In addition to making sure there’s enough food for everyone and that it’s practical to eat, you will also want to make sure that the food you serve is fun, fresh, and exciting.
Today, we will be sharing 21 festival-friendly food ideas. We will be recommending festival foods from all over the world, including American, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese cuisines.
Spicy delights like these delicious Mexican bean burgers are popular at festivals because they’re so flavoursome and easy to eat on the go.
This particular recipe pairs the spicy burger with lime and yogurt salsa, providing a cooling effect on the chilli powder in the burger. After all, you don’t want the heat to be too overpowering. Served in a wholemeal bun, this Mexican bean burger will be a hit with festival-goers everywhere.
Attending a festival is a lot of fun, but it can also be tiring. What better way to replenish sugar levels than to snack on a chocolate brownie?
These easy traybakes are super easy to prepare and they are the perfect bite-sized sweet treat for an afternoon snack. The rich, fudgy chocolate also makes a great dessert after some of the spicy savoury options on this list.
We are back to Mexico for the next item on our festival food catering ideas rundown.
A paper plate or box of nachos is a great festival food option.
Covered in a rich and indulgent cheese sauce and topped with beef, beans, and pico de gallo salsa, this nacho recipe actually makes for a surprisingly balanced meal.
Make sure to prepare as many boxes of these nachos as you can because everyone at the festival will want some.
Halloumi fries have become very popular in recent years. And why wouldn’t they? They’re both delicious and easy to snack on, making them a good catering choice for festivals.
This recipe for halloumi fries shows you how to prepare these cheesy snacks by frying them in oil or using an air fryer. Either way, they’re delicious, especially when paired with ranch, garlic sauce, marinara, or pesto.
While Mexican bean burgers are an amazing festival food, the spice isn’t for everyone. That’s why we would also recommend offering a classic pulled-pork burger.
This pulled pork burger recipe is perfect for events because the brioche bun makes it easy to eat while exploring the venue. Plus, in terms of flavour, the combination of smoked paprika and brown sugar is second to none.
This traditional Mesoamerican dish has been served at festivals for a long time and it continues to be a favourite.
We recommend this tamale recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch because it’s easy to prepare while remaining authentic, from the Masa Harina sauce to the use of lard for the dough. These tamales truly are the real deal.
The sausage roll is a staple of British cuisine. However, it is served at festivals across the world because it’s tasty, filling, and easy to eat while walking around.
This sausage roll recipe features a light and airy puff pastry filled with well-seasoned sausage meat. The finished sausage rolls are bite-sized, making them perfect for hungry, busy festival-goers. However, if you want, you can make larger, fatter versions.
There’s nothing like a traditional chicken fajita to satisfy those mid-festival cravings. This high-protein, veggie-filled wrap is a healthy, tasty choice that’s sure to hit the spot.
What makes this fajita recipe so delicious is the combination of spices, from chilli powder and cumin to paprika, and other seasonings including oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. An added dash of lime juice brings it all together with fresh and fragrant results.
Corn on the cob is one of the most well-known street foods, and this corn-on-the-cob recipe with chilli butter is absolutely perfect for festival catering.
This dish is quick and easy to prepare because it simply involves roasting the corn and pairing it with a simple mixture of butter and chilli flakes. The finished product is spicy, satisfying, and delicious.
We couldn’t really talk about festival catering food ideas and not mention pizza, could we?
A slice of pizza is a convenient snack to buy at a festival, which is why pizza stalls are so common at such gatherings.
Of course, if you really want to master pizza making, you should invest in a Pizza Oven. These days, there are Pizza Ovens to suit every budget on the market. Click here for more information and prices.
This margarita pizza recipe from BBC Good Food is super simple but yields delicious results that taste just like authentic Italian pizza.
The pizza can be sold to festival-goers by the slice or by the box. It tastes the best when topped with shaved parmesan cheese and basil leaves.
Fans of hot dogs will love this chilli version. Served in hot dog buns and topped with seasoned ground beef, bacon, and cheese, this sausage-based classic
Another great thing about this recipe is that it’s very versatile. You can make the chilli dogs as spicy or mild as you want, and you can add additional toppings such as onions on customer request.
Quesadillas are an easily-customizable festival food, which is great because it can be tough to cater to everyone’s tastes.
