Serve With: The Finest Easy Inexperienced Salad and a crisp, chilly glass of rosé.
Why We Love It: There are such a lot of the reason why I like this straightforward sheet pan dinner. It’s sooner than takeout, crammed with loads of entire and nutritious components, and tastes merely divine. It additionally occurs to align with numerous diets as a consequence of its exclusion of grains, processed components, and added sugars.
Hero Ingredient: Any recipe with goat cheese has my coronary heart.
Serve With: Rosemary and Olive Oil Focaccia
Why We Love It: This saucy rooster and veggie meal will get higher the longer it marinates, and it’s the proper flavorful meal for greater than two. This recipe might be made with rooster breasts or thighs and quite a lot of cheap spices and pantry staples. Serve over a mattress of white rice for that cozy, home-cooked meal you crave all day.
Hero Ingredient: Coconut milk provides this slow-cooker meal an added creaminess.
Serve With: Baked Chili Miso Broccoli
Why We Love It: Soup is among the finest issues to serve to giant teams as a result of it’s cheap and many of the cooking time is hands-off. Plus, so long as you’ve gotten a sufficiently big pot, it’s straightforward to double. To at the present time, this Rooster Tortilla Soup is considered one of Camille’s hottest Instagram recipes, so for those who haven’t made it but, that is your signal. It’s the proper serve-yourself recipe for giant gatherings as properly.
Hero Ingredient: The do-it-yourself tortilla strips are next-level.
Serve With: Skillet Vegetarian Cornbread Stuffing
Why We Love It: Bone-in, skin-on rooster thighs get the low and sluggish therapy on this easy sheet pan recipe. They’re roasted alongside artichokes, crimson onions, cherry tomatoes, garlic, lemon slices, and inexperienced olives till golden brown and scrumptious. One of the best half? All it’s a must to do is throw all the things on a sheet pan and roast for an hour. That is a kind of recipes that’s a lot greater than the sum of its components.
Hero Ingredient: Should you assume slow-roasted rooster is bland—assume once more! The secret is to crank up the oven for these final ten-or-so minutes to crisp up the pores and skin.
Serve With: This can be a full sheet pan dinner by itself, however for those who actually wish to spherical it out, these crispy potatoes are excellent.
Lime-y Rooster Tacos with Jicama, Avocado, & Mint
Why We Love It: These tacos are considered one of my favourite recipes for the straightforward prep and flavors which can be something however. You can also make the rooster beforehand and chop the entire veggies prematurely. All it’s a must to do is char the tortillas and serve. You don’t even need to construct the tacos your self—let the company assemble their very own.
Hero Ingredient: The lime-y rooster is reasonably priced and addictive.
Serve With: Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Shallot French dressing, Camille’s Traditional Margarita
Why We Love It: This roasted rooster recipe yields the juiciest hen with the crispiest golden brown pores and skin. And all you want is olive oil, salt, pepper, and some supporting actors to make that dream a actuality. The cherry tomatoes, garlic, and lemon slices that roast alongside the rooster create essentially the most superb sauce that flavors the hen fantastically. Then, a salsa verde elevates all the creation much more.
Hero Ingredient: The garlic caramelizes to pure perfection and is delightfully spreadable.
Serve With: Make-Forward Vegan Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Root Greens with Gremolata and Whipped Feta, or Apple Walnut Salad
Why We Love It: Discuss a showstopper! This roast rooster recipe is simply as scrumptious as it’s visually interesting. It options Brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes, inexperienced olives, carrots, and copious quantities of garlic and olive oil. The rooster roasts to perfection whereas the veggies beneath create a decadent sauce all on their very own. It’s the hands-off masterpiece your subsequent gathering wants.
Hero Ingredient: Don’t you dare waste any of that liquid gold. Switch these pan juices into some type of vessel or pour straight over the rooster earlier than serving—you’ll be glad you probably did.
