What’s You Best Tip for Feeding a Crowd on a Budget?
Who says hosting has to come with a hefty bill?
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All good things must come to an end, and we’ve reached the final day of Hip2Save’s birthday week. We hope you all have had just as much fun as we have! We appreciate each and every one of you for sharing your input in the comments and for being amazing members of our Hip Community. 💗
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During our birthday giveaway, all you have to do is comment for a chance to win. This format is just like our monthly reader giveaway and makes for some great conversation among our Hip2Save community. The giveaway prompt posts will be going live each day now through Friday, and your comment will get you entered to win that day’s prize. Easy peasy!
Today, we’ve got one $100 Amazon eGift card up for grabs. Comment now through Sunday, June 29th 11:59 PM MT for your chance to win.
We want to hear from you!
Today’s Birthday Giveaway Question:
What’s your best tip for feeding a crowd on a budget?
Share in the comments section below for our Hip community to read. By leaving a comment, you are entering to win a $100 Amazon eGift card!
Entries for this giveaway are now closed.
How to Enter:
- Comment Below: Share your favorite way to feed a crowd on a budget.
- Duration: The commenting entry period starts on Friday, 6/27/25 at 7 AM MT and ends on Sunday, 6/29/25 at 11:59 PM MT.
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Here are our Hip team’s favorite ways to feed a crowd on a budget…
“A baked potato bar is always fun, especially since everyone can customize their own! Bags of potatoes are always super inexpensive, then just add bowls of different toppings like cheese, butter, sour cream, chives/green onions, chili, taco meat, etc!” – Erika
“My go to is pasta (typically baked ziti) when I’m feeding a big crowd. It’s SO cheap, easy/quick to make, and you can pre-make it all beforehand, then just heat it up and not be in a rush day of trying to cook. Plus, sides are super easy too. Just grab a few salad kits and a few loaves of garlic bread and you’re good to go! Easy peasy.“ – Liz
“My daughter hosted her church group recently – over 25 kids. I tried putting a bunch of Nathan’s hot dogs in the slow cooker and that worked so well! 🌭 The taste was awesome, and they could dish up as desired with all the toppings. Cheap and so easy/good. I served chips and cut up watermelon, and they loved it.“ – Lina
We can’t wait to hear your brilliant hosting tips to feed a hungry crowd!
Thank you for celebrating our birthday all week long with us! 🎉 Now let’s get back to the deals…
For past events, we try to shop sales and bogos leading up to the event. If the event is planned well in advance, that gives us more time to shop sale cycles.
Pot luck
I make my own broth from veggie scraps and chicken or ham bones that I have collected in the freezer. To feed a crowd I would use that to make a soup in the Instant Pot – either Chicken Tortilla Soup served with chips and in-season fruit, or Tomato Basil served with grilled cheese sandwiches and in-season fruit.
Crockpots are lifesavers in this situation! For big events at church, we’ve done a baked potato bar; soups, salads and bread; and breakfast for dinner. A wide variety of items that are low in cost is a great way.
I would try to make as much of the food as possible myself. Or maybe have a potluck and have everyone bring something. Look for good sales and plan ahead!
Ok, so this isn’t really a “ meal” but we are always stuffed afterwards. When we are planning a large get together in the evenings we do banana splits!! A couple Tubs of ice cream with anything goes toppings….like crushed graham crackers, cookies and or candy bars, nuts, jar cherries, syrups, canned mandarin and peaches chopped. So much fun and the kids are always so ridiculously creative!!
Spaghetti bake in a large tray uses minimal inexpensive ingredients and tastes great. Salad on the side and garlic bread.
Lasagna and ceasar salad has been my go to for feeding a crowd for years. Garlic bread can be added or not if you need stretch it a bit more for cheap too! Cakemixes and frosting are usually under $5 for both, so make a cake or two and all of a sudden it seems like a feast.
Costco pizza and a garden salad!
Potluck
Pulled pork , bought on sale and stashed in freezer, is usually a favorite for crowds at my house. Add coleslaw or pasta salad and everyone is happy amd full!
I’m for a good potluck – this way there is a lot of variety and the cost is minimal to all parties.
Chili. Best during winter months.
Potluck, but for ingridients instead of meal. Ask people to bring a topping and you can provide the potatoes. We do this at my office because it’s easy for people to volunteer to bring something like a bag or two of shredded cheese or some chopped up tomatoes rather than preparing an entire dish. Other similar options include taco bar, salad bar (can be a taco/salad bar, just have more greens and add some dressing).
potluck style
It would be a pasta night. Always on sale and always stocked up on deals because of you lovely ladies. Thank you. Couldn’t raise my family and brothers without you.
Aww, You’re so welcome! Happy we could help you grab the deals your family has needed! 🤗💕
A smoked pork butt is a good go to for large gatherings. Inexpensive and delicious and easy to come up with a variety of side dishes to complement it.
Taco salads, have people help with the toppings, or side dishes.
A potluck or spaghetti and meatballs are my go-to’s for feeding a crowd.
Million dollar dpaghetti and salad if the crowd has no dietary restrictions or preferences. Burrito bowls bar or taco bar if they do because it’s really easy to add diabetic/keto/gluten free options like cauliflower rice or low carb or gluten free tortillas.
Prep as much as you can before hand
Pasta items seem to go far and are less expensive. Lasagna, spaghetti or Alfredo. Ask guest to bring their favorite salads or desserts.
My tip is to make pasta like baked ziti. Pasta is reasonably priced and it’s easy to make for a crowd.
Pasta or taco bars are the way to go!
Have a potluck. You do the protein and have everyone bring a side, desert, or drinks.
Also, plan a few weeks to a couple months ahead to be able to pick ingredients up while they are on sale to save money.
