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Got the gang coming round and wondering what to cook? Don’t worry, we’ve gathered our favourite crowd-pleasers to make the job of feeding a group easy and fun. From Friday night sharing food to dreamy brunch ideas, a bake or two if you’ve got something to celebrate or hearty big-batch dinners for when you’ve got a few extra seats at the table. Whatever the number or occasion, we can help make great food the highlight of your get-together with our large family meal ideas. And if you’re after everyday recipes to feed the family, check out our easy family dinners and meal ideas for inspiration.
Invited some family round midweek? No problem… Prep one of our large family meal ideas and keep it low-key, high-taste. If you know you’ve got guests coming over, a dish prepared in your slow-cooker is a wise choice. Prep the dish ahead of time and let it slow-cook, for full-on flavour with less time spent in the kitchen. This slow-cooker pumpkin and beef chilli recipe is perfect for chillier autumn days when pumpkin is in season, and for warmer days, we’d go for this summer ratatouille – it’s bold, uplifting and healthy. Both recipes serve 8, as does our vibrant veggie full-of-greens quiche – this one’s great for last-minute invites as you can knock it together in an hour using ready-rolled pastry. It looks attractive too, ideal for party buffets as well as midweek family meals. Round off your meal with this old-school jam doughnut-inspired pudding. Prepped in just 10 minutes, it’s the ultimate comfort food – just watch everyone tuck in and enjoy!
You’ve made it to the end of the week and the reward is some nice food with family. Low- or no-cook platters make easy meals for large family gatherings – you can add sides and snacks to customise your feast depending on numbers and appetites. This charcuterie board with 5-minute cheese fondue is bound to raise some smiles, while this eye-catching vegan platter includes a homemade dip and jazzed-up houmous. Need something more robust? Watch everyone dive into this turkey meatballs dish, served with bejewelled baked rice, creamy labneh dip, crudités and flatbreads, if you like. And to drink, go for something refreshing – this alcohol-free lemon and rosemary spritz is zingy and aromatic, and the cordial can be made ahead ready to top up with soda water.
Brunch is a great choice for large family gatherings, particularly if you have young children and eating together in the evening is tricky. Plus, is there anything better than a good brunch? Go for easy dishes that look impressive, with a choice of sweet and savoury to cater for all tastes. This stunning salsa roja chilaquiles – a Mexican-style egg dish – is so easy to throw together, yet wouldn’t look out of the place in a fancy café. Or for sweet tooths, go for this blueberry and lemon curd croissant bake that’s prepped in just 10 minutes. It’s rich, creamy, fruity and zingy! Both dishes serve 8, so they’re great for get-togethers. No brunch is complete without a cuppa. Rather than serving your usual brew, why not serve a refreshing peach iced tea when the sun’s out, or a warming chai-spiced tea for colder weather?
A tasty BBQ is one of our favourite feasts for family meet-ups, and we’ve got stacks of BBQ recipes to suit all budgets, tastes and dietary needs. Our top picks are versatile – they can be grilled or barbecued, depending on the weather and season. First up, our Texas-style ribs with BBQ sauce and slaw – a substantial dish that serves 10. You can prep the BBQ sauce and slaw while the ribs cook in the oven, then finish them off on the coals or in a griddle pan. Burgers are a must for a BBQ, and alongside your regular meat patties, why not get creative with these barbecued or fried sweetcorn and chickpea burgers? Flavoursome yet kid-friendly, we think veggies and meat eaters will happily tuck in. As for sides, a potato salad always goes down well at a family BBQ, and this delicious chargrilled potato salad recipe features barbecued (or grilled) new potatoes for a smoky flavour and distinctive crunch. Round off your feast with a family-friendly pud cooked on the coals – these raspberry s’mores with toasted marshmallows are ridiculously simple to make, yet look and taste fab. What’s more, the recipe is easily doubled if you’re catering for more than 6, or you want seconds in reserve!
We think a Sunday featuring a roast dinner is a Sunday well spent and it’s a lovely way to get the family together. Roasts make easy meals for large family gatherings – get a big joint and a veggie/vegan option, plus plenty of tasty sides to cater for a crowd with ease. Take your roast beef up a notch with this chorizo-stuffed beef with roasted garlic sauce. Serving 8, it’s big, bold and beautiful! Or if you’re after a roast pork recipe, this Cuban-inspired pork shoulder has incredible flavour, served with green rice it makes a great choice for a warmer-weather roast. This mushroom nut roast tart with pesto is our favourite vegan/veggie main for Sunday lunch – a fresh, modern twist on a nut roast, the spelt flour pastry can be made in advance. Turning to sides, if we had to choose one roast side dish, it would be our spiced roasted baby potatoes – no need to peel and chop the spuds and the zingy flavours make the dish appealing all-year round. Finally, our make-ahead gravy takes the pressure off plating up and you can even freeze it for up to 3 months before serving. Made with fresh veg, aromatic herbs and chicken wings, this ‘turkey gravy’ is too good to save for Christmas Day!
Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, anniversary, exam results or something else, good times call for good food. Party spreads are easy to assemble, but if you’re after large family meal ideas to offer something more substantial and filling, here are our favourites. This Indian-inspired pulled pork, serving 8, is flavoursome and fragrant, with tender slow-cooked pork shoulder meat – the effort is totally worth it. This hearty dish is perfect for celebrations in autumn/winter, but for warmer weather, we’d serve this sticky Pimm’s-glazed pulled chicken, with some warmed tortilla wraps or crunchy tacos. A delicious vegan and veggie alternative is our crispy chipotle cauliflower tacos recipe. Simple to pull together (you can even prep the cauliflower a few days before), this is seriously tasty treat food and totally plant-based. For afters, this epic white chocolate and raspberry cake, serving 20, has the wow factor, and you can make ahead and freeze the cakes and buttercream. For smaller gatherings, this chocolate and whipped caramel Swiss roll is special with a nostalgic feel, and if you need a gluten-free option, this cherry, lemon and polenta cake is so easy and elegant – you can use frozen cherries out of season. Finally, if the kids all scream for ice cream, surprise them with this creamy dark chocolate sorbet. This clever, super-easy recipe is suitable for dairy-free diets – and you can even go all out with a sorbet sundae!
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