Planning your baby shower menu can be stressful and challenging. These baby shower food ideas for lunch are perfect for your midday baby shower.
When you think of a baby shower, you may think of some fun games, delicious treats, and celebrating a mama-to-be. No one wants to serve mediocre food and have a boring shower! That’s why choosing your baby shower food menu for a brunch or lunch is so important.
The kind of food you plan to serve really depends on what time of day you are planning your shower. Brunch and lunch style baby showers are very popular and luckily there are many options for what to serve your guests.
With a middle of the day baby shower, you can expect to serve a light meal and snacks. Most guests will also expect something a little sweet, too, but you don’t have to go crazy with fancy catering or a huge meal.
Whether you’re planning a brunch or lunch, these easy baby shower food ideas will hopefully give you some inspiration.
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Baby shower food ideas for lunch
Finger sandwiches
Small sandwiches are always a popular baby shower food idea. You can serve prepared sandwiches or go with a make-your-own sandwich bar.
Serve with sides of fresh fruit, salad, or a pasta salad for a quick and easy meal. This is a great idea for when your venue does not have a place for you to warm food since the sandwiches and sides can be served cold or at room temperature.
Some finger sandwich ideas to try:
- Croissants with chicken salad, egg salad, and a vegetarian salad option
- Whole grain bread with turkey, cheddar, and lettuce
- Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches
- Smoked salmon and cream cheese on mini croissants
- Rye bread with ham, gouda, and a pickle
- White bread with ham and swiss cheese
- Roasted red pepper and goat cheese on a crostini
This is a really cute idea if you are planning an afternoon tea.
Salad bar
A salad bar is a great option for an afternoon baby shower. It’s a very easy baby shower food to throw together.
This is a great option for when there are a lot of guests with food allergies. They can make their own plate and stick with foods that are safe for them to eat.
Offer a variety of salads, including green salad, pasta salad, potato salad, or other lunch salads. You can set up a buffet table with a “make your own pasta salad” bar by offering different cooked pastas, dressings, and fresh veggies to add in. You can do the same with green salad since the mix-ins and dressings are the same. Your guests will love the different options.
With this baby shower food idea, you don’t have to worry about dietary restrictions or having a vegetarian option. Your guests can fill up on a healthy meal while celebrating your bundle of joy! Choose simple ingredients that will come together to make a fun salad.
Light finger foods
This is a popular choice for pregnant women that want a shower that is off meal times. Doing some easy appetizers or finger foods is best for a shower that is between 1-4pm, where guests aren’t expecting a full meal.
Depending on the number of guests, you may be able to get by with a charcuterie board and some crunchy snacks. You can even serve cake pops or cupcakes in lieu of a cake.
Lighter finger foods are also good for a shower between breakfast and lunch. You can do more of brunch-style apps, like cinnamon rolls, mini quiche and fruit cups.
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Some easy baby shower appetizers
- Cheese bites with prosciutto or salami
- Pimento cheese spread on crostini
- Veggie cups with hummus
- Cheese balls with crackers
- Bruschetta on crostini
- Deviled eggs
- Fruit salad
- Mini waffles with maple syrup
- Apples with caramel or peanut butter dip
- An assortment of cheese spreads with bread or crackers
- Mini quiche
Hors d’oeuvres and small desserts
This is a good idea if you are expecting a large crowd before dinnertime. It can be expensive to feed a lot of people, so doing small plates and sweet treats can be a good way to feed all of your baby shower guests.
This is perfect food for a cocktail party shower. You can select an easy menu of savory recipes to pair with a perfect sweet treat.
Some ideas for baby shower hors d’oeuvres and desserts:
- Pigs in a blanket
- Tortilla pinwheels
- Italian pasta salad in cups
- Caprese salad kabobs
- Mini strawberry shortcake
- Pound cake topped with lemon zest and fresh whipped cream
- Slice of brie topped with cranberry sauce
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Taco bar
This is a really fun idea for baby shower food. A taco bar gives your guests freedom to fill their plates with whatever sounds good to them.
You can do a traditional taco bar, or do walking tacos. A walking taco is when the taco ingredients (meat, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, salsa, etc.) are placed inside of a bag of chips, typically Doritos or Fritos. The chips are meant to replace the shell.
Guests also have the option to make taco salad if they want a healthier option. It’s a fun and frugal way to feed a crowd!
Cookout food
Depending on the time of year and your baby shower venue, a cookout is a great option for baby shower food. You can serve chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers.
Set up some chips and dip, pasta salad, potato salad, watermelon, and your other favorite cookout recipes. This is great for a casual outdoor shower!
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Tips for tying it all together
You may want your food choices to go with your baby shower theme. You can either get food that corresponds, or come up with clever names for the foods you are serving.
Here are some baby shower themes with food ideas
Tea for two
Have an afternoon tea party! Serve tiny finger foods like sandwiches and tea cakes or more elegant appetizers (think puff pastry, charcuterie, etc.)
Baby shower fiesta
Order cute invites that say “Holy Guacamole!” and serve up some Mexican-style foods! You could have a taco bar for the main course, and put out some tortilla chips with dip for an appetizer. Other frugal food ideas go along with this theme, like serving Mexican-style rice and beans or walking tacos with ground beef or shredded salsa chicken.
Rainbow theme
If you are doing a rainbow theme, serve a salad bar. You can organize your toppings and mix-ins by color – I.e. red tomatoes/pepper, orange peppers, yellow peppers/banana peppers, green lettuce/avocado, a purple red onion, etc.
Save as little as you can for the day of the baby shower
This is especially true if you are planning a baby shower brunch! There is always more to do on the day of the baby shower party than you realize.
Save as much time as you can by preparing the day before. Even things as simple as getting your paper products out of their packaging, organizing your menu, etc. can save time on the day of the shower. Prepare any foods you can in advance, even if that means sticking them in the freezer!
Keep dietary restrictions in mind
Are any of your guests vegetarian? Vegan? Gluten free? Nut allergies?
Keep these dietary restrictions in mind and make sure all of your guests have something they can eat besides the baby shower punch.
You may want to put the peanut butter cookies on their own tray, or offer a vegetarian option instead of meat. This little attention to detail may make your guests feel much more at ease and comfortable at your baby shower.
I hope you have the best time celebrating your newest bundle of joy!
