Easy Party Food Recipes

Easy party food to cook for family and friends, from pulled pork to three-ingredient brownies

Having friends over this weekend? Gone are the days of dinner parties and slaving over a three course meal. Instead, most people are adopting a more casual approach, laying on a buffet style spread where people can help themselves.

If you really want to minimise the cooking, we have plenty of easy party food ideas. How about doing a potluck party, where everyone brings their favourite dips? Bread bowl dips - where you hollow out a cob loaf and fill it with creamy, cheesy goodness - always go down a treat!

Or how about creating a grazing platter of delicious British produce? Load it up with British cheeses, seasonal vegetables, and locally-sourced charcuterie. Our Great British Mail Order Guide lists 40 amazing, ethical local producers where you’ll be able to bag yourself some wonderful treats for your grazing board.

And then, of course, there’s finger food. We love dishes that we can snack on while chatting to friends and family, that we can nibble on and come back to later. Here are some of our favourite party food recipes.

Slow cooker pulled pork

You can’t go wrong with pulled pork! And although the cooking time might be long, it really only takes a few minutes of preparation. You can serve your pulled pork in crusty baps, in wraps, or with cheesy nachos.

See Pulled Pork Recipe

Roast Chicken Pizza with Thyme & Aioli

If you’re looking for finger food ideas, pizza is always going to be popular. It’s one of our favourite sharing dishes. This particular pizza is topped with leftover roast chicken, but you can easily customise it and use whatever toppings you have available

See Roast Chicken Pizza Recipe

Crispy Chilli Beef

If you’re going for a bit of a ‘fakeaway’ vibe, then try this crispy fried chilli beef, which can be found on the menus of Chinese takeaways across the uk. We love it with egg-fried rice and sesame prawn toast!

See Crispy Chilli Beef Recipe

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich

Nothing says ‘party’ like fried chicken - it’s crunchy, tender, and totally addictive. This buttermilk chicken sandwich is a real crowd pleaser. Make sure you’ve tenderised and coated the chicken in advance - then when guests arrive you just need to fry it.

See Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe

Bacon & Cheddar Slices

This is such an easy dish to make that it’ll have a place on your party platter for years to come. Simply wrap readymade puff pastry around slices of cheese and bacon and bake in the oven. There’s another special ingredient that really elevates the dish!

See Bacon & Cheddar Slices Recipe

Three Ingredient Brownies

Would it be a party without anything sweet to eat? The trouble is, after working on your savoury courses you might not have time to rustle up dessert. If so, why not try these three ingredient brownies? Armed only with a jar of Nutella, eggs and self-raising flour you can make a moist, decadent party dessert that everyone will love.

See Three Ingredient Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Buttermilk-Fried Celeriac

This is one of our favourite vegetarian party food recipes. Instead of buttermilk fried chicken, why not try celeriac? This robust root vegetable tastes delicious when battered and fried - serve it with a homemade spicy sauce.

See Buttermilk-Fried Celeriac Recipe