22 Graduation Party Food Ideas for 2022

Save time and money with these easy & delicious graduation party food ideas for 2022!

It’s graduation season! Save time and money celebrating your grad with these fully prepped graduation party food ideas. Throwing a graduation party can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. With these quick & easy food ideas, hosting a graduation party will be easier (and tastier) than ever. We want you to enjoy the celebration, so we’ve done all the planning and prepping for you. We’ve even got graduation party self-catering menus. Place your order, print out your menus, and focus your energy on celebrating your grad.

1. Vegetable Samosas with Chutney Dipping Sauce

Vegetarian graduation party food ideas are essential for grad party planning. You must make sure your meatless guests are properly fed! For this reason, our Vegetable Samosas should be on every graduation party menu. We put a Dream Dinners twist on this classic Indian dish. Curried potatoes with carrots, peas, and aromatic seasonings are baked in a flaky pastry triangle. Our Vegetable Samosas with Chutney Dipping Sauce work great as an appetizer or main course! We recommend ordering a few large portions of this dish. Both meat-eaters and vegetarians will come back for more tasty triangles.

2. Sesame Honey Butter Chicken Bites

Stick out from the crowd by getting creative with your graduation party food ideas. Turn our Savory Grilled Chicken with Sesame Honey Butter into Sesame Honey Butter Chicken Bites. Stick a toothpick in each bite and say hello to the perfect party appetizer. Sesame honey butter is drizzled over grilled chicken breasts marinated in a blend of sesame, ginger, and garlic. Slice the cooked chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces so everyone can grab a taste! This grill-ready appetizer will be ready in under 30 minutes. So, you can spend less time prepping and more time enjoying your party.

3. Tasty Taco Bar

A Tasty Taco Bar is one of our personal favorite graduation party food ideas. Create a taco bar with various choices so each grad party guest can take a taco they love. First, purchase hard and soft shell tortillas for your tasty taco bar. Next, set out all the taco condiments. Finally, transform these ready-to-cook meals into totally terrific tacos!

Here’s what your graduation party taco bar should include:

4. Charhouse Chicken Sandwiches

Get outside and celebrate with our Charhouse Chicken Sandwiches. Ready-to-Grill and ready-to-serve in under 30 minutes! Marinated chicken breasts are topped with mouthwatering melted cheese and chipotle mayo on a toasted bun. Served with a side of Heirloom Potatoes; the perfect blend of Yukon golds, purple potatoes, red potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Roast these in your oven while the chicken is on the grill to make the perfect graduation party meal.

5. Orzo Pasta Salad

We can’t forget sides in our party food ideas! Our Orzo Pasta Salad is the best summer side for any graduation party. Excellent addition to any celebration, this salad mixed bacon and spinach with the sweetness of juicy peaches and dried cranberries. All topped with crumbled feta and French fried onions tossed in a light vinaigrette dressing.

6. Blackened Cod Fish Tacos with Mexican Street Corn

Fire up the grill for the fish tacos of your dreams. Flaky spice-rubbed cod with zesty Mexican Street Corn and a warm corn tortilla. All ready in under 30 minutes, so you can spend less time cooking and more time enjoying with your guests.

7. Peach Crisp

When thinking of graduation party food ideas, this is the first dessert that should come to mind. Our Peach Crisp is an essential menu item for your summer graduation party. Peach slices and pecans are baked with brown sugar and cinnamon into a bubbly, golden brown crisp. Keep a few of these gems stashed in your freezer for an easy dessert or a mid-day treat this summer.

8. Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches

This is one of our graduation party food ideas that the kids will love just as much as the parents. Lean, tender pulled pork in a tangy barbeque sauce served over toasted French rolls and ready in under 30 minutes.

9. Texas Roadhouse Burgers

Burgers are a graduation party must-have, and these Texas Roadhouse Burgers are bound to impress your guests. Sweet and tangy burgers with a touch of bacon, topped off with two cheese, BBQ sauce, and fried onions. The perfect backyard BBQ to bring to your graduation party this year.

10. Bacon Mac N’ Three Cheese Bake

Penne pasta is smothered in a three-cheese sauce, tossed with bacon, and topped with crunchy BBQ breadcrumbs in this mouth-watering bake. Serve it as a side or as the main course at your graduation party this year. Either way, your guests will be begging for the recipe of your Bacon Mac N’ Three Cheese Bake.

11. Lemon Feta Turkey Sliders

These crowd-pleasing sliders will satisfy you, your grad, and your guests. Grill-ready and ready-to-serve in under 30 minutes. Loaded with lemon and feta, our grilled turkey patties are topped with a garlic chive mayo and served on mini slider buns. If you’re looking for graduation party food ideas that are easy to grab, then look no further. Our Lemon Feta Turkey Sliders are the dish for you!

12. Pesto Chicken Lasagna

A few different kinds of pasta are good graduation party food ideas, but our Pesto Chicken Lasagna reigns supreme. This is our favorite party pasta for several reasons. One, it’s an easy pan meal. We deliver this dish ready to cook inside the pan, making it easier than ever for you to prepare. Two, it cooks from frozen, meaning you don’t have to worry about thawing the dish before your party.

Last but not least, it’s delicious. So delicious that it’s one of our guest-favorite meals for a good reason. Pillowy layers of diced chicken, a duo of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, and a creamy pesto sauce make the perfect graduation party lasagna. If you’re serving pasta at your graduation party, then our Pesto Chicken Lasagna is easily the best pick.

13. Backyard BBQ Chicken

Are you looking for graduation party food ideas for your backyard BBQ? If so, look no further. Our Backyard BBQ Chicken is the perfect dish for your party. Dream Dinner’s original BBQ sauce is slathered over our tender chicken breasts and served with Corn Medley. Our corn medley is tossed with red peppers, garlic, green onion, and a touch of sweet basil. It’s the perfect side for our Backyard BBQ Chicken. This meal is so good that it’s worth doubling your graduation party like a backyard BBQ!

