According to The Britannica Dictionary, a crowd-pleaser is a food most people like.  That might be hard to achieve if you have a diverse crowd that may include someone who is gluten-free, a vegan, a vegetarian, and someone who has doctor’s orders not to eat much salt.  There are two recipes attached to this post that can be used to please this diverse crowd.

These two recipes both have the same secret sauce.  Both are flavorful and satisfying stews that can be made ahead and reheated at party time.  Both are gluten-free, and both have the protein and/or salt added at the end.  This means you can make one big pot of stew, and when the heavy lifting is done, you can divide it into portions and add meat to some of the stew and add legumes to some of the stew, and you can make a portion of the stew without added salt.

The Moroccan Stew is relatively quick to prepare and flavorful. The Curry Stew with Roasted Cauliflower takes more effort, but the effort pays off with a very delicious stew.

If you are like me, you will want to try one of these recipes out before committing to serve it to a crowd. When you are ready to make a large batch, you can click on “Print Recipe” and adjust the number of servings. The math will be done for you, and the adjusted amounts of the ingredients will appear on your screen.

Also check out Crowd Pleasers II: https://vivisimoforyourlife.com/2026/05/14/crowd-pleasers-ii-build-your-own-pizza/

1

Moroccan Stew

This stew is a delicious way to use up leftover chicken or turkey, and it's also great made with lentils.

Check out this recipe

2

Curry Stew with Roasted Cauliflower

A delicious curry stew that is packed with nutrition.

Check out this recipe