We’ve got some Australian election party food ideas for our Australian readers today because we’re hoping there’ll be something to celebrate on Saturday night. Our election night food ideas include recipes for nibbles and snacks and easy dishes for sharing family-style, from curries to comfort food. Better put those bottles of bubbly in the fridge now.
Our Australian election party food ideas – because, like many other Australians, we’re really hoping there’ll be a reason to celebrate Saturday night – include easy recipes for finger food and dishes for serving sharing-style if you’re having family and friends over.
As it’s getting chilly in Australia, we’ve included recipes for warming curries and chillies that could be made the morning of the big day, refrigerated, then reheated. Just put some rice when guests arrive and keep it warm in the rice cooker. Deliciously filling curries are also terrific for soaking up the booze. More curry recipes here if you don’t find something below.
We have recipes for nibbles and dips such as French onion dip and cheese straws to snack on while counting is underway and results start to trickle in. Aside from the guacamole, all of the dips could be made the day before.
For our non-Australian readers: the Australian Federal Election is being held this Saturday.
Australian Election Party Food Ideas – Recipes from Aussie Classics to Chicken Curries
We’ve organised our recipes for Australian election party food ideas under a few different themes: some Australian favourites including some Aussie retro classics for a reminder of better times (cheers to better days ahead!); curry night, because we can all make a better curry (Australians will get this); and a Mexican fiesta, for those confident there’ll be something to celebrate (but better have a piñata on hand in case there isn’t!).
Aussie Retro Classics
Homemade French Onion Dip Recipe
Make this homemade French onion dip recipe for a rich, creamy caramelised onion dip that will take you back in time to the dips you helped your mum make for backyard barbecues by stirring French onion soup mix into cream cheese or sour cream. This onion dip recipe from scratch makes an even more delicious dip than the packet soup dips and is worth the little extra effort for Australian election night.
Creamy Smoked Salmon Dip Recipe
This creamy smoked salmon dip recipe is made with cream cheese, tangy sour cream, salty capers, dill pickles, purple shallots, a pinch of paprika, and plenty of fresh perfumed dill. It’s one of my best Australian election party food ideas as this recipe beats a store-bought dip any day. While it might cost you a bit more to make, nothing tops homemade and your guests will taste the difference in the fresh herbs and proper salmon.
Creamy Smoked Salmon Dip Recipe with Salty Capers, Dill Pickles, Paprika and Fresh Dill
Authentic Hummus Recipe
There was a period from the late 1980s through 1990s in Sydney when we were buying hummus, baba ganoush and olive tapenade every weekend. We could have been making them! So easy and much more delicious than store-bought. Of course, back then we didn’t know we’d be moving to Abu Dhabi in ’98, which is where Terence learnt to make this authentic traditional hummus from a Lebanese friend. We make this classic hummus whenever we have cravings for Arabic food or are missing the Middle East and always keep cans of chick peas in the pantry for that reason. It’s perfect with Terence’s sourdough crackers.
Easy Authentic Hummus Recipe for a Creamy Homemade Traditional Hummus
Easy Olive Tapenade Recipe
This olive tapenade recipe is based on the traditional French tapenade recipe from Provence that’s made with four ingredients – black olives, capers, anchovies, and olive oil – and it can be made in a minutes. You could add garlic, herbs and spices, but it’s so delicious in its original form. While hailing from Southern France, it’s a quintessentially Mediterranean olive spread for me, which is why I try to use juicy olives from Kalamata, briny capers from Pantelleria, Ortiz salted anchovies (if I can get them), and a grassy extra virgin olive oil from Spain. Serve with toasted baguette slices, crostini or cheese straws.
Easy Olive Tapenade Recipe for the Traditional French Tapenade Recipe with Only 4 Ingredients
Sourdough Starter Discard Crackers Recipe
If you’re a sourdough baker like Terence and you’re discarding starter every day, then here’s something to do with it: make these crispy crackers. Triangular in shape, they’re perfect for scooping up dips and they’re probably the easiest crackers you’ll ever make, so should inspire you to test out more sourdough starter discard recipes if you’re not already making them. A warning: you may never go back to a water cracker, savoury biscuit, corn chip, or potato crisp again.
Sourdough Starter Discard Crackers Recipe – The Easiest Crispiest Crackers You’ll Ever Make
Spicy Sichuan Inspired Sourdough Crackers Recipe
If you like spice, you’ll love this spicy Sichuan sourdough crackers recipe which makes a sourdough starter discard cracker that’s delightfully hot and numbing thanks to Sichuan peppers and is incredibly moreish. Roughly shaped like a homemade corn chip, these crackers are perfect for eggplant dips such as baba ghanouj and mutabal, as well as hummus or muhammara.
