With summer break being in full swing everywhere in the UK now, I’m sure the little ones are calling for a nice big summer party. If it’s not the kids, it’s probably the neighbours, or the rest of the family. Feeding so many people at one event can be tricky though, especially if you’re on a budget. So, in this blog, I’ve put together some of my favourite finger food ideas for you, with links to some of the cheapest products around. If you’re in a hurry, and there’s no harm in cheating once in a while, I can only recommend getting yourself Iceland party food. They’ve got a really good offer going on right now where you can get 3 for £5 party food. These nibbles range from mini pizzas to mozzarella sticks and cocktail sausages, and they’re great for picnics too! Your cheapest option, if you have the time, will still be making things from scratch, though, so here are my shopping lists to help you with that.

Cheese and Onion Fritters

These Cheese and Onion Fritters only take 20mins to make and they’re a lovely moreish snack! I would recommend serving them with a dip you like. You can read the full recipe here. Since most of the ingredients are only needed in small quantities, they’re a great recipe for leftovers. This is how my fritters turned out…

To make these, you’ll need:

Plain flour, leftover or you can get 1.5kg for £1.25

1 egg, leftover or you can get 15 for £1.60

Splash of milk, leftover or 4 pints for £1.45

50g Mature Cheddar, leftover or 220g for £1.50

1 onion, leftover or 1kg for £1

Apart from that, you’ll only need a little oil, salt & pepper and some chilli flakes. If you do buy these ingredients for this recipe, rather than using leftovers, you’ll have plenty left for more meals, and these ingredients work really well in other party food ideas as well, as you’ll see below.

Onion Bhajis

These are an old classic and they are really versatile! They are great as a side with a curry, but they also taste lovely cold, so they make for perfect party nibbles or picnic snacks. Plus, they only take 15mins to make! Click here for the full recipe. I usually make them with gram flour and rice flour, but you can also use plain flour instead.

You’ll need:

Plain flour, 1.5kg for £1.25

Onions, 1kg for £1

Garlic for £1

Ginger for £1

Butter, leftover or 450g for £1

Other than that, you’ll need a few spices, water and some oil for frying. My onion bhajis look like this…

For a mint dip, you could either buy this yoghurt & mint table sauce if you’re in a hurry, or you could make it from scratch. In that case, you’d need:

Mint sauce for £1.25

Yoghurt for £1.80

…and a little turmeric and sugar.

Mick’s Strawberry Puffs

I wanted to add something sweet to the list as well and these only take about 45mins to make, so they’re just about doable for a party.

For Mick’s Strawberry Puffs, you’ll need:

Puff pastry, you can get 1kg for £2.35

Strawberries, you can get 3x300g for just £4.50 in a multibuy deal at the moment

Sugar, leftover or 1kg for £1.60

1 egg, leftover or 15 for £1.60

In terms of leftovers, you’ll only need a little corn flour, and you will again have plenty of the above ingredients left after making these puffs. If you do buy 3 packs of strawberries (it’s a really good deal), you’ll also have plenty of those left as healthy summer snacks on their own or with cream. See my recipe here and my strawberry puffs below…

Other Party Food Ideas

In case you need some more inspiration, I’ve listed some more of my recipes below.

Guacamole – it’s surprisingly easy to make this at home, and much tastier that store bought guac! A great addition to most savoury snacks!

Chicken Pakora – such a yummy snack! They only take 9mins to make and require nothing but chicken, water, flour and a few spices.

4 Cheese Toastie – these are a lovely, air fryer friendly snack! They work well as croutons in a salad or with soup as well!

Scottish Tablet – another sweet snack. It’s an amazing, crumblier version of fudge!

If you’d like to receive more shopping lists from me, please consider signing up for my newsletter here. I really hope you and your guests enjoy some of my party food! It would be great if you could let me know how you got on in the comments or share it in our Feed Your Family Facebook Group!

Please note: Prices are subject to change and products subject to availability.