All the Book Club Dinner Ideas You'll Ever Need

How to Plan a Book Club Dinner

There are two ways you could approach a book club dinner:

1. Every member takes turns hosting: The host picks the book, plans the meal, and does all the work once and then gets to enjoy all the other book club meetings as a guest.
2. Potluck style: Every member takes turns hosting and picking the book of the month. The host plans the theme for the book club dinner but then all the members sign up to bring dishes on the theme potluck style. This means everyone chips in every month.

I've been to book club parties that operated both of those ways and there are pros and cons to both. They are both excellent choices, it just depends on your particular group.

Just have a chat about what works best for everyone before you start.

Easy Book Club Books and Dinner Idea Pairings

Pairing a book club book with a dinner theme doesn't need to be complicated but if you've never done it before, you might be feeling stuck.

I've gathered some of my favorite book club picks from the last 8 years of the Peanut Blossom Book Club and paired them with a simple dinner theme to get you going.

Summery Beach Menu

Our annual summer beach reads are always such a fun break to the book club routine!

Enjoy a book club pick that is set in a beach town or somewhere warm and sunny and then pair it with a light and easy summer menu:

• Easy Cheesy Crab Melts
• 5-minute Spicy Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa
• Caprese Salad
• Fresh Strawberry Bruschetta

Around the World Dinner

Pick a book from someplace you've never been and "travel" together as a book club!

Then, plan your dinner to include recipes from that area of the world and taste something new.

You could read a book set in Italy like The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner and then plan an authentic Italian dinner.

Read The Light of Paris by Eleanor Brown and then make French Onion Soup with Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée for dessert.

Read Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan and serve Oriental Chicken Layer Dip.

Tropical Getaway Dinner

Read a tropical getaway book and while everyone is imagining a palm tree covered island, serve up an easy tropical themed dinner:

• Creamy Piña Colada Fruit Dip
• Spicy Caribbean Chicken Soup
• Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing with Sweet Potato chips for dunking
• Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs Stir Fry

Classic American Dinner

Choose a book about American history and then serve a classic American dinner. This would be super fun for July in honor of the 4th:

• Easy Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
• Slowcooker Boneless Turkey Breast
• Air Fryer Green Beans
• Make-Ahead Apple Slab Pie
• Easy Cherry Pie {With Frozen Cherries}

Irish Dinner Ideas

Perhaps in March your book club could pick an Irish book and pair it with an easy Irish dinner for St. Patrick's Day:

• Irish Beef Hand Pies
• Easy Fried Cabbage with Caraway Seeds
• Irish Soda Bread with Raisins {Oven or Bread Machine}

BBQ Potluck Dinner

Any time of year would be fun to choose one of these books about ranch life for fans of Yellowstone. Pair these cowboy books with a classic BBQ party including:

• Pulled Pork in the Oven or Slow Cooker
• Light and Sweet BBQ Sauce
• BBQ Chicken Sliders
• Grandma's Buttermilk Cornbread
• Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes
• Southern Style Peach Cobbler

New York Theme Dinner

Have fun with an easy New York Party theme and pair it with a book set in New York:

• Easy Candied Nuts {New York Style!}
• Classic Cheese Pizza
• Homemade Black and White Cookies

Spooky Dinner

In the fall, plan to pick a spooky book for book club from one of these fun book lists. Pair it with a Halloween themed dinner:

• The Easiest Cheddar Snack Board
• Easy Stovetop Beef Stew with Creamy Crockpot Mashed Potatoes
• 3 Easy Halloween Cupcakes from 1 Box Mix

Christmas Holiday Party

At the end of the year, enjoy some holiday festivities with your favorite book club friends and plan your own little Christmas party.

Choose one of these fantastic Christmas books for book club and then pair it with a simple festive dinner:

• Make-Ahead Sausage Lasagna with Easy Homemade Garlic Bread
• Jalapeño Artichoke Dip which has a fun red & green color combo
• Easy Gingerbread Cookies
• Make-Ahead Yule Log Cake