The menu ideas I have shared below are inspired by the fall. Think harvest time, root veggies, Thanksgiving, all of which are hearty and meant to warm you from the inside out while providing you with the nutrients you need to get ready for the chillier seasons. I’m really tapping into those fall buffet menu ideas that would make someone feel like they are jumping into the autumn season.
I couldn’t have a fall buffet menu ideas list without including some kind of casserole. I eat more vegetarian meals than not so I put veggie casserole on my list, but of course, you can have a casserole with whatever you like in it. The beauty of a casserole dish is that it’s perfect for a buffet — you can scoop out as much or as little as you like without making any messes and you can feed a lot of people.
Kate’s recipe is a yummy Mexican take on a veggie casserole (pictured below), Jolinda’s recipe is a mixture of a veggie casserole with a vegetarian shepherd’s pie (YUM!), Laci offers up a divine-looking and nutritious eggplant parmesan, and Shannon’s Broccoli-Mushroom Bake recipe is comfort food heaven. All of these recipes will have your guests coming back for seconds in no time!
Nothing screams autumnal like butternut squash and nothing pleases me more than mac and cheese. Seriously. If you’ve seen my other articles, you’d know how obsessed I am with that comfort food dish. However, I also have expressed my interest in making my favorite comfort foods more nutritious, so I’ve paired mac and cheese with the ever velvety butternut squash.
A perfect addition to any fall feast, butternut squash is low in calories but high in vitamins A, C, and E, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, and copper, to name, well, a bunch. In other words, it’s just so good for you.
I recommend three different recipes if you want to try this dish out, each of which puts its own flavor into this delicious menu idea. Chungah’s version has bacon sprinkled on top for the meat lovers; Lindsay uses butternut squash in her recipe as the sauce mixed with Gruyère cheese (pictured below), and Maria adds bread crumbs in her recipe and bakes her macaroni and cheese until golden and crispy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Simple spaghetti squash is another perfect addition on your fall buffet menu ideas list because not only is it a great representation of fall but it is also a yummy recipe sure to be loved by all. It’s a little bit labor intensive when it comes to scooping out all of the squash seeds, but once that’s done, it’s pretty easy. The beauty of this dish is that you can also make this dish as simple or as complicated as you like, changing the spices or flavors as you wish.
Dana has an excellent recipe guide of learning how to perfectly roast your spaghetti squash (pictured below), Martha Stewart’s recipe has the divine combination of parmesan, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes, and Julia offers to jazz up a simple spaghetti squash with Bolognese sauce for one recipe and garlic, kale, and sundried tomatoes for another recipe.
Like spaghetti squash, sweet potato cubes can be dressed in all sorts of ways, all of which are promised to be delish. Kaleigh from Living Table shares a simple sweet potato cubes recipe that will make sure you get the dish right every single time. Nicola adds some cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper for a BBQ-style sweet potato dish, while Dave makes a pistachio dressing to go with your roasted sweet potato. Think of it like chips and dips — but healthier!
I don’t eat meat very often, but I have always loved meatballs. I’ve transitioned mostly from beef to turkey meatballs, but even veggie meatballs would work for this. One of the things that I really wanted to do with this list was share fall buffet menu ideas that can be dressed in different ways to whatever your theme or style is.
Meggan shares a turkey meatball recipe, made with breadcrumbs for extra crispiness, along with basil, oregano, and worcester sauce for added flavor (pictured below). Lyuba infuses her beef and pork meatballs with rosemary and roasted garlic only to add more rosemary and roasted garlic to top them off, while Lee’s unique addition is thyme and balsamic vinegar. Guaranteed to be devoured by all!
No way could I write this fall buffet menu ideas list without adding apple pie and pumpkin pie to the list. Perfect for a buffet menu because you can feed — and satisfy — a lot of guests with these pies. Whenever I go to fall fairs, I am always searching for the pies I can either taste or take home (or, let’s be honest, both).
Ricardo shares his recipe for apple pie, made with two kinds of apples and ground cinnamon for extra flavor (pictured below); Adam offers up a “No Fail Homemade Pumpkin Pie” recipe for those who are trying out pumpkin pie for the first time, and Jenn infuses her pumpkin filling with tons of delicious sweet spices and black pepper. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want summer to end. But I do want autumn pie. Stat.
I feel like mashed potatoes are a must at any fall buffet, so I’ve collected a few recipes that you might like to try this coming fall. What I love about mashed potatoes is that it’s another dish that can be served to feed a lot of people.
Ali from Gimme Some Oven has a recipe for some seriously fluffy mashed potatoes that I want to live in, rather than just eat (pictured below). Ricardo shares his recipe for mashed potatoes that is infused with garlic and rosemary — a.k.a. the perfect combination of ingredients. Vanessa takes things to the next level and adds mascarpone and Parmigiano Reggiano to her recipe for a seriously indulgent twist on the already indulgent fall favorite.
Of course, there’s no fall buffet menu without a green bean salad. Kate’s green bean salad has toasted almonds and feta to top it off, making it even more delicious (pictured below). Her dressing also has a lemony base and basil in it, which allows for some extra zest! Megan’s recipe features balsamic vinegar and garlic powder for an added kick, while Laura’s recipe has artichoke hearts, hazelnuts, and arugula in it with dijon mustard, honey, and balsamic vinegar dressing.
Perfect for a BBQ fall buffet menu list, corn on the cob is a delicious, nutritious, and, yes sometimes, messy but oh so good addition. Like a lot of the other recipes I’ve listed here, you can doctor your corn on the cob however you like.
Christin of Spicy Southern Kitchen boils her corn in milk and butter for a seriously rich and decadent version of corn on the cob, while Kristen of The Endless Meal uses parmesan cheese and smoked paprika for a unique and fiery flavor (pictured below). Elizabeth dresses her corn on the cob with a garlic-herb butter for an oh so good taste.
When I think of the harvest and transitioning to crisp leaves and colder weather, I always think about chili. It warms you from the inside out and fills you up in the best way possible. I like to think of chili as a great addition to your fall buffet menu ideas list because you can make a huge pot of chili at one time and feed your entire army of guests. Chili is easy to scoop out of a large saucepan and you can now justify buying those cute little bowls from Anthropologie without feeling guilty.
Amy really ramps up the fall flavors with her Healthy Fall Pumpkin Chili recipe (pictured below), jampacked with all fall flavors imaginable: pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice, cumin, chili powder, ground turkey. It’s like all of the thanksgiving dinner tossed into a massive bowl. Sisters, Kaly and Ashley, share another chili recipe that they deem the “Everything Fall Chili.” Alongside the many veggies and beans that go into chili, the sisters also create a chili spice mix to really bring on the heat, most welcome when it gets a little chillier outside.
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