A Spanish Tapas Menu for a Christmas Party (Quantities for 8)
A Spanish tapas menu for Christmas, New Year's Eve or any party: what to serve for eight people, how much ham, cheese and tins to buy, and how to time it.
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A tapas party is the most relaxed way to feed a crowd: almost nothing to cook, everything can be prepared ahead, and guests graze all evening. This menu is for eight people as a full evening of food (not just a starter). Scale up or down in proportion.
The menu
| Course | What | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Cold | Ibérico ham, lomo and chorizo | Slice and plate |
| Cold | Manchego at two ages | Cut into triangles |
| Cold | Two or three open tins | Open and serve |
| Cold | Pan con tomate | 10 minutes |
| Cold | Olives, almonds, crisps | Bowls |
| Hot (optional) | Gambas al ajillo (garlic prawns) | 10 minutes at the end |
| Sweet | Turrón or a good chocolate | Unwrap |
Shopping list for 8
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ibérico ham, sliced | 250–300 g |
| Other cured meats (lomo, chorizo, salchichón) | 2 samplers |
| Manchego | about 450 g in total |
| Tins (mussels, tuna belly, sardines) | 3–4 |
| Bread (rustic loaf or baguette) | 2 loaves |
| Ripe tomatoes (for pan con tomate) | 4–5 |
| Olives and Marcona almonds | 1 large bowl of each |
| Prawns for gambas al ajillo (optional) | 700 g |
The products that carry the menu
The ham and the cured meats:
Jamón de Bellota 100% Ibérico D.O.P. Jabugo, hand-cut, vacuum packed
PDO Jabugo · Sierra de Huelva (PDO Jabugo) · Hand-cut slices, vacuum pack
Carries the Jabugo Protected Designation of Origin seal — useful if you want to taste the intense Jabugo style and compare it with a Salamanca ham.
Best for: Comparing origins, Jabugo fans
Price and availability on Amazon.co.uk
Ibérico selection: ham, salchichón, chorizo and cured loin (200 g)
Spanish deli selection · Spain · 4 sliced cured meats, 200 g
The easiest 'Spanish bar at home' kit: ham plus the three classic Ibérico cured meats. Check the label on the ham — it isn't the same grade as a black-label pack.
Best for: Tapas night, trying everything once
Price and availability on Amazon.co.uk
The cheese: an aged and a younger Manchego, side by side:
Manchego PDO 12 months aged (reserve)
LalolaGourmet · La Mancha · Wedge
Twelve months gives Manchego its nutty, caramel depth and a crumbly bite. The one to serve if you want people to ask 'which cheese is this?'.
Why we like it
- PDO: real Manchega sheep milk
Keep in mind
- Too firm for sandwiches
Manchego PDO 6 months aged (curado)
LalolaGourmet · La Mancha · Wedge
The all-rounder: firm but still buttery, nutty without being sharp. Good on a board and in a sandwich.
Why we like it
- Versatile middle age
The tins — mussels in escabeche for everyone, tuna belly for the connoisseurs:
Ramón Peña mussels in escabeche 16/20 (set of 4 × 110 g)
Ramón Peña · Galician rías · 4 tins
Galician mussels in escabeche — a tangy sauce of oil, vinegar and paprika. A classic of Spanish vermouth hour.
Why we like it
- A benchmark Galician canner
Keep in mind
- Tangy sauce: not for everyone
Ortiz yellowfin tuna belly (ventresca) in olive oil (110 g)
Conservas Ortiz · Basque coast · 110 g tin
Ventresca is the belly: the richest, silkiest part of the fish. Eat it straight from the tin with good bread.
Why we like it
- The most prized cut
Keep in mind
- Small tin for the price
Timing
- The day before: buy bread, dress the olives (oil, orange peel, garlic), chill the drinks.
- 1 hour before: cut the cheese and cover it. Slice the bread.
- 30 minutes before: take the ham and cheese out of the fridge; plate the cured meats.
- When guests arrive: open the tins at the table and make the first round of pan con tomate.
- An hour in: the hot dish, if you’re making it.
The one hot dish: gambas al ajillo
Warm a generous layer of olive oil in a small pan with sliced garlic and a dried chilli. When the garlic just starts to turn golden, add peeled prawns and a pinch of salt; cook a couple of minutes until pink. Finish with parsley and serve in the pan, with bread for the oil. Use a good, peppery oil — it’s the sauce.
Castillo de Canena Family Reserve Picual Extra Virgin Olive Oil (500 ml)
Castillo de Canena · Canena, Jaén · 500 ml glass bottle
Picual at its best: green, grassy, tomato leaf, a bitter-peppery finish. The oil to taste on bread to understand what Spanish EVOO can be.
Why we like it
- Intense, fresh early-harvest flavour
- Family estate since 1780
Keep in mind
- Too bold for some palates
Drinks for 8
Plan roughly one bottle of wine or cava per two people over an evening, plus beer and something non-alcoholic. → What to drink with tapas
→ The bottle that goes with everything: cava explained
Hosting tips
- Small plates in several places instead of one giant board: people circulate.
- Refill, don’t overload. Put out half and top up; ham dries out on the plate.
- Keep a knife and a fork in every tin.
→ Looking for gifts too? The best Spanish food gifts for Christmas
→ How Spain itself celebrates: What do Spaniards eat at Christmas?