This recipe for quesadillas doesn’t call for any specific filling. Instead, in addition to the cheese, it gives you plenty of options for creating unique and flavoursome combinations.
Some of the recommended fillings include chicken pieces, mushrooms, black olives, green onions, and fresh, diced tomatoes. We are also fans of things like ground beef and even bolognese sauce.
Simple and tasty, these are on of our top festival catering food ideas.
Freshly-made ice cream is the ideal dessert to serve at a festival.
Not only is the process of watching the ice cream being made in the machine fascinating from a customer’s point of view, but everyone knows that homemade ice cream tastes better than the ready-made version from the tub.
This vanilla ice cream recipe is easy to follow and can be topped with almost anything, from chocolate sauce to dried fruit. For festival purposes, it’s best served with cups and spoons.
Burritos, like fajitas, are great festival foods because they’re easy to hold and eat without having to sit at a table.
This burrito recipe from Taste of Home is one of our absolute favourites. It’s a simple, tried and tested recipe, with a ground beef filling complemented by refried beans, Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, salsa, and classic taco seasoning.
Churros are a traditional Spanish dessert that can be described as long, stick-shaped donuts. At festivals, they are typically served in paper cones or boxes with a pot of chocolate sauce for dipping.
Churros, as this recipe shows, are quick and easy to make. They only take 5 minutes to prepare and you just need flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar, oil, and boiling water.
Corn dogs are a popular type of American street food or fast food. For Americans, a corn dog stand would almost certainly be included amongst their festival catering food ideas. And if you’ve ever tried the combination of hot dog and cornmeal batter, you’ll know why. They’re so delicious!
The reason corn dogs are so good for festivals is that you don’t need a container and you don’t even need to hold the food itself – the skewer that goes into the frankfurter means that this fast food can easily be enjoyed with minimal mess.
A box of loaded fries is the perfect pick-me-up after a long day of walking around a festival.
We think this is the best loaded fries recipe for festival catering because of the minimal, but delicious, selection of toppings – although, of course, you can top loaded fries with anything you like.
This recipe recommends green onions, tomatoes, red onions, jalapeno peppers, sausage meat, and, of course, a healthy serving of cheese!
Of course, you can always order from a well-known food company if you don’t want to cook yourself. See our post on Red Rooster Catering for example.
If you’ve ever seen how busy a donut stall can get at a festival, you already know how popular these doughy sweet treats are with hungry festival attendees. So there’s no way we could leave them off our list of festival catering food ideas.
This glazed donut recipe is one of the best for the occasion because customers can watch the donuts being fried and glazed by hand before sampling the finished product.
You can’t go wrong with tacos at a festival, and this classic ground beef taco recipe is guaranteed to bring crowds of festival-goers flocking to your stall.
The Wholesome Dish’s recipe leaves it up to you whether to serve hard-shell or soft-shell tacos. However, we recommend following the instructions to the letter when it comes to the filling because the chilli and cumin seasoning is amazing.
The egg roll is a well-known Chinese appetiser, but these finger foods aren’t just served in American-Chinese restaurants – they can also be found at festivals in many countries because they’re small, filling, and convenient to eat.
All Recipes claims that these are the best egg rolls, and we agree. They’re crispy on the outside and filled with pork, cabbage, and carrots.
A falafel wrap makes a great alternative to fajitas for vegan or vegetarian festival-goers who want an easy, high-protein meal to get them through the day.
This recipe has instructions for frying the falafels in oil as well as a healthier preparation method to appeal to health-conscious customers. Once the falafels are prepared, all you need to do is put them into a wrap with some chopped salad and tahini.
When it comes to great places to eat in Australia, the list really is endless. There are so many different restaurants, cafés, and chains to try that you really are spoiled for choice. From Italian food, to Japanese food, to a good ‘ole rump steak, the food options are endless.
This is why I decided to set up my blog, Eatability, to share the best food and drink spots in Australia with as many people as possible. Hi, my name is Dylan Cole, and I moved to Australia five years ago from England, UK.
Through this blog, I will be sharing and recommending some of my favorite places you need to visit, such as where to find the best pizza in Adelaide, and the best bakery in Brisbane. Whatever food you are fancying, I have got you covered!