Serve With: Kale Italian Chopped Salad, No-Knead Olive & Rosemary Focaccia
Pasta Recipes for Giant Teams
Why We Love It: This zucchini pasta recipe celebrates the season’s finest flavors. Summer season squashes, nutty parmesan, zesty lemon, and fragrant herbs come collectively for a tasty and easy pasta recipe that each dinner visitor will love. It’s the Italian countryside meal you’ll begin to lengthy for when summer season rolls round.
Hero Ingredient: Grated Parmesan is a top-tier topping.
Serve With: Easy Inexperienced Salad, Summer season Cheese Board
Why We Love It: A whole serving of greens in pasta type? Signal me up. This silky sauce that lovingly coats every noodle is my new favourite approach to eat greens. With solely 5 components, this make-ahead sauce is the king of cheap meals for big teams. Merely prep your sauce, select your favourite noodle and accompanying veg, and high with numerous ending touches.
Hero Ingredient: Burrata, toasted breadcrumbs, contemporary herbs, lemon juice, and flaky salt make wonderful topping selections.
Serve With: Grilled Peach and Asparagus Salad with Spicy Pepitas, Cashew Mozzarella, and Goji Chipotle Dressing
Why We Love It: I like the concept of serving a giant bowl of pasta salad for a laid-back gathering. This recipe couldn’t be tastier however isn’t fussy—each impressing your company whereas additionally making them really feel proper at house. The briny, fruity flavors of the olives and artichokes are pure Mediterranean vibes. And when mixed with somewhat crispy bacon, stunning issues occur. (Be at liberty to go away the bacon out and preserve a bowl on the aspect for further sprinkling when you have vegetarian company.)
Hero Ingredient: Cavatappi is essential on this recipe. Its brief, twisted form soaks up all the nice inexperienced dressing.
Serve With: That is the proper one-dish meal, however we love beginning with this Ricotta with Pears and Honeyed Pistachios and having fun with a candy and tart Salty Canine cocktail alongside.
Why We Love It: All of us love a great pasta feast, and this recipe is infinitely customizable and simply doubled. Actually, Camille lays out the entire attainable swaps and her finest suggestions for cooking this for a crowd within the recipe put up. Except for the simplicity of creating this dish, it has all of my favourite issues: rigatoni, pesto, and crispy Brussels sprouts. Should you’re on the lookout for a no-fuss, show-stopping pasta for a big group, that is it.
Hero Ingredient: The caramelized, crispy, garlicky Brussels sprouts style much more indulgent than the noodles.
Serve With: As a result of it is a one-pot meal, any of these refreshing kombucha cocktails would deliver a pleasant, funky twist to the expertise.
Why We Love It: This eggplant lasagna is a comfy one-pot dinner that company of all ages and palates will love. It’s vegetarian, which is a plus for dinner events the place company have dietary restrictions, and it’s comforting all the identical. The icing on the cake? Retailer-bought marinara makes prep a breeze.
Hero Ingredient: Because it’s in a skillet, you may place all the creation immediately on the desk and serve it up household model.
Serve With: Roasted Heirloom Carrots With Wild Rice And Tahini
Vegetarian Recipes for Giant Teams
Why We Love It: Should you’re not placing potatoes in your pizza, take this recipe as an indication. I’m obsessive about the crispy-creamy texture play created by the melt-in-your-mouth potatoes and burrata set in opposition to the skinny, crunchy crust. It’s an important choice for big teams with a light-weight components checklist and shortcut tips to make all of it the better. Discuss hostess with the mostess.
Hero Ingredient: I’ll by no means, ever say no to burrata. It does creaminess to perfection.
Serve With: Heat Spinach-Artichoke Salad with Quinoa Crunchies
Why We Love It: Minimal effort meets most taste on this vegetarian tikka masala. It has all the flavour of your favourite take-out meal and might simply be scaled as much as accommodate any-sized group. Once more, it’s nice to set out in “serve your self” vogue and is simple to double as properly.
