Hosting Essentials for Prepping & Serving Party Food

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Whether you’re hosting a dinner party, showing the Big Game at your place, or organizing a watch party for your favorite show, you’ll need a way to share snacks and drinks with your guests. We’ve compiled some essentials below to streamline the prep work, presentation, and post-party cleanup—with some recommendations to support overall health and the health of the environment, too.

RELATED: Sustainable Party Hacks to Spend Less, Waste Less, and Celebrate More

Under some of these recommendations you may see two options, either for different price points or diverse options to choose from. We don’t skimp on quality when selecting a less expensive option—in fact, that may be the one we prefer because our staff has tried it themselves.

We want you to feel comfortable in the choices presented to you, with the knowledge that whichever one you prefer has been vetted or tested beforehand. If you believe one of our recommendations does not fit with our Paleo standards, please let us know at help@thepaleodiet.com.

Slow Cooker

Slow cookers are perfect for big-batch party food, from crowd-pleasing dips to slow-roasted meats. Crock-Pot is a tried-and-true brand for us, but you have your choice when choosing the type of slow cooker you want. Programmable models are great if you want to “set it and forget it,” while manual ones are attractive in their simplicity. And both versions below feature travel-ready locking lids if you need to transport your dish.

Multi-Cooker

As convenient as slow cookers can be, not all snacks and appetizers can be made with one. If you want a pressure cooker, slow cooker, air fryer, dehydrator, and more rolled into one convenient appliance, look no further than a multi-cooker.

Instant Pot is the most well-known name, and two of their models made the top five best multi-cookers tested by Consumer Reports this year. We like the 11-in-1 Duo Crisp, which comes with several accessories for air frying, broiling, steaming, and dehydrating. The inner pot is also made of stainless steel, which won’t leach chemicals into your food.

Dutch Oven

A Dutch oven is another useful multifunctional tool to have in your kitchen. They can be used for roasting, braising, simmering, steaming, and baking grain-free party food. Plus, they’re easy to take from the oven to the serving area—and later to the fridge if there are leftovers.

This Dutch oven by Our Place is ceramic coated with a recycled aluminum core and comes with a built-in strainer and beechwood spoon.

Serving Platters

There are many ways to display snacks and appetizers, and a serving platter is one of them. The flat, octagonal shape of these wooden platters makes them efficient for serving a Paleo charcuterie or “butter” board—and the raised edges will keep round fruits and veggies contained or runaway sauces from spilling over. We like the 12- and 10-inch set for their roomy surface area.

Serving Stand

If you’re really looking to “elevate” your offerings, try a tiered serving stand. Rectangular displays can hold larger items, while oval bowls can hold anything from Paleo chips, sauces, and veggies to inedible party favors for guests. Both racks below can disassemble to save space when stored.

Compostable Utensils

The Paleo Diet strives to be sustainable, but disposable utensils can be a complex issue. If you have enough silverware at home, it’s easy to throw in the dishwasher to clean. But if you need bulk supplies, look for compostable materials.

Biodegradable materials don’t necessarily mean they will break down in a timely manner, but certified compostable products can break down within twelve weeks in industrial composting conditions. Even in the event compostable products end up in a landfill, they are still better for the environment as they won’t release methane gases or break down into microplastics.

Most compostable utensils are made from wood products (like bamboo or trees) or CPLA plastic, which is plant based. If you’re serving hot foods, avoid utensils that are made with PLA plastic, as they may warp with heat.

Compostable Plates

If you don’t have enough plates or simply can’t be bothered to clean up afterward, compostable plates are a great option and can be more durable and presentable than Styrofoam. Plates made from palm leaves are sturdy but not the most inexpensive thing out there. However, if you want to make the effort, they can be washed and reused as your go-to party plates.

Napkins

For dinner parties or to zhuzh up the look of your serving table, a set of reusable napkins are a handy accessory. With a quick online search you can find unique folded shapes to match the theme of the occasion you’re hosting for.

Compostable Drinkware

If you have enough glassware, we say stick with those, but to make up for large guest counts or streamline the cleanup process, (again) choose compostable.

Repurpose’s cold cups are attractively clear and made from plant-based materials, but keep in mind they are sensitive to the heat—including intense sunlight. Bamboo paper cups on the other hand make up for their unassuming looks with their practicality: They can hold both hot and cold beverages easily.

Drink Dispenser

Some drinks are best shared. For holiday-themed beverages or your favorite batch mocktail, get a stylish drink dispenser to make it easy for guests to serve themselves. The brand below comes with a hang tag label and filter insert for infusing drinks with fruits and herbs.

Ice Cube Tray

Ice cube trays aren’t just great for serving cold drinks to a group of people, but they also can be used to make specialty ice cubes—such as frozen teas or coffee for brunch get togethers, or bite-sized desserts.

Ice cube trays also come in handy with storing leftovers: during party food prep, save excess sauces or citrus juices in the molds to repurpose at another date. You can even mix hardy herbs like rosemary with olive oil to preserve them.

Food Labels

For people with food allergies or dietary restrictions—or anyone wondering, What’s in this?—food signage is both helpful and important. By clearly labeling dishes, guests can build their own plates with confidence. The reusable boards below are made of durable acrylic and come with two liquid chalk markers for writing.

Cocktail Picks

Sometimes “finger food” is a little too messy for fingers (like saucy meatballs) or needs a little help to hold things together (think lettuce-bun sliders). That’s where a quality set of cocktail picks can come in handy.

Standard wooden toothpicks are all naturally biodegradable, but a set of reusable and classy stainless steel cocktail pics are great for dressing up a mocktail or serving appetizers. Guests can also reduce waste by holding on to the same pick and using it to skewer their next selection of party food.