What are the Best Food Ideas for an Adult Birthday Party Dinner
Deciding on which foods to serve at an adult birthday party can be stressful. You want to satisfy your guests' appetites but without overcomplicating things or having to spend hours cooking and prepping. Well, guess what? You can keep it simple and give your guests a delicious birthday party meal! Just follow this guide to get fail-proof birthday dinner ideas and tips on how to execute them.
What Are Good Birthday Party Food Ideas?
The best birthday party food ideas consist of food that will keep your guests full, happy, and coming back for more. To make this happen, you'll generally want to choose 1-2 crowd-pleasing dishes, plus a selection of appetizers. If you're cooking, you'll need to choose dishes for which you can easily multiply the recipe; they have to feed the whole party after all! To get you started, we've prepared a list of meals that are proven crowd-pleasers and relatively easy to prepare or cheap to cater.
Some simple and popular birthday party dish types:
Pasta-based dishes (ravioli, fettucine alfredo, orzo)
Rice-based dishes (fried rice, cajun dirty rice, risotto)
Meat-based dishes (chicken wings, sausages, meatballs)
Soups and stews (old-fashioned beef stew, chicken soup, jambalaya)
Finger-food favorites (pizza, egg rolls, tacos)
- Salads (fruit, chicken caesar, pasta)
How Do I Plan a Birthday Dinner?
Just follow these simple steps and your birthday party dinner will come together marvelously.
Send Out Invitations
First, send out invitations so that you have a head count of those attending. It's tough to plan a meal without knowing how many mouths you'll need to feed! You may want to ask about any dietary restrictions your guests have so you can accommodate them (often hosts automatically provide at least a vegan option). Make it easy in on yourself by sending the invitations out well in advance. That way, you give your guests ample time to respond and yourself ample time to prepare.
Set the Table(s) According to Your Party’s Theme
If you want to throw a great party, setting the right tone, creating the right ambience, is essential. When it comes to the birthday party dinner, that means having eye-catching table settings that match your party's theme. Start with finding the right table covers, plates, and napkins. This makes it much easier to pick the rest of your tableware and decorations, including cups, centerpieces, and so on. Extra decorative details go a long way, so consider little additions, like table scatter, placemats, and garlands.
Plan Out the Meal
Once you know how many guests will attend, you can decide which foods to serve and whether you'll prepare them yourself or get them catered. Don't forget to have at least three appetizers/snacks to make sure your guests never go hungry. Whether the party food is catered or prepared, you'll need to decide whether guests serve themselves from a buffet or their plates are prepared and served at the table. For a buffet, make sure it's easily accessible, preferably from both sides of the table. No matter which serving method you choose, you'll need to have chafing dishes and fuel to keep the food warm.
What About the Birthday Cake?
The birthday cake is as much a show and homage to the guest of honor as it is a dessert. Present the cake in style, with much fanfare. Make sure to leave ample time in between dinner and serving the cake to ensure your guests have room for dessert. For more birthday cake tips, tricks, and how-tos, check out our Ultimate Birthday Cake Guide.
Which Foods Go with which Birthday Party Themes?
So you've chosen a birthday party theme, but you're not quite sure which foods you should serve to fit your theme. While the combinations of foods and themes are practically endless, we thought it would be helpful to draw up a quick guide for which foods are best paired with some of the most popular adult birthday party themes.
Fiesta Party:
Appetizers – tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa, nachos, taquitos, quesadillas
Main Dishes – tacos, tamales, empanadas, burritos
Casino Night:
Appetizers – chicken wings, vegetable platter with dipping sauces, pigs in a blanket
Main Dishes – pizza, surf-'n-turf, burger and fries
Hollywood Glamour:
Appetizers – charcuterie and cheese board, smoked salmon crostini, bruschetta
Main Dishes – poached white fish with caper lemon sauce, rack of lamb with potatoes, ossobuco
No matter which food you choose, be sure not to forget the right birthday party tableware, candles for the cake, and to give a big hug and congratulations to your birthday dinner’s guest of honor.
