Last-Minute Noche Buena Food Ideas Families Love
Here are some last-minute noche buena ideas families will love!
Oops, it looks like they’re more guests than we thought there’d be! Some people don’t attend the Christmas dinner; instead, they join the Noche Buena after mass since they probably came from their in-laws or another Christmas party. But time’s ticking and we’re not sure if we have enough food out on the table to satisfy the guests. Here are some last-minute noche buena ideas to save the day!
6 Last-Minute Noche Buena Ideas To Save The Day!
1. Garlic Bread
Although garlic bread recipes call for French baguettes, white bread can be just as good for this last-minute noche buena idea! It takes three simple ingredients: typical bread, butter, and a whole lot of garlic. Spread the butter on top of the bread and then add some diced garlic. Or if there’s not enough time, a mix of granulated garlic, onion powder, and Italian seasoning in the butter ought to do the trick.
Then, toast for 2 minutes on each side cut into small squares or bite-sized pieces. Lay it out on a platter and then, serve.
2. Hot Chocolate Made Out Of Chocolate Bars

While the most ideal for this idea will be tableya, there are other ways to make hot chocolate for noche buena. Unfortunately, it may need us to sacrifice a bit of our hidden chocolate bar stash. Mixing them with a bit of milk or cream will transform them into instant hot chocolate. Boil water in a saucepan then mount a glass bowl on top of the saucepan before putting your chocolate bars inside.
Next, mix the bars until melted before adding some milk to make it more of a drink. If the ones we melted are chocolate bars with nuts, use a strainer to remove the nuts. If the stove is too busy, even microwaving the chocolate bars for 2 minutes will do. Then, add some hot water and room-temperature milk.
3. A Bag of Munchies With Dip
A bag of Munchies is pretty easy to find in the supermarket or convenience store and people sometimes just use herbed cheese dip or even Ranch salad dressing to go with it! For the dip, melt a bit of Quickmelt cheese in a saucepan with some milk, salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian seasoning to add some flavor. Or if cooking isn’t an option because of a busy kitchen, grab some chip dip in the store.
Tostitos is what most people use but if they’re not available, Ranch salad dressing or garlic mayo is available in most convenience stores.
4. Popcorn with Grated Cheese and Butter
Since Noche Buena is all about snacking, time to break out the popcorn for this idea! The best part is that diabetics can have some of this snack too. While microwaving or cooking the popcorn in a pan, grate some cheese and melt some butter. Once the popcorn is fully popped, toss it in a bowl with the grated cheese, then drizzle the melted butter on top of it with some black pepper.
5. Veggie Sticks with Dip

Vegetable sticks are the perfect palate cleanser after all the rich food we ate during Christmas dinner! The best part is, there’s not much cooking to be done. Just slice up some carrots, cucumber, zucchini, and even turnip for this last-minute and healthy noche buena idea while serving it with some salad dressing or even an oil-based sauce.
Using some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, a teaspoon of vinegar, and sugar, it’s like an Italian vinaigrette! Or, you can just hit the convenience store, grab some mayonnaise sachets, and mix it with some garlic powder, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste to make a makeshift aioli sauce.
6. Smores
Smores just need three ingredients: chocolate bars, graham crackers, and marshmallows. The best part is: it’s a hit with the kids! For this noche buena idea, it takes a bit of assembling but we can turn it into a Christmas activity for the kids as they roast their marshmallows on top of a small fire and then sandwich them in between two graham crackers. Then, melt a chocolate bar for some makeshift chocolate dip.
If there’s chocolate syrup at home, that works too! For those who only have cocoa powder, mix cocoa powder with a corn-starch slurry (water and corn starch) with a bit of butter and sugar to make it sweet!
When it comes to noche buena, we have to be prepared for anything!
Sometimes, as hosts of the celebration or Christmas house party, some things do happen and it worries us when we don’t account for it. But while people are out for Simbang Gabi, that’s the perfect time to make these noche buena ideas. The best part is, that these won’t take too long to prepare. Some people what they even do, is that they even transform the Christmas dinner leftovers into a snack so there’ll be less to keep in the end!
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