Tacos!
meals they can assemble to their preference. rice bowls, tacos, baked potatoes with toppings
You can get away with serving smaller portions if you schedule the event to start shortly after a time when most people have already eaten lunch or dinner beforehand. 🙂 I also always try to keep it simple and plan the menu in advance either using items we already have and/or shopping sales/promotions/coupons to stock up on items needed to prepare to make a majority of the options myself.
Mini meatball sliders are always a big hit. Put Costco meatballs and spaghetti sauce in a slow cooker to keep warm at the party. Serve with King’s Hawaiian rolls and sliced cheese. You could also switch things up with teriyaki or BBQ sauce instead of spaghetti sauce.
For cheese trays, I but the 2 pound packages of sliced cheese from Sam’s for 7.50. Then I stack them and quarter them, which makes the perfect size for cheese and cracker trays.
As the non-chef of the group, my only tip is that someone has to offer to bring the paper plates, napkins, etc. I learned early on that it is better to spend a few more cents on a better quality items that, for instance, only take one paper plate than spend less per paper plate on the cheaper ones but needing to use more of them to not make a mess.
I order Larosa’s pizza – I use buddy cards to get a free large cheese with every large pizza ordered. Most of the kids only eat cheese anyway or I can get store pepperoni slices and add them onto leftovers.
I toss a pork roast in the crockpot overnight with chicken stock. I shred it the next day and then serve it with green enchilada sauce for tacos OR barbeque sauce for sliders. Super cheap and easy!!
Pulled pork prepped in the crock pot and simple sides for the win!
Pizza and salad – always easy! And Costco prices for a giant pizza can’t be beat!
Potluck!!!
Taco bar. Crock pot refried beans (cheap and easy) We take care of meat and tortillas.. Everyone else brings their favorite topping.
If we want super cheap we do Hot dog fest. Everyone brings their favorite pack of hotdogs, buns and a topping…this gets pretty creative.
Top Tip: Do a “Build-Your-Own” Bar.
Like a:
Taco bar 🌮
Pasta bar 🍝
Baked potato bar 🥔
Chili bar 🍲
Why it works:
Cheap ingredients (rice, beans, pasta, potatoes = budget MVPs)
Easy to make a lot
Everyone picks what they like = less waste
Feels fun without being fancy
It’s filling, fun, and friendly on your wallet. Boom! Party fed. 🎉
Pulled pork is usually starts with an inexpensive cut of meat and stretches to feed a crowd!
Potluck is great and this allows the expense to be divided.
Can we get the ziti recipe from Liz?
YES! I just asked Liz for her recipe!
“This is my ziti recipe for when I’m cooking for a crowd, I cut the recipe in half when just cooking for the family!”
Ingredients:
2 pounds of dried ziti or penne pasta
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon red peppers
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
Salt & pepper (However much you want, I just eyeball it)
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Ricotta cheese
16oz of Mozzarella Cheese
3-4 Jars of your fav Pasta Sauce (You want it to be extra saucy if your planning on saving and reheating it for the event as some sauce will dry when it reheats)
***You can also add in a pound of ground beef or italian sausage to beef it up! If cooking for a really big crowd then I usually make one just cheese, and one with meat!***
Directions:
Add dried ziti or penne pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente.
Meanwhile, place ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, garlic powder, red peppers, italian seasoning, salt/pepper into bowl and stir to combine. (If you cooked ground beef or sausage add it into this mixture!)
When the pasta is ready, drain and return the pasta to the now-empty pot. Add about 3/4 of the sauce and stir until the pasta is well-coated. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Add the cheese/seasoning mixture to the pasta and mix it up well.
Put half of the pasta mixture into a baking dish and spread into an even layer. Evenly sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining pasta in an even layer. Pour all the remaining sauce over the pasta and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan.
Bake at 350 for about 30 min or until cheese is melted!
Plan ahead – then you don’t panic buy extras. Try to make what you can yourself- ex. make fruit punch/lemonade and serve in a pretty container rather than finding half drank sodas or drink packets ( especially with kids) much cheaper per ounce Pulled bbq chicken in crock/instant pot. Make prior then rewarm at party, serve with buns, chips, nacho toppings. Or walking tacos with 3 mini crock pot with corn, white cheese dip and rotel dip. Easy! Make cupcakes (sams are delicious and easy) and make mini cupcakes with mini muffin pan. Again- a lot less wasted.
Plan and Prep ahead so you know exactly what you’re doing. Do your research. I have some great cookbooks on how to feed a crowd! Etc! I was researching here in just seeing the answers to the question to get ideas!
Tell them they can all go to Sams Club for a hotdog combo, and that you’ll cover anything over $1.51 🙂
BYO— When we have a low country boil everyone brings an item for it.
Or we have gatherings at my sister’s house and she doesn’t want help so I save money that way too 🙂
I like to serve pulled chicken sandwiches made in a crock. It’s a 3 ingredient recipe Lina posted years ago. Tasty and versatile!
Vegetarian pasta and cookies. If people want to bring something suggest additional desserts but be sure to have enough dessert without relying on others to bring it. You don’t want to be short handed. Stock up on drinks when they go on sale.
Taco bar is always a hit or breakfast foods like a waffle bar….. people love a “bar” where they can customize their plates and it seems fancy
We just did a graduation we order a few sides and made more ourselves. Like broccoli salad, ramen noodle salad, strawberry pretzel salad. Used hip2save advice with Walmart sheet cake, and did burgers and sausage. Finally shopped around for tables and chairs but used our garage instead of tent.
For all the little and big kids a pizza style hot dog bar because nothing beats a dog with pizza sauce, sausage and pepperoni crumbles covered in your choice of cheeses! Cheap and yummy!
Tacos/build your own Mexican bowls
Planning ahead always helps save money. Shop the sales leading up the event if possible.