One of my absolute favorite things about cooking is sharing it with others. (It’s why you’re here, after all!) For me, there’s no greater compliment than a room of people eating a meal I’ve made and the only sounds for the first few minutes are the clink of silverware against plates.
This edition of A Second Helping is all about that experience. Cooking for a crowd can seem daunting at first, but it certainly doesn’t have to be! Whether your usual meal routine is eating a bowl of spaghetti in front of the TV by yourself or wrangling your kids for dinner every night, these guidelines can hopefully make the process of cooking for others a little easier and a lot more enjoyable.
From years of cooking for groups of varying numbers and types of occasions, I’ve learned to consider a few key factors before I even get into the kitchen.
Scalability
Depending on what you’re working with, some recipes will be easier to scale up or down. Most soups and stews only need a single large pot, for example, while roasted vegetables need enough space on a baking sheet to be laid out in a single layer. If you’re trying to feed more than five people, that baking sheet (and your oven) could get very crowded very quickly. Consider the equipment you have available and the other parameters you’re working with and go from there.
Here’s a few examples of recipes that can be easily scaled with minimal equipment and without any complicated math involved:
Lasagna or stuffed shells - a standard domestic two-rack oven can fit at least two and up to four 9x13 baking or casserole dishes.
Chili or bolognese - like the aforementioned soups and stews, these are hearty and filling and can easily feed several hungry people out of one big pot.
Sliders - your filling of choice can be made ahead of time and reheated when ready to serve. Because sliders are small by design, you can also stretch the filling much further by including toppings and condiments; all you really have to account for is the number of buns or rolls to buy.
Timing
Some dishes should be served and eaten right away while others can sit around at room temperature for a while and still be just as appetizing.
Similarly, a boisterous Super Bowl party is likely not the best venue for delicate steamed fish with dainty spring greens, just as an intimate Friday night supper club is not necessarily suited to a high-maintenance recipe that keeps you standing over the stove and away from your friends.
For example, stir fries may be quick to cook, but they require a lot of prep and the amount food you’ll need to feed multiple people likely a) won’t fit in your pan or wok, so you’ll have to make it in a few batches, which means that b) it will be cold by the time you get to eat, and c) domestic stove tops don’t have the same firepower that restaurant stoves do, so the results may be inconsistent.
Which leads us to…
Form Factors
Considering the format includes not only accounting for your individual kitchen constraints, but also how much active work you put in. Especially if you’re hosting, adding cooking on top of that can be overwhelming. Give yourself the gift of less stress and choose what’s easiest for you.
Cooking for groups of four or more people generally falls into the following five form factors:
Big roast
This is great for holidays, especially if other people are bringing sides to accompany the meal. Classics like roast chicken, roast beef, pork loin, turkey, or spiral-cut ham are all classic options for the omnivores out there. (I won’t list all the recipes as almost every household has their favorite way of preparing a roast dinner and I’m not here to step on anyone’s toes.)
Roasts also have the benefit of very little active cooking work — once it’s in the oven, it’ll be there for a while.
For vegetarian choices, there are ample opportunities to get creative and create some beautiful centerpieces.
Whole roasted cauliflower - consider serving it with a bright and punchy sauce like salsa verde or chimichurri.
Stuffed butternut squash - if you and your fellow diners do eat meat but don’t want to make it the main focus, a mixture of sausage, wild rice, and mushrooms is a great filling option here.
Brown sugar glazed tofu - sweet, smoky, and simple.
One pot
If you were on Pinterest during the heyday of the one-pot pasta, you will likely remember that viral spaghetti recipe with cherry tomatoes, basil, and sliced onions and garlic. (Fun fact: it originated from Martha Stewart!) It has since been updated, but one-pot recipes are still as popular as ever.
