The Best Recipes To Make For A Graduation Party

Graduation season is fast approaching, and that means it's time to plan a very special celebration for the graduate in your life. After all, they've worked so hard and accomplished some pretty spectacular things during their time in school, and now it's time to party. The beginning of a brand new chapter is so exciting and deserves to be acknowledged by getting together with close friends and family.

Of course, a successful gathering involves planning an equally successful menu. Fear not, because we here at Mashed have you covered with a yummy combination of scrumptious dishes that are easy to prepare and will help make your planning absolutely seamless ... and your party is going to be so much fun. You'll simply need to adjust the recipes to match the number of guests you have attending, and you will be all set to party the day away.

This party menu includes options for pasta, vegetables, protein, and plenty of sweetness for dessert. Of course, if you'd rather stick to just champagne and desserts, you can totally go that route — this is your plan and you can absolutely do what best fits the vibe. All that's left for you to plan is some pretty flowers for your centerpieces, lots of candles, and your graduate's school colors for table linens and napkins. Gear up, because this is sure to be a graduation party for the books. Pop the bubbly, because it's time to celebrate your graduate in the sweetest way.

Asparagus tarts are an aesthetically pleasing addition to any party buffet. They taste great and will look oh-so Pinterest-worthy placed smack dab in the middle of your delicious spread. The asparagus is wrapped in a fluffy, flakey puff pastry, and we're willing to bet everyone at the party will be begging you for the recipe. Gather up your ingredients — which include puff pastry, asparagus, thyme leaves, garlic, and herb Boursin cheese — to prepare this dish. 

Aside from the scrumptious combination of this vegetable and cheese, the best part of this recipe is you can be ready to serve up this fancy-looking puff pastry in just 20 minutes. You will definitely be happy you chose this dish.

Get the party started with some hot wings. It's no secret that wings are always a big hit with a large group. This recipe will take close to three hours to prepare, but it is totally worth the time and effort. You will need chicken wings, oil, flour, cornstarch, buttermilk, Tabasco sauce, sugar, kosher salt, brown sugar, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and baking powder to bring this tasty app to life.

Be sure to have plenty of hand wipes ready on your tables so everyone can easily clean their hands. Wings definitely make for a yummy and fun appetizer, but they can be a bit messy to eat.

Baked mac and cheese is an all-time favorite pasta dish, and our recipe is chock-full of cheesy goodness your guests won't be able to pass up. You'll need quite a few ingredients for this dish. Pull out macaroni, milk, butter, flour, cumin, dijon mustard, chili powder, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, grated parmesan, grated mozzarella, black pepper, and panko breadcrumbs (which add the best kind of crunch to the top). 

Be sure to make an extra helping or two of this dish, so you'll have something to look forward to after the party fun ends. Every party buffet table really needs to have this yummy pasta as part of the menu.

Lemon chicken is quite a popular dish, and a large tray of this recipe goes quite a long way. Plus, it will look picture-perfect on your table. In addition to chicken breasts, you will need eggs, milk, flour, salt, pepper, lemons, butter, vegetable oil, olive oil, chicken stock, white wine, thyme sprigs, minced parsley, and Parmesan cheese. 

The bright yellow lemon slices and fresh green parsley will add a nice touch of color to your mix, too. Not only will this dish be a big hit on your buffet table, but you will likely have leftovers that you can enjoy during the week. That sounds like a win-win to us.

Our Chick-fil-A copycat coleslaw is an easy side dish that will complement your party menu nicely indeed. You will need more than a few ingredients, including green cabbage, shredded cabbage, carrots, white sugar, apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, dry mustard powder, and salt. This recipe is a winner that will wow you with its flavor and definitely goes a long way with a large group.

Place this side dish on a glass platter, and garnish your coleslaw with shredded carrots for a bright pop of color on your spread. Coleslaw — especially the Chick-fil-A kind — is a crowd-pleaser for sure!

These rich double chocolate chip cookies are so tasty, your guests are sure to rave about them and ask for the recipe. Parties are all about desserts you can easily pick up with your hands, which are a great, incredibly easy choice to serve on your dessert table. These double chocolate chip cookies certainly fit the bill.

Our cookie recipe only takes 10 minutes to mix up and 14 minutes to bake. You will need flour, an egg, butter, white sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Once these treats are done baking, you can place them in a pretty basket for a perfectly sweet presentation. After all, a party's not a party without chocolate chip cookies, so definitely add this classic to your menu as soon as possible.

One of the key items you need to have at your event is a graduation cake to wish your graduate a bright and beautiful future. We suggest our rainbow cake, because legends say there's a pot of gold at the end of every single rainbow — and why not this one? Plus, trendy rainbow cakes have been all over social media and your graduate will be jumping for joy when they see you've made one for their special day.

You can mix up this cake and bake it in 48 minutes. The end result is sure to look like it just came off of a bakery shelf. The ingredients you'll need to prepare this colorful dessert include flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, oil, eggs, butter, milk, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and, of course, some food coloring. In addition, be sure to pick up some rainbow sprinkles and a tube of colored icing so you can personalize the top of your cake with a sweet congratulatory message for your guest of honor.