How to Set Up a Chic Nacho Bar for Your Wedding

How to Set Up a Chic Nacho Bar for a Wedding Snack Station

Food stations have become hugely popular at weddings in recent years. And no wonder! Rather than having a sit-down reception, this is a great way to get guests to mingle while it plays up your wedding theme (and keeps costs more affordable). So, for those of you with an upcoming summer wedding, we highly recommend an inviting Nacho Bar! You can dress it up for a more formal setting or keep it fun and simple for a more casual gathering. See the great examples we found, plus serving essentials, tortilla chip choices, and even recipes for dips and salsas! (*this post contains affiliate links)

Nacho Bar Inspiration: Match the Look to Your Theme

Visualize your reception venue and the wedding decor you’ve chosen to suit your theme. Then, your nacho bar can be right in keeping with that look, as shown in these stylish finds.

Inspirational Ideas for Setting Up Your Own Nacho Bar Wedding.

Going for a rustic-industrial effect? Consider crisp white serve ware set out on bare wood and metal display elements (1).

For a casual, outdoor vibe, a chalkboard Nacho Bar sign (2) never fails to bring on that charm. Especially when paired with brightly painted crates and metal tubs for ice-cold drinks.

If you’ll be having a fiesta theme, a nacho bar is right at home with Mexican decor like colorful glazed bowls, terra cotta trays and pot-pedestals, and a fringed paper garland (3)!

For an even more informal gathering, perhaps a backyard or farm wedding, simply pile up the nacho chips and set out the dips and salsas in large bowls on upturned buckets and a burlap runner (4).

At a sunny summer reception, keep the look fresh and appealing with a basketful of multi-colored chips with fixin’-filled glass bowls on metal stands and acrylic risers (5).

And yes, a nacho bar can go elegant, too! See how an antique sideboard is used with fancy chafing dish stands, and a drawer pulled out to hold the chips (6).

Credits: 1 – Fantabulosity / 2 – via BizBash / 3 – Paper and Party Love / 4 – Pinterest / 5 – Wolfgang Puck Catering, via Lover.ly / 6 – Le Rae Events

Nacho/Tortilla Chips to Choose From

Of course, you’ve got to have delicious, crunchy chips as the base for all the dips, salsas and condiments you’ll be offering. See our faves below—ranging from traditional to gluten-free, blue corn, no-salt—and where to buy them!

Tortilla Chips for a Nacho Bar Wedding.

Click on each product link (*affiliate links via Amazon) below for easy ordering:

  1. Real Deal All Natural White Corn Tortilla Chips
  2. Mission Tortilla Chips, Rounds
  3. Xochitl No Salt Tortilla Chips
  4. Late July Organic Sweet Potato Snack Chips
  5. Trader Joe’s Quinoa & Black Bean Infused Tortilla Chips
  6. Tostitos Tortilla Chips

TIP: Wondering about quantities of chips to prepare? If you’ll be serving a meal at the reception, you can estimate 2.5 to 3 oz. of chips per wedding guest for the nacho bar (see the no. of oz. on the packaging). But if the nacho bar is all you’re having, prepare at least 5 oz. of chips per guest.

Serve Ware for Your Nacho Bar Chips & Dips

Whatever your wedding theme will be, do make sure to set out those tortilla chips, dips and salsas in a matching style. Start with these serving essentials we recommend, then add decorative accents and props to complete your nacho bar!

What Kind of Serving Pieces to Use for a Nacho Bar Wedding.

Find these entertaining essentials you’ll be interested to see through the following links (*affiliate links):

  1. Two-tiered Stand via World Market
  2. Tempo Square Tasting Bowls (set of 4) via World Market
  3. Anchor Hocking Presence Trifle Footed Dessert Bowl via Amazon
  4. Four-bowl Display Stand via Amazon
  5. Acrylic Serving Stands/Risers via Amazon
  6. Madras Serving Tray via World Market

Nacho Bar Dip and Salsa Recipes

To go with your tortilla chips, offer up an enticing array of dips, salsas, and condiments that will have your guests coming back for more! To get you started with some delectable ideas, see these recipes we discovered.

  1. Nachos Cheese Dip – A creamy smooth concoction from Recipe Tin Eats.
  2. Greek Yogurt Jalapeño Guacamole – Enjoy the extra kick of jalapeño in this fave avocado-yogurt dip, from My Organized Chaos.
  3. Mexican Fiesta Dip – Layers of cheese, chili and salsa make this recipe from My Organized Chaos a true flavor fiesta.
  4. Strawberry Salsa – Surprise guests with chopped strawberries and mint in this fresh, zesty dip from Archana’s Kitchen.
  5. Chunky Cucumber Salsa – Offer this cool and crunchy contrast to all the highly-flavored dips, courtesy of Archana’s Kitchen.

Have these condiments and garnishes on hand, too, for a truly irresistible Nacho Bar spread:

  • Pico de Gallo
  • Grated cheese
  • Beans
  • Sour cream / Yogurt
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Black olives
  • Wedges of fresh lime

Chili and Cheese Nachos: Delicious Recipes for You to Make!

Get your nacho fix with chili and cheese! Perfect for a game day or Cinco de Mayo themed rehearsal dinner. We’ve gathered more recipes for you:

Nacho chili cheese wedding ideas

  1. Chili nachos – via Hormel
  2. Chili cheese nachos via Sargento
  3. Chili cheesy nachos via Tostitos
  4. Chili nachos via Ragu
  5. Nacho chili cheese dip via Kraft
  6. Tailgate Nachos via Red Gold Tomatoes

Refreshing Drinks and Cocktails to Pair with Nachos

With all that munching and crunching, considering pairing your nachos with these beverages:

  1. Tequilas
  2. Fruity cocktails
  3. Blue hued cocktails
  4. Margaritas
  5. Iced tea
  6. Beer

We hope you opt for a Nacho Bar at your upcoming wedding. That way, you can share your photos with us and we can feature all the flavorful fun!

*This post contains affiliate links. You can find our disclosure statement here.

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