Party food menus with frozen drink pairings

The easiest party food menus match the food to your frozen drink flavors: a taco bar with lime margaritas, Texas BBQ with peach, kid food with slushies, and brunch with frosé. Pick one menu, scale it to your headcount, and put a matching flavor in each bowl.

Amounts below are general guidance for adults. Kids usually eat about half as much, and appetites run bigger at dinner-time parties.

Taco bar for 50

A taco bar feeds a crowd, suits most diets, and pairs perfectly with margaritas.

Add a veggie option, like grilled peppers and onions or seasoned black beans, for guests who skip meat.

Flavor pairings: Lime margarita in one bowl and strawberry margarita in the other. For heat lovers, rim with Citrus Jalapeño Salt or Tajín. For kids, swap one bowl for Watermelon or Cherry Limeade slushie.

Texas BBQ

• Meats: brisket, sausage, pulled pork, or chicken. Plan about a third to a half pound of cooked meat per adult.
• Sides: potato salad, coleslaw, pinto beans, mac and cheese, and corn.
• Extras: pickles, sliced onions, jalapeños, white bread, and BBQ sauce.

Flavor pairings: Lime margarita cuts through rich, smoky brisket. Peach margarita plays well with sweet sauce. Sangria suits guests who prefer wine, and Sweet Heat Cocktail Sugar makes a fun rim. For kids, Cherry Limeade or Lemonade slushies balance the smoke.

Kid menu

Keep it simple, finger-friendly, and mild.

• Mini sliders or hot dogs
• Cheese quesadillas cut into triangles
• Mac and cheese cups
• Pizza
• Fruit skewers and veggie cups with ranch

Flavor pairings: Every mix is alcohol-free until you add alcohol, so any flavor works as a kids slushie. Fun two-bowl combos include Blue Raspberry with Cherry, Fruit Punch with Lemonade, or Strawberry Banana with Green Sour Apple. For a mixed crowd, put a margarita in one bowl and a slushie in the other, and label each bowl.

Desserts

Frozen drinks double as dessert, so pair them with treats that match.

• Churros or cinnamon sugar cookies with a Mocha Cappuccino slushie
• Sugar cookies or cupcakes with Orange Dreamsicle or Vanilla
• Chocolate brownies with a Strawberry Daiquiri, rimmed with Chocolate Cocktail Sugar
• Tres leches cake with a strawberry margarita
• Key lime pie with a lime margarita
• Holiday cookies with any slushie rimmed in Peppermint Cocktail Sugar

Brunch

• Savory: breakfast tacos, migas, egg casserole, and bacon
• Sweet: pastries, French toast bake, and a big fruit salad
• Extras: yogurt parfaits, salsa, and coffee

Flavor pairings: Frosé and Peach Bellini feel made for brunch. Sangria works for a later, lunch-style crowd. For kids and guests who skip alcohol, Orange Mango, Lemonade, or Strawberry Kiwi slushies look bright on the table.

Scale any menu to your headcount

The taco bar amounts are for 50 guests. To scale, divide by 50 and multiply by your guest count: for 25 guests, halve every amount; for 100, double it. Round up on the main dish and chips, since those run out first.

Match your drinks to the same headcount. One mix serves about 20 guests, so 50 guests need about 3 mixes. A margarita mix makes about 75 frozen drinks (8 oz each), and daiquiri, piña colada, and most fruit slushie mixes make about 50.

Easy swaps for every guest

• Vegetarian: grilled veggie fajitas, black bean tacos, or smoked portobello mushrooms at a BBQ.
• Gluten-free: corn tortillas (check the package), rice bowls, and BBQ meats with the sauce on the side.
• Dairy-free: set cheese and sour cream in their own bowls so guests add their own.
• Alcohol-free: fill one bowl with a slushie, like Strawberry or Lemonade, for kids and guests who don't drink.

Keep food safe

The USDA says never to leave food out more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour when it's above 90°F. Keep cold dishes in containers on ice, and keep hot food at or above 140°F in chafing dishes or slow cookers. Plug slow cookers and warmers into a different circuit from the machine, so the breaker doesn't trip (see our power guide).

More pairing ideas

For deeper flavor matching, read our margarita food pairing guide. Browse every mix on our flavors page, and pick a rim in our margarita rim guide.

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