Spicy Sichuan Inspired Sourdough Crackers Recipe Made With Starter Discard and Sichuan Peppers
Cheese Straws Recipe
My easy cheese straws recipe makes grissini style cheese sticks that are perfect for your charcuterie boards and cheese plates. Or simply serve them with a homemade olive tapenade or dish of olives, a chilled bottle of crisp white or spritzes or negronis, and you’ve got some very enjoyable Australian election party snacks right there.
Easy Cheese Straws Recipe for Your Cocktail Nibbles, Charcuterie Boards and Cheese Plates
Classic Prawn Cocktail Recipe
This classic prawn cocktail recipe makes my take on the retro appetiser popularised in the 1970s that will never go out of style and it’s another one of my top Australian election party food ideas for you. Tiger prawns boiled quickly in their shells so they’re just done are peeled, tossed in a creamy tangy seafood sauce, and served on a bed of lettuce salad, dressed with the same sauce. For the seafood sauce, use a good quality tomato sauce (ketchup) and mayonnaise – or make your own. A decent drizzle of lime or lemon juice before digging in really makes a prawn cocktail for me.
Classic Prawn Cocktail Recipe for the Retro Seventies Starter that Never Goes Out of Style
San Choi Bao Recipe
This spicy chicken lettuce wraps recipe makes a Southeast Asian take on san choi bao, the Chinese lettuce cups from Southern China and Hong Kong that was popularised in Chinese-Australian restaurants. Our minced chicken lettuce cups take inspiration from northern Southeast Asia, from both savoury larbs (minced meat salads) and the local custom of wrapping street food snacks in lettuce. Light yet filling, this is perfect finger food for your Australian election night soiree.
Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe for a Southeast Asian Take on San Choi Bao
Chicken Parmigiana Recipe
My chicken parmigiana recipe makes a delicious chicken parma in the Italian Australian style. In our homemade parmy, succulent chicken breast fillets with a crunchy breadcrumb coating are topped with a rich Italian tomato sauce and melted parmesan cheese and mozzarella. You could make the chicken parmas an hour before the guests arrive and keep them warm in the oven. If you made and enjoyed our chicken schnitzel recipe then I guarantee you’re going to love this endearingly old-fashioned chicken parmigiana.
Chicken Parmigiana Recipe for a Classic Chicken Parma in the Italian Australian Style
Best Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
Our best spaghetti and meatballs recipe makes an incredibly delicious version of the much-loved comfort food classic with juicy meatballs and a rich tomato sauce made from scratch. The spaghetti is combined with the sauce before serving, in true Italian style, and topped with the meatballs, plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh basil. You could also make this in the late afternoon and do what the Italians do and combine the sauce with the spaghetti and keep it in the oven. Just make sure the spaghetti is cooked al dente. Serve with crusty bread.
Best Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe for the Comfort Food Favourite from Southern Italy
Saturday Night Curry Night
Thai Miang Kham Recipe
After biting into these Thai miang kham and getting the explosion of flavours in their mouth that are quintessentially Southeast Asian – lime, ginger, coconut, chilli, peanuts, shallots, palm sugar, and dried shrimp, all wrapped up in a wild betel leaf or wild piper leaf – your guests won’t forget the food at your Australian election night party.
Thai Miang Kham Recipe for The Bite Sized Wraps That Are Thailand in a Mouthful
Cambodian Style Salmon Ceviche Recipe
This traditional Khmer raw fish salad recipe for phlea trei makes a wonderful, light, refreshing, and fragrant fish dish that is Cambodia’s ceviche. It’s one of my favourite Cambodian recipes, one of our best salmon recipes, and one of our best Australian election party food ideas as you can make them ahead and refrigerate them. They’re also easy to eat sitting or standing. The Khmer word trei, also written as trey, means fish, and phlea – also written as phlear, plear, ph’lea, and plea – is a type of raw salad where the fish or meat is generally ‘cooked’ in citrus juice. It’s usually made with a local firm white fish ‘cooked’ in citrus juice, but we use salmon for this dish.
Traditional Khmer Raw Fish Salad Recipe for the Cambodian Style Ceviche Called Phlea Trei
Thai Nam Prik Ong Recipe
Our Thai nam prik ong recipe makes a spicy pork and tomato dip from Northern Thailand. It’s another of our best Australian election party food ideas as this is gently spiced dip is served with fresh or steamed vegetables or sticky rice, which guests can dip into the bowl, and it’s the most approachable of the Thai relishes and dips, and is not as pungent or fiery as nam prik num, below.
