Traditional British party food recipes for the Coronation

What event are you planning to mark King Charles III's Coronation? It might be a party at home or a picnic with friends; perhaps you are organising a Big Lunch in line with official celebrations which will see gatherings taking place all across the country over the Bank Holiday weekend of 6-8 May 2023.

"Official" coronation dishes have been released by the royal household, including East-meets-West-style lamb, an aubergine bake and trifle, while a quiche, made with spinach, broad beans, cheese and tarragon, has been "personally chosen" by the King and Queen to mark their coronation. 

Whatever your bash, big or small, we have culinary inspiration below: scones, sausage rolls and cucumber sandwiches, and beautiful cakes and bakes for afters.

There are drinks, too, to keep everyone refreshed – all distinctly British and all utterly delicious.

Let the celebrations begin!

Sausage rolls and sandwiches

Easy home-made sausage rolls

These taste great warm but are lovely when cold too. You can replace meat sausages with veggie ones if you like. Click here for the recipe.

Chicken, bacon and spinach sausage rolls

Minced chicken is mixed with sautéed bacon and onions, wilted spinach and thyme for the filling of these golden rolls. Perfect hold-in-your-hand food. These are what picnics were made for. Click here for the recipe.

Giant cheese and piccalilli sausage roll

The traditional sausagemeat filling is sandwiched between a layer of piccalilli and grated cheese and baked in one large length to serve six. Click here for the recipe.

Cucumber with mint cream cheese finger sandwiches

These delicate bites are spread with cream cheese mixed with mint, lemon juice and zest. Click here for the recipe.

Strawberry, lemon and mascarpone sandwiches

Use sliced white bread to assemble a round of sweet strawberry sandwiches (crusts cut off, of course), for a truly perfect summer treat. Good for picnics and parties, or at teatime. Click here for the recipe.

Cakes, bakes and delicious desserts

Mary Berry's roasted vegetable quiche

A recipe that's fit for a king, by the Queen of Baking, this classic quiche features roasted peppers and courgette in a golden egg filling that's enhanced with Gruyère cheese. You'll find Mary's recipe here.

Union flag meringue cake

A gorgeous pavlova cake – a layer of delicious meringue topped with vanilla-scented whipped cream and fresh berries. Allow a minimum of five hours (or overnight) for the meringue to cool before decorating. Click here for the recipe.

Butterfly cakes with vanilla buttercream

Play around with chocolate, coffee, almond or vanilla flavours in the buttercream filling; sometimes by substituting or adding something you’ve found at the back of the cupboard, you end up with something unexpectedly delicious. Click here for the recipe.

Eton Mess ice cream sundae

There are numerous variations to this classic English treat: this is Diana Henry's, starring a simple fruit sauce made with strawberries, raspberries and icing sugar to drizzle over good-quality vanilla ice cream, chunks of shop-bought meringue and fresh strawberries. Click here for the recipe.

Double-cream scones

These are luscious – lots of cream in the dough – and, unusually for a scone, still pretty good the day after baking. But do yourself a favour and have them straight from the oven. Click here for the recipe.

Bakewell tart

This is classically made with raspberry jam, but you can use any flavour you like. Homemade jam will really enhance your tart, giving it a lovely burst of flavour and perfectly complementing the almond filling. Click here for the recipe.

Something to drink

Rosemary lemonade

A refreshing drink made with lemon juice, shop-bought sugar syrup and sprigs of rosemary, stirred with sparkling or soda water. Add a few drops of Angostura bitters if you like. Click here for the recipe.

Elderflower pink fizz cocktail

An elegant but easy drink made simply with lime juice, elderflower cordial and chilled pink champagne or cava. Serve with sprigs of mint. Click here for the recipe.

Gin and mint cocktail

A cool, chic drink. You can add more bite to it with a dash of fresh lemon juice for each serve, if you like. Click here for the recipe.