14. Gaucho Grilled Pork Tenderloin

It is great as a sandwich, great as a wrap, and excellent all on its own; Serve our Gaucho Grilled Pork Tenderloin any way your heart desires. Grilled to perfection, this seasoned pork tenderloin kicks up the flavor when topped with mild chili butter. Served with a side of our Summer Grilled Vegetables; the perfect side dish for any summer meal. A sliced vegetable mix tossed in a simple seasoned oil and thrown on the grill or cooked in a foil pack in under 20 minutes.

15. Grilled Pesto Chicken Pizza

Are you surprised pizza is one of our graduation party food ideas? Prepare to be surprised again when you taste a slice of our Grilled Pesto Chicken Pizza. This isn’t just any pizza; it’s a creative, summery pizza made for summer events like graduation parties. Take your pizza on the grill with our Pesto Chicken Pizza topped with diced chicken, artichokes, and flavorful pesto. This party dish only takes 20 minutes to prepare, so your guests won’t spend any time waiting for a slice.

16. Al Pastor Pork Street Tacos

There are so many kinds of tacos that are fantastic graduation party food ideas, but it wasn’t hard to pick our favorite. These pre-assembled Al Pastor Street Tacos take the graduation party taco trophy. Chile and pineapple marinated pork are grilled to perfection and served in warm corn tortillas with pineapple salsa. Take your graduation party outside and throw these tasty tacos on the grill. Or, pop them in the oven and cook them to perfection. However you prepare them, we guarantee they will be a hit at your summer event.

17. Summer Shrimp Boil

shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and corn on the cob are all great graduation party food ideas. So, why not combine them all together to make a Summer Shrimp Boil? Serve this at your graduation party for easy, breezy, under 30-minute cooking. A flavorful broth with baby potatoes, smoked sausage, mini corn cobs, and plenty of shrimp.

18. Choose Your Chicken

All of our summer chicken dishes are incredible graduation party food ideas, so it can be tough to decide which to serve. That’s why we think you should serve them all and let your guests decide! Set up a table with four variations of chef-curated chicken-based dishes so your party guests can choose the flavor they’re feeling. Fire up the grill for our Peach Bourbon Chicken, ready in under 30 minutes. Peach, ginger, and garlic make this delicious sauce truly amazing over grilled chicken breasts.

Throw in our Chicago Style Chicken with Roasted Potatoes Wedges. Chicken breasts with roasted red potatoes, whole garlic cloves, bright green peas, and a velvety lemon sauce. For the guest that like their chicken with a kick, serve our Buffalo Ranch Chicken. Juicy chicken breasts marinated in a mild buffalo sauce and topped with ranch dressing and gorgonzola cheese alongside Summer Grilled Vegetables. To complete your table full of chicken, include our Savory Grilled Chicken with Sesame Honey Butter marinated in a blend of sesame, ginger, and garlic.

19. Arroz Con Pollo

Add some global flavor to your graduation party with our Arroz Con Pollo. Layers of savory rice, diced chicken, black beans, and corn blended with our zesty salsa and topped with cheese. This Dream Dinners dish is a parent’s choice, and kid-approved. So, everyone at your party will be pleased when you serve Arroz Con Pollo.

20. Chipotle Shrimp with Mango Salsa

Sweet and savory chipotle shrimp served over jasmine rice and topped with mango salsa. There are a lot of ways you could serve this grill-ready meal at your graduation party! Serve the shrimp over a bed of jasmine rice or throw it all together to put inside tacos. However you decide to serve our Chipotle Shrimp with Mango Salsa, we know it’ll be a graduation party hit.

21. Summery Sides

A graduation party feast wouldn’t be complete without some summery sides to compliment the main course! Luckily, we’ve got plenty of graduation party food ideas when it comes to side dishes. We recommend putting out these 5 mouth-watering, ready-to-cook sides at your grad party this year. First, our Spinach & Bacon Orzo Pasta Salad is a wonderful addition to any graduation party meal. Bacon and spinach are mixed with peaches and dried cranberries and topped with feta cheese and French fried onions. Tossed in a light vinaigrette dressing that pulls it all together. The best part? This summery side doubles as a graduation party appetizer!

Second, brighten up any meal with our Mexican Street Corn. Corn slathered in a lime crema and topped with a sprinkle of cotija cheese and chili powder. Another essential graduation party side is our sweet potato fries. A wonderful, colorful, and healthy change to regular French Fries, our sweet potato fries are baked in the oven and make a delicious side dish for burgers, sandwiches, and more. Throw some veggies in your platter of sides with our Summer Grilled Vegetables. This is the perfect side dish for any meal and is necessary for any backyard BBQ. A sliced vegetable mix is tossed in a simple seasoned oil and thrown on the grill or cooked in a foil pack. Last but not least, serve our favorite summer dessert, Peach Crisp, as a sweet side that doubles as a post-meal treat.

22. Bring it All Buffet

Celebrate your recent grad buffet style with a feast full of chef-curated, ready-to-cook meals. We love the idea of a graduation party buffet because then you aren’t limited to a few of your favorite options, you can have them all! Honorable mentions for your buffet: Cashew Chicken with Noodles, Mini Turkey Meatloaves, Baked Penne Chicken Alfredo, and Sonoma Grilled Steaks

Graduation Party Catering Menus

To make hosting easier this year, we created DIY catering menus with these graduation party food ideas. We’ve also got sample catering menus for every other type of small event you may find yourself hosting this Summer.

Make sure to place your Dream Dinners order so you have everything you need to throw the tastiest graduation party of 2022!