I’m sure you’ve heard of the term 5 course meal, but what exactly is it? As you have probably guessed, it’s a meal with 5 different courses. Today, I’ll explain the details of a 5 course meal and give examples and ideas on how to make one!
What Are The Courses In A 5 Course Meal?
The five courses in a five-course meal can vary. The three staples are generally an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. The fourth option is usually a soup or salad. The other option can be a hors d’oeuvres or palate cleanser.
The order would like something like this: hors d’oeuvres, salad, appetizer, entree, dessert. You may be thinking that hors d’oeuvres and appetizers are the same thing, and while they are similar, they represent different courses. An appetizer is more robust and connected to the entree in some way.
The choice of soup or salad comes down to personal preference. I find salads to be a better option in the spring and summer months, while soups are preferable in the fall and winter months. There are exceptions, for example, gumbo goes great with seafood dishes even in the summer. Furthermore, you can eliminate the hors d’oeuvres course and do both a soup and a salad.
I typically choose desserts based on the season as well. Lighter options like ice creams and pies are great in summer, while more robust cakes are more desirable in the winter.
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Southern Style 5 Course Meal
Now that we have a basic understanding of a 5 course meal, let’s build some! We’ll start with my expertise, southern food.
For the hors d’oeuvres, a Southern staple will be utilized: sweet potatoes. My roasted sweet potato recipe will fit in perfectly with the other courses to come. These salty, sweet bites are a great way to start the meal.
A simple green salad with your favorite toppings is suitable most of the time for the salad course. You can kick it up a notch by using a spring mix instead of plain lettuce. A sprinkle of oregano along with a nice vinaigrette goes a long way as well.
The appetizer will be a Southern classic, fried green tomatoes. These can be served on their own or with a dipping sauce. You can use something as simple as ranch, or go with a more decadent option like my crawfish alfredo sauce.
Since we went with a fried dish for the appetizer, I would avoid one for the entree. Chicken and dumplings is a good choice. While it’s better suited for the cold winter months, its delicious enough to be enjoyed any time of the year.
I would finish this meal off with a fruit cobbler. There are tons of options available, one of my favorites is blackberry cobbler. Other good options include peach, cherry, and blueberry.
Seafood Meal
Next up, let’s try and design a seafood-inspired 5-course meal. The hors d’oeuvres are an obvious choice in my opinion, shrimp cocktail. Simple yet elegant. I would skip the salad for this meal and go with soup instead. Seafood gumbo fits perfectly with the theme. I would opt for lots of crab in this gumbo since we had shrimp in the previous course.
Our appetizer for this course would be delicious Southern fried oysters. If you want to go extra extravagant, you can try raw oysters on the half shell. Fried calamari is a great alternative if oysters aren’t optimal for you.
The entree would be blackened catfish, or your fish of choice. You can take this dish up a notch by placing the fish over rice and topping it with a delicious crawfish cream sauce. Check out the one I linked earlier in this post. If you went with grilled or raw oysters for your app, you can go with fried catfish for your entree. I personally just don’t like to double up on the fried food when I can help it.
For dessert, we might as well keep the Cajun theme going and serve some beignets. Topped with powdered sugar or your favorite sweet sauce, these New Orleans-style donut holes are a real winner.
BBQ Meal
For our last example, let’s design a BBQ 5 course meal. The hor d’oeuvres would be BBQ cocktail sausages. These have long been a favorite in my family. I would skip the traditional green salad and go with a delicious corn salad instead, as corn goes very well with BBQ.
Smoked chicken wings are the appetizer. They can be topped with your favorite sauce, such as buffalo, BBQ, or hot honey. Smoked pork tenderloin over potato salad is our entree. For dessert, banana pudding is my favorite pairing with BBQ.
Every course here is easily changeable. You can do BBQ meatballs instead of sausages. Sides like mac and cheese and baked beans can be jazzed up and turned into appetizers. There are countless amazing BBQ entrees such as ribs, smoked chicken, pulled pork, brisket, etc. You are only limited by your imagination.
A 5 course meal is a great way to impress guests or show loved ones how much you care. Whether it’s Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or an anniversary, a 5 course meal will make it special!
