With a husband in full time college ministry, we find ourselves hosting meals at our home quite a bit. I love it. I love hosting people. I love feeding people. I especially love feeding college students because they are so grateful for pretty much ANY home cooked meal. They are my best eaters. 🙂

I am by far not the perfect hostess. We tidy up, but my house is a house lived in and I can’t hide that. Our kitchen table is from a garage sale and our food budget is limited.

I say all of this because some people think they need to have the perfect setup to host. Not true. Our kitchen table and the food that goes on it isn’t all that fancy. The truth is, 95% of people don’t care about that stuff. The important thing is that they feel welcome, loved, and nourished in our home.

When you open up your home to someone, you are in a way opening up your life to them. People respond to THAT, not the number of courses a meal may have. Don’t stress yourself out. Focus on the people, not on the performance of your meal and home.

Because I am so often making meals for groups of people, I’m constantly on the lookout for meals that are tasty AND feed large groups. I created this round up of meal ideas more for my sake. I needed a reference to go to when I have a group coming over and my only idea is spaghetti or pancakes. Hopefully it will prove to be useful to you too!

Lastly, one thing that makes a group meal SO fun is having a fun question that everyone answers. We’ve designed Table Talk Cards to give you some great ideas. While these were designed with kids in mind, I have no doubt that many would be great conversation starters. I’d recommend the Tweens & Teens edition if you have all adults. 

On to the meals!

20 Meals that Will Feed Large Groups of People

Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Beef Sandwiches

The key to this recipe is in the homemade BBQ sauce. Once it’s in the slow cooker, it’s pretty much hands off which is something I need when I have people coming over. And guys, this recipe is GOOD. So good that it is making it into our next cookbook. (Here is all about our first, From Freezer to Table, if you’re interested.)

Hearty Baked Penne Pasta

This recipe makes a TON. Groups love the hearty, beefy, cheesy pasta. Serve it with some garlic bread and a salad and you’ve got a great meal for your next group. When I’m not hosting groups, I assemble this pasta, divide it in two, bake one, and freeze the other. It makes a GREAT freezer meal. Just be sure to undercook the noodles a tad if you’re going to freeze it. Here are 70+ other great freezer meals!

Cinnamon Rolls

This is thinking outside the box a bit but it’s always fun to do a “Breakfast for Dinner” themed meal. This Cinnamon Roll Recipe makes a huge batch and is paired perfectly with some scrambled eggs, a breakfast quiche, or bacon. Add a fruit salad and you’ll have a dinner to remember. 
Pulled Pork with a Mexican Flare

Lets see. How do I communicate the deliciousness of this flavorful pulled pork recipe? Should I elaborate on the tangy-rich-mexicany flavor that comes with each bite? Should I explain how great it is in a tortilla combined with guacamole, lime juice, sour cream and other Mexican fixins? Should I tell you how super easy it is to make AND that the recipe yields a ridiculous amount of food? Or what about the fact that it’s made in the slow cooker OR the Dutch oven. I think you get the point. This recipe is a home run.

Chicken Spaghetti

When I made this Chicken Spaghetti recipe for the first time, my husband ate it for about 5 meals in a row and proceeded to ask me to make it again the next week. It’s creamy, flavorful, and filling. This recipe easily makes TWO 8×8 dishes or one very full 9×13 dish. It’ll feed the masses. 🙂

Slow Cooker Chicken and Cheese Taquitos

To make this a meal for large groups, simply double the portion in the slow cooker. It’ll cook for the same amount of time and you’ll have twice as much to feed people! I always always always double this recipe when I make them and freeze one for later. Here are what containers we use and recommend when freezing meals.

Mexican Soup

If I had to guess, this is in the top 5 recipes I have made most frequently in my home. My husband wants it ALL. THE. TIME. It also makes a big ol’ batch. AND it’s really filling. Serve it with some tortilla chips and with shredded cheddar cheese and you’re people will be happy campers. We loved this recipe so much that we even adapted it to be made in the slow cooker. That recipe can be found in our cookbook, From Freezer to Table.

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

I really like this soup for a lot of reasons. The flavor is deep and interesting. Although, if you have youngsters or picky people, you may want to consider leaving out the artichokes. It’s filling and makes the house smell awesome. A great one to make in the fall or winter!

Chicken Parmesan Casserole