The Best Store-bought Party Foods for Easy Entertaining

I must admit that I am a recovering over-doer. Before kids, party planning was quite the sport for me. I would plan the menu, alone, for days on end and make approximately 22 dishes (from appetizers to desserts) homemade from scratch. Ok, that is a slight exaggeration, but I know I did make 11 things once for a certain baby shower. I am fully aware that this was totally unnecessary and just way too much. I just got excited. I was always wanting to try new recipes and coming up with great menus for different themes is just fun for me. Now that have 2 little ones, I don’t have as much time as I once did and now completely embrace what our grocery stores and specialty food stores have to offer in the way of pre-made foods and snacks.

Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy making a few homemade treats for parties like Lemon Goat Cheese Straws, Sweet Orange Chili Wings or Rosemary Caramel Popcorn. However, I fully understand that not everyone has the desire to cook and turning to great store-bought items is a great option if you pick the right things. I am also a firm believer, that even if you do enjoy cooking, it’s best to mix and match homemade and store-bought as to not turn throwing a party into a major chore. Entertaining is supposed to fun!

Today I have provided a round-up of all my favorite store-bought items to serve at any party, shower or get-together. We may not be throwing huge soirees right now (thank you COVID19), but you can still gather in small groups and one day (hopefully sooner than later), we will be right back to our old partying ways. So have a small girl’s night now with some of these fun selections or pin to your “party inspiration” board for future use. Heck, buy some of these things and throw a fun party for your kids. They will love eating “snacks” for dinner.

See below for the Best Store Bought Party Foods for Easy Entertaining from Charcuterie to Sweets!

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Best Store Bought Frozen Apps

Making puff pastry “pigs in a blanket” is one of my go-to party apps, but if you don’t want to take the time to roll out the pastry and wrap each little smoked sausage, there are frozen options for you that are very good! Not only are there pre-made “pigs in a blanket”, but the grocery store has so much to offer between meatballs (a party staple) and more adventurous dishes like veggie quiche, asian pork dumplings and Indian-inspired samosas. See below for some of the best frozen ‘pop-in-the-oven’ party apps that are all the deliciousness without all the work. SHOP THIS PHOTO: 1. Gaston’s Bakery Brie & Onion Palmiers // 2. Tai Pai Mini Chicken Spring Rolls // 3. Golden Platter All-Natural Gluten Free Buffalo Style Bites // 4. Whole Foods Spanakopita // 5. Pioneer Woman Frozen Goat Cheese Bites with Marinara // 6. Grass Fed Frozen Beef Meatballs // 7. PF Changs Home Menu Pork Dumplings // 8. The Perfect Bite Co. Caramelized Onion & Feta Pastry Kiss // 9. Assorted Arancini Bites // 10. Parmesan Cheese Puff Pastry Wrapped Mini Uncured Beef Frozen Hot Dogs // 11. Whole Foods Potato & Pea Samosas // 12. Mini Quiche Vegetable Assortment

Best Store Bought Charcuterie & Antipasti

A good cheeseboard is my jam. I put together one for every party I do which is always a hit, plus its one of those dishes at the party that literally requires zero cooking. Now, you could do some semi-homemade dishes like these Pumpkin Spiced Candied Walnuts to add to the rest of the store bought meats and cheeses, but the store does offer a great selection of spiced nuts, sweet fig jam (see below for my absolute favorite brand) and honey to add to your board. See below for all the great options.SHOP THIS PHOTO: 1. Columbus Charcuterie Sampler // 2. Italian Classic Cheese Collection // 3. Stone Hollow Farmstead Pickles Pickled Okra // 4. Olli Charcuterie Set // 5. Finca Helechal Tapas Entertainment 4 pack // 6. Pine Nut Hummus // 7. World Market Chili Mango Dried Fruit // 8. Dalmatia Fig Spread // 9. Barrel Aged Honey // 10. The Gracious Gourmet Smoky Peach Jam // 11. Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers // 12. Sabine’s Collections Garlic, Chives and Parsley Crisps // 13. Old London Melba Classic Toast Crackers // 14. Sahale Snacks Maple Pecans // 15. Divina Organic Pitted Green Olives // 16. Fortnum & Mason Champagne Marmalade // 17. Mike’s Hot Honey

Best Store Bought Snacks

Everyone loves snacks. Chips, popcorn, pretzels…you name it…they are always crowd pleasers. I serve popcorn at almost every party or shower I throw and Boomchickapop is one of my favorite brands. Also included in this list are THE best cheese straws in the country, as well as, my favorite snack mix you can pick up at your local Target store. See below for all the great options for party snacks.SHOP THIS PHOTO: 1. Sweet Cajun Trail Mix // 2. Macy’s Garlic Romano Cheese Sticks // 3. Jack Daniel’s Whiskey Praline Pecan Gift Tin // 4. Rockin’ Ranch Chickpea Snacks // 5. Angie’s Boomchickapop Kettle Corn // 6. Sea Salt & Lime No Grain Tortilla Chips // 7. Oven Baked Pork Rinds // 8. Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels // 9. Everything Seasoned Cashews // 10. Peanut Butter Monster Trail Mix // 11. Touch of Honey Pretzel Sticks // 12. Skinny Dipped Dark Chocolate Cocoa Almonds // 13. South Bend Bourbon Crunch Popcorn // 14. Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory

Best Store Bought Desserts

This one is kind of tough for me as baking is of my love languages. You probably wont find me bringing store-bought desserts to a party, but I have eaten many and still have some favorite items, like those lemon cake bite which are little bites of heaven. I have also added great local candies like Brittle Brothers & Olive & Sinclair brittles and caramels to a dessert display. Macarons are another great dessert you can find in most freezer sections that is the cutest little dessert to display at a baby or wedding shower and (trust me) way to laborious to make on your own unless you are a very experienced baker. See below for more great options for your dessert table. SHOP THIS PHOTO: 1. Cakebites Classic Italian Rainbow // 2. Madeleine Cookies // 3. Willa’s Shortbread // 4. Delizza Patisserie Frozen Macarons // 5. Mississippi Cheese Straw Lemon Straws // 6. Pepperidge Farm Sausalito Crispy Milk Chocolate Macadamia Cookies // 7. Chocolate Chip Cookies // 8. Chex Mix Muddy Buddies // 9. Lemon Bites // 10. Duck Fat Caramels // 11. Pepperidge Farm Milano Dark Chocolate Cookies // 12. Athena Sweet Athena Cosmopolitan Baklava Variety Box // 13. Olive & Sinclair Bourbon Nib Brittle // 14. Pirouline Rolled Wafers // 15. Brittle Brother’s Cashew Brittle