13 Cheap Dinner Ideas for Hosting Company

These frugal party dinner recipes are big on taste, family-friendly, and budget-savvy! Find inspiration for your next dinner party menu.

You may think it’s impossible to host company and still stick to a budget. What if I told you that, in the past, we hosted 9 people for over a week and shopped, prepped, and cooked 40 meals, all within our $330/month grocery budget at the time?

We did. And now I’m here to show you how to make the seemingly impossible happen for you, too.

Whether you need a dinner party menu for a single evening or you’re looking for recipes for large groups for a longer period, these party dinner recipes can keep your guests well fed while sticking to your grocery budget!

WHAT MAKES A GOOD DINNER PARTY MENU?

How do you know what recipes make the best cheap food for large groups?

• Inexpensive ingredients. Stick to classic recipes with simple, inexpensive ingredients like potatoes, rice, beans, and cheaper cuts of meat. Or go meatless for really cheap party food!
• Hands-off. Or at least hands-off right before the meal, so you can enjoy time with your company. Bonus points if you can get ingredients prepped ahead of time!
• Easy to double or triple. If you’re trying to come up with large party dinner ideas, recipes that you can double or triple without having to use multiple pots or bowls, or do a ton of tricky math, are best.
• Easy to stretch in different ways. Whether you opt to stretch the meat, include cheap sides dishes or extra bread, or have lots of topping options, meals that you can stretch to go farther will help keep your spending low while feeding a crowd.
• Build off each other. This is more important if you’re hosting for multiple days in a row, but having party recipes that use similar ingredients or incorporate the leftovers into a new meal will help stretch your budget, too.

13 CHEAP PARTY DINNER RECIPES FOR HOSTING COMPANY

I spent a lot of time honing my frugal grocery budget and developing my Grocery Budget Bootcamp program. Along the way, I developed a list of frugal, real food meals that my family loves, and shared them with the many folks who stop by the Crumbs residence.

I’ll walk you through some of the meals we enjoyed while hosting our friends for special occasions. Use these party dinner recipes for inspiration the next time you’re feeding a crowd!

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Our family’s favorite Hearty Spaghetti Sauce, along with these 15-Minute Italian Meatballs and whole-grain spaghetti, will win over your meat lovers and your pasta fanatics.

Pair this with a simple dinner salad (greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots) with Homemade Ranch Dressing and No-Knead Artisan Bread.

SLOW COOKER POT ROAST

As a general rule, chuck roasts are an inexpensive cut of meat. Anytime I find them marked down at Kroger, I buy at least two, and we usually come out with leftovers.

I followed my Classic Pot Roast Recipe, so all I had to do was pick up peas, carrots, and potatoes to toss in the crockpot, and dinner was done. Those carrots and potatoes also made appearances in other meals, so nothing went to waste!

BURGERS AND FRIES

It took me a while, but I finally perfected The BEST Burger Recipe. With these Homemade Buns to top it off, your guests may never want to leave.

I made Oven-Roasted Crispy Potato Wedges, sweet potato wedges, and another salad to make the meal whole. I also doubled the bun recipe, so we’d have some for leftovers.

In fact, these go over so well that doubling the entire recipe for leftovers may be your best idea of the day…

WHOLE CHICKEN ON THE GRILL

This roasted whole chicken on the grill is a great crowd pleaser and a quick and simple meal that pairs well with corn on the cob and baked potatoes. And since you’re roasting an entire chicken, you may even score some leftovers.

This is one of those easy dinner party recipes that can morph into tons of meals, too: add some shredded chicken into Corn and Black Bean Tacos, top Homemade Buffalo Chicken Pizza, or add a delicious sauce and serve it over rice.

CHICKEN & SPINACH ENCHILADAS

After setting aside some of the chicken from the whole chicken, I took about 2 cups of diced chicken and made a pan of Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas.

I also made a pan of Sweet Potato and Black Bean Vegetarian Enchiladas while I was at it (because there can never be too many enchiladas!)

TOMATO SOUP & GRILLED CHEESE

This Tomato Basil Soup and grilled cheese in the cast iron is a great twist on an old classic and the ultimate cheap dinner idea.

I made two batches of No-Knead Artisan Bread since the flavor and texture are very similar to sourdough, and it makes for AMAZING grilled cheese sandwiches.

We “fancied” up the grilled cheese by having a few different cheese options – sharp cheddar, Monterey jack, and/or habanero pepper jack cheese.

We also picked up a package of prosciutto from ALDI and put that on the grilled cheeses, too – YUM!

CARNITAS

These Slow Cooker Carnitas are the perfect easy-cook meal after a long week. Just put the pork roast in the slow cooker in the morning and prep your toppings (i.e., Lime Crema, diced onion, diced tomato, shredded cheese, etc.) for an easy and crowd-pleasing meal.