![Shakshuka; risotto; chicken.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F37656870-0e9f-426d-b0b4-8f0fae7952ee_1336x1326.png)
![Shakshuka; risotto; chicken.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fecb7e28b-db3d-4156-ac0a-5a8f0d18e537_1332x1332.png)
![Shakshuka; risotto; chicken.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dcb7a3a-8db1-4431-9609-b8a878e4a579_1334x1334.png)
For me, a one-pot recipe must be truly one pot, whether on the stove or in an Instant Pot/Crockpot. I will allow for a single cutting board and knife as part of the prep work, but anything beyond that is completely unacceptable. Here are a variety of actual one-pot recipes that happily feed a crowd:
Risotto - my dear friend Julia over at Notes from a Small Pantry has a stunning risotto series via her newsletter!
Shakshuka - The base of this Middle Eastern/North African delight is a blend of tomatoes and red peppers, stewed together with a variety of spices until rich and jammy. Add eggs, halloumi or feta, chickpeas, herbs, or meat of your choice (to the same pan!) to make things even better.
Chicken and rice - classic of all classics, no matter where you are in the world. Sohla El-Waylly offers a brilliant guide on how to do chicken and rice your way, any way.
On the subject of rice, I highly recommend jollof rice, known as “party rice” across West Africa. The flavor base can be stored in your freezer for whenever you want to make it again, which will likely be right away. There are many versions of this dish, but I like Yewande Komolafe’s recipe.
Mac and cheese - Deb Perelman and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt discussed their versions of one-pot mac and cheese on their new podcast together and as a fan of mac, cheese, Kenji, and Deb, I can confirm that it’s perfect comfort food.
Sheet tray
Most meals that can be made in a traditional pan can also be done via sheet tray, but with no babysitting required.
Hot tip: line your tray with tin foil, then add parchment paper or another layer of tin foil, and place the ingredients on last. Just peel off the top layer when you’re ready to clean up — no extra scraping or scrubbing needed!
![Roasted vegetables Roasted vegetables](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F994cf3c6-4364-4c86-a4fa-81af26ffc19c_2623x3635.jpeg)
The internet is chock full of ideas for sheet tray meals, but here are some of my favorites:
Gnocchi with vegetables from Bon Appetit
Bibimbap by Eric Kim
Pizza by Brian Lagerstrom
Chicken and potatoes by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (again!)
A variety of salmon by Alyssia from Mind Over Munch
For my plant-based friends, here’s a couple recipes from the ever-inspiring Andrew Bernard:
Casserole
The Midwest may have a monopoly on the famous tater tot hotdish, but just like with sheet trays, there’s a whole world of options outside green bean casserole. (Though if that’s your jam, you do you! We don’t food-shame around here.)
Some inspiration to get you started:
Toad in the hole by Nagi from Recipe Tin Eats
Enchilada casserole by Ali from Gimme Some Oven
“Fried” rice by Chef John from Food Wishes
Baked ziti by Stephen from Not Another Cooking Show
“Dump & Go” casseroles from Julia Pacheco
There’s countless recipes in this specific genre, so get exploring!
Choose Your Own Adventure
This is my favorite way of feeding a crowd and is also a recommended method of teaching children about autonomy over their food, too!
Offering a base off which to build the rest of the meal allows people to pick and choose what they want and encourages participation and variety. It also means you can ask people to bring a few toppings (like salsa or shredded cheese), so you don’t have to prepare everything from scratch.
Make your next dinner fuss-free and serve it family/buffet-style with:
Loaded baked potatoes
Bake a bunch of potatoes in the oven and serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, broccoli or other vegetables, scallions or herbs, dips, etc.
Tacos or nachos
Serve a big batch of protein right out of the pan and lay out salsa, guacamole, queso, pickled onions, cilantro, beans (refried or whole), microwaved frozen corn, and shells or tortillas on the side. Everything except the protein can easily be store-bought and requires minimal work to prepare.
I love making this slow-cooked pork recipe from Maggie Pearson for this application because it’s cheap and delicious and so easy I could probably do it with my eyes closed.
Salad bar
Pasta salad! Grain salad! Vegetables with protein! Go nuts!
And, if all else fails, you can always order pizza.
Thank you for the shout out! <3
You have me craving a roast chicken dinner now...!