Recipes For Dinner Party For 8

We love hosting our friends and family for dinner parties—truly, there’s nothing better than seeing our loved ones gathered around our table. But we don’t necessarily love the stress that goes along with it (planning menus, shopping for ingredients, spending the whole day cooking) or the last-minute frazzle to get everything done when we’d really rather be hanging out with our guests. But over the years, we’ve mastered our technique. The secret to our success? Crowd-pleasing dishes that look super impressive but are actually so easy to pull off. Here are 17 of our favorites.

Like it took all day but really took 30-ish minutes. The secret to this one is that it all cooks together in one pan. (Bonus: You won’t be left with a pile of dirty cookware when all the guests go home.)

This elegant DIY bruschetta bar looks like it came from a fancy caterer. But really, it’s just a matter of buying the right essentials and a little artful arrangement.

Dinner Party Desserts: Your Guide To Easy Dessert Recipes

Gaby Dalkin’s smoky, citrusy grilled salmon recipe is our go-to for any warm-weather holiday. Serve it with a crisp white wine and never look back.

A slow cooker can be a total dinner-party savior; doing all the heavy lifting earlier in the day means more time to hang out with your guests. This restaurant-worthy dish pairs fork-tender braised beef and al dente pasta. (And don’t forget the dollop of ricotta on top.)

Jambalaya is fun, festive and one of our favorite ways to feed a crowd (it’s really just a one-pan rice dish). Crank up the jazz and serve it with a pitcher of daiquiris for a real New Orleans vibe.

Indian Dinner Party Menu (vegetarian)

If a cartoon rodent can make this dish look fancy, so can you. Plus, it’s totally vegan and gluten-free, so it’s a great thing to serve when you’re not totally up on what your guests prefer.

How to make a salad look impressive? Turns out, all you need to do is serve it on a board instead of in a bowl. This one, full of ripe figs and ribbons of prosciutto, is a first-course knockout.

There’s nothing better for a summer gathering than a good old-fashioned shrimp boil with sausage, corn and plenty of Old Bay seasoning. In this easy recipe, everything cooks together in a Crock-Pot, so all you need to do when friends arrive is slice up some good crusty bread.

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Is there anything more inviting than the smell of a chicken roasting? Also, it really couldn’t be easier. Throw some veggies onto the pan or toss a salad and dinner is done.

This classic Moroccan dish is usually made in a traditional clay pot with a cone-shaped top that lets out the steam. But a regular skillet will work too. Sub in whatever veggies you have on hand, but don’t skimp on all the warming spices (you’ll never look at cinnamon the same way again).

OK, so we know this is not how Julia Child did things. But the slow cooker is actually a great way to get the beef melt-in-your-mouth tender. (Plus, you’ll actually have time to make dessert, and we know she’d approve of that.)

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We love a taco party with friends, especially when the options are a little more exciting than you might make on a random Tuesday. This cochinita pibil—savory, citrusy pork shoulder—definitely fits the bill, and you can whip it up easily in a slow cooker or Instant Pot. We won’t tell if you don’t.

Bouillabaisse is a notoriously complex dish that can take several hours (and several trips to the fish market). But paring down the ingredients a bit turns it into a totally manageable (and totally delicious) one-pot meal.

Scallops are fabulous for a last-minute dinner party when you haven’t had time to plan or prep ahead of time. They’re pretty foolproof (really, all you need is a hot pan) and come together in minutes.

Easy Dinner Party Mains

Sometimes the best way to throw a dinner party is to keep things as simple as possible. Good steaks, a bright herby sauce and plenty of good wine? We promise you’ll have happy guests.

Lasagna will always be one of our favorite ways to feed a crowd—all the work is done ahead of time, it feeds a million people and everyone loves it. We love this extra-flavorful recipe, which has a hearty meat sauce and pesto-packed ricotta filling.

We love all the different tastes and textures in this one-pan meal: crispy chicken thighs, salty feta and a spicy, creamy yogurt sauce drizzled on top. Arrange it all on your most elegant platter and congratulate yourself on a hosting job well done.

