Collection

What to cook for a birthday

Seventy dishes for a birthday table at home, each with a price per serving: salads, starters, mains, cakes and drinks. Ready menus for a husband, a wife, a big party, no oven and a small budget.

70recipes
$0.36–$8.14per portion
5 min – 19 hto cook
41–1626kcal per portion

Plan a week from this collection

Seventy dishes for a birthday at home: seventeen salads, from olivier and herring under a fur coat to the pomegranate bracelet and caprese; fifteen starters, among them kholodets, eggplant rolls, salmon tartlets and a meat platter; twenty-six mains, from pork neck in mustard and pot roast to duck with apples and salmon in cream; twelve cakes, desserts and drinks.

Every dish has a price per serving based on average supermarket prices, so you can size the table before shopping. Below are six ready menus, each with its own total and cooking time. Kholodets, roast pork, the napoleon and the honey cake only get better after a night in the fridge, so half the table is honestly cooked the day before.

Ready menus

Salads 17

Russian Salad (Olivier) Dinner45 min618 kcal≈ $1.78

Pickled Herring Under a Fur Coat Dinner4 h 30 min627 kcal≈ $2.27

Mimosa Salad Dinner1 h 10 min746 kcal≈ $2.06

Crab Stick Rice Salad Dinner20 min508 kcal≈ $2.34

Caesar Salad with Chicken Dinner25 min590 kcal≈ $2.41

Greek salad with feta and bread Dinner15 min496 kcal≈ $3.21

Burrata, Cherry Tomato & Prosciutto Salad Dinner10 min723 kcal≈ $8.14

Cobb Salad Dinner30 min655 kcal≈ $3.45

Beetroot Salad with Herring (Vinegret) Dinner1 h411 kcal≈ $2.30

Chicken, Pineapple and Cheese Salad Dinner35 min472 kcal≈ $1.89

Smoked Chicken and Korean Carrot Salad Dinner15 min436 kcal≈ $2.36

Pomegranate Bracelet Salad Dinner1 h 30 min460 kcal≈ $2.12

Bean Salad with Croutons and Smoked Chicken Dinner20 min488 kcal≈ $1.71

Beef Tongue, Mushroom and Cornichon Salad Dinner2 h 45 min410 kcal≈ $2.29

Shrimp, Avocado, and Cherry Tomato Salad Dinner15 min319 kcal≈ $3.97

Layered Salad with Lightly Salted Salmon and Rice Dinner35 min370 kcal≈ $3.47

Caprese Platter Dinner10 min320 kcal≈ $2.20

Starters 15

Cheese platter with grapes and walnuts Snack5 min724 kcal≈ $5.60

Fresh Vegetable Platter with Herbs Snack15 min42 kcal≈ $1.39

Stuffed Boiled Eggs with Cheese and Garlic Snack25 min249 kcal≈ $0.58

Lavash Cheese & Herb Roll Snack45 min322 kcal≈ $1.38

Crab Stick Lavash Roll Snack10 min275 kcal≈ $2.02

Baguette with cream cheese and lightly salted salmon Snack8 min324 kcal≈ $2.76

Smoked Salmon and Farmer’s Cheese Canapés Snack15 min237 kcal≈ $2.10

Eggplant Rolls with Cheese and Garlic Snack35 min408 kcal≈ $2.19

Tartlets with Cream Cheese and Salmon Snack20 min390 kcal≈ $2.76

Lavash Roll with Salmon and Cream Cheese Snack15 min357 kcal≈ $3.56

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta Snack15 min359 kcal≈ $1.63

Pork and Beef Kholodets Snack19 h500 kcal≈ $1.79

Cold Cuts with Mustard and Cornichons Snack10 min341 kcal≈ $2.54

Cheesy Crab-Stuffed Bites Snack35 min443 kcal≈ $1.87

Tomatoes with Cheese and Garlic Snack10 min321 kcal≈ $1.66

Mains 26

Stuffed Mushrooms Dinner35 min493 kcal≈ $3.33

Chicken and Mushroom Bake with Cream Sauce Dinner40 min664 kcal≈ $3.36

French-Style Pork Cutlets Dinner1 h567 kcal≈ $2.35

Garlic & Paprika Roast Chicken with Potatoes Dinner1 h 30 min663 kcal≈ $1.60

Baked Buzhenina (Pork Neck) Dinner2 h587 kcal≈ $1.65

Duck stuffed with apples Dinner2 h 30 min1626 kcal≈ $6.08

Honey-Mustard Glazed Grilled Pork Ribs Dinner2 h 30 min1397 kcal≈ $4.51

Pork Neck Skewers in Onion Marinade Dinner1 h748 kcal≈ $2.14

Pan-Seared Lemon-Herb Rainbow Trout with Broccoli Dinner30 min432 kcal≈ $4.72

Turkey thigh baked with root vegetables Lunch1 h 10 min621 kcal≈ $2.25

Crispy Pan-Fried Chicken Cutlets with Cheese Crust and Cool Cucumber-Pekin Cabbage Salad Dinner30 min612 kcal≈ $2.72

