If you’ve ever hosted a soiree for friends and family then you know how difficult it is to come up with fresh, new and exciting food ideas. You have to balance fun with healthy options, while making sure that it’s flavorful enough for your guests to enjoy.
Then there are all the different food preferences to consider, from pescaterian to vegan, vegetarian and Banting. It can all get too much, especially because you must ensure the overall ambience is suitable for the occasion.
After taking all of these different factors into consideration, we’ve come up with a selection of the best foods to serve at an adult birthday party. Read on and get ready to be inspired!
- Make versatile sides
One of the biggest mistakes you can make at an adult party is to not have enough sides. The other mistake would be to make flimsy sides that leave people feeling unsatisfied.
Instead, opt for multi-taskers such as grain-based salads that you can top with fantastic garnishes. Lentils, farro, wheat berries and couscous all provide a wonderful base for a filling, tasty and texture-filled salad. Of course, it’s best to hold off on the herbs until you’re ready to serve the salad or else risk getting a soggy bottom.
Another great side to consider would be smoky black bean salsa with fresh cilantrol, red onion, lime juice and sweet potato chips.
- Serve a cake that goes the extra mile
Cut yourself some slack and serve a fruit-based cake instead of the usual chocolate or vanilla flavors. The great thing about fruitcake is that you can prepare it beforehand and it actually tastes better over time because the flavors fuse together nicely.
The key to keeping your fruit cake fresh and delicious is to leave it out to cool for a few hours after taking it out of the oven. Then, wrap it in cling-wrap and put it in the fridge. You’ll want to take it out at least an hour before the celebrations start and leave it at room temperature so that it’s not too cold.
- Simplify your desserts
If you decide to host a dinner party for your birthday, you might want to keep the dessert simple since you’ll be serving cake anyway. Ice cream is a great option because you can measure the servings beforehand.
Instead of serving your ice-cream on the usual cups or cones, scoop it onto cupcake liners placed on a baking tray. Then, cover it with cling wrap and freeze so that it’s ready to go when dessert rolls around.
- Serve interesting snacks
Anyone can serve pull-apart bread and mini nachos. If you want to really stand out, then you must think out the box and re-imagine fan favorites.
Things like toasted ravioli, pesto parmesan pastry straws and easy enchilada cups are all fantastic snacks to get the party started with.
If you’re going to serve a seven-layer dip, why not do something different and place it in individual cups so each person has their own serving? Your guests will feel extra special and they’ll look cute on your table setting.
To cater for special food preferences, consider making healthy options like veggie pizza. This classic is easy to make and you can top it with things like carrots, cauliflower broccoli and of course, your choice of cheeses.
- Star starters
We’d be remiss not to share some of our favorite birthday party starters. You can keep it simple with something like spinach dip but with a healthy twist where you add more greens and use ricotta instead of sour cream.
Dates and blue cheese is another marvelous finger food that only requires four simple ingredients. This includes dates, honey, gorgonzola picante and sliced toasted almonds. Plus, you can never go wrong with pigs in a blanket and homemade mozzarella sticks with string cheese.
Conclusion
They key to hosting a successful birthday party is to keep the food and drinks flowing. Hopefully, our suggestions have inspired you to elevate the cuisine at your next birthday party celebration. Now, all that’s left is to look for suitable birthday party venues and you’re pretty much set!
