Create your own crowd Pleasing Chili Bar!

Create your crowd Pleasing Chili Bar!

Creating  your Chili Bar

My family loves a good food Bar, and creating a theme is easier than you think. So today, I will show you how to create a chili bar that is perfect for entertaining, feeding a large crowd, and being great for football season.

The steps you need to take

The first thing you need to do is pick a theme…See My Build Your Pizza Bar.

Today’s is Chili…

Second, figure out your recipe and toppings. Toppings are a big part of creating a Build Your Own, as adding all the toppings is part of the fun.

Third, figure out where you’re setting up and how much space you’ll need. (I use our second Island for most of the Food Bars I set up.) It has enough room for the serving pieces, toppings, and main dishes.

Fourth is how many containers you’ll need for topping, main dish, etc. I like to use containers that match ( say all white or, in this case, A Fall theme)

Fifth, if you want a theme, gather all the decorating items you may wish to use: paper goods, props, and things you may own that you can incorporate.

 

What type of food Bar are you creating? 

 Chili Bar, Pizza Bar, Burger Bar, Stuffed baked Potatoes? The Ideas are endless.

Now for the main dish and toppings. Find your favorite recipe and think of all the toppings you would like in that recipe that people could use to create their delicious bowl/plate. Your guests will have fun making combinations.

Here, I created a Chili Bar for Football Sunday, which would be great for Halloween as well. I love that serving all day is easy as people come and go.

I make two kinds of Chili. An all-meat chili, no beans, and a Turkey veggie chili. ( Recipes Here)

Make in crockpots early in the morning and let it simmer all day, even until serving.

If you’re not a cook, purchase chili at your favorite restaurant or grocery store. These days, the markets often have a great selection of soups and chilies in their delis.

 

Tips for creating an excellent Food bar!

Tips on Displaying:

• Create layers/ height by using risers (can be a cup or bowl turned upside down)
• Look at items you may own that can add interest and levels. Vintage scales, candlesticks, books, etc. (here I use
• Pull items from around your home that fit your theme and will add to the character of your display…

Shop for great serving pieces below:

 

Great Chili Toppings:

Mixed Cheese

Mexican cheese

Onions

Green onions

Tomatoes

Sour cream

Fritos

Crackers

Cornbread

Olives

Jalapeños

Corn

Salsa

Hot sauce

Think of anything else. Add it! I like to have snack/ finger foods, so I added a veggie plate and dip and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for a sweet treat.

 

More Tips to help you create a stunning Food bar

Above, you’ll see I placed all the toppings in white containers and some of the items in Fall baskets and containers, keeping the theme consistent and adding height with various trays, risers, log pieces as risers and trays, etc. For visual appeal, I added pumpkins, fall leaves, a pitcher of fresh flowers, etc., and paper goods or serving pieces that match.

Three More Helpful Tips :

Tip: keep your Paper goods or serving pieces at the end of the bar to control the flow in one direction. ( no line traffic jam)

Tip: Food Bars can be an easy way to entertain. If you are not a cook, you can purchase everything pre-made and still pull off a lovely meal without slaving in the kitchen, and your guests will never know.

    If you enjoy cooking and creating as I do, you’ll have fun making items from scratch to feed your crew. Either way, your Food bar will be a hit.

Tip: Part of the fun is the display. Don’t leave store-bought items in containers (crackers inbox, Fritos in a bag, etc.) Instead, find cute containers to place them in.

I have shown the above crackers and Fritos in the basket. Baskets help give the appearance of homemade. ( You want the look of slaving in the kitchen all day)

 

Shop some of the Decor items in the photos below:

Another excellent shopping resource is my Custom made Amazon Shop storefront. I have created shopping boards with unique amazon finds in every category for your shopping needs. 

 

Hoping I inspired you to create a fun food buffet/ bar, and if you make one and share on Instagram, tag me, and I’ll share. If you loved this post, I would love a comment below. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read.

 

 

You may also enjoy:

Pizza Bar

Homemade easy Soups 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

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