Wedding Reception Food & African Food Recipes

Get the best wedding reception food ideas. A variety of wedding foods, including finger foods for wedding reception can help to make sure your guests have a satisfying culinary experience on your wedding day. The food you serve will reflect to your guests just how much thought you put into ensuring that they have just as good an experience on your wedding day as you do.
An easy way to incorporate something African into your wedding will be to use African food recipes to make some of the dishes that will be served. Listed below you are some wedding reception food ideas for appetizers, the main course, and dessert.
A good way to save some money is to have an all-out African-style cooking… Everything is made in bulk such that you can have a virtual all-you-can-eat buffet wedding reception. If budget constraints aren't a big issue for you, you can still do this and add even more items to your menu.

Wedding Reception Food Ideas

Looking for African food recipes for your wedding reception? Check out some of the following.

Jollof Rice - a staple at social functions

Jollof rice
Rice is a definite staple in the African diet and can be very easily adapted to be integrated into your wedding menu. Jollof rice is a very popular dish, particularly in West Africa. All the ingredients can be very easily procured in the U.S. and other non-African countries. Jollof rice lends itself well to being made in large portions and is known very well as a "party food". Now depending on who makes it, there are slight variations in the recipe and the steps to get from raw ingredients to finished product but in the end, the result is pretty much the same.

A pan of plantain being fried... delicious...

Plantain recipes
Another staple across the continent are plantains… Plantains make great wedding foods and they are so versatile. There is the simple and nutritious baked plantain which can be a good stand-alone dish. A fried plantain recipe is pretty simple to follow, this is good because almost any type of rice, but most especially jollof rice, is considered naked without fried plantain. Check out even more ideas for plantain recipes.

A bowl of Moroccan lamb

Meat Dishes
Then there's the meat… We do love our meat don't we? From the signature African bush meat, to a variety of the more recognizable Moroccan lamb recipe, every main dish needs some type of meat or animal flesh to compliment it, …sorry vegetarians… With a good biltong recipe, you can have and additional item for the finger foods for wedding reception.

A bowl of Mandazi... yum!

African Desserts
Last but certainly not the least, let's not forget the desserts. After a satisfying dinner you can serve some signature African desserts to your guests. From sweet to savory, your choices are vast. From sweet East African Mandazi, to Koeksisters to chin chin which makes a great finger food.
Not to mention the wedding cake! The pièce de résistance of the entire wedding reception event.

Other African Wedding Foods & Drinks

Other than the main course and desserts, there are some other traditional African wedding reception food that no wedding should be without.
Kola nuts
These are primarily used for libations. Offering kola nut to your guests is also a way of letting them know that they are welcome at your event.

Kola nuts - A staple in many African weddings

And let's not forget about the drinks and beverages...

African Rooibos Tea
Once you take a sip of this tea you'll be hooked. Serve it after the main to help keep your guest's stomachs settled and peaceful.

Moroccan Mint Tea
Sure it's all the rage these days especially at places like Starbucks and Peet's Coffee, but you can also serve this drink after dinner... in tandem with your regular coffee and tea service.

Palm Wine
An alcoholic beverage that is derived from the fruit of the palm tree, this juice-like drink is sweet and refreshing and a must-have at all African weddings. Serve it with dinner alongside you red and white wines.

A cup of cool, refreshing palm wine