Graduation Party Food

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Graduation party food can be a very wide variety of food depending on the theme of the party. Each of my theme party ideas has specific foods. This page has great party food for any type of party.

Party Food - my favorite subject! Personally I love a cold buffet, it's not only the easiest option but also a very delicious one. Because of the variety involved it has something to suit everyone which is great because most graduation parties tend to be multi-generational.

Some other reasons that I love a cold buffet include:

• It leaves you free to enjoy the party and mingle with the guests rather than being stuck in the kitchen checking the oven.
• Friends and relatives will be only too happy to bring a bowl of something with them to help out so don't be shy about organizing who brings what up front.
• Everything can be prepared in advance and even laid out prior to the first guest arriving so that the only task to be done is to top up any dishes that are running low.
  

So I have added "cold buffet" to the top of my list but there are obviously lots of other graduation party food ideas that may suit your party style better. Please read on and enjoy:

• Cold Buffet Ideas
• Desserts
• Barbeque
• Breakfast
• Finger Foods
• Party Food for Kids
• Graduation Cakes
• Graduation Cupcakes
• Drinks.
• Kiosks
• Quantities
• Treats
• Ideas.

Graduation Party Food - Cold Buffet

Graduation Party Food - Salad Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 Torn iceberg lettuce
• 10 Baby tomatoes, halved
• 1 Chopped cucumber
• Cracked black pepper.
  

Method: Add some lemon juice and toss the ingredients above. The lemon juice will help to keep the salad fresh.

When: Should be made on the morning of the party.

How many: Approximately 20 people.

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Graduation Party Food - Curried Rice

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of uncooked basmati rice
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• ½ cup of double cream
• 4 table spoons of curry powder
• 1 cup of raisins or sultanas.
  

Method: Boil the rice and cool. Add all the other ingredients to the rice and mix well.

When: This can be made the evening before the party.

How many: Approximately 20 people.

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Graduation Party Food - Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 500g of uncooked pasta
• 5 spring onions chopped
• 1 cucumber chopped
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 250g of cheese cubed
  
• ½ a cup of salad cream or mayonnaise.
  

Method: Cook the pasta and let it cool then mix everything together.

When: Can be prepared the night before. Just add some more salad cream or mayonnaise prior to serving.

How many: Approximately 20 people.

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Graduation Party Food - Potato Salad and Coleslaw

There is no point in making these when perfectly good versions can be bought from your supermarket.

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Graduation Party Food - Crisps, Pretzels, Nachos, Breadsticks & Nuts

Display these in pretty dishes and make sure you have plenty in stock. After all they can keep if they are not required.

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Graduation Party Food - Crusty Bread

Everyone will probably want some of this so again, make sure you don't run short and you should have some with and some without butter.

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Graduation Party Food - Cold Meats

Your cold meats platter can consist of the following:

• Chicken wings
• Chicken drum sticks
• Ham
• Cold cocktail sausages.
  

And if the budget permits and the numbers aren't too great then:

• Sliced roast beef
• Salmon.
  

Graduation Party Food - Desserts

Graduation Party Food - Trifle

Ingredients:

• Sponge (shop bought is fine) - enough to cover the bottom of a large glass dish
• 4 table spoons of strawberry jam
• 1 strawberry jelly
• 1 large tin of fruit cocktail
• 1 medium carton of custard
• 1 chocolate flake
• 1 small tub of double cream - add a little sugar to taste
  

Method: Bottom layer - sponge & spread the jam on top. Next layer - add tin of fruit Next layer - make jelly according to pkt instructions and pour over Next Layer - after jelly has set add the custard Next layer - now beat the cream and smooth on top of the custard Top - sprinkle some chocolate flake.

When: Prepare everything the day before and just do the cream on the morning of the party.

How many: Approx 15 people.

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Graduation Party Food - Chocolate Orange Trifle

Ingredients:

• Chocolate sponge cake (shop bought is fine - enough to cover the bottom of a large glass dish
• ¼ cup of fresh orange
• 4 table spoons of marmalade
• 1 large orange peeled and split into segments
• 1 medium carton of custard
• Large bar of dark chocolate.
  

Method: Bottom layer - sponge & spread the marmalade on top. Next layer - sprinkle the orange juice on top to make the sponge slightly soggy Next layer - add orange segments Next layer - melt chocolate and mix into the custard Next layer - now beat the cream and smooth on top of the custard Top - sprinkle some chocolate flake.

When: Prepare everything the day before and just do the cream on the morning of the party.

How many: Approx 15 people.

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Graduation Party Food - Strawberries & Meringue

Ingredients:

• Lots of strawberries
• Box of meringue nests
• Pouring cream.
  

