Hi there! Are you looking for some food bar ideas for an upcoming party?
Great! You’re in the right spot.
Food bars are a wonderful entertaining idea.
After a little prep work, you can retire most of your hosting responsibilities and relax with your guests.
Everyone gets the freedom to customize their own creations!
Who doesn’t like that?
You can simply put out an assorted spread and let your guests take it from there!
Below I’ve gathered up 10 crowd pleasing food bars that are meant to be main dish style party fare.
Below each food bar idea is an in text link that will lead you to the tutorials on how to create these tasty spreads.
Let’s get to it!
This Post Contains Amazon Affiliate Links (Paid Links)
#1) DIY Taco Bar
Hannah Drake assembled this lovely upscale taco bar that goes way beyond ground beef!
You can follow the link if you are interested in seeing the rest of her spread!
But don’t feel bad about creating a ground beef taco bar. Guests will love it, and with the right amount of toppings you can’t go wrong!
#2) Build Your Own Pasta Bar
Somewhat Simple showcases this super smart idea!
An assortment of cooked pastas, sauces and toppings that guests can heap into a bowl.
Yum!!
#3) Nacho Food Bar Idea
Who doesn’t like nachos? Mom’s & Munchkins created this epic sweet and salty nacho bar display!
On the left you have savory items, meats, and traditional nacho toppings.
And on the right, the sweets. What a fun idea!
#4) Mac & Cheese Food Bar Idea
Mama Challenge is responsible for this creative genius!
Both kids and adults are going to go crazy over this one.
Adding protein topping like pepperoni, bacon, and grilled chicken to a homemade mac and cheese is an awesome main dish party food idea.
#5) Baked Potato Bar
Delicious Made Easy shows readers how to create three lovely baked potato creations.
They sky is the limit as far as a baked potato bar goes!
My mind is jumping from cheese, ham and broccoli creations to chili, cheese and scallions. Yum!
#6) Sandwich Food Bar Idea
Livin The Mommy Life set up this simple yet sophisticated sandwich bar at one of her daughter’s birthday parties.
What a great idea!
If you’re looking to spice it up a bit, consider croissants, rolls and flat breads as well as bacon, sprouts, and homemade sandwich spreads.
This is a the perfect no fuss entertaining idea.
#7) Build Your Own Salad Bar
Moms and Munchkins reminds us that salad bars aren’t just for the restaurants.
Guests love creating their own main dish salads piled with fresh greens, filling toppings and flavorful dressings.
The only thing this spread is missing is a basket of some freshly baked baguettes if you ask me. 😉
#8) Burger Food Bar Idea
Intentional Hospitality showcased this wonderful burger food bar idea.
This is so much more than a simple backyard barbeque!
Notice the assortment of cheeses, grilled toppings and sauces.
#9) Outdoor Grilled Pizza Bar
This pizza bar By Stephanie Lynn might be my favorite of the bunch!
She allowed guests to assemble their favorite pizzas, and then briefly cooked them on the grill.
You should head over to her blog to see the rest of the party.
She arranged small salads inside of mason jars! I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything cuter. <3
#10) Breakfast Food Bar Idea
Pinterest is full of inspiring ideas like this breakfast food bar idea!
We eat breakfast at any time of the day, and you shouldn’t rule it out as a main dish idea for your party.
Of course a breakfast food bar is a great idea for brunch or morning entertaining, but an savory chicken and waffle bar could work at any time of the day!
Important Food Bar Tip!
I didn’t want to rain on anyone’s parade amongst the beautiful images above, but I did notice a couple of food bar faux pas!
What you might as? Serving cold food!
While food bars are a wonderful idea for a party, it’s very common for guests to mix, mingle, and eat at their leisure.
Rarely will guests immediately assemble into the buffet line when food is freshly plated and hot. They will likely do so after some visiting and grabbing a drink.
Now I’m assuming you will prep most of your food bar ingredients before guests arrive.
Make sure your food tastes as great as the minute it was plated by keeping warm foods warm, and cold foods cold!
Below are some table top devices and entertaining trays that will be key for this!
No one wants to eat cold pasta or room temperature baked potatoes, just sayin! 😉
Browse the links listed below to find the right server for your party food bar.
Happy party planning!
You can explore more party food ideas here if you’d like! 🙂
Cheers for now.
<3 Ang
Autumn Rose Reo says
Thanks so much for sharing! This is still my daughter’s absolutely favorite!
theunlikelyhostess says
Thanks for the great idea Autumn! Loved your beautiful spread. <3
Angelina DeLuna says
All your ideas are fantastic! So yummy looking and doable. Thank you Ang❤