Inside: How Many Appetizers for a Party of 100: Tips and Advice for hosting large parties.
Are you throwing a big party soon and are in need of some advice on how much food to get to be able to feed 100 people or more? Well, I am here to help! In this article, I go over how much food you will need and some awesome appetizer food ideas you can pick to include.
I know that throwing a larger-scale get-together like this can be stressful. So it is my hope to be able to help you relieve some of that stress.
I have some simple tips and tricks for calculating the amount of food you’ll need, so you can make it specific to your needs. After all, whoever has an even 100 people show up?
So take a look through this article. Before you do that, though, you make be wondering what makes me qualified to give you this kind of advice. Well…I have learned the hard way, through experience.
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My Most Recent Party Debacle
So I recently threw my largest party yet. I had over 100 people coming, and it was only after I sent out the invitations that I realized I had no idea how to pull off something on that scale. Until now, the most people I have had at a party was 30. As you can imagine, it was quite the jump from double digits to triple. I wish that I had some help to show me the proper portions of food, the best way to entertain that many people, and of course…how to SEAT that many people.
I am happy to report that I pulled it off seamlessly, but that wasn’t to say that it wasn’t stressful for me in the planning moments before the big day. I figured out the best way to squeeze over 100 seats into my party space; I found the best entertainment and decorations. But the one thing that was a near miss was my appetizers.
You see, up until the week before my party…I had ordered 100 servings of my favorite appetizers to date. I had, for some reason had it in my mind that each person would be satisfied with just one bite of an appetizer. Foolish, I know. But I will blame this on the fact that I was dealing with a million other party planning to-dos.
100 Servings Is NOT enough
Luckily, I was invited to a friend’s birthday party, where there were also over 100 people in attendance. When I tell you that I ate a handful of each appetizer served…I am not exaggerating. After my 6th bite of shrimp, I realized that 100 servings would NOT be enough. I looked around me, and the general consensus was that people grabbed more than just one appetizer.
My blood ran cold. Did I have time to up my order? Yes, yes, I did. I also gave my catering company an extra big tip at the end. But Alas, everyone was fed and happy at my party. So I wanted to extend to you my learned expertise.
In this article, I answer the question: How Many Appetizers for a Party of 100? I have also included some of the best appetizer food ideas you can either make yourself or have your caterer make for you. I hope you find this information helpful! So let’s get into it.
How Many Appetizers for a Party of 100
If you are having a party with one hundred people planning to attend, you should plan for six portions of appetizers per person. Yep, 6! I have noticed this in myself and from watching the people around me.
A simple formula for party throwing: For every person, have six appetizers for them. This gives people the room to have more if they like, plus you don’t need to make it awkward by letting everyone know that they only get an allotted amount. Because here is the thing: Not everyone will have 6. Some will have 2, others will have 7…but it will balance out better this way in the end.
So How Many Appetizers for a Party of 100? You will need 600 servings of appetizers. You can use this formula for your specific party, and every party going forward. It is tried and true, and it works. Now that we have that covered let’s get into the best appetizer ideas!
Simple Appetizers for a Party of 100
Here in this first list, I have included 10 of the simplest appetizers you can have on your special day. When you are serving something in this big of a scale, the simpler, the better, otherwise, the whole thing can end up being one big mess for your catering company, and your bill might be higher. So save some money with these crowd pleasers!
I especially love number 7 and 9. How delicious!
1. Parmesan Crusted Tortellini Bites – These look to die for.
2. Mini Caprese Salads – I am such a sucker for caprese salads! They are fancy AND simple.
5. Spinach Dip Cups – You can never go wrong with a spinach cup.
6. Loaded Potato Cups – Potatoes are another crowd pleaser that will never fail you.
8. Bacon-Wrapped Weenies – For you meat lovers out there, these bacon-wrapped weenies will haunt your dreams.
9. Cucumber Shrimp Bites with Avocado – I feel like shrimp is the all-time appetizer food winner.
10. Salami Bites
Delicious Appetizer Ideas
For this last list, I have some of the most delicious appetizer ideas that I have ever seen and tasted. These are perfect for any occasion so take a look through to see which ones sound best to you. I am especially fond of the number 15. I have never heard of something so delicious. My stomach is growling as I type this out. I am not even joking. What do you think of these?
11. Baked Shrimp Toast – I want to take this basked shrimp toast to Las Vegas so I can merry it. Elvis will be the officiator and everything.
12. Pretzel Bites – You can never go wrong with just straight-up carbs, in my opinion, pretzels are the best form of carb.
13. Honey Balsamic Peach Bruchetta
14. Chicken and Waffle Sliders – These are the cutest and yummiest things on this list. You cannot change my mind.
15. Carmelized Onion and Pear Tarts
16. Proscuitto Melon Appetizers – We are getting fancy with these ones.
17. Smoked Salmon Crustini – Crustinis are my favorite foods to see at parties. They are so yummy!
18. Duchess Potatoes – If you have never had a dutchess potato, then you are truly missing out. Check these swirly goddesses out to see what I mean.
19. Bacon Jam Crustini – I feel like the name of this one speaks volumes for itself.
So, are you feeling a little more prepared to host your party now? I am guessing so because this is the exact article I needed while I planned mine. I hope I answered your questions on How Many Appetizers for a Party of 100.
It’s much less complicated than you may have thought, right? Who would have guessed that? Also, who would have ever thought they would have to put in an order for 600 appetizers? Ah, the fun things you get to do when you love to throw parties.