Hobnob, your party planning partner, has come up with spectacular ideas for setting up a taco bar party that will please all the people in your spectrum. Many recipes include clever and flavor enhancing shortcuts that will reduce your prep time in half, and allow you more time to enjoy.
When planning a taco bar party menu you’ve got to take into account the many schools of thought. Nowadays it’s hard to keep track of who is a vegetarian but will eat cheese, who’s not eating dairy at all, or someone who is vegan but eats oysters (just a sampling of my friends!). Setting up a taco bar allows your guests to come up with their own combinations, so you can stop thinking about it. Just put out a variety of foods with lots of vegetables in the mix and let them go to town. We’ve got the plan.
TACO BAR PARTY RECIPES
In creating the recipes I’ve taken the basic makeup of a taco, and given you some unvconventional ingredients and flavors to keep it interesting. Peruse the selections below for taco’s three essential elements: base, topping, sauce and try one of the recipes or use the mix for inspiration for coming up with your own ideas.
To follow are the recipes from Hobnob’s strategy for hosting weekend guests where we created a taco bar party scene with 5 different tacos plus all the accoutrement necessary for a gorgeous buffet.
THE TACOS:
Grilled Mole-Marinated Pork Tacos use a shortcut marinade to add the intense flavors of a Mexican mole sauce.
Blackened Grouper Taco takes a firm filet of fish and coats it in a spicy, smoky rub.
Grilled BBQ Chicken breasts are slathered in BBQ sauce before hitting the grill.
Chipotle-Onion Infused Ground Beef Taco goes back to tradition with browned ground beef as the base.
Vegetarian Sweet Potato Strips turned out to be the favorite on the menu, and went perfectly with all the toppings.
THE TOPPINGS:
White Peach Salsa + Crunchy Slaw These two toppings meld nicely will all five taco offerings. White peach adds a tangy sweetness, while the slaw offers a colorful display and crunchy texture with pea pods, carrots, and cabbage.
Nine Colorful Toppings I keep these items on hand for making creative sandwiches, and included them here to highight the flavors of the tacos. These ingredients keep the vegetable ratio high, keeping the mood fresh and healthy, and the party in full swing.
MORE TACO IDEAS TO CONSIDER:
Chicken Tacos with Green Harissa The inspiration for this dish was finding these adorable mini spinach taco shells in bright green.To emphasize the color even further I created a fun chicken filling tossed in chopped herbs, jalapeño, and Indian spices. (This originally appeared in our menu with food in the colors of the rainbow.)
Fish Tacos with Style: Macadamia Crusted Halibut with Sweet Sour Mayo Sauce This is one of those recipes that I keep coming back to. Fish is crusted in a combination of panko breadcrumbs and crushed macadamia nuts before baking. The sauce really adds a lot of zing. This is a true crowd pleaser.
RESTAURANT INSPIRATION:
Tasting: Five Extraordinary Tacos at Empellon Taqueria See the extraordinary combinations from Chef Alex Stupak from our visit to his popular restaurant Empellon Taqueria. Stupak started his career as a pastry chef but has embraced Mexican cuisine as his true obsession.
Recipe: Crispy Fish Taco by Alex Stupak of Empellon Taqueria Lucky for us, Chef Alex Stupak shared one of his recipes. You will appreciate his sense of cuisine and passion in these tempura batterered fish with tangy lime mayonnaise.
WE’RE NOT DONE…
To see even more innovative and healthy taco recipes, head to our Pinterest board: Taco Bar: What to Make. We’ve gathered a healthy and atypical assortment of recipes to wow guests at your taco bar party.
