Cheap Meals for a Crowd (Vacation Menu)

Need some easy recipes or cheap meals for large groups? Here’s how we fed 27 people on our recently family vacation including the meals we made + how we divvied up the responsibilities.

Be sure to also check out these Easy Meals for 20 people + these Recipes for a Crowd of People. Both include full vacation menu plans!

Cheap Meals for Large Groups

Last week, we drove to Lampe, MO to spend a week at Table Rock Lake with almost all of my extended family. (This time around, it was my parents, 2 brothers, 3 sisters, and their spouses and kids. My youngest brother couldn’t come because he’s working at the Wild’s Christian Camp this summer).

My dad rented Caboose Junction Resort for us all (it has a main house and then 6 caboose that have been turned into small “cabins”).

In addition to spending lots of time skiing, boating, and swimming, we ate a lot of yummy meals. But in order to feed 27 people without it being too much work, we not only stuck with cheap meals for large groups, but we also all pitched in and helped with the food.

Since you all loved my other vacation menu plan posts about easy meals for 20+ people, I wanted to, once again, share what we ate and how we planned and divided up the responsibilities. This might give you some inspiration in case you need some suggestions for easy meals for 25+ people.

How We Planned and Divvied Things Up

Like last time, my sister planned the menu with cheap meals for large groups and sent out a sign-up form using Perfect Potluck (it’s free and so easy to use!). Each family signed up for the main dishes and side dishes they wanted to be in charge of.

(A screenshot of the sign up form on Perfect Potluck.)

Whatever meals or parts of meals you signed up for, you were in charge of bringing the ingredients for and cooking/baking.

We also had a sign-up for kitchen clean-up, too, so that one person didn’t have to do a bunch of the clean up and everyone could enjoy plenty of time for fun!

Easy Breakfasts for Large Groups

Here’s what we served for breakfast:

• Pancakes, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs, Orange Juice
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Sausage, Eggs, Orange Juice
• Baked French Toast, Bacon, Eggs, Orange Juice
• Baked Oatmeal Sausage, Eggs, Orange Juice
• Biscuits & Gravy, Eggs, Orange Juice
• Homemade Granola with Fruit and Yogurt

Easy Lunches for Large Groups

For lunch, we had our usual huge Build-Your-Own Salad Bar (most all of my family loves salads!). We also had bread and meat/cheese for sandwiches for the kids and any adults who didn’t just want a salad. In addition, we set out any leftovers from breakfast or dinner.

Build-Your-Own Salad Bar Ingredients: A variety of Greens and Lettuce, Canned Salmon, Boiled Eggs, Raisins, Seeds/Nuts, Avocados, Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, Croutons, Dressings

Simple Dinners for Large Groups

If you’re looking for some really easy and cheap meals for large groups, here’s what we made for the dinners:

• Spaghetti Pie, Lettuce Salad, Garlic Bread, Green Beans, Fruit
• Southwest Rollups (Toppings: Shredded Lettuce, Sour Cream, Salsa), Mexican Rice, Fruit
• Pizza & Soda Pop (We ordered from a local pizza place — we ordered it online and then my dad went and picked it up.)
• Baked Potato Bar & Five Cup Salad (The toppings we had: Baked Potatoes, Taco Meat, Sour Cream, Cottage Cheese, Chopped Green Onions, Shredded Cheese, Bacon, Salsa, Chopped Tomatoes, Broccoli.)
• Grilled Chicken, Lettuce Salad, Homemade Biscuits, Corn on the Cob, Fruit Salad, Steamed Veggies,  Twice Baked Potatoes. (I used the leftover baked potatoes to make these.)
• Hamburgers/Hot Dogs, Homemade French Fries, Veggie Tray, Leftover Corn on the Cob, Leftover Fruit Salad

Cheap Meals to Feed a Crowd: Snacks & More!

• Popcorn, kettle corn, caramel corn, etc.
• Trail mix (use your favorite sweet/salty ingredients)
• Chex Mix or Snack Mix
• Grapes, bananas, apples, clementines
• Baby Carrots and dip
• Granola bars (or you can buy big packs at Costco and Sams for a good deal
• Energy Balls (make them ahead of time and freeze them)
• Hard boiled eggs (you can also make these a couple days in advance)

It’s amazing how it’s not too much work on any one person to feed 25+ people if we all pitch in and help!

What other ideas of easy recipes for 25+ people or cheap meals for large groups do you have? I’d love to hear!

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