Outdoor Wedding Food Ideas
Outdoor weddings are absolutely beautiful! Nice, sunny weather, beautiful sky and green scenery are absolutely gorgeous for a wedding. Having an outdoor wedding reception is something you won’t regret and it can make your big day even more special.
Outdoor weddings also give you tons of options for backdrops and wedding venues, and they can really bring the most out of your creativity as a couple.
One of the main parts of wedding planning is obviously the food. Planning your wedding menu will be one of the main tasks for preparing for your big day. From deciding on the wedding catering, to coming up with different foods your guests will enjoy, meals, and drinks - it can be a lot.
Since outdoor weddings are a bit different than indoor weddings, when it comes to deciding which food to serve, there are some things you need to consider, like logistics, weather, wedding venue, etc.
So, to make the whole process easier for you, I’m writing a post to give you the best outdoor wedding food ideas your guests will love, to make your big day perfect!
Outdoor Wedding Food Ideas
As I said, having an outdoor wedding gives you a lot of room for creativity. One part of it is coming up with outdoor wedding menu ideas that will make you and your guests feel happy, full, and taken care of when it comes to food.
Finger Food
Finger food is probably one of the best things for any outside wedding. Since outside weddings can be unique and specific, finger foods allow you to have the less traditional option, and cater to your needs.
Many outdoor weddings don’t have traditional, sit-down dining tables, so finger food is a great way to serve delicious food no matter what interesting idea you come up with for your big day. That’s because bite-sized foods are very easy to eat without a formal sit-down dinner.
But they work well for traditional weddings, and for less traditional weddings. And, they can fit any wedding theme you decide to have.
Here are some of my favorite finger foods that would be great for outdoor weddings.
Jalapeño Poppers
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Cream cheese, whipped (Tbsp) - 66 calories
¼ cup Cheese, shredded, cheddar - 114 calories
¼ cup Cheese, shredded, mozzarella - 84 calories
2 Uncured bacon, slice - 88 calories
2 Jalapeno peppers (whole) - 10 calories
Instructions:
This recipe works best when making 2-3 servings
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, stir/mash together the cream cheese and shredded cheeses (microwave the cream cheese for a few seconds first).
Fill the jalapeno halves with mixture and wrap each with ½ strip bacon. Place onto baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes
Ricotta Stuffed Brussels
322 calories
Ingredients:
1 cup Brussels sprouts - 56 calories
½ cup Ricotta cheese, part-skim - 216 calories
2 Tbsp Cheese, Parmesan, grated (Tbsp) - 50 calories
1 tsp Red pepper flakes, dash - 0 calories
1 Salt, dash - 0 calories
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix cheeses and seasonings.
Cut off Brussels’ hard ends, then halve them.
Top Brussels with cheese mixture.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper & spray with an oil spray.
Bake Brussels for 25 minutes.
Apple Prosciutto Bites
313 calories
Ingredients:
1 Apple, small - 77 calories
1 cup Leafy greens, arugula, raw - 5 calories
⅓ cup Cheese, Parmesan, shaved (cups) - 111 calories
2 oz Prosciutto - 120 calories
Instructions:
Slice apple.
Top apple slice with 1 piece arugula + 1 strip Parmesan.
Wrap 1 small strip prosciutto around stack and pierce with toothpick if desired. Continue.
Dairy free? Use a dairy free cheese, or more prosciutto. Vegetarian? Add more cheese instead of using prosciutto.
Shrimp Cocktail
156 calories
Ingredients:
5 oz Shrimp - 140 calories
¼ cup Salsa - 16 calories
Shrimp Cucumber & Guac Bites
287 calories
Ingredients:
1 Cucumber, medium - 42 calories
5 oz Shrimp - 140 calories
¼ cup Guacamole - 105 calories
1 Salt, dash - 0 calories
1 tsp Red pepper flakes, dash - 0 calories
Instructions:
Spray a pan with an oil spray.
Cook shrimp on medium heat ~6 minutes, drain any excess liquid if necessary. Also de-tail shrimp if necessary.
Slice cucumber.
Top cucumber slices with guac and shrimp.
Season.
If cooking shrimp from frozen, spray a pan with an oil spray and cook shrimp for ~8 minutes on medium heat, until cooked through. Drain away any excess liquid.