Tasty Thai Nam Prik Ong Recipe for a Spicy Pork and Tomato Dip from Northern Thailand
Thai Nam Prik Num Recipe
This Thai nam prik num recipe makes a smoky green chilli dip that’s one of the best known Northern Thai specialties – so much so that it’s often called Chiang Mai chilli relish. Made from local chillies, it’s grilled on a barbecue with garlic and shallots and typically served with crunchy pork crackling and sticky rice, but could also be paired with crackers. It’s one of the best dip recipes to make if you have spice loving friends coming over.
Thai Nam Prik Num Recipe for Smoky Green Chilli Dip from Northern Thailand
Thai Rice Cakes with Chilli Prawn and Pork Dip Recipe
This Thai khao tang na tang rice cakes with chilli prawn and pork dip recipe makes a popular Thai snack or starter of homemade crispy rice crackers used to scoop up this creamy, slightly sweet, a little salty, and gently-spiced dip. A cousin of a similar Cambodian dip, it’s typically served with rice cakes but would also work with crackers and it’s another one of my top Australian election party food ideas for you.
Thai Khao Tang Na Tang Rice Cakes with Chilli Prawn and Pork Dip Recipe
Cambodian Fried Spring Rolls Recipe
This classic Cambodian fried spring rolls recipe makes a crunchy deep-fried egg roll filled with minced pork, dried shrimp, carrot, garlic, and daikon radish or taro, seasoned with fish sauce, Kampot pepper, sea salt, and palm sugar. We also have a Cambodian fried spring roll dipping sauce recipe to go with it and there’s a link to it in the recipe post, below.
Cambodian Fried Spring Rolls Recipe for Crispy Deep-Fried Egg Rolls Just Like in Cambodia
Traditional Scotch Eggs with a Thai Twist
This traditional Scotch eggs recipe for the classic British picnic snack has a Thai-influenced twist inspired by the Thai stir-fry favourite, pad kra pao or pad gaprao. Scotch eggs are traditionally made with a boiled egg wrapped in seasoned sausage meat, which is crumbed and deep-fried. Here, Terence has given the minced pork a pad kra pao flavour. These are perfect for lining the stomach if you’re planning on a big Australian election night party.
Traditional Scotch Eggs Recipe with a Thai Inspired Pad Kra Pao Twist
Best Burmese Fried Chicken Recipe
This Burmese fried chicken recipe makes the gently spiced fried chicken drumsticks, which are a popular street food snack in Myanmar. The finger-licking fried chicken pieces are sold at roadside stalls to take away or eat at plastic tables set up around the stall, we make these finger-licking fried chicken pieces at home and dip them into homemade sweet chilli sauce.
Best Burmese Fried Chicken Recipe for a Spicy Street Food Snack from Myanmar at Home
Cambodian Grilled Pork Ribs Recipe
This Cambodian grilled pork ribs recipe was part of our series on the best Cambodian barbecue recipes. It makes a favourite dish that locals here in Cambodia love to tuck into by the plateful at boisterous local BBQ joints, where they’re washed down with Anchor beers. Super easy, they’re made with a simple marinade, and are a cinch to make on a barbecue or grill.
Cambodian Grilled Pork Ribs Recipe for Easy Smoky Barbecue Pork Ribs
Cambodian Pork Meatballs Recipe for Wraps and Rolls
This Cambodian pork meatballs recipe makes a juicy meatball that’s flavourful and fragrant from some of the quintessential Cambodian ingredients used in a Khmer kroeung or herb and spice paste: shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime. Small in size, they’re perfect finger food. You could simply provide toothpicks and dipping sauces, rice paper and salad so guests can make their own rolls, or a basket of buttered baguettes and salads so guests can make their own num pang, Cambodia’s banh mi.
Cambodian Pork Meatballs Recipe for Wraps, Rolls, Soups, Salads and Sandwiches
Classic Burmese Chicken Curry Recipe
This classic Burmese chicken curry recipe makes a fragrant gently-spiced curry that is perfumed with turmeric, ginger, garlic, chilli, and lemongrass. A rich curry with a moreish tomato-based gravy and a layer of aromatic oil that’s quickly soaked up by coconut rice, it’s traditionally served with salads such as this Burmese potato salad, raw cabbage salad, and tomato salad.
Classic Burmese Chicken Curry Recipe for an Aromatic Tomato Based Curry
Chickpea Curry Recipe for Punjabi Chole by Christine Manfield
This chickpea curry recipe makes a comforting Punjabi chole from the new cookbook Indian Cooking Class by Australian chef Christine Manfield, whose love of spice, Indian food and India began soon after she started cooking. Chole is ‘chickpeas’ and this richly spiced chickpea stew is a beloved dish of Punjabi cuisine of Punjab, a region straddling Northern India and Pakistan.
