7 Exclusive Neon Party Savory Food Ideas
by Ann Mifsud
It’s not easy to find savory food ideas that glow in the dark and that are fit for an awesome neon party. But now we’ve got you sorted!
Here are 7 neon party savory food ideas that glow in the dark, with a step by step description of how to prepare them.
Go straight to any item by clicking on any below:
If you wish to learn about neon party sweet food ideas that are complimentary to these savories, go to 9 Sweet Food Ideas That Glow In The Dark.
If you want to know all it takes to create a black light party at home, here’s The Ultimate Kids Glow Party Guide: How To Create Magic.
The Ultimate Kids Glow Party Guide: How To Create Magic
A significant milestone in your kid’s life may be approaching, and you’re eager to leave a lasting impression on them and their friends. Undoubtedly, hosting a kids glow party to celebrate in style is the perfect choice!
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1. Glow Sandwiches
At a neon party you don’t just serve sandwiches. They have to glow in the dark when exposed to black light. Since white bread is hardly reflective of UV light, we’re here presenting sandwiches with cream cheese that glows in the dark.
What you need
- White sandwich
- Cream cheese
- Powdered Vitamin B2 mixed in water
- Green food color
- Small bowl
- Spoon or fork
- Butter knife
- Sharp-edged knife
- Cookie cutters
- Colorful sprinkles
How to prepare Glow Sandwiches
Step 1:
In a small bowl stir in a teaspoonful of Vitamin B2/water mixture to every 100g cream cheese. Stir vigorously with a spoon or fork until the mixture becomes a uniform bright yellow. Add more of the mixture if needed. To create green cream cheese mix, stir in the yellow mixture some green food color with a toothpick.
Step 2:
Then spread the cream cheese paste on one side of your open sandwich. Close the sandwich. Cut into uniform rectangles or squares that are larger than the shape you will be cutting in the middle.
Step 3:
Open the sandwich again, put the side with the cream cheese on aside. Cut out shapes from the side that does not have cream cheese and gently reposition the cut sandwich on the rectangular-shaped one. Drizzle with colorful sprinkles.
How to serve
Serve your glow sandwiches on a nice serving plate or a disposable one, in highlighter pink or green.
Tag them as “Glow Sandwiches”.
Check how to make cream cheese that glows under black light in detail, here.
2. Highlighter Bites
As with glow sandwiches, these canape-like highlighter bites shine in the dark as a result of the Vitamin B2/water blend mixed into cream cheese and spread over them.
What you need
- White sandwich
- Cream cheese
- Powdered Vitamin B2 mixed in water
- Green food color
- Small bowl
- Spoon or fork
- Butter knife
- Sharp-edged knife
- Cookie cutters
- Colorful sprinkles
How to prepare Highlighter Bites
Step 1:
In a small bowl stir in a teaspoonful of Vitamin B2/water mixture to every 100g cream cheese. Stir vigorously with a spoon or fork until the mixture becomes a uniform bright yellow. Add more of the mixture if needed. To create green cream cheese mix, stir in the yellow mixture some green food color with a toothpick.
Step 2:
Use cookie cutters to cut the desired shape. Then spread the cream cheese paste on your sandwich.
Step 3:
Drizzle with your colorful sprinkles and you’ve got a tasty unicorn toast.
Pro Tip: If you’re feeling more adventures, spread the cream cheese in Step 2 in lines, in alternate colors.
How to serve
Serve your highlighter bites on a nice serving plate or a disposable one, in highlighter pink or green.
Tag them as “Highlighter Bites”.
For a detailed explanation how to make shiny cream cheese, go here.
3. Shiny Crackers
Crackers in cheese dip is a very good way to start serving food at a neon party. You simply need to get your favorite rice cracker snacks and prepare yellow and green cream cheese as described above.
As with white bread, rice crackers give a pale glow under black light. Cream cheese mixed with Vitamin B2 is what gives this item its shine when exposed to UV light.
If you want to check how safe it is to use Vitamin B2 with food, check this article here.
What you need
- White rice crackers
- Cream cheese
- Vitamin B2
- Green food color (optional)
- Highlighter plate
- 2 small bowls
How to prepare
Prepare the shiny cheese dip by blending cream cheese with Vitamin B2 mix to achieve a shiny yellowish cheese dip. If you wish you can add a tiny amount of green food coloring to a portion of the same cream cheese to get a greenish cheese dip.
5 Proven Ways To Make Food Glow In The Dark
Food items and liquids glow bright yellow under black light when a small amount of powdered vitamin B2 is added to them. Tonic water turns food blue under UV light…
How to serve
Put the small bowl filled with the cheese dip in the middle of a highlighter plate and fill the rest of the plate with rice crackers.
Tag “Shiny Crackers”.
4. Glow Rice With Meatballs
If you’re after an item that is served warm, glow rice with meatballs is our recommendation. It can however be served cold.
