Host summer's social game with these delicious shareable plates.
Dishes designed for snacking and sharing have carved permanent inroads onto today's menus. Tapas and meze blazed the trail, but now all types of dining are represented in the shareable trend. Menu compositions have changed, bending the rigidity of three courses into a flexible roadmap that lets diners drive their own culinary adventures. "Chefs are now taking the idea of small plates and saying, 'anything goes.' It happened with sandwiches and desserts, and now with entrées," says Kira Smith corporate chef for Kraft Foodservice. "They're deconstructing main dishes into creative shareables." And the world is their oyster—from regional Canadian and Mediterranean to Asian and Latin, shareables can pull from any ethnicity. Successful dishes make conviviality the focus, bringing ease of sharing into focus, but keeping great flavour and accessibility centre of the plate.
Recipes Built for Sharing
Steak Crostini
Menu solutions—appetizer; bar food; catering
Other uses for the spread—spread on roast-beef or lamb sandwich
Our chefs deconstruct a deli classic and turn it into a fun shareable. For the crostini, they use rye bread, and build on that with a horseradish-spiked creamy spread made with Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Kraft Bistro Sauce and dill-pickle relish. They continue the theme with strips of flavourful pastrami-rubbed steak, and then finish the profile with a flourish of the classic deli side dish, coleslaw.
Asiago Caesar Salad Rolls
Menu solutions—appetizer; bar food; catering; buffet
Other use for the dressing—use as crostini spread
Perfect for hot nights, these refreshing summer rolls boast salty prosciutto and crisp romaine. With its creamy combination of aged Asiago, Parmesan and Romano cheeses, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and lemon juice, Pure Kraft Refrigerated Asiago Caesar Dressing adds its homemade sensibility to the dish.
Bistro Tomato & Mozzarella Salad with Pesto
Menu solutions—appetizer; buffet; brunch; catering
Other use for dressing—for a Caprese-style sandwich, spread combination of pesto and Kraft Dijon Bistro Sauce on bread
Our chefs take on a Caprese salad, they turn to traditional ingredients that complement each other, but then dial up the flavour delivery by gently tossing baby mozzarella and grape tomatoes with garlic, pesto and Kraft Dijon Bistro Sauce.
Steak & Scallion Rolls with Mediterranean Aioli
Menu solutions—appetizer; bar food; catering
Other use for dip—use as Mediterranean tartar sauce with fish
This dish offers a beefy appetizer for dedicated carnivores. Our chefs roll juicy strips of rib-eye steak around chopped scallions, then sauté them. For service, they add a bright dipping sauce made with Kraft Calorie-Wise Mayo Real Mayonnaise, orange juice, capers and chili peppers. "The Mediterranean-inspired dipping sauce makes this dish perfect for summer dining," says Chef Smith.
Country Dijon Sticky Ribs with Five-Spice & Sesame BBQ Dipping Sauce
Menu solutions—appetizer; bar food; catering
Other use for sauce—use as a barbecue-salad dressing
Add ribs with big personality to your menu. These are marinated in a mixture of dark soy, country-style mustard, Chinese mustard, honey, ginger and five-spice. When grilled, our chefs brush them with this soy-mustard mixture, creating a rich, thick glaze. To add to the shareable fun, they make a dipping sauce boasting Kraft Regular BarBQ Sauce, five-spice powder, sesame seeds and garlic.
Jerk Chicken on Black Sesame Crackers with Caramelized-Pineapple Relish
Menu solutions—appetizer; bar food; catering
Other uses for dressing—use in a jerk-chicken salad or as a marinade for grilled jerk chicken
Our chefs add lime juice and cilantro to Kraft Calorie-Wise Zesty Italian Dressing, making a brisk, bright base for a wet-marinated jerk. They add the traditional scotch bonnet chilies and spices to the dressing, marinate, grill and then shred the chicken. For service, they spoon a cooling, tropical pineapple relish over a black-sesame cracker, then top with the jerk chicken.
Fresh Crab Salad with Avocado, Grapefruit & Wasabi Mayo
Menu solutions—appetizer; bar food; catering
Other use for embellished mayonnaise—use as dipping sauce for shrimp summer rolls
This stunning dish delivers menu distinction in a sophisticated, but relaxed shareable. The dish's star is sweet, tender crab, bound by Kraft Calorie-Wise Mayo Real Mayonnaise and spiked with Dijon mustard, lime juice and shallot. Avocado and grapefruit act as delicious counterpoints. For eye candy, pearls of wasabi tobiko float in the Wasabi mayo.
Creamy White Bean & Roasted Garlic Crostini with Smoky Tomato Jam
Menu solutions—appetizer; bar food; catering
Other uses for spread—add as a topping to grilled meat or poultry; sandwich spread
This better-for-you profile is perfect for summer-shareable menus. Our chefs blend white beans with roasted garlic and Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese Spread. They spread it onto crostini, then top with a sweet tomato jam that boasts a smoky element, thanks to Bull's-Eye Guinness® Draft Beer Blend Premium Barbecue Sauce.¹
Grilled Shrimp Summer Starter
Menu solutions—appetizer; catering; buffet
Other uses for the dressing—add shrimp to peppery arugula salad, also tossed in dressing
This shareable dish boasts the refreshing profile of tomato, watermelon, cucumber and mint. Before grilling, our chefs marinade the shrimp in Pure Kraft Refrigerated Raspberry Poppyseed Dressing, imparting a sweet, delicate flavour.
Summer Inspiration
For more summer recipes, click here.
For our guide for what's in season for summer, including recipes that provide fresh menu solutions, click here.
¹ The Guinness word is a trademark and is used under license. © Guinness & Co.