Homemade Flour Tortillas or Corn Tortillas are easy to prep and freeze ahead of time, so you can pull out what you need when company comes.

BURRITO BOWLS

I intentionally bought a big pork loin roast the night I made carnitas because we used leftovers the next day for burrito bowls. I only had to make one new item for this group dinner – Cilantro Lime Rice! Everything else, including the toppings, was already prepped from the night before!

Burrito bowls are one of those easy party dinner recipes that everyone loves, because each person can customize their bowl with their favorite proteins and toppings.

JAMAICAN JERK CHICKEN

Keep your eye out for markdowns on quality meat for this delicious Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Add Mango Salsa, Coconut Rice, and corn on the cob for a flavor explosion!

ROASTED RED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP & GARLIC BREAD

Remember that tomato soup? Double it up and freeze it, and when you’re ready, convert it to this delicious Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup! If you feel like dinner party food has to be fancy, this is an elevated version of a classic flavor way beyond tomato sauce that only feels like it takes all afternoon.

I made a batch of Crostini with this soup, and it was such a deliciously simple meal that everyone loved. Perfection!

BAKED POTATO BAR

Need a landing pad for all those leftover toppings? A Baked Potato Bar using russet or sweet potatoes is a great way to use up leftover toppings.

If you don’t have enough leftovers, crumbled bacon, sour cream, and green onions go a long way in making a simple meal very tasty! Just like with burrito bowls, this is an opportunity to let everyone pick their favorites, and it’s easy to adjust for those with food allergies or sensitivities.

CAESAR SALAD

This delicious and easy Homemade Caesar Dressing becomes the centerpiece of a main dish salad with panache.

My favorite part about Caesar is that you can start with a head of romaine lettuce or a bunch of kale, add leftover anything – chicken, steak, shrimp – top it with the dressing, and your main dish is complete! Using meat as a condiment like this rather than a larger portion of the plate helps keep your party dinner recipes on the frugal side.

Pair with some mouthwatering Zucchini Muffins or Easy Homemade Beer Bread for a fantastic finish.

OATMEAL CINNAMON WAFFLES

I know this isn’t a dinner party menu staple, but breakfast for dinner can be fun too!

With every family that visits the Crumbs’ home, I make a batch of Cinnamon Oatmeal Waffles. These are usually consumed the next day too, and then we fill out the week with bacon, eggs, oatmeal, and/or smoothies.

The waffles and smoothies are SUPER easy to prep thanks to my high-powered blender and waffle maker. There wasn’t one set of visitors that didn’t compliment these waffles!

THE BASICS OF BUDGET RECIPES FOR LARGE GROUPS

Want some extra tips on budget party recipes and hosting? I love to share my insider budget advice with my readers!

These are my best tips for maintaining a budget without sacrificing hospitality (get all the details here):

• Meal plan. Start every visit with a meal plan to keep your budget on track. Check out my basic method for meal planning here.
• Compile a list of cheap dinner ideas. This post is packed with ideas. Hopefully, making these dishes will give you ideas for even more recipes for large groups! (If so, share them in the comments!)
• Balance cheap meals with “treat” meals. As long as your budget balances overall, you can splurge here and there for you and your guests.

If you have always wanted to stick to a budget but struggle like so many others, I highly recommend my course, Grocery Budget Bootcamp, to help you learn how to get your grocery budget under control once and for all. I cover meal planning in-depth, as well as include worksheets to help you flesh it all out!

Enrollment is currently closed, but you can check out my FREE Fight Inflation Workshop. You’ll get access to three AMAZING video sessions focused on how to save money on food right now, despite rising grocery costs.

MORE EASY DISHES FOR LARGE GROUPS

These easy dishes for large groups would also work as budget dinner party meals.

• Northern Bean and Ham Soup and Cheesy Garlic Bread
• Sheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables with Brown Rice
• White Chicken Chili with Tortilla Chips and all the toppings
• Salsa Chicken as tacos or on top of White Rice
• Near the Christmas holidays, ham is often on sale. Try Instant Pot Honey-Baked Ham when you find a good deal! Pair with Hasselback Potatoes and Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad
• BBQ Chicken sandwiches with Creamy Coleslaw and Stovetop Mac and Cheese
• Homemade Pizza night

PARTY RECIPES FAQS

PLAN EVEN MORE BUDGET-FRIENDLY MEALS!

• One Week $50 Aldi Meal Plan
• How to Make a Frugal Grocery Budget
• Budget Friendly Whole30 Meal Plan
• One Week Low Cost Dinner Ideas
• One Week of Easy Cheap Supper Recipes