Party Food Bars

Instead of setting out platters of snack foods, try a food bar at your next party. These are really fun tasty options. It also makes the menu planning easy as you have a theme to build upon. Here are some food bar ideas:

Pasta Bar
Great for a dinner party as this is a satisfying meal plan. Set up serving bowls with different types of pasta, try three to keep it simple. Then have the next part the sauce selections. Then have topping selections. Here is a sample idea of what choices you could offer: Choose from macaroni, linguine or farfalle. Then select a sauce from marinara, alfredo or pesto. Finally embellish with a choice combination of grilled chicken, sliced sausage, sautéed prawns, roasted veggies, grated pecorino, shredded mozza, diced chillies, fresh chopped herbs.

Baked Potato Bar
Nice to enjoy alongside a bbq. Have a large roasting pan full of baked potatoes. Then set out small serving dishes with all the desired topping choices including butter, sour cream, chives, bacon, cheddar, broccoli in cheese sauce, chilli and anything else you want to offer.

Hot Chocolate Bar
Fantastic for a post ski gathering or for any cold night get together. Prepare some old fashioned stove top hot chocolate or have a variety of hot chocolate mixes ranging from classic to white hot chocolate. Have little serving bowls with topping options of mini marshmallows, sprinkles, chocolate shavings, crushed candy canes, whipped cream, cherries. To add a little more depth you can also include some sauces to drizzle such as caramel or fudge and dusting powders like cinnamon or cocoa. And offer some fun stir stick choices like chocolate dipped spoons and whole candy canes.

Waffle/Pancake Bar
Excellent for Sunday brunches. Have a platter of waffles. Offer choices of nutella, peanut butter, butter, selections of diced fruit, whipped cream, maple syrup, honey, or any flavored syrup.

Omelette Bar
Also perfect for brunch gatherings. Have a variety of veggies like mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, spinach. Offer some ham or bacon to add to the omelettes. Lastly, a selection of cheese like cheddar, mozza or gouda.

Yogurt Bar
Nice light breakfast or snack bar for your guests. Have several yogurt choices including Greek and classic fruit flavors. Have a selection of granolas, nuts, seeds, sliced bananas and berries.

Don't forget about the classic bar ideas of salad bar, sandwich bar and ice cream bar. You could make a bar out of a myriad of ideas. Think about what you'd like to serve and you'll find ways to turn it into a bar.

Try not to confuse a food bar with a buffet. Setting out a selection of cupcakes is not a food bar but rather a buffet. Setting out one of two types of cupcakes with several topping choices that dress up the cupcake with a myriad of options is a food bar.