To ask for your ideas of what I can serve eight people cheaply?

Picnic food with baguettes and everyone brings something

A big slow cooked chilli. Bulk it put with loads of kidney beans and mixed beans. Serve with jacket potatoes or rice. Buy a few bags of cheap tortillas too.

Everyone brings a dish. Simple

@tearsandtiaras I reckon I could do it for about 30 quid. To me that's pretty cheap for 9? And I'm on benefits. But of course if the budget needs to be lower then forget meat altogether and just do a veggie chilli or something, with rice.

Definitely, just cook the rice fresh.

Get cheapest garlic breads?

Big bowl of salad (or ask guests to bring?)

Perfect one pot meal.

Have a great night!

Jambalaya and leave it out and people can help themselves. Or a ciamotta and some sliced ham

This is not cheap!!!

Couscous is very easy and inexpensive - make it look more interesting with chopped up colourful peppers, parsley etc.

Serve with meatballs in a spicy Middle Eastern-style sauce

Flatbreads and plain yoghurt

Or for real ease three ready made quiches, big bowl of green salad leaves, big bowl of new potatoes. Cheeseboard, crackers, French stick or two and butter.

Both M&S and Waitrose have offers on quiche and heated up they’re quick and easy. This only leaves you the heating of quiches and cooking the potatoes. Cheeseboard just pick those on offer and pad out the platter with crackers and sticks of celery.

It's not just you, I'd find any of this a PITA!
However if I needed to serve at short notice I'd do a load of fried rice/noodles + chicken wings and stir fried veggies. I'm SouthEast asian. Wings just need marinating and can go in the oven

Also OP you sound really nice, but the burden shouldn't be on you to fill everyone up. Given the short notice , surely people can bring some snacks, dessert and sides? You just need to provide the mains and 'some' sides

Following! Love some of these recipes

I'd do the chilli, overnight in the slow cooker if you have one. Cooking in ovens usually makes me hotter than cooking on hobs so wouldn't want to do anything that involved roasting. Offer rice, nachos, guacamole and salad. Doesn't have to be a particularly heavy meal, people can just have more of the sides if they're that way inclined.

Get someone else to do the dessert, or if it's going to be down to you pick something light like strawberries.

I'd buy a couple of ready cooked chickens and strip all the meat from the bones before they get there, couple of different salad options and some crusty bread and wraps. I love roasted peppers with chicken too so I'd do a couple of decent sized ones and get them de-skinned and sliced before they arrive. I'd want the oven on for as little time as possible

If you're doing dessert I'd do a quick Eton Mess type thing just before they arrive, strawberries/raspberries, meringue and ice cream instead of cream as it's going to be hot

I was going to say that.

Maybe something like a chilli in the slow cooker (if you have one) made with lentils and veg as well as meat.

Grate a load of cheese and have creme fraiche, butter, mayo for people to help themselves.

And it seems I'm not the only person with this idea.

@Unexpectedlysinglemum yep. Bean chilli, cheap nachos, some wraps and dips. Also use feta on top the chilli to make it look posh.

Big bean chilli and rice

I must be the only person who would find making enough lasagne for 8 hungry people (plus sides) a complete pain in the bum at short notice!

Jacket spuds filled with chilli

Pasta bake

Lasagne

A big pasta dish you can slap in the slow cooker.

I make this chicken Alfredo. It's literally 4 ingredients & everyone loves it. A jar of Alfredo sauce, a jar of marinara sauce, chicken breast & any pasta of choice. Bows or spirals go well. Oh & cheese. Mozzarella or parmesan.

I make it whenever I'm invited to a "pot luck" event. It's cheap & yummy. Serve with crusty bread or garlic bread

Jacket potato’s topped w chickpea curry? Gosh

We do bao buns with different filling options (pulled pork, chicken, veggies etc.). We tried chilli but people didn't want anything spicy. People fill these themselves with whatever combo they want. Also means you don't need place settings.

Plus bao buns sound fancy but you can buy a big frozen pack of them very cheaply from Chinese shops. And the meat goes a lot further because you can't fit much in them.

My dad always hosts for the Euros/World cup

His speciality is loaded potato skins (linked), can do both meat and veggie options. Then we normally have some chicken legs, bit of rice and salad. Always goes down a treat. And not expensive at all.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/loaded-potato-skins

Do people want chilli and rice in 28c weather?
What about roast chicken thighs, salads, potato salad, garlic bread.

I would do chilli and/or curry with baked potatoes rice salads and sides

Just bread, crackers, cheese and meats followed by ice cream.

Slice your own salami, cook a small ham, cube/slice the cheese, a couple of jars of sun-dried tomatoes and a chutney and you're done. Lidl probably best.

ETA and pickled onions