While scrolling, you might find a new food-based trend that's dominating your algorithm: girl dinner. This throw-together, anything-goes type of meal is the perfect solution to those nights where mincing or sauteing sound like the last thing you'd like to do. Like a charcuterie board, girl dinner is infinitely customizable to suit your palate – and use up any leftovers or spare ingredients in your refrigerator. Keep reading to learn more about girl dinner and how you can try this TikTok trend for yourself.

What Is Girl Dinner?

Girl dinner is a TikTok trend that was started by creator Olivia Maher in mid-May. Her 15-second video featured a block of cheese, a few slices of bread, some pickles, and a bunch of grapes, all of which she likened to a "Medieval peasant" meal.

Since then, Maher's original video has garnered over 180,000 likes and inspired other creators to show off their own girl dinners. The hashtag #girldinner has amassed over 8.7 million views with several creators putting together their own plates filled with handheld foods like sliced cucumbers, seasoned popcorn, olives, deli meats, or cut-up carrots.

Despite #girldinner popping up as a recent trend, many TikTok users have commented that they've done similar things, often calling these plates "snack dinner" or "picky bits." Regardless of the name, this hodgepodge approach to dinner is particularly popular for its flexibility. You can add anything to a “girl dinner” – from leftovers to spare ingredients – and it rarely requires any meal prepping or trips to the grocery store.

With tinned fish dates and charcuterie boards already hitting their stride, it's no surprise that a snack plate-style trend like girl dinner has gone viral. The low-effort appeal mixed with endless combinations of your cravings makes this trend easy to recreate. This dinnertime trend is a great accoutrement to game nights, binging a new series, or simply giving your kitchen a night off.

Easy Ideas for Girl Dinner

Like we mentioned before, there are no hard rules to girl dinner. This trend celebrates food in a way that allows you to enjoy grazing and snacking, especially when life feels too busy to try a new recipe or wash multiple pans after cooking. Here are some easy ways you can build your own girl dinner.

1. Splurge on Some Snacks

Though a core tenet of girl dinner is piling on picky bits that may already be in your own kitchen, it can be a fun twist to splurge at the grocery store on items that wouldn't typically make your list. Think of perusing the cheese counter, picking out a fancy jar of olives, or grabbing a baguette from a local bakery. This way, a girl dinner can be a bit of a treat that you look forward to later in the week.

2. Pick a Theme

If your girl dinner is accompanying a movie or a game night, it's the perfect time to construct a themed meal. Think of foods that the characters eat in the movie, or come up with clever puns to go with each option. One fun way to set up a girl dinner for a crowd is to place each type of snack on a serving tray and let guests add their own assortment to their plates. If you're dining solo, skip the serveware and head straight for the tray.

3. Do the Dips

For nights where you feel like grazing (or if you're entertaining), a platter of dips gives you the opportunity for delicious combinations. Fill small sections of a serving dish with different types of spreads, such as hummus, queso, jam, or dip. Line your plate with crackers, cut-up pieces of fruit, carrot sticks, or slices of bread to be the vehicle for your creative dip combinations.

4. Take It On-the-Go

While girl dinner can be enjoyed from the comfort of your kitchen counter, the convenience of a hodgepodge meal like this makes it easy to take with you on-the-go. Simply fill a food storage container with your favorite bits and stash it in your bag on your way to the park, beach, or wherever else you might be enjoying your dinner.

Tip!

Bento boxes feature separate compartments, so you don't have to worry about pickle brine mixing with fig spread.

You Might Also Like