Hero Ingredient: The Greek yogurt deserves a medal for making this so creamy.
Serve With: Heat naan is essential—and for those who actually wish to throw a celebration, this Vegan Flatbread with Roasted Carrot and Purple Pepper Hummus is a crowd-pleaser.
Butternut Squash Pizza With Arugula & Almond Ricotta
Why We Love It: If I’m invited to a pizza feast, 10/10 instances I’ll settle for. Everybody loves a great pizza, and this recipe can be prepared sooner than Domino’s can ship. Should you’re seeking to make this meal the principle occasion of a night, you may as well let {couples} customise their very own pizzas.
Hero Ingredient: Do-it-yourself almond ricotta, whereas delish, leans this pizza towards the costlier aspect. Should you aren’t entertaining a plant-based crowd, be happy to swap out with store-bought entire milk ricotta.
Serve With: A number of salads are key. Go all in with this Grapefruit, Avocado, and Golden Beet Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas and Feta or Carrot, Kumquat, and Golden Beet Salad.
Why We Love It: Spiced potatoes stuffed into delicate bell peppers make for a magical dinner. These are lighter than conventional samosa, however scrumptious all the identical. It’s such a simple make-ahead dinner as a result of the filling will preserve in a single day. When the time comes, merely roast your bell peppers, stuff them with filling, and let company high accordingly.
Hero Ingredient: Chutney, contemporary herbs, yogurt, and crimson onions make scrumptious ending touches.
Serve With: Chaat Masala Citrus Salad
Why We Love It: Soups are a good way to feed a crowd with out stretching your pockets. You get much more out of them than you place in, which is pure magic. This candy potato and black bean chili exudes all the autumn flavors with stick-to-your-ribs veggies that make it hearty and wholesome. It’s loaded with black beans, flavorful veggies, and many spices that preserve it heat and comforting. Only a fast sauté of these veggies and a sluggish simmer takes this recipe from pot to bowl in below an hour.
Hero Ingredient: As with all comforting soup recipe, the secret is within the presentation. Lay out your entire toppings and let company construct their masterpiece!
Serve With: Tacky Bitter Cream and Onion Biscuits
Seafood Recipes for Giant Teams
Why We Love It: These grilled shrimp tacos are a summer season obsession. With a brief and candy ingredient checklist and a primary protein on the cheaper aspect, it’s an important batch of components for decent days and grilling exterior. Change up your toppings with something from slices of creamy avocado to bits of contemporary cilantro and some squeezes of contemporary lime.
Hero Ingredient: Pico de Gallo is all the time a winner with these tacos!
Serve With: Guacamole, Spicy Mezcal Paloma
Why We Love It: Camille picked up this recipe from Contramar in Mexico Metropolis and we’ve been modified ever since. It’s further appropriate for big teams because the elements might be rapidly prepped prematurely. When everybody is able to dig in, simply set out the tostadas and toppings and let everybody construct their very own!
Hero Ingredient: Avocado mellows out this recipe’s spicy and savory taste mix.
Serve With: Mexican Chopped Salad, Margarita on the Rocks
Why We Love It: My household has a practice of indulging in salmon for at the least one evening of our summer season trip. This salmon recipe has solely 5 components and comes collectively in a snap. The peach salsa brings all of the summer season fruit flavors, whereas chile lime seasoning provides a kick of zest to this grilled fish.
Hero Ingredient: Peach salsa, want I say extra?
Serve With: Salt & Vinegar Potatoes, Vegan Purple Pepper Pasta
Why We Love It: What’s higher than a taco bar after an extended day of poolside or yard enjoyable? These chimichurri fish tacos are considered one of my go-to cheap meals for big teams, and they are often topped with numerous flavorful additions that every one company can decide and select from.
Hero Ingredient: Cilantro is the hero of this chimichurri sauce.
Serve With: Mexican Avenue Corn Salad
This put up was final up to date on July 11, 2025 to incorporate new insights.