Chickpea Curry Recipe for Punjabi Chole from Indian Cooking Class by Christine Manfield
Southern Thai Chicken and Rice Recipe for Khao Mok Gai
This Southern Thai chicken and rice recipe for khao mok gai makes braised chicken cooked in a spicy curry-like gravy and served with turmeric rice and crispy fried shallots. A Thai Muslim specialty, it’s often called a Thai biryani or Thai style biryani. Like a biryani the chicken can be cooked with the rice or separately. Either way, it’s wonderful.
Southern Thai Chicken and Rice Recipe for Khao Mok Gai, a Thai Style ‘Biryani’
Mexican Fiesta
Easy Mexican Tomato Salsa Recipe
This easy red tomato salsa recipe makes a spicy Mexican salsa that we’ve been perfecting since we returned from our first big trip to Mexico and the USA way back when we first began travelling. Like the guacamole, it’s great with tortilla chips or corn chips, but it’s also another one of our best dip recipes for crackers and crudités, and it’s easily another one of our best Australian election party food ideas.
Easy Red Tomato Salsa Recipe – How to Make Homemade Spicy Tomato Salsa
Mexican Guacamole Recipe
This authentic Mexican guacamole recipe makes a genuine Mexican guacamole that’s made table-side at good restaurants in Mexico. It’s all about the creamy luscious texture, bright green colour and full flavour of perfectly ripe avocados. It’s easily one of the best dip recipes for parties, and while it could be served with crackers and crudités, I recommend you try your hand at baking homemade tortilla chips or plain store-bought corn chips if you have time.
Authentic Mexican Guacamole Recipe Just Like Your Mexican Abuela Would Make
Mexican Grilled Chicken Tacos Recipe
This easy Mexican grilled chicken tacos recipe for tacos de pollo asado makes corn tortillas filled with incredibly delicious chicken pieces that’s moist and flavourful thanks to a marinade of chipotle and spices such as cumin and paprika. Delightfully smoky courtesy of the griddle pan, you can also cook the chicken on a barbecue or grill. We top it with this tasty Mexican corn salsa.
Mexican Grilled Chicken Tacos Recipe for Tacos de Pollo Asado for an Easy Mid-Week Meal
Chilli Con Carne Recipe
While this chilli con carne recipe makes a good old bowl of chilli for those who like their chilli hot and smoky, this chilli con carne is also terrific eaten cold as a dip with homemade tortilla chips or corn chips. You’ll need to put this on the stove the morning before your party, as it takes a few hours, but not a lot of work, to make, and is another of our best Australian election party food ideas.
Chilli Con Carne Recipe For Those Who Like Their Chilli Hot and Smoky
Chili Con Carne and Cheese Quesadillas Recipe
Like cold pizza, these chilli con carne and cheese quesadillas taste just as delicious cold or even luke warm, if you keep them warm until you’re ready to eat. This is easily another one of our best Australian election party food ideas if you’re looking for dishes for soaking up the booze. And they’re super easy to make after you’ve done all the hard work preparing the chilli con carne and our red tomato salsa recipe.
Chili Con Carne and Cheese Quesadillas Recipe for an Easy Mexican Brunch or Lunch
Easy Vegetarian Chilli Recipe
This easy vegetarian chilli recipe makes a chilli con carne sin carne (without meat) and it is vegan if you eat it without dairy accompaniments such as sour cream and cheese. While this bean chilli is a cinch to make and comes together quickly, it’s full of so much flavour thanks to the spices that even meat-lovers won’t miss the beef mince. Sliced chillies or jalapenos, fresh coriander, pickled onions, pickled cabbage, spicy tomato salsa (link above), hot sauces, sliced spring onions, lime quarters, and sour cream or Mexican cotija (white cheese) are all musts.
Easy Vegetarian Chilli Recipe for Chilli Con Carne Sin Carne (Without Meat) and It’s Vegan Too
Michelada Recipe for A Spicy Mexican Beer Cocktail
Our michelada recipe makes the spicy Mexican beer cocktail that has a kick of chilli and it’s another one of our best festive cocktail recipes. It’s a fun, fantastic, thirst-quenching drink that is perfect for the beer drinkers who aren’t big on bubbly. Yes, they exist! You can make your own homemade chilli salt (this infused lime salt also works) and we recommend a big glass tumbler, preferably a recycled glass Mexican tumbler like the one pictured for authenticity.
Michelada Recipe – A Spicy Mexican Beer Cocktail with a Kick
Please do let us know if you make any of our best Australian election party food ideas, as we’d love to know how they turn out for you.