Easy Dinner Party Recipes

Foodby Dana Dickey31 Rooftop Bars in Los Angeles for Stellar Drinks and Stunning Viewsfoodby Katherine Gillen55 Halloween Dinner Ideas for Adultsfoodby Taryn PireHere’s What to Cook Every Night This Week (August 28 – September 3)foodby Bridget ShirvellOur Favorite Places to Eat in the Hamptonsfoodby Katherine Gillen Readers Can Save Big on Gorgeous Caraway Cookware Right Now—Here’s Our Full Reviewfoodby Destinee ScottAn Our Place Sale Is on With Deals on the Cult-Favorite Always Pan and Perfect Pot (So Make Room In Your Kitchen)If there's one thing we love doing more than anything in the world (besides cooking and eating in general), it's hosting dinner parties. Yep! The type where you get to invite your closest family and friends round for a sophisticated soirée complete with drinks, appetisers, main dishes and more. It doesn't get any better than that now, does it?

All the fuss and preparation that goes into planning a dinner party, but that doesn't mean it has to be stressful! You can host a fantastic evening without breaking a sweat, so long as you prepare simple but delicious dishes. And luckily for you, we've got over 40 dinner party recipes for you to look through...

From Antipasto Bites to Buffalo Asparagus, Beef Bourguignon to Classic Stuffed Peppers, here's 40 of our favourite dinner party recipes including appetisers, mains, sides and desserts.

Make Ahead Dinner Party Meals

Fresh tortellini makes this the hearty appetiser of our dreams. If you're not a fan of olives, pepperoncini peppers would be a delicious substitute!

Securing the roll-ups with toothpicks makes them MUCH easier to cook. Just don't forget to remove them when it's time for serving!

Nothing screams summer quite like bruschetta. Toasted bread gets rubbed with garlic (don't skip it, it's the best part) and topped with simply marinated tomatoes. The brighter and juicier your tomatoes, the better your bruschetta will be.

Easy Summer Dinner Recipes

Baby bella mushrooms are stuffed with garlicky, herby breadcrumbs and plenty of cheese. They make for an easy appetiser or a simple side dish. Stuff them ahead of time and bake them off when you're ready.

Don't get us wrong—we love baked brie. But it's not the most exciting party app. Fried brie, on the other hand, is absolutely INSANE.

Held together by pepperoni, these mac and cheese bites are a pizza lover's dream. Creamy mac, pepperoni, and plenty of Parm. What's not to love?

Dinner Party Ideas To Impress

The marinade is made with ingredients you most likely have on hand. And although the meat would benefit from hanging in the mixture for a while, as long as you give it

Use chargrilled artichoke hearts if you can find them for an even better flavour. Lemon and basil lift all the flavours beautifully in this dish.

By brushing the pork belly slices with the Char Siu sauce and grilling three times over, not only do you guarantee loads of flavour, but the sauce helps to re-moisten the pork between sessions under the grill for maximum caramelisation and gnarly, sticky goodness.

Steps For Planning Successful Dinner Party

This gorgeous, simple salad is perfect for a light spring or summer lunch option, or as part of the best BBQ spread of your whole freaking life. Trust us.

We're not kidding when we say this takes 10 minutes. The speediest risotto you'll ever make thanks to swapping out risotto rice for orzo.

If you're someone who's afraid of cooking seafood at home, cod is the fish for you. It's basically impossible to mess up: It cooks quickly, is hard to overcook (unless you really forget about it), and is easy to flavour however you want.

Easy Dinner Party Recipes That Will Impress Your Friends

If you do it right, homemade beef bourguignon is a labour of love. It's certainly not a quick weeknight dinner. BUT, that doesn't mean it's hard.

These braised chicken thighs are no joke. They’re super flavourful, fall-off-the-bone tender, and thankfully you only need ONE pan to make them!

74 Best Summer Recipes Beer-Marinated Skirt Steak With Corn Salsa How To Cook Steak In The Oven How To Cook Killer Brisket At HomeLooking for an easy dinner party recipe to impress your guests — now that indoor gatherings (albeit limited) are back on the agenda as of next week — without the faff? You've come to the right place.

Easy Main Dish Recipes For A Dinner Party

Although we've not done much of it over the last year due to various lockdowns and harsh restrictions on indoor gatherings, from what we

Remember, hosting a dinner party can be a stressful affair. A plan of complex dishes and not enough prep time leads to a stressed cook trying to get all the dishes out on time. Not fun.

The key to hosting a good dinner party is all in

Easy Recipes For A Dinner Party