Pasta buffet ideas

andrewandkathy · December 2011

I want to do a pasta buffet and I was looking for some feedback or ideas. I need to serve about 250 people. I would like to stay away from red sauces for obvious reasons.lol
Anything will help though

Sue-n-Kevin · December 2011

Are you doing this, or having a caterer supply the food? It's hard to keep cooked, "un-sauced" pasta from sticking, if you are doing this yourself.

I don't think it's possible to do a pasta bar without red sauce. It's the one most people are familiar with, and most kids won't eat a white sauce unless it's mac & cheese.

If I were doing this, I'd probably do it much like a salad bar: I'd have a white sauce and a red sauce, then some veggies (peppers, onions, peas), some meats (chicken, ground beef, ground sausage or Italian sausage slices, meatballs) so the guests could create their own sauces with the veggies and meats (or none) that they wanted.

You could also have some various ground cheeses, like parmesan, asiago, romano.

If you wanted to have the sauces pre-made, I'd probably do the following:

A pure cheese sauce, similar to mac & cheese
A white sauce like Alfredo, with or without chicken. If you add peas it's a Carbonera sauce.
Red sauce, one with meat, one without.

You could still have the pre-made sauces and have additional items to add if the guests wanted.

You will need to choose a fairly "sturdy" pasta, like bow-ties or penne that stands up to various additional items. Thin spaghetti is hard to eat with heavier sauces or sauce ingredients.

andrewandkathy · December 2011

Oh boy, that's a whole bunch more than I thought would go into it. I just lost my caterer so I am trying to come up with a way to make this super easy on me, and as cheap as possible.
What do you think of this?

Mac-n-cheese type with elbow for the kids
Penne with an alfredo sauce
Ziti with a red sauce
all premixed and then pans of meatballs and chicken

NOLAbridealmost · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_pasta-buffet-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:67dd204a-23fc-4a54-9daf-96af9c42386ePost:13f2153c-5bd4-48ea-8bf4-f7b184d1b57f">Re: Pasta buffet ideas</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh boy, that's a whole bunch more than I thought would go into it. I just lost my caterer so I am trying to come up with a way to make this super easy on me, and as cheap as possible. What do you think of this? Mac-n-cheese type with elbow for the kids Penne with an alfredo sauce Ziti with a red sauce all premixed and then pans of meatballs and chicken
Posted by andrewandkathy[/QUOTE]

<div>That sounds awesome. And I love the idea of keeping the meatballs and chicken separate; vegetarians will be able to enjoy the smorgasbord too! </div><div>
</div><div>If you could find a way to add a nice tossed italian salad, that would be a great way to balance out the meal. </div>

Magdala9 · December 2011

I would add a jardinera sauce (veges in red sauce). When I make jardinera, it is with onions, mushrooms, peppers, and zuchini. Others add broccoli and carrots.

Ljacks87 · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_pasta-buffet-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:67dd204a-23fc-4a54-9daf-96af9c42386ePost:13f2153c-5bd4-48ea-8bf4-f7b184d1b57f">Re: Pasta buffet ideas</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh boy, that's a whole bunch more than I thought would go into it. I just lost my caterer so I am trying to come up with a way to make this super easy on me, and as cheap as possible. What do you think of this? <strong>Mac-n-cheese type with elbow for the kids Penne with an alfredo sauce Ziti with a red sauce all premixed and then pans of meatballs and chicken
</strong>Posted by andrewandkathy[/QUOTE]

Sounds good. As PP said, it would be nice to add a salad and maybe even breadsticks. I know I would be good with a salad, chicken alfredo penne and a breadstick to dip in the sauce!

andrewandkathy · December 2011

Definitely going to have salad and bread. I guess I should have mentioned that, its so easy to find the sides, I'm just stressing over the main course. lol. For instance, I can't decide if I want to use white or whole grain pastas. I prefer whole grain, and it's better for you, but will others like it? I don't want a bunch of extra pasta.

jessicabessica · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_pasta-buffet-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:23Discussion:67dd204a-23fc-4a54-9daf-96af9c42386ePost:81b3d845-e579-4b1e-bd86-ff158f0af694">Re: Pasta buffet ideas</a>:
[QUOTE]Definitely going to have salad and bread. I guess I should have mentioned that, its so easy to find the sides, I'm just stressing over the main course. lol. For instance, I can't decide if I want to use white or whole grain pastas. I prefer whole grain, and it's better for you, but will others like it? I don't want a bunch of extra pasta. :)
Posted by andrewandkathy[/QUOTE]

If you have a pasta bar where guests can mix and match sauces, pastas, proteins, and veggies, I would have a tray of whole wheat and a tray of regular. If the sauce is already mixed in, you could have some of each--maybe white pasta w/alfredo sauce and whole wheat pasta primavera. I definitely wouldn't have only whole wheat, though, a lot of people don't like it.

brandichamberlain · December 2011

We are doing a pasta bar! We are offering a classic pasta with marniara, a penne vodka, and a lasagna. We also will have salad and bread. It covers those who are vegetarian, have a lactose allergy, and would want protein.

Pasta buffet ideas

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