Method: Put the washed strawberries in a bowl, the crushed meringue in a separate bowl and the cream in a jug. People can just help themselves.

When: Can be prepared the night before.

How many: Depends on how many strawberries.

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Ingredients:

• 110g sugar
• 275ml water
• 120 ml fresh orange juice
• 120ml pineapple juice
• Lemon juice
• Bunch of green and black grapes
• 2 oranges
• 2 bananas
• pack of cherries - halved and stones removed
• 2 apples
• Tinned or free pineapple and peaches
• Pack of strawberries
• Fresh cream for serving.

Method: Put the water and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes then allow to cool. Next add the orange juice and pineapple juice to complete the syrup. Next just peel and slice the fruit and add it to the syrup. NB. Leave the bananas and apples to the end - see below. You can cheat slightly and bulk up with some tinned fruit aswell.

When: This can be made the previous day and kept in the fridge - the only think I like to leave until the last minute is adding the bananas and apple. When I say the last minute - I mean an hour or so before the party starts. If you cover them in lemon juice before adding them then they stay nice and yellow.

How many: This can feed 20 easy!

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Graduation Party Food - Ice Cream Sundae

This is a fabulous graduation party food ideas for a hot summers day and if you can get someone to volunteer to be the ice-cream sunday server then you are sorted.

Ingredients:

You don't need to use all of these ingredients, just to give you an ideas though.

• Say 3 different flavors of ice-cream
• Chocolate sauce
• Strawberry sauce
• 100 and 1000's
• Chocolate flakes - halved
• Waver
• Whipped cream
• Jello
• Mini marshmallows
• Plastic ice-cream Sunday dishes and plastic spoons.
  

Method: The idea is that each visitor could order exactly what they fancy.

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Graduation Party Food - Iced Lemon Flake

This is absolutely gorgeous and no wonders when you see the list of ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 2 lemons
• 3 chocolate flakes
• 3 eggs separated
• 1 large tin of condensed milk
• 1 small tub of double cream.

Method: Whisk the egg yolks and condensed milk until thick. Add the lemon juice and rind. Lightly whip the cream and fold into the mixture with the broken flakes. Whisk the egg whites to soft peak stage and fold in. Put in the freezer. Prior to serving, remove from freezer and put in the fridge for half an hour.

When: Within 1 month of the party.

How many: Approx 20

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Graduation Party Food - All American Cheesecake

Very fattening but who is counting calories at a party!

Firstly, you'll need an 8 inch round baking tin (where the sides loosen and the bottom can detached)

Ingredients:

• 10 digestive biscuits (grahams crackers)
• 2 oz butter

• 8oz Philadelphia cream cheese
• 3.5 oz caster sugar (finely granulated sugar)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

• 5 to 6 oz double cream
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

1. Melt butter in the microwave.
2. Crush the biscuits (I use a food bag and a rolling pin, just crushing a couple at a time)
3. Mix crushed biscuits and melted butter together and press into the tin.
4. Mix the cream cheese and sugar together.
5. Add the whisked eggs and vanilla essence together then mix with the cream cheese.
6. In a separate bowl whisk the double cream, sugar and vanilla essence to soft peaks.
7. Fold the cream cheese and cream together and spread mixture on top of base.
8. Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to set.
9. Remove from the tin and decorate whatever way you want – I like to sprinkle a flake on top.

When: The day before the party.

How many: Approx 12 slices. You could always use a rectangular baking tray and cut the cheesecake into small squares - you'll get lots more pieces this way.

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Graduation Party Food - Fruity Pavlova

This looks sooooo impressive, yet it is incredible easy.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• 8 oz caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Method:

1. Whisk egg whites until very stiff.
2. Whisk in sugar a third at a time.
3. Mix the cornflower and white wine vinegar together and fold gently into mixture with a metal spoon.
4. Spread onto baking sheet which has been covered with greaseproof paper, make a well in middle of mixture with a spoon and cook for 1 hour at 150C.
5. Allow to cool before sliding off from the greaseproof paper.
6. Now to decorate I add lots of softly whipped cream and then lots of mixed fruit heaped on top. To keep the fruit looking good, chop it all up and mix with some lemon juice before piling on top of your pavlova.

When: The meringue could be made a couple of days before. However I'd add the cream and fruit on the day of the party.

How many: Approx 10

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Graduation Party Food - Barbeque

Graduation Party Food - Pork Sizzle Sticks

If you can get someone to volunteer to go on the barbeque then this is definitely a great graduation party food idea. You get a lot of mileage out of a little bit of pork with this recipe.

