What’s You Best Tip for Feeding a Crowd on a Budget?
Who says hosting has to come with a hefty bill?
It’s the last day of Hip2Save’s Birthday Week! 🥳
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. 💗
There’s still time to enter, so be sure to check out the previous giveaway prompts, too —
- What would you buy if you had $25 to spend on Amazon?
- What’s one thing you’ll gladly pay full price for?
- Which store has the best clearance section?
- What’s one grocery name brand you’d never switch from, no matter the price?
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.
- Eligibility: All approved comments within the entry period are eligible. Winning comments will be chosen at random. Readers may only win one time during the giveaway.
Winner Notifications:
Winners will be contacted via email at the email address associated with their Hip2Save account or the email used when leaving their comments. You do not need to include your email address within your comment. All giveaway correspondence will come from our giveaway team at giveaways@hip2save.com.
Winners will be contacted by Tuesday, July 1st with the details of their Amazon eGift Card.
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…
Taco bar! We make the taco meat ahead and keep it in a crockpot. It’s easy for everyone to go down the line and make their tacos themselves and clean up is easy
Pasta bar – 2/3 different noodles with 3 sauces to choose from. Add garlic bread and side side.
Depends on the occasion and size of crowd but pizza and salad is always a crowd pleaser.
I make a pasta salad. A box of rotini,red onion,green pepper, red pepper, olives , stick of cheese, olive oil and robust Italian dressing !!!
It feeds many !!!
Make instant pot Mac and cheese. Super easy and is always a winner.
Taco bar – cook ground beef in one crock pot and chicken in another and provide the fixings!
We like to do Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken to feed a crowd or casseroles.
Each year we do a team dinner for my son’s basketball team. My husband smokes pulled pork for sandwiches, which is always a big hit for growing teenage boys. It’s amazing how much they can eat.
Well, I AVOID feeding crowds as I can barely think of meals for me and my spouse! HAHA! I guess I’d go with a pasta bar – different pastas and sauces, maybe bread sticks and salad? It’s overwhelming to consider!
Rice Bowls …. either Asian or Mexican. Ground beef with appropriate seasonings served over white rice. Add green beans or broccoli for a Korean twist. A can of pinto beans & some red/yellow/orange peppers for a Mexican meal.
i always have a theme..such as after graduation ,my invite says join the celebrant on an ice cream social.and so i have all different flavors of ice creams with all the toppings in different containers.of course i do have some one or two finger foods that are protein like meatballs or hotdogs so we are all not sugared up.In this way,the the visitors know what to expect ,and having fun,celebration and memory at the same time.
Taco Bar!! We had a huge crowd for my son’s graduation and we had a taco bar. It was great-I cooked chicken and beef in two separate crock pots, used soft taco shells and all the extras. Inexpensive and Easy
Taco bar! I always add single serve Dorito packs for the kids to do taco in a bag!
I know people do pizzas as their go to but you could also do a salad bar, pasta bar, hot dog and/or burger bar, taco bar, etc etc. Those are all more inexpensive and can feed many!
Feeding a crowd with what I call, “platter buffet”! Simply buy veggies, fruit, chips and pretzels, cookies and brownies, cheese, pepperoni , salami, and prosciutto with crackers, and a variety of drinks! Easy to set up and something for everyone!
Taco Bar with lots of toppings! Plan in advance & buy meat when it’s on sale & freeze until you’re ready to meal prep for the event! Always a big hit 🙂
I would definitely serve homemade sloppy Joe sandwiches with chips or potato salad or a Crock-Pot meal, like homemade pulled pork, pulled chicken on rolls with a side of corn, chips or a salad of some kind 😁
Walking tacos! Grab bulk individual bags of doritos, bulk ground beef, and all the fixings, super easy prep and can keep the meat warm in a crock pot!
Definitely bbq chicken or pork sammies. Cook meat in crockpot with favorite BBQ sauce, then shred. Serve with buns, favorite fixings and sides – easy peasy!
Winter = soup, spring = scalloped potatoes with ham, summer = chicken spiedies, fall = sheet pan dinners
I do chicken fettuccine Alfredo for large groups. Inexpensive, easy, quick, and a crowd pleaser!
Another one we do are tacos. A bit more work, and a bit more expensive, but yummy!
We do homemade sloppy joes and I make slider buns from scratch! We’ve also done a taco/fajita bar, baked potato bar, and pizza bar!!
I like to do a taco bar! Simply delicious, quick and inexpensive! By inexpensive, I mean you brown your ground beef and then add 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces of chopped potatoes as much as you’d like, then add your seasonings and water and the potatoes will steam while your sauce thickens! When my boys were teens, I would do this to save money and make the meat mixture go a long way!!!! 🌮
Hamburgers/hotdogs and pasta salads. It doesn’t hurt to ask others to bring a dish to share, imo.
Sloppy Joe’s, pulled pork- anything that can be prepared and served in crock pot.
Fruit/ fruit Salad or Asian cabbage slaw
Order pizza and find coupons and weekly ad for more deals.
Definitely maybe asking everyone coming to bring a dish if possible making it potluck style. But you can’t go wrong with spaghetti on a budget.
Spaghetti or poor man’s lasagna (baked spaghetti), salad, and garlic bread OR sloppy joes, popcorn (cheaper than chips), carrots/dip are my go to options.
Pinto Beans and Cornbread. Came from a large family and this was a weekly staple for us.
Pinto beans add bacon hotdogs cilantro
Any pasta dish!!! Super easy to throw together
My feed a crowd is a casserole I make
Shredded chicken with gravy
Mash potatoes
Stuffing
Layered top to bottom
Have a salad/cranberry sauce in the side super easy and feeds a lot.
Spaghetti, you can even do different sauces.
Spaghetti
I have a huge pot that I make bean soup or sloppy joes in. It’s always a hit.
Taco bar (people can make salad or nachos if they don’t want tacos). Baked Spaghetti and lastly, Costco pizza
Veggie Lo main… on a budget you boil spaghetti noodles . In a separate pan cook mushrooms, zucchini and onions in extra virgin olive oil. When the pasta is done add the veggies + one more veggie 1 tomato diced. Add sesame oil and low sodium soy sauce and your done!
Chili with all the fixings. Delicious, filling and inexpensive.
Slow cooker pork shoulder and some BBQ sauce- makes tons of delicious sliders, super affordable and easy clean-up (can even use a Crockpot liner)…plus, great for gluten-free guests and those on keto (just have the meat!)
We never seem to have any large parties, but if we did I think it would depend on the season. For summer parties different types of salads and fruit/veggie trays are always a good.
Pizza and salad!
Pasta dishes!!! Any and all! Hot and cold! They definitely go the furthest with large groups! 😃👏🏻
Usually a taco bar. Have also done bbq or good ole fashioned grilled burgers and hot dogs
We are feeding the women at the homeless shelter and we are doing hotdogs, salad and some type of chips and pretzels.
Taco or baked potato bar.
Lasagna and spaghetti are always big hits, especially when served with salad and/or garlic rolls.
Pot of chili! Have hotdogs, Fritos for frito pies and tortilla chips for nachos! Easy cleanup and 1pot mess something for everyone
meatballs ribs chicken salads
Lasagna, meat and vegetarian!!
Crock pot recipes – – macaroni & cheese and sloppy joes, or chili and corn bread (not crock pot)