$100 ITALIAN DINNER PARTY
If you want a host a dinner party and stay on a budget then you are in the right place! I challenged myself to host a dinner party for UNDER $100 and here is everything you need to know in this blog post so you can host one too. I hosted a Italian dinner party where we made homemade pasta with 3 courses, wine, a welcome drink and flowers all for within my $100 budget 🍝
Dinner parties can be expensive. I often get distracted while grocery shopping and grab fun trendy items I see in store and then end up walking out of the grocery store spending way more than I planned and having way too much food. You’ll find my tips below on how to stay on budget and host a $100 dinner party seamlessly! Your guests will never know you spent that because it will seem like a fine dining experience for them when really all you did was stuck to the plan.
Host this at $100 Italian dinner party with ease using my free party guide below where you can find everything you need to host this 🍝
This pasta making party was filled with rich reds, baguette candle holders, lots of fresh tomatoes and colorful flowers to really bring the traditional Italian theme to life! I am here to take the guess work out of planning your next at dinner party! You’ll find a grocery shopping list below as well as all the recipes, an editable invitation to send off to your friends and amazon links so you can easily recreate everything that I did.
These were the traditional Italian vibes I was going for with this pasta making party!
tips to host a $100 dinner party
CREATE A MENU- when curating a menu for a dinner party I write out an appetizer, main dish and dessert that I want to make. When I am trying to stick to a specific budget, I try to curate a menu that is on a budget (think pasta with meatballs vs your finest lamb chops). Not sure where to start when thinking on a budget? Start here! I will be hosting many more $100 dinner parties to come for you all to follow along and recreate.
STICK TO THE LIST- make a grocery shopping list of what you’ll need for your planned out menu. While shopping, stick to that list! It is easy to see a fun new snack, appetizer or pasta shape at the grocery store and get distracted from the plan and then you end up walking out of the store with WAY more than you need and derailed from the initial menu. Stick to the list, and you will stay on track with your spending for a dinner party.
DON’T GO OVERBOARD WITH DECOR- you do not need a whole new set of plates, cutlery and napkins for each dinner party (trust me, I know that is a hard one because I love getting new tableware). Use what you already have! I have this red and white checkered table cloth from Solino home that I just folded into a runner for this party. Instead of buying a new one, I reused what I had and made it work. You’ll also notice that I used extra lemons & tomatoes that I had within the decor for this party that I simply kept after and ate- nothing goes to waste for my parties. I also used a $1.99 baguette as a candle holder that I used to make breadcrumbs with after the party.
How To Make Pasta from scratch:
The rule of thumb for homemade pasta is for every 1 egg use about 3/4 cup (3.5 oz or 100 g) of flour.
What you’ll need to make this larger batch for a party:
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups of 00 flour
If you don’t have a stand mixer, no prob you don’t need any fancy machine to make the dough! Place the flour in a mound on a large cutting board or on your kitchen counter. Then use your fingers or a spoon to create a good-sized well in the middle of the flour mound (kind of like a volcano). Add the eggs in the center of the well. Use a fork to begin whisking the eggs adding in a bit of flour at a time, then start using your hands (if some eggs accidentally spill out, no worries, just use your hands or a bench scraper to pull them back in). It is easiest to use your hands to fold the rest of the dough all together until combined with the eggs. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic, sprinkling some extra flour on the cutting board if needed to prevent sticking or if the dough seems too wet or sticky. (If the dough seems too dry, add in an extra tablespoon or two of water, but you want the dough to be fairly dry.) Form the dough into a ball with your hands, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day.
$100 ITALIAN DINNER PARTY MENU
For this dinner monthly themed dinner party, I decided to challenge myself to host one under $100 including 3 courses, wine, a welcome drinks & flowers. I also made sure there was a protein to go along with the pasta because to me no dinner party is complete without a protein! & I want to show you all that you can throw a dinner party with any budget in mind full of delicious fine foods and NO one would know that you shopped on a budget for it.
Appetizer
Olives, peanuts & chips (aperitivo snacks)
main
Homemade pasta- gnocchi in a store bought vodka sauce and fettuccini in a homemade crushed tomato sauce
EASY Shake and Bake chicken parmesan- recipe coming soon!
dessert
wine
Bread & Butter Pinot Noir- you know I couldn’t have a dinner party without my favorite wine! This is budget friendly at $14.99 at most wine stores and goes great wine an Italian meal chilled or served at room temperature
Saint Spritz as the welcome drink- these seltzers are NEW, ranging in a variety of flavors and a great way to start the party!
Below you will find an grocery list to EASILY grocery shop for this dinner party! Prices and grocery stores are listed on the grocery list below.