Ingredients:

• Soy sauce for marinating
• 1lb of pork cut into long thin strips (as thin as your butcher can cut them - approx 3 mm)
• ½ cup of tomato sauce
• ½ cup of chilli sauce
• 5 table spoons of lime juice
• 2 table spoons of brown sugar
• Barbeque sticks (wooden ones soaked in water to prevent them burning).
  

Method: Marinade chicken in soy sauce for at least 2 hours. Mix all other ingredients together to make a sauce. Thread the chicken onto barbeque sticks (bit like a wiggling worm).
Prior to cooking brush some sauce on them.

When: Chicken could be threaded onto sticks the night before and left to marinade over night. Sauce could also be prepared the night before.

How many: You could manage to get about 30 sticks.

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Graduation Party Food - Mixed Grill Skewers

Ingredients:

• mini sausages
• bacon
• cherry tomatoes
• flat mushrooms (halved)

Baste approx 10 skewers:

• 8tbsp olive oil
• 4tbsp lemon juice
• 2tbsp mixed herbs
  

Method: Add a sausage to the skewer, followed by a mushroom, followed by rolled up bacon, followed by a cherry tomatoe and so on......... Mix the basing ingredients together and baste the skewers frequently while cooking.

When: The baste could be done the night before but the skewers should be made up fresh on the day of the party.

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Graduation Party Food - Dessert

Ingredients:

• bananas
• chocolate buttons.
  

Method: Keep the skin on a nd slice them down the middle and slot some chocolate buttons inside. Next wrap the banana in tin foil and place them on the barbeque for approx 7mins. Eat them while hot and still in the foil with a teaspoon - yum, yum!

When: Cannot make in advance.

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Graduation Party Food - Breakfast

Go for a continental style breakfast to keep things simple. How about:

• A selection of yogurts - you could display these in a large container filled with ice to keep them chilled.
• You could borrow a couple of toasters and have someone on toast duty keeping the plates piled up.
• Have a selection of spreads, cheese and jams.
• Croissants are also a nice idea - with chocolate spread - yum yum!
• A selection of cereals of course.
• A selection of fruit to choose from all cut up in individual dishes - melons, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple with separte dishes of yogurt and raspberry coulis to spoon over the top.
  
• Also worth having a selection of bagels and frosted doughnuts. Order the doughnuts ahead so that you can quickly pick them up on the day.
• Have an omelet making area with a cook on duty and everything prepared in advance. That is the omelet mix and possible fillings like chopped mushrooms, chives, tomato, onions, cheese, ham and green peppers.
• Have a coffee bar serving fresh coffee and a fruit juice bar making fruit juices on request.
• Another one of the great graduation party food ideas is cooking pancakes on a griddle and have optional toppings and syrup.

You could also have someone cooking sausages on the barbeque and serving them inside rolls.

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To drink, you'll need a selection of chilled fruit juices, coffee, and tea. Ideally if you could hire a large urn for your hot water (safely set up and away from children!) and then people could just help themselves by adding their own coffee or tea bag etc.

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Remember to have loads of paper plates/bowls and plastic cutlery and bin bags around to make everything as simple as possible.

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Graduation Party Food - Finger Foods

Here are some finger-licking graduation party food ideas:

• Mini Oat Cakes - just buy a packet of mini oat cakes, and garnish them with some cream cheese, smoked salmon and dill or chives. Alternatively, add some pate and a cranberry.
• Volavons - these are little pastry cases that you can add any garnish to that you fancy. Some prawn cocktail perhaps or egg mayonnaise or some chicken covered in a curried mayonnaise………..
• Mini quiche - bought and cut into tiny squares.
• Chicken legs or chicken wings.
• Sandwiches with various fillings. You could purchase a graduation cap cutter and cut your sandwiches with it.
• Crusty bread - I like to serve some with and without butter.
• Crisps, Nachos, peanuts………

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For dessert, how about a chocolate fountain - you could buy, borrow or even hire one of these. The things for dipping could include:

• Marshmallows
• Pineapple
• Strawberries
• Kiwi fruit
• any other fruit which doesn't go black if left out.

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Graduation Party Food - For Kids

There is no need to go to great lengths preparing graduation party food for pre-school children. Generally they are too excited to eat very much graduation party food and when they do eat it tends to be the simple stuff.

