Need help with Family Reunion Ideas for Meal Planning? Getting together with the ENTIRE family is always fun and exciting, but planning the meals can be very stressful. We are here to make it easy for you with The Ultimate Family Reunion Meal Planning Guide!
I have created a list of our favorite family reunion food ideas with some handy tips included. The key to a successful family reunion is all in the planning and getting as much as humanly possible done BEFORE the reunion begins. Whether you have a family of 10 or a family of 100, you should be able to find at least a meal or two that will work for you! Cooking for a large group doesn’t HAVE to be (and shouldn’t be) crazy stressful– you can do it!
There are endless ways to divvy up meals and responsibilities. Many times, if you are at a reunion with multiple families, the most convenient way to divide things up is to have each family take a day (or a meal). That family should be in charge of not only the meal but also clean-up for that meal. Make expectations clear as soon as possible so there is no confusion. Also, let each other know what you are making for your meals so there are no repeats. Feel free to share how your family shares meal responsibilities at reunions (no really, I would like to know)!
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How much kitchen space will you be working with? Are dishes provided? What about pots/pans/and cooking utensils? Is there a dishwasher? Is there enough cupboard/pantry space for everyone’s stuff? Will they be large enough for the amount of food you are wanting to cook? These are all things you will want to know before you get there. Try to get a detailed run-down of what will be available to you before you even book your accommodations. Many rental places will even provide a detailed inventory if you ask!
As I mentioned earlier– when preparing food for a large group, you will want to prepare as much as you can ahead of time. Ground beef, shredded beef, and shredded chicken (or even pork) are SUPER easy to do ahead of time. You can get these things all pre-prepared days (or weeks) ahead of time and freeze them until your reunion starts.
By this I mean don’t plan meals that will require a lot of ingredients to be refrigerated until the day of your meal. If you are sharing one large cabin with the entire family, chances are there won’t be a whole lot of refrigerator space. Be mindful of what others in the family will be preparing and have an idea of how much fridge space everyone will need. The less you can refrigerate the better.
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This one is kind of obvious but I’m not talking “bulk” according to normal grocery store standards. Try to find a restaurant supply or food service store that has those BIG ol’ cans of stuff (Chili, Nacho Cheese.. etc..). The place we have here in Boise is called “Cash & Carry” and they are a dream come true for planning meals for large groups. If you don’t have a restaurant supply store near you, Costco or Sam’s Club will probably have what you need, too.
Don’t make things awkward come mealtime for a family member with food allergies. Be prepared! Call the person ahead of time to let them know what you are making and ask them how they would like to be accommodated. It isn’t that hard to accommodate allergies nowadays. I guarantee your thoughtfulness will be appreciated!
I know this isn’t the most “environmentally friendly” advice but cleaning 50 people’s dishes at a reunion when you are wanting to spend time with family is never fun. Opt for paper or plastic goods and have trash bags readily available to encourage everyone to throw their stuff away when they are done. To cut down on excess, bring plastic cups and have everyone write their name on their cup and have them re-use that same cup all week. That way you aren’t unnecessarily using up hundreds of cups and wondering whose cup is whose. You can also cut down on dishes by preparing as much as you can ahead of time.
Easy Dinner Party Recipes For Stress Free Entertaining
Now that you have read all of my Family Reunion Meal Planning Tips, here are some recipes that are perfect for reunions or large groups. I have included tips with most of the recipes on how to make it for a crowd of 20 adults– you can use that as a baseline to decide how to alter the recipes to your group size.
These breakfast recipes are perfect for family reunions. Depending on which recipe you would like to do, you can prepare your breakfast days ahead of time, the night before, or whip it up quickly the morning of. To help all of these breakfasts go further, include fruit and/or toast (or some kind of carb) in addition to the meal below.
Wraps and large sandwiches that you can prepare and slice are the way to go for family reunion lunches. Making individual sandwiches take WAY too long and require too many people in the kitchen. You want something quick that your hungry family members can grab and go so you can get on with your family reunion activities.
Healthy Dinner Recipes
The family reunion meal that seems to give everyone the most anxiety is DINNER. After a long day of activities and fun, there is a lot of pressure to make a delicious dinner that everyone will love! Here are our favorite dinner ideas for a large group.
Here are some more recipes that are easy to prepare for a large crowd. They are also pictured in the “Dinner” collage above.
For some family reunion dinners (or lunches) you may just want to cook burgers and hot dogs or something quick on the grill, which is great! Some families like doing meals like this “potluck” style– so if you are looking for a side dish, pasta salad, or something to go well with your “grill” dinner, here are some great recipes that will feed a crowd:
Dinner Ideas For Picky Eaters
Please note: For ALL of these Side Dish recipes below, if it is the ONLY side dish being served you will want to double the recipe. If there will be several sides, you will want to make the recipe as-is and it should easily feed 20 people.
At our family reunions, we usually include a “snack” that someone will be in charge of each day. Something for the kiddos to munch on mid-day when they get “snacky”. Here are some great ideas for some easy family reunion snacks that ALL ages will love!
Whether you are looking for family reunion desserts or desserts for a large group– we have EXACTLY what you are looking for.
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So there you have it! The ULTIMATE Family Reunion Meal Planning Guide. Please feel free to share your OWN suggestions on how YOU plan for YOUR family reunions. We would love to hear your ideas! Also, feel free to also write comments below if you have any questions, we, or other readers, will do our best to help you out.
Feel free to SHARE this list with friends and family. Good luck with your upcoming reunion and have FUN (without the stress of planning reunion meals)!
Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.I’ve been feeding groups of people in my home for decades. Here are 20+ of my best easy and inexpensive meal ideas for large groups.
Easy Recipes For A Dinner Party
These group dinner ideas have fed many mouths and I hope they can make hosting groups of people in your home as easy as possible.
We’ve handpicked the top 10 meal ideas for groups and put them on one handy cheat sheet for you. Don’t leave without it!
Coming from a gregarious family that frequently hosted and now being a home that is regularly hosting groups, I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade over the years! Here are a few tips to keep in mind when hosting groups in your home.
Quick And Easy Recipes For Your Next Family Gathering
We have narrowed down the top 10 meal ideas for groups that we use over and over again and put them in one easy cheat sheet.
The key to this recipe for large groups is in the homemade BBQ sauce. Once it’s in the slow cooker, it’s pretty much hands off which is something I need when I have people coming over. And guys, this recipe is GOOD. So good that it made it into our second cookbook.
This recipe feeds an army. Almost everybody loves the hearty, beefy, cheesy pasta. When I’m not hosting groups, I assemble this pasta, divide it in two, bake one, and freeze the other. It makes a GREAT freezer meal. Just be sure to undercook the noodles a tad if you’re going to freeze it. Here are 70+ other great freezer meals!
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