Mexican Dinner Party Buffet Ideas
If you're hosting a casual dinner party for family and friends, consider treating your guests to a buffet filled with Mexican dishes. You can either make them yourself, have them catered, or a little of both, depending on your budget and schedule.
When planning the perfect buffet menu, take your preferred Mexican restaurant into consideration. Try recreating your favorite menu items to put out on the buffet, and provide a range of options to please everyone on your guest list. Mexican cuisine is convenient as there are plenty of delicious vegetarian and even vegan dishes you can make.
A Mexican-inspired dinner buffet is appropriate for a wide variety of special events and occasions, such as an adult's or child's birthday party, a bridal or baby shower, or an anniversary, graduation, or holiday celebration.
Here are some Mexican-themed menu ideas to consider serving on your buffet:
Appetizers
1. Dip Trio
No Mexican buffet would be complete with a fresh, flavorful queso, guacamole, and salsa dips. It's easy to make all of the dips from scratch if you have a food processor, or you can buy them pre-made from your favorite grocery store or deli. You can keep the creamy queso dip hot by placing it on a warming tray on the buffet.
To complement the dips, serve tortilla chips and cut-up vegetables, such as carrot and celery sticks, bell pepper rings, and cherry tomatoes, as healthier options.
2. Nacho Bar
As another fun idea, treat guests to a create-your-own nacho bar complete with tortilla chips, refried beans, shredded Mexican cheese, sour cream, sliced black olives, jalapenos, tomatoes, and any other topping you'd like.
To serve nachos as a main course item instead, include protein options such as grilled chicken, shrimp, and tofu along with seasoned ground beef.
Main Courses
1. Quesadillas
You can also serve do-it-yourself quesadillas if you have several hot presses that you can set up on the buffet table. Guests can customize their own quesadillas using a variety of ingredients, and then cook them on the table so that they're hot and fresh.
Provide hard taco shells as well so that guests have a choice between the two options. Most of the traditional Mexican ingredients, such as seasoned meat, grilled corn, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and olives, will work for both menu items.
2. Enchiladas
If you prefer to serve an option that is already assembled, consider a large baking dish or two of cheesy enchiladas, which you can keep hot on a warming tray. You can provide one meat and one vegetarian version for variety.
Serve extra enchilada sauce and sour cream on the side so that guests can customize their plates. For more inspiration on Mexican cuisine, why not try this out?