How Can I Host A Dinner Party in a Small Kitchen?

We have the perfect guide to help if you’re hosting a dinner party and are concerned that your kitchen might be too tiny to accommodate all of your guests without making them feel a bit crowded.

Many of us have small spaces ideal for adorable dating nights but not so much for the chaos of a large family gathering.

To help you make cooking a pleasure, the My Beautiful Kitchen team has put their thoughts together to come up with eight excellent recommendations. With the help of these suggestions, you’ll be able to transform your small kitchen corner into a warm and welcoming area that can really create the atmosphere for a satisfying dinner.

#1. Make a detailed meal plan

Preparation and planning are the key to making the most of a small kitchen’s limited space. Hence, you must prepare your dinner in detail before making any purchases to know what you can and cannot cook.

First, make a list of the appliances you have, any additional appliances you might need, the length of time your main dish, trimmings, and sides will take to prepare individually, as well as the most cost-effective way to prepare everything at once.

For instance, if you are hosting Christmas dinner and can only fit the turkey and roast potatoes in the oven, you may have to grill the pigs in blankets, boil the vegetables on the stove, and potentially even microwave certain dishes.

Nevertheless, you can save money by borrowing a slow cooker or instant pot from friends and family if some of the food you plan to prepare can be prepared in one of these appliances.

You can only begin purchasing what you need once your strategy is finalised. Keep in mind that you can use little ingredients. Plan your meals based on what your kitchen is capable of handling.

#2. Prepare what you can ahead of time

There is nothing worse than attempting to manage all parts of dinner preparation at once, let’s face it. Small kitchens can aggravate this stress, especially if there isn’t enough room for more than one person to cook at once.

You want to do everything you can to get ready before the big day to reduce stress. Vegetables should be chopped the night before, and anything to be marinated should be done then too. Afterwards, you may keep all of these foods in the refrigerator overnight to have them available whenever you need them.

#3. Cooking from big to small

Although it may be tempting to complete all of the quick and simple tasks first, you’ll often find that doing the longest cooking and most time-consuming sections of the dinner first can make your life much easier and give you more room to work with.

Decide which of the major tasks you can complete first when preparing. This will allow you to handle the basic matters in a much more relaxed manner by getting the more stressful things out of the way first.

#4. Rearrange your area

Even if your kitchen may be small, you can still make the most of the space to simplify your life.

Everything that doesn’t belong in the kitchen should first be transferred to another room. Several chairs can be arranged around the table in this manner, and you still have room to move around and prepare meals effectively.

Second, use your kitchen table as a preparation area frequently. You’ll have more than enough time to prepare everything for the dinner, from the sweets to the mains. This does mean that your guests won’t be able to converse at the table, but it merely means that they will be able to relax in your lounge’s comfortable chairs while enjoying some snacks.

Last but not least, instead of setting everything out on the kitchen table when serving, use your counters. This makes serving quick and easy and gives your guests more space to unwind and enjoy your delicious food. And if they want more, they only have to take a few steps to get what they need.

#5. Clean as you go

What could be worse than preparing a busy dinner? Cleaning up afterwards with all of the dishes. Now, somebody who cooks generally shouldn’t have to do the dishes. Yet, we must make an exception in this case.

If you have it all planned out in advance, you should be aware of whether or not you’ll take a break between cooking sessions. If so, you ought to employ this opportunity to wash up the simple objects that aren’t too oily. This will not only free up room on the counters and dish rack, but you may also repurpose these dishes if necessary.

Also, stacking this as you go to save space and just loading the dishwasher till it is full is a given if you have a dishwasher.

#6. Cook shared dishes

Cooking shared dishes is a great alternative if you are aware that your kitchen is incapable of handling a large amount of food.

Dishes that can be shared are exactly what they sound like: they can be shared by all. There is no reason you can’t keep your sides specialised for your party, whether that be a large salad, a huge bowl of roasted vegetables, or a mixture of all the sides.

A great tip for hosting Christmas in a small kitchen is to mix the turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, stuffing, and vegetables into one enormous dish that your guests can help themselves to and then drench in cranberry sauce and gravy. This will still allow you to serve the traditional turkey and trimmings while saving space.

This saves room because you don’t need a full turkey and you can serve it all together in one dish. Just keep in mind to take into account everyone’s food preferences to ensure that nobody gets left out.

#7. Ask for assistance

Although your kitchen may be able to handle the main course, why not allow your guests to take care of some of the simple sides?

Asking your guests for assistance with the quick and simple dinner preparations, such as starters, salads, and perhaps even desserts, can ease some of their burden and make the meal more enjoyable because it will feel like a team effort.

#8. If you can, cheat

We all know how delicious homemade custard and gravy can be, but if you know you won’t be able to cook these complicated dishes along with the main course, there’s no harm in a little cheating.

Using canned custard and instant gravy simply gives you the opportunity to work on other tasks. While everything comes together, you can relax knowing that they will still go perfectly with your meal.

These are our top eight suggestions for hosting a dinner party in a small kitchen, so there you have it. Of course, following all of these suggestions won’t guarantee that the stress associated with preparing such a large dinner will disappear, but maybe they’ll make it easier for you.

Why not check out our website’s inspiration page for more ideas on how to set up your kitchen for dinner parties or some new recipes? You may explore a ton of blog posts and design advice for kitchens on our site.