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Planning a dinner party can be exciting but also daunting. If you’re not sure what to cook, take the faff out of entertaining with our simple recipes. These delicious main course ideas are all easy to assemble and cook. Some can be made ahead, some are quick to prepare on the night, and all of them offer maximum flavour for minimum effort.
Take your pick from classic dinner party ideas like creamy risottos, fishcakes, venison, pork and lamb. Choose from elevated chicken traybakes, a whole sea bass with a tomato sauce, or homemade gnocchi. You’ll also find plenty of vegetarian and vegan dinner party mains, which are impressive enough to feed the whole gang.
Need help deciding on what to serve with your lasagne, or looking for an idea for a full menu? We’ve pulled together dinner party menu ideas – from vegetarian to seasonal options.
For those nights when hosting isn’t on the cards…check out our easy midweek dinner recipes.
Showing 1-16 of 118 recipes
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This surprisingly simple one-pot chicken and orzo dinner from food writer Ravinder Bhogal has something special about it. “Tender chicken...
- Easy
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This cheese soufflé makes an impressive main course for a light, elegant lunch. Simply serve with a green salad. Have...
Vegetarian
- Medium
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This tamarind and herb-stuffed lamb leg with baked jollof rice recipe is a celebratory Senegalese-inspired one-pot by award-winning author and...
Dairy-freeGluten-free
- Medium
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Thrumming with earthy autumnal sweetness, this dish has serious duck à l’orange undertones. The celeriac – half made into a...
Gluten-free
- Easy
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This is a simple and summery chicken dish which makes great use of seasonal produce (and plenty of garlic). Runner...
FreezableGluten-free
- Easy
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Perfect for a starter or served with chips for a main, these crispy-zingy mussels come complete with their own mini...
- Easy
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delicious. food producer Pollyanna loves roasting a chicken in the summer: “There’s nothing more universally loved than a simple, home-cooked...
Gluten-free
- Easy
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Bring some sunshine to your weeknight chicken dinner with this warm romesco sauce, full of tang and sweet nutty depth....
Gluten-free
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“Miso and gochujang bring all the sweet-spicy-umami richness you need to this buttery roasted chicken dish,” says chef Lara Lee....
- Easy
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In this lovely roast pork loin recipe, lavender honey-glazed apricots soak up the meat juices and are served with the...
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It certainly won’t please any Italians, but making carbonara with orzo instead of the more usual spaghetti or rigatoni creates...
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This marmalade chicken dish takes sweet and zingy lemon and marmalade and uses them to marinate chicken thighs, which are...
Gluten-free
- Easy
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Step aside steak – these meaty oyster mushrooms provide all the umami, depth and complex savouriness of red meat, helped...
Dairy-freeGluten-freeVegan
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Paella is usually a relatively meaty affair (or fishy, depending where in Spain you are), but this vegetarian version is...
Dairy-freeGluten-freeVegetarian
- Easy
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Asparagus and peas are just warmed through in a silky butter sauce in this beautifully seasonal dish. The fresh spring...
Vegetarian
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Combining umami-rich miso with breadcrumbs to roast a pork tenderloin, and including a little in the piquant sesame-scented dressing, makes...
- Easy
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