Dip shrimp in salsa.
Spring Rolls with Chicken
449 calories
Ingredients:
1 cup Carrots, shredded or julienned - 45 calories
¼ Avocado, small - 58.25 calories
2 cups Leafy greens, lettuce, raw - 10 calories
2 Tbsp Peanut sauce - 80 calories
5 oz Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, raw - 190 calories
2 Rice wrappers, 2 - 60 calories
1 Tbsp Mint - 0 calories
1 tsp Sesame seeds - 6 calories
1 Salt, dash - 0 calories
1 Pepper, dash - 0 calories
Instructions:
Make side salad with 1 Tbsp peanut sauce, lettuce, and ½ cups carrots.
Spray a pan with an oil spray. Cut chicken into small pieces. Cook on stove top for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently until cooked through.
Spring roll filling: Cut avocado, mint, chicken into small pieces. Mix together with ½ cup carrots. Top with sesame seeds and spices.
Place rice wrapper (each separately) in water (I just filled a pan with water) for 10-15 seconds, then remove & place on a paper towel or kitchen towel to dry.
Add ½ of filling mixture to the center of each wrapper. Fold & roll like you would a burrito. Dip spring rolls into 1 Tbsp peanut sauce.
Light Pasta Salad
This obviously isn’t finger food, but it’s a food that can be a great idea for an outdoor wedding, especially if it’s a hot day.
378 calories
Ingredients:
2 cups Mixed greens - 20 calories
3 Uncured bacon, slice - 132 calories
¼ Onion, red - 13.75 calories
1 Tbsp Olive oil (Tbsp) - 119 calories
1 Tbsp Red wine vinegar (Tbsp) - 3 calories
½ cup Pasta, whole wheat, cooked - 90 calories
1 Salt, dash - 0 calories
1 Pepper, dash - 0 calories
Instructions:
Cook pasta as instructed on package
Dice onion
Cut bacon into small pieces with kitchen shears
Add bacon to a pan, cook on low heat, stirring frequently, until cooked through, about 8 minutes
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, top with seasonings, oil, and vinegar
No bacon? Use turkey or soy bacon, or sunflower seeds
Gluten free? Use gluten free pasta
Food Stations
Food stations are a great idea for outside weddings. With food warmers, it’s easy to keep them warm, and if your big day will be on a hot, summer day, you can use coolers to keep the food cold (if it’s supposed to be cold).
Since outside weddings can be more modern and a bit less traditional, having food stations is definitely a great idea. Guests can take what they want and the amount they want, which is always great. Interactive food stations are becoming more and more popular.
Some great food station ideas for outside weddings would be:
Grazing tables
They are great for all sorts of outside weddings, especially rustic weddings.
You can put cheese, meat, dips, crackers, fruit, and veggies on there, to give your guests many things to choose from.
Your guests will enjoy them, for sure.
Serve them on wooden boards for the rustic look.
Dessert tables
Who says traditional wedding cake is the only dessert you can serve at a wedding?
If your wedding is during summer, and especially if it’s a beach wedding, you can get coolers and serve ice cream on your dessert tables - like an ice cream bar! The guests will love that, for sure. It’s one of the best dessert ideas for summer weddings.
And dessert tables are definitely the most stunning tables you can find at events - all of the desserts can match, have cute decorations, and you can make the table look stunning.
Some great things to serve on the dessert table, besides an ice cream bar, are cupcakes, cake pops and muffins. You can also put some fresh fruit on there.
Raw bar
If you’re having a seaside outdoor wedding, a great idea for a summer wedding menu is having a raw bar and serving shellfish.
Just work with your caterer and make sure the servers are experienced in serving raw food, and they know how to keep it fresh and good to eat - you don’t want to make anyone sick.
Drink station
Drink stations would be great for any type of wedding. They’re creative, and allow you to serve many different and interesting drinks.
Cocktail hour can be that much more fun!
If you decide to go with this idea, you can come up with different cocktail ideas that you’ll be serving, and use different glasses for each cocktail, to make it look even better. If it’s a hot day, having different drinks to get refreshed in the middle of dancing will be great for you and your guests.
Having a signature drink is also very popular, so if you love the idea of having a signature drink, you can add it to the drink station and highlight it in a way, so it grabs everyone’s attention.