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High school graduation is a great time to have a party with crowds of people and lots of delicious food.
We have made several of these recipes to share with friends as they celebrate this life milestone. Here is a list of budget friendly Graduation Party Food Ideas that home cooks can make to share with loved ones!
Easy Food Ideas For A Graduation Party
As we help kids celebrate the completion of high school it can be great to feature a couple of their favorite foods on the buffet.
Having a mixture of hot and cold food with a variety of desserts always enhances the meal.
Spending plenty of time planning all of the recipe, ingredients, storage and serving details will make for a more organized and relaxed party.
Choose how many foods to serve by considering the size of the serving area. I’m the type of person that always makes too much food, but I hope you benefit from all of the graduation party food ideas we have to share.
Party Planning and Considerations
Plan the layout of each pan or appliance in the order the food will be served. Drawing a diagram of the serving tables ahead of time will save a lot of stress the day of the party.
Another important consideration is to allow for appropriate refrigeration space as this may affect what foods are served. Planning ahead and potentially asking relatives or neighbors to use some refrigerator space is important too.
When using a combination of electric roasters and slow cookers make sure you have extension cords available to be able to plug into different electric circuits.
Having plenty of ice to keep sides like Macaroni Salad cold by setting the pan of salad in a pan of ice is important for food safety in hot temperatures.
Also plan to have someone available to monitor the serving line. Using a roaster is a bit different than traditional home cooking. The food needs stirred often, a helper can watch that the spoons don’t fall in the roaster, adjust the temperatures, etc.
Our Best Recipes For A Graduation Party
Good food that’s affordable will make a party or graduation open house more fun for everyone involved.
While making big batches for a crowd certainly takes more effort than feeding your family we have tested each recipe in our kitchen and written long lists of tips and tricks in each recipe to make planning easier.
We hope that you find some recipes to help make your celebration more enjoyable!
Mac and Cheese For A Crowd
Our most popular recipe for a graduation party buffet, mac and cheese goes with pulled pork, shredded chicken, beef sandwiches or a deli tray! It's so versatile, filling and everyone loves it!
So easy to make ahead and reheat while maintaining an excellent quality and taste. Serve with a variety of BBQ sauces so guests can personalize their flavor.
A classic American side dish, we have a tried and true recipe to make in an electric roaster to serve 100 people! This one is popular and gets positive reviews regularly!
So simple to make a couple days ahead, visually attractive and universally popular this big batch of pasta salad is one of our most popular recipes on Pinterest for good reason!
Our first graduation party request was from our beloved family babysitter. Her daughters remembered my mom making these baked beans and asked for enough to feed 250 people. I'm so glad that she asked and that we were able to help!
Having a variety of toppings for loaded baked potatoes is one of my favorite ways to make a customizable party buffet. Just make sure you have enough space and dishes for all of the toppings and can keep some of them chilled if necessary.
A premium item to share at a graduation party, but one that people are sure to remember this recipe is easy enough for the home cook to make and save quite a bit over purchasing or catering.
There's a secret ingredient that the meat simmers in and becomes so delicious and tender! I love how it's so common, yet creates these wonderfully memorable sandwiches that reheat very well!
A great way to give people healthy options to compliment all of the other delicious dishes we have tips on how to offer a great Vegetable Tray as part of a party buffet.
Creamed corn has a few add ins that enhance the flavor and make corn very enjoyable to serve at parties all year around. This side dish is very affordable.
Fresh, earthy flavors make this Black Bean Salad with corn, tomatoes and a light lemon dressing a delicious and healthy side dish or salad to feed a crowd. It's great to make a couple days ahead of time.
Two to three hams can easily be made in a roaster. Slicing a boneless ham and heating in a roaster and serving along side slices of cheese is popular and easy!