What you need
- White basmati rice (parboiled will do the trick if you prefer)
- Vitamin B2
- Meatballs in red sauce
How to prepare Glow Rice With Meatballs
Step 1:
Cook the white rice until tender and prepare the meatballs in red sauce.
Step 2:
Mix 1 spoon of Vitamin B2 blend to every 100ml of boiled rice to make it glow when exposed to black light.
How to serve
Use small plates or bowls to set portions of glow rice. Place a couple of meatballs on top of the rice. Do not put too many meatballs or too much red sauce on top so that most of the rice will remain visible.
Tag this item as “Glow Rice”.
5. Neon Pasta
You can make pasta shine in the dark when exposed to UV light by mixing in it our shiny cream cheese blend and some edible oil.
What you need
- Spaghetti boiled al dente
- Cream cheese blended with Vitamin B2/water mixture
- Edible oil
- Grated parmesan cheese
How to prepare Neon Pasta
Step 1:
Boil and drain well enough spaghetti (or pasta of your choice) to cater for the number of guests you have invited to your neon party. Keep in mind that this will not be the only item you will be serving, so calculate a small portion for each guest.
Step 2:
Prepare the cream cheese blended with Vitamin B2/water. It is the same mix used to spread over the sandwiches – see above for instructions.
Step 3:
Mix thoroughly the shiny cream cheese and some edible oil to the pasta.
How to serve:
For the best visual effect, use a clear glass or plastic serving bowl or pedestal bowl. You can however present it in highlighter pink or green plastic plates. Sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on each serving.
Tag this item as “Neon Pasta”.
Pro Tip 1: This pasta is served cold, so it can easily be pre-prepared and refrigerated a few hours early. As with any pasta dish, it is best served al dente.
Caution: There are some who claim that they can make pasta glow in the dark by boiling it in tonic water instead of normal tap water. We have tried it out but however achieving a very dismal result. Pasta in shiny cream cheese is the best bet.
6. Glow Dogs & Fries
Teenagers and young kids just love hot dogs and fries. For that reason alone you won’t be leaving these items from your neon party savory food menu, even if getting both of them to glow under black light is no easy feat.
No matter how much other websites claim that white bread (hot dog bun in this case), fries and ketchup glow when exposed to UV light, as a matter of fact they just offer a little bit of reflection, as can be seen in the photos below.
So for the purposes of a neon party with everything that goes with it is super shiny, you need to re-think how hot dogs and fries are going to be presented at a glow in the dark party. The solution this time round comes in the form of:
A. First by blending just a little bit of vitamin B2/water mix to the mayo and mustard, and;
B. Secondly by presenting the hot dogs in UV reflective plates and the fries in highlighter cardboard boxes.
Check our 13 Steps To A Successful Neon Party for the recommended highlighter cutlery and tableware for a neon party.
What you need
- Sausages (your favorite)
- Hot dog buns
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Mayo
- Vitamin B2 (powdered and mixed with water)
- Highlighter plates
- Highlighter boxes
How to prepare Glow Dogs and Fries
Step 1:
Use your favorite method to prepare the hot dogs or go here for some ideas. Do the same thing with fries.
Step 2:
Mix Vitamin B2 into the mayo and mustard and slather them on the glow dogs and fries. Mayo with Vitamin B2 will turn bright white under black light and mustard will reflect a yellowish/green shine.
Check how to prepare Vitamin B2 to make food stuff glow in the dark, here.
How to serve
Place the glow dogs on highlighter plates and fill the cardboard boxes with the fries.
You can download for free a cardboard box template, below under the neon popcorn section.
Tag as “Glow Dogs and Fries”.
7. Neon Pop Corn
Pop corn is another favorite for a kids’s party. It can be prepared from hours before the party kicks off or bought ready to be served.
What you need
- Pop corn
- Highlighter boxes or glowing party cups
How to prepare Neon Pop Corn
For our neon party the only way we found to make pop corn stand out in black light is to give it out in highlighter cardboard boxes as shown in the image above.
You might also consider to present the neon pop corn in these 16 oz (470ml) glowing party cups. Don’t fall for any promise made by some, that scientists have found a way to make pop corn glow bright green in the dark!
Download for free a cardboard box template below. Print or transfer the template on the back of highlighter thick paper, cut out, fold and glue the end.
Do not try to print the highlighter side with your home printer or photocopier. The ink in these machines does not reflect black light. If you print on the back of these fluorescent sheets you can be sure that your boxes will glow when exposed to UV light.
Tag this savory food item as “Neon Pop Corn”.
Free Highlighter Popcorn Box Template
The bottom line…
If you’re searching for neon party savory food ideas that glow in the dark, look no further because here we have a list of seven items that will dazzle your guests. You will also find all the steps you need to take to get to the final product.
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Hi I'm Ann
Mom to three kids, I am the proud co-founder of Easy Kids' Parties. After a career in journalism and education, I diverted my skills to creating this website, with the aim of helping all those parents out there who wish to organize amazing and memorable parties for their kids but feel overwhelmed at the idea. Discover more...
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Free Highlighter Popcorn Box Template