I would suggest putting a lot of little bowls out containing the following:

• Bowl of grapes
• Little boxes of raisins
• Cubes of cheese
• Little cocktail sausages
• Potato chips and potato rings
• Mini Quiche
• Mini sausages and sausage rolls
• Vegetables and dips
• Breadsticks
• Sandwiches with just cheese
• Sandwiches with just ham.

~~~kindergarten graduation food ideas~~~

For afters ice-cream will always go down well and how about adding a dish of sweets that can be sprinkled on top of the ice-cream.

To prevent spillages I'd opt for little plastic bottles of fruit juice with the sooky non-spill tops or even better - mini bottles of water.

If you are concerned about them getting their bottles mixed up then put a sticky label on it with their name or let them choose a sticker for their bottle that they will easily recognize.

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Graduation Party - Drinks

Non-alcoholic

An easy non-alcoholic drink would be a large fruit bowl filled with tropical fruit juice and lemonade to give it some fizz and add some chopped fruit to make it look really exotic. Use a ladle to fill the cups.

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Alcoholic

A lovely celebratory alcoholic drink is a Kir Royal - Just mix a little Creme De Cassis (berry liqueur) with some champagne and add a spoonful of chopped strawberries. You could even maket the glass fancy by dipping the rim in some lemon juice and then into a bowl of sugar.

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Make Your Own Glass Charms

You could make some glass charms so that people don't get their glasses mixed up. Just buy some stretchy silver or gold thread. Make collage with lots of tiny graduation clipart images, or even photos of the graduate at various stages in their life, get the sheet laminated, cut them all out use a hole punch to make a hole for the thread.

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Children

If you are concerned with spillages around your home then plastic bottles of fruit juice with the non-spill tops or bottles of water would be ideal.

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Graduation Party Food - Kiosks

If you have the space at the party venue you can arrange excellent kiosks and little bars with lots of different catering options in them. Your guests can choose their favorite graduation party food and even enjoy trying out a few dishes. Some of the options could be:

• An Italian pastabar with lots of freshly cooked pastas and a variety of tasty Italian sauces to top it off.
• A mexican Taco bar, again with everything ready for guests to order a delicious Taco of their choice.
• A kiosk with BBQ which can be served as sandwiches.
• A deli style sandwich bar with lots of fresh deli sandwich fillers.
• A kiosk with burgers and hot dogs
• A kiosk with coffee, tea, candy, pastries and cheesecake.
• An oriental style takeaway kiosk with freshly made oriental food and fortune cookies.
• A curry bar with a buffet style arrangement or lots of curry dishes, accompanied by rice.
• A kiosk serving ice cream and custom made chocolates.
• Deli sandwiches kiosk with all the ingredients ready to take guests orders
• Serve fruit trays

A simple way of arranging this one is to hire local businesses to cater a kiosk. The graduation party food kiosks and bars you choose will of course depend on your budget, venue and party theme.

Graduation Party Food - Quantities

You will want to have enough food for everyone. There is always some uncertainty over the numbers who will attend. If you have a small party then it is safest to assume they will all come. If you are having a large party then you might like to think through who will definitely attend and who may not. You know your guest list best and may wish to make a call on the numbers, plus add a safety margin. If you are having an open house party the graduate may have invited friends to come along that you were not expecting so you may need extra food to be safe.

You may also wish to consider having say 5 to 7 main dishes and 2 or 3 desserts.

Using you numbers and the quantities in your recipes you can calculate the quantities required. If you wish to be err on the safe side and you know you will have too much graduation party food then you can plan for that. You could buy containers that would let guests take home a portion of their favorite food.

Graduation Party Food - Treats

There are a number of treats you can have available during the party:

• Gingerbread Cookies: Using a good recipe you can create the gingerbread cookies. Prior to cooking you can cut them into any shape you wish. You can make SBC shapes, graduation cap shapes or even say baseball bats if that is the graduate's favorite pursuit.


• Graduation Caps: Place miniature peanut butter cups upside down on a plate. Add peaneut butter to the top and place a chocolate covered Graham cracker on top. A piece or fondant could be made into the tassel.


• Frozen treats like fruit and yogurts.


• Bowls of candy treats like Jelly Belly jelly beans, chocolate raisins and other classic candies.


• Plus little bowls of personalized M&Ms look and taste fantastic. You can personalize them by selecting a particular color, certain wording and even a photo.
  

Graduation Party Food - Ideas

• Soups, including french onion soup.


• Meatloaf


• Pot Pies


• Mashed Potatoes


• Pizza


• Macaroni Cheese


• Chili


• Beef Stew


• Curry Dishes


• Sausage Burritos


• Classic Yogurts


• Soy burgers


• Tapas style olive oil potatoes


• Make hard boild eggs and put the graduate's name on them.


• Serve BBQ sandwiches with coleslaw, baked beans and fresh salad.


• Make baked potatoes


• Serve Cappuchino coolers

Good luck with your graduation party food. Just keep the graduation party food simple and you can't go wrong!

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