Amazing Holiday Party Food Ideas

Tap to Read ➤ Mukta Gaikwad

Not only are holidays all about parties and hours of mindless fun, they are also about experimenting with party food too. It gives you the perfect excuse to try out new recipes for meals and desserts that you've been longing to make, but never got around to do.

The holiday season is about night long parties and seamless hours of fun and frolic. With a never-ending list of guests to invite and chores to do, there is little time left for any food preparation.

Many a time, party food items need to be made at last-minute, which puts the host in the biggest food challenge. Finger foods and single item dishes are the best options for a party, as it takes little space to put up, and guests, especially children find it easy to eat too.

Holiday Party Appetizer Recipes

Nuts and Bolts

Ingredients ♦ 500 g mixed nuts ♦ 1-1/2 cups puffed wheat cereal ♦ 1 cup crispy rice cereal squares ♦ ½ cup toasted oat cereal ♦ ½ pretzel bits ♦ ½ slim pretzels ♦ 2 cups vegetable oil ♦ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce ♦ 1 tablespoon seasoning salt ♦ 1 tablespoon garlic salt ♦ 1 tablespoon celery salt

Directions Combine all the ingredients and spread them out evenly on a dish. In a bowl, pour the oil, sauce, and salts. Mix them well and then put in all the nuts as well. This will give you a sticky mixture of nuts and sauce. Pour this mixture in a baking dish and place it in a preheated oven at 95 degrees. Bake the same for an hour, till they are crispy.

Caramel Corn

Ingredients ♦ 1 cup unpopped popcorn ♦ 1/2 cup light corn syrup ♦ 1 teaspoon baking powder ♦ 2 cups pecan halves ♦ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil ♦ 1/2 cup butter ♦ 1 cup packed brown sugar ♦ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ♦ 2 cups small pretzel twists ♦ 4 cups crispy rice cereal squares

Directions Place the popcorn in a large bowl and pour in the vegetable oil. Pop the corn over low heat. Keep the bowl moving, to prevent the popcorn from burning. In a skillet, boil a mix of butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup.

Once you see bubbles, remove the mixture from heat and mix baking powder and vanilla extract. In a baking pan, mix the popcorn, pretzels, cereal, and pecans. Pour the buttered mix on top and bake in a preheated oven at 250 degrees for 30 minutes.

Main Course Recipes

Apricot Chicken

Ingredients ♦ 1-1/2 pounds apricots, roughly chopped ♦ 1 tbsp unsalted butter ♦ 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary ♦ 1 teaspoon cinnamon ♦ 2 teaspoons Tabasco or other hot sauce ♦ 3 tbsp olive oil

♦ 1 chopped onion ♦ 2 cups chicken stock or broth ♦ 1/4 cup sugar ♦ 2 tbsp cider vinegar ♦ 2 pounds skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces ♦ Salt and black pepper

Directions Mix the sugar, apricots, and vinegar in a bowl and stir them well. As this mixture sits for a while, brown the chicken in a teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle some salt for flavor.

Next, sauté onions till they release oil and then add some chicken stock to the same pan. As it simmers, add some cinnamon, rosemary, and Tabasco. Once done, add the apricots and pour the stock over the chicken.

Turkey Pie

Ingredients ♦ 500 g ground turkey ♦ 1/2 onion, finely chopped ♦ 1 packet of frozen cauliflower ♦ 2 tbsp heavy cream ♦ 1 cup cheddar cheese, finely shredded ♦ Salt and pepper to taste

Directions Rinse and thaw the cauliflower and set it aside as it comes down to room temperature. In a large skillet, cook the turkey and onions over heat for 15 minutes, till the meat is brown and the onion gets opaque.

In a large bowl, mix the cauliflower with heavy cream and cheddar cheese. Spread the vegetable mixture on top of the meat and place it in a buttered pan pie. Place this dish in a preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake it for 20 - 25 minutes till the cheese completely melts.

Dessert Recipes

Death By Caramel

Ingredients ♦ 1 packet of brownie mix ♦ 8 chocolate bars ♦ 1 packet of wrapped caramel

Directions Prepare the brownie mix as per the direction of the packet. Pour half of the batter in a baking dish and top the brownies with a thick layer of chocolate. Add to it a layer of caramel and pour the remainder brownie mix.

In a preheated oven at 350 degrees, bake this for 25 - 30 minutes. Once done, let it cool and then serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. This one is truly an irresistible holiday party food.

Strawberry Delight

Ingredients ♦ 1, 10 inch sponge cake ♦ 2 packet softened cream cheese ♦ 1 cup white sugar ♦ 1 container whipped cream ♦ ¼ cup fresh sliced strawberries ♦ 1 jar strawberry glaze

Directions Shred the cake in a dish to the base for your dessert. Beat the cream and sugar in a bowl till it is light and fluffy. In an ice cream bowl, make a base of crumbled cake. Top it with a layer of strawberries and then add a layer of cream cheese. Next make a layer of strawberries and then top with a fat layer of whipped cream.

Holiday party food ideas can be enjoyed by both, kids and adults alike. The best part of these preparations is that they do not take much time and are extremely easy to make. Thus, you save a lot of effort and don't really have to compromise on your fun evening.