The Best Way to Mark Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Food at a Party

Lisa Freedman
Lisa FreedmanExecutive Lifestyle Director
Lisa Freedman is the Executive Lifestyle Director at The Kitchn. She has never met a cheese or a washi tape she didn't like. She lives in New York state with her husband and their pup, Millie.
updated May 1, 2019
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(Image credit: Lauren Volo)

The party problem: You are making a cocktail party platter with vegetarian and non-vegetarian sandwiches — some with meat and some without. (So thoughtful!) You want to make sure guests know what’s what, but you also don’t want to repeat yourself a million times throughout the night.

The party trick: Pin little pieces of bacon to each sandwich to identify which sammies have meat and which ones do not.

(Image credit: Lauren Volo)

Cook up a few strips of bacon and break them into pieces. Then, skewer them onto a toothpick and stick one into every sandwich that has meat. This way, vegetarians will be able to tell — at a quick glance — which sandwiches they’ll need to avoid.

(Note: This trick might not stop people from touching every sandwich in order to see what’s inside, but it should help cut down on some of the fondling.)

If you’re worried that bacon might not go with the meaty sandwiches on the menu, do not: Bacon goes with everything. And even if it doesn’t, folks can eat the bacon first and then eat the sandwich. Carnivores never complain about having to eat too much bacon. They just don’t.

And yes, you could just write out little signs to label the sandwiches, but where’s the fun (read: bacon!) in that?

Vegetarian Sandwich Ideas

Meaty Sandwich Ideas

Do you have any other tricks for accommodating vegetarians (and/or vegans!) at your parties? Share in the comments!