A wedding is one of the most significant milestones in every couple’s relationship. It’s a beautiful occasion where you celebrate your and your partner’s love.

However, as beautiful as your big day is, it can cause a big dent in your wallet, as weddings can get really expensive. Wedding costs go up so much depending on the type of wedding you choose to have.

Food is one of the most important factors to consider when you’re planning your wedding, but it can also be one of the biggest expenses on your big day, as food costs are not insignificant.

Luckily, it is possible to serve delicious food and have tasty wedding meals while sticking to your budget!

That’s why in this post, I’m sharing a round-up of wedding food ideas and food options that will keep your wedding guests full and satisfied without breaking the bank on your wedding day.

 6 Wedding Reception Food Ideas On A Budget

If you’re having a bigger wedding, but you want to stick to your budget, you might want to create buffet tables for food. That can be a more affordable option, while still providing delicious and tasty food. That also gives you the option to easily add different options for people with different dietary preferences.

So, let’s go over some “food station” or buffet ideas.

Pasta Station

You can have a “make your own pasta” station, so your guests can make a dish they love the most.

To do that, simply have lots of different pasta shape options (spaghetti, fusilli, shells, rotini, tagliatelle, penne, gnocchi, etc.) displayed, and different sauces and toppings. You can even have a chef behind the station who will make the pasta dishes your guests ask for right in front of them.

For sauces, have all sorts of different basic sauces - alfredo sauce, marinara sauce, pesto sauce, cheese sauce, mushroom sauce, etc.

Then, have different topping or add-on options. Those could be grilled chicken, grilled steak, shrimp, cheese, different types of grilled veggies, different cheeses, and so on.

That way, your guests can get their favorite pasta dish, and you can stick to your budget.

This is a family-style wedding dinner, but it works for both traditional weddings, and less traditional ones.

Slider Buffet

Another buffet-style food option you could do for your food stations, is to have a mini sliders station.

You can display mini sliders on a buffet table, and add a variety of toppings your guests can choose from. Those topping options can be beef patties, grilled chicken, fried chicken, tofu, black bean burgers, or another type of vegetarian slider topping, cheese, different sauces, and different veggies.

Then your guests can choose the toppings they like on their sliders.

If you choose more affordable slider toppings, you can really stick to your budget with this option.

While this is a great reception food, it can also work as a cocktail hour food, since mini sliders can be appetizers as well.

Pizza Buffet

While pizza isn’t the most traditional wedding food, it can definitely be a fun and delicious options, that your guests will surely love (who doesn’t love pizza, right?).

You can provide different pizza options, so your guests can choose the ones they love the most.

You can either have chefs make pizzas for you, or you can even order them from a local restaurant.

Provide different flavors: regular cheese pizza, margarita, pepperoni pizza, mushroom pizza, veggie pizza, etc.

Also add some pizza toppings or sauces: marinara sauce, ranch, garlic oil, parmesan, and so on, so your guests can grab their perfect bite.

Those are some of my fave buffet/food station reception food ideas on a budget. They work great for both smaller and larger weddings, and essentially for all wedding themes.

If you’re having a small, intimate wedding, and you really want to stick to your budget, you can even make the reception food yourself (with the help of your closest friends & family, of course). As long as you don’t have too many people, it can be doable to make some delicious dishes yourself. 

Here are some recipes that would work when making them for more people, but that can still be affordable and delicious. Just make sure to multiply the quantities, depending on how many guests you’ll have.

One Pot Pasta

Ingredients

• ½ cup Pasta, penne, uncooked (dry) - 200 calories

• ¾ cup Tomatoes, canned, crushed - 37.5 calories

• ¼ cup Broth, chicken or beef (cups) - 8.75 calories

• ⅔ cup Cheese, shredded, mozzarella - 224 calories

• 2 cups Broccoli, frozen - 62 calories

• 1 Garlic salt, dash - 0 calories

• 1 Red pepper flakes, dash - 0 calories

• 1 Oregano, dash - 0 calories

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

2. Add all of your ingredients besides the cheese to a casserole dish

3. Mix your contents around, make sure your pasta is completely covered by liquid

4. Top with cheese

5. Cover your casserole dish with a lid or tin foil and bake for 20 minutes

6. Remove the tin foil or lid, set your oven to broil, and broil for another 2-3 minutes

7. No cheese? Use dairy-free cheese or swap this meal out for another. No gluten? Use gluten-free pasta.

Bruschetta Chicken Skillet

Ingredients

• 6 oz Chicken thigh, boneless, skinless, raw - 190 calories

• 1½ cups Broccoli - 46.5 calories

• ¼ cup Cheese, shredded, mozzarella - 84 calories

• ½ cup Pasta, penne, cooked - 100 calories

• ½ cup Fresh Salsa (Pico de Gallo) - 40 calories

• 1 tsp Avocado oil (tsp) - 41 calories

• 1 Cumin, dash - 0 calories

• ½ tsp Garlic salt - 0 calories

• ½ tsp Red pepper flakes - 0 calories

• 2 Tbsp Cilantro - 0 calories

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2. Cook pasta as instructed on package

3. Slice chicken and broccoli into small pieces

4. In a large bowl, mix chicken, broccoli, oil, and spices

5. Add bowl’s contents to an oven-safe pan (like a cast-iron pan) and stir fry until cooked through (about 8-10 minutes) on medium heat

6. Mix in pasta into the skillet, then top with fresh salsa and cheese

7. Bake for 10 minutes, then broil for 2-3

8. Serve with chopped cilantro and enjoy!

9. No gluten? Use gluten-free pasta. No dairy? Top with diced avocado after cooking. No chicken? Use black beans.

Gnocchi Stir Fry

Ingredients

• ½ cup Pasta, gnoicci, cooked - 127 calories

• 1 cup Leafy greens, kale, raw - 10 calories

• 1 Tbsp Tomatoes, sun-dried - 17 calories

• ⅓ cup Cheese, shredded, cheddar - 152 calories

• 3 Uncured bacon, slice - 132 calories

• 1 Red pepper flakes, dash - 0 calories

• 1 Garlic salt, dash - 0 calories

Instructions

1. Fry bacon in a pan with an oil spray & cut into small pieces

2. In a separate pan, stir-fry gnocchi with an oil spray – cover with lid

3. When the pasta’s almost cooked through (you can taste-test) add in greens, sun-dried tomatoes, and bacon

4. Top with cheese & let heat through

5. If you’re using frozen cauliflower gnocchi (just use an equivalent calorie amount), don NOT boil it before stir-frying it – or it will get too mushy

6. No dairy? Use a dairy free cheese. No bacon? Use turkey or soy bacon.

If you’re also looking for wedding dessert table ideas on a budget, I got you!

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