Chicken Pilaf Lunch55 min750 kcal≈ $1.11

Beef Ragù Lasagna Lunch1 h 10 min946 kcal≈ $3.31

Classic Cabbage Rolls Dinner1 h 30 min746 kcal≈ $2.90

Pork Medallions in Creamy Sauce with Pasta Dinner20 min690 kcal≈ $2.60

Rustic Potatoes Dinner50 min266 kcal≈ $0.59

Rosemary & Garlic Potato Wedges Dinner45 min233 kcal≈ $0.57

Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Butter Dinner35 min293 kcal≈ $0.62

Pork Neck Roasted with Mustard and Garlic Dinner1 h 55 min573 kcal≈ $1.49

Chicken Roulade with Ham and Cheese Dinner1 h351 kcal≈ $2.22

Pork Loin Roulade with Mushrooms and Onion Dinner1 h 25 min399 kcal≈ $2.38

Beef Pot Roast in Individual Clay Pots Dinner1 h 45 min411 kcal≈ $3.20

Fish in Vegetable Marinade Dinner55 min342 kcal≈ $1.86

Creamy Cheesy Potato Gratin Dinner1 h 20 min554 kcal≈ $1.62

Creamy Baked Salmon with Spinach Dinner35 min468 kcal≈ $4.57

Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken Thighs Dinner1 h 5 min433 kcal≈ $0.87

Dessert 12

Mandarin Fruit Platter Snack10 min168 kcal≈ $1.20

Honey Cake (Medovik) Snack11 h695 kcal≈ $0.94

Molten Chocolate Cake Snack30 min803 kcal≈ $1.93

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Snack20 min298 kcal≈ $2.07

Napoleon Layer Cake (Puff Pastry) Snack1 h 30 min518 kcal≈ $0.85

Baked Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust Snack2 h 30 min550 kcal≈ $1.54

Coffee-Soaked Tiramisu Snack40 min529 kcal≈ $1.52

Fluffy Kefir Chocolate Cake Snack2 h 10 min588 kcal≈ $0.61

Panna Cotta with Berry Sauce Snack25 min338 kcal≈ $1.20

Fruit Jelly Cups Snack30 min169 kcal≈ $1.12

Homemade Mint Lemonade Snack15 min86 kcal≈ $0.36

Cranberry Morse Snack20 min93 kcal≈ $0.45

How to use it

Every recipe has a servings counter: set the number of guests and the grams recalculate. A party serving here is smaller than a dinner one, because there are several dishes on the table: a salad is 250–350 kcal, a main 350–570, cake 400–460. For six people, two salads, two starters, one main with a side and a cake are usually enough.

The order: the day before, cook the kholodets and the tongue, bake the cakes and the roast pork. In the morning, put the main in the oven and cut the salads without dressing. An hour before the guests, do the platters and lavash rolls and dress the salads. There is one oven, so bake the meat and potatoes together at 180 °C, and toast the tartlets and bruschetta first: they need ten minutes.

Plan a week from this collection

Questions

What to cook for a husband's birthday?

Meat, and plenty of it: kholodets with mustard, pork neck in mustard and garlic, pot roast or ribs in honey glaze, with a tongue salad and rosemary potatoes on the side. The kholodets and the salad are made the day before.

What to cook for a wife's birthday?

Dishes that show care: shrimp and avocado salad, caprese, salmon tartlets, salmon in cream with spinach, panna cotta, chocolate strawberries. It all fits in two hours, and the oven is needed twice for twenty minutes.

What to cook for a birthday without an oven?

Smoked chicken salad with Korean carrot, tomatoes with cheese, cheese balls, a lavash roll with salmon, pork medallions in cream on the stove, fish in marinade, no-bake tiramisu and cranberry mors. There is also a separate everyday collection, No oven.

What can be made the day before?

Kholodets, roast pork, the napoleon, the honey cake, tiramisu, panna cotta and jelly: they need a night. Layered salads, herring under a fur coat and the pomegranate bracelet, also improve by morning. Cut olivier and crab salad in the morning and dress them before serving; platters and bruschetta only when the guests arrive.

How much does a table for six cost?

Each menu above shows its price per person, counted from average supermarket prices; your store will differ. The priciest items on any table are shrimp, salmon and beef; the cheapest are the kefir cake, vinegret and chicken with potatoes.