14 Food-for-a-Crowd Recipes to Make for Your Next Get-Together

Alfredo Bacon Tot Casserole

Food-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 8 servings

Bacon. Potato tots. Alfredo sauce. Talk about a comfort food trifecta! Combine them in a cozy casserole, and you have a supremely mouth-watering meal for a table full of friends and family. (Psst...this is also the perfect vehicle to put leftover chicken to great use.)

Chipotle Chicken-Squash Chili

Food-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 8 servings

You can use that leftover rotisserie chicken to hit the "easy" button on this big-batch chicken chili. With three types of peppers—poblano, green bell, and canned chipotle—in the mix, this good dinner for a crowd really packs a punch. Pair it with shredded cheese, sour cream, and cornbread croutons (or tortilla chips) to complete the tailgate- or potluck-ready feast.

Deep-Dish Cheeseburger Pizza Casserole

Food-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 12 servings

When you're having a tough time deciding between burgers or pizza, we say, "Why choose?" This mash-up recipe is a good dinner for a crowd since it can keep the peace. Cheeseburger elements like ketchup, mustard, beef, pickles, and cheese are stuffed inside pizza dough alongside pizza sauce, peppers, and onions to deliver on both flavor fronts.

Porcini Biscuits and Mushroom Gravy

Food-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 8 servings

No need to feel like a short-order cook when you're hosting brunch. This super-savory, just-so-happens-to-be vegetarian meal to make for a crowd is easy to whip up for a couple of families at once. Adding ground dried mushrooms to the biscuit batter beautifully echoes the umami mushroom flavor in the creamy white wine and Parmesan gravy. Top each portion with a fried egg, and everyone will stay satisfied for hours.

Buy It: VIGOROUS MOUNTAINS Dried Porcini Mushroom ($15, Amazon)

Scott Peacock's Pulled Pork

Food-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 20 servings

Whether you roast the pork in the oven or slow cook it, you'll score a platter full of fall-apart tender barbecue. It serves 20(!), making this one of the top meals for a crowd. Invite the neighbors or the entire family to enjoy a build-your-own-sandwich buffet.

Carrot and Parsnip Swirl

Side-Dish-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 16 servings

Mashed potatoes are a surefire pleaser, but we're partial to this creamy root vegetable blend that's as easy to make for a party as it is for a family of four. (Don't worry, this easy food for a crowd still includes some russet potatoes for a silky-smooth texture.) Because the rustic vegetables cook in a saucepan with butter rather than boil in a pot of water, you concentrate the earthy qualities and don't dump any flavor down the drain. Bonus: You can use an immersion blender to "mash" the vegetables right in the pan to cut down on dishes.

Buy It: KitchenAid Hand Blender ($70, Amazon)

Classic Dinner Rolls

Side-Dish-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 24 Servings

The recipe for these fluffy dinner rolls says it serves 24, but let's be honest: Each diner will probably want at least two once they take one bite of the butter-brushed carb clouds. Allow the dough to rise twice before shaping it into the cloverleaf form for a remarkably light texture. Place baskets of this homemade bread recipe on the party dining tables.

Caramelized Pear Skillet Cake

Dessert-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 8 servings

"This upside-down cake is deceptively easy, even though its impressive appearance might indicate otherwise," says recipe creator and Grandbaby Cakes blogger Jocelyn Delk Adams. That sounds like a recipe for success for food for a crowd. The cast-iron skillet dessert or brunch idea is a breeze to prepare in a mere 20 minutes with a handful of baking staples, fresh pears, and a speedy stove-top bourbon sauce.

Rich Beef Stew with Bacon and Plums

Food-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 8 servings

You'll please meat and potatoes fans with this rustic beef stew. With butternut squash instead of russets, plus bacon and a healthy glug of red wine (or, you know, half a bottle), this good dinner for a crowd goes well beyond standard steak and baked potato territory. The best part: You have time to mingle with guests while it cooks low and slow in the oven.

Kale, Chorizo, and Red Bean Brunch Casserole

Brunch-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 8 servings

This savory casserole is appropriate for all large-group occasions, with sun-dried tomatoes, chorizo, beans, and plenty of cheese. Try the whole grain bread-based dish for brunch (as the entrée) or dinner (as a side). This cozy meal for a crowd might be one of the easiest ways to get the vegetable-averse to enjoy kale.

Tomato and Onion Brisket

Food-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 10 servings

Whether for Passover or a crew of barbecue lovers, this roasted brisket satisfies with its layers of flavor by way of garlic, onion, tomatoes, and more. Serve this dinner with Ginger Pickled Onions (we explain exactly how to make them in the recipe) and fluffy mashed potatoes. Or slice and serve inside warm sandwich buns or cornbread muffins for a blue ribbon-worthy barbecue feast.

Ham and Cheese Brunch Casserole

Brunch-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 12 servings

Croque-Monsieur meets breakfast casserole in this easy make-ahead dish. It will satisfy guests who prefer basic ham-and-cheese sandwiches and fans of fancier French bistro fare. Pair with a big bowl of fruit salad, and you have one of the best (and easiest) a.m. meals to make for a crowd.

Classic Buttermilk Biscuits

Side-Dish-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 12 to 16

If you ask us, the more carbs, the better—at least when it comes to meals to make for a crowd. Quite possibly the best of the best? Biscuits. Because melting butter + flaky biscuit = a recipe for comfort food success. Whether you serve them topped with eggs and bacon at breakfast or spoon on strawberries and cream for dessert, these traditional baking powder biscuits will be winners.

Banana Rum Trifle

Dessert-for-a-Crowd Recipe: 10 servings

Ina Garten is the queen of entertaining. So, of course, we had to include one of the recipes she was kind enough to share with us from her latest cookbook, Modern Comfort Food ($22, Amazon)! Layer up the celeb chef's rum-spiked banana trifle to complete your meal for a crowd. Thanks to a head start from store-bought gingersnap cookies, this tropical dessert is surprisingly simple to re-create.