Pasta Bar Party: This buffet is perfect for a party, set up different pastas, sauces, and toppings and let your guests make-their-own!
Last week my oldest daughter had a birthday, and we’re planning a party with friends in a couple of weeks. But we couldn’t let the special day go by without marking the occasion, so we had a special family party and celebrated with a Make Your Own Pasta Bar.
We’ve been entertaining a lot lately around here for the #yearoffeasting We committed to hosting a party once a month for a year in the hopes of connecting with the ones we love and each other. It was such a great decision and we’ve enjoyed it so much.
The Pasta Bar
It was so much fun to put together the pasta bar and I’m really excited to share it with you. It’s so perfect for entertaining, since everyone can find something they love, and all you have to do is set it up and let them help themselves, so you get a chance to enjoy your own party too.
I set it all up in the dining room.
Pastas:
We offered three pastas -fettuccine, cheese tortellini, and rotini.
- fettuccine
- cheese tortellini
- rotini
Sauces:
There were three pasta sauces; tomato, alfredo, and a blush sauce.
- tomato sauce
- Alfredo sauce
- blush sauce
Toppings:
Then we made lots of fun toppings. We had grilled chicken, Italian sausage, meatballs, sauteed veggies, parmesan cheese and hot chilli flakes for those that like a little spice.
- grilled chicken
- Italian sausage
- meatballs
- veggies (mushrooms, peppers, onions)
- Parmesan cheese
- hot chilli flakes
Our guests loved all the options, and tried all kinds of different combos. It was perfect, even for fussy eaters. I would definitely do it again.
Keep It Simple
There were a lot of different components to the pasta bar, but they were all really simple to put together. I used store bought sauces, and meatballs. I cooked the veggies ahead of time and just re-heated them. Before serving my husband grilled the sausage and chicken on the bbq, I cooked the pasta, and heated up the sauces.
Side Dishes:
Along with this we made a caesar salad, and cooked some mozzarella sticks. So it was pretty easy to put together.
- caesar salad
- mozarella sticks
- fresh bread rolls
- butter
- breadsticks
- olives
The Table
I wanted the table to continue the Italian theme, so we went for a rustic Italian feel.
I used some tomato tins as herb planters and had basil, thyme, and Italian parsley as the centrepiece.
We added some bread sticks, olives, and fresh tomatoes to the table for snacking.
Each guest had their own roll, wrapped in parchment paper, waiting for them.
Drinks:
I set us some Italian inspired drinks in the kitchen for our guests.
- lemon Sanpellegrino
- orange Sanpellegrino
- Sanpellegrino sparkling water
- wine
This was such a fun get-together, I highly recommend it to you for a party.
With a Make Your Own Pasta Bar, life really is a party!
Want more inspiration? Check out our Make Your Own Pizza Party:
You’ll love our Fondue Party, check it our here.
You might also like our Grown Up Lemonade Stand -check it out here.
Hello, how did you keep the noodles from sticking?
Hi Kimiko,
You can just add a little oil to your noodles after they’re cooked to help them to keep from sticking. Hope this helps.
Dannyelle
Hi, this looks wonderfull! I wonder how you kept the sauses and pasta warm enough?
I am planning to do a pasta bar for Christmas Eve. I would like to cook my pasta (three different kinds) the day before. Any suggests on how to warm up the pasta on the day and how to keep it warm? Thanks
Hi Gina, I know in restaurants they sometimes pre-cook pasta until almost done, but not quite and then re-heat and finishing last bit of cooking in boiling water. Not sure if this would work. Hope your get together went well.
Best,
Dannyelle