6 hearty recipes to feed a crowd, from group houses to family gatherings - The Washington Post

If you’re like me — young and on a budget in a group house filled with other young people on a budget — you know what it’s like to try to cook for the masses on a dime. There aren’t too many recipes that will easily feed 10 or more, and sometimes scaling up just doesn’t work out (think rice burned on the bottom, undercooked on top). Here are some tips to keep in mind the next time you’re hosting … the whole block.

• For a successful group dinner, you may need quite a few pots and pans — and a strategy. What needs to be cooked last? What can you make ahead? What can be served cold or at room temperature? The best group recipes (and the ones below) are ones where everything is ready to be served hot, together.
• If you’re one person cooking for 10, it’s always nice to get your roommates/family in on the prep. Chopping seven onions alone takes a lot of time and a lot of tears. Shredding chicken is fun for a while until your arm starts to hurt. A lot of this prep can be done hours before dinner, so if your housemates are around the night before, morning of or even just an hour before mealtime, put them to work prepping and chopping ingredients.
• Know your audience! If you have a mix of vegetarians and meat eaters, there are plenty of dishes that are easily adaptable for both (see the pizza and the chili verde recipes below). It’s also nice to have an easy to cook/reheat vegetarian option handy.
• Last thing to note: More is always better. Hungry roommates will usually be hungry the next day, too. Leftovers will come in handy. So, if you have the storage containers or fridge and freezer space for it, scale up the recipe for more servings. Worst comes to worst and you have a scrumptious late-night snack.

So, if you want to impress your roommates, dorm, co-op or extended family with a meal they’ll always remember (for not failing), look no further than these six great recipes from our archives. If you don’t find the right fit below, search our Recipe Finder for many more ideas to feed a crowd.

Sausage, Spinach and Goat Cheese Lasagna, serves 10-12. Trying to pick a comforting crowd-pleaser? It’s hard to go wrong with lasagna. This recipe should appeal to even the most adamant of goat cheese skeptics, and is freezable for communal leftovers.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas. This recipe serves 4-6 but is easily doubled (or tripled if you’ve got friends of friends joining you), and it might be fun to get some stress out while shredding the chicken.

The Easiest Pizza You’ll Ever Make. The great thing about this recipe is not just that it’s easily scaled from its 2-4 serving size — pizza making can be an all-hands-on-deck affair. Making pizza is fun, and letting people choose their own toppings gives them autonomy over their meal. So if you accidentally burn it, it’s partially their fault.

Malabar Chicken Biryani, serves 6-8. If you’re cooking to impress, this dish is worth the extra effort. I mean, what else says fancy than 1-2 hours of raisin prep! (I’m not joking — plan ahead with this one.) This meal is typically meant for special occasions in the northern part of India’s Kerala region and is usually reserved for the night of a Muslim (Moplahs) wedding ceremony. This meal is fitting for any group celebration, whether the whole family is together or you’re showing off your chops for the company potluck.

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