“When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.” -J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
This September 22nd (Sunday) is an important day.
It’s the Autumnal Equinox for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere (and spring for those of you in the South!). It’s Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ birthday. It’s the official start date of my annual Lord of the Rings read-through.
What better day to start reading LOTR together than on Hobbit Day?!
As someone who lives for all things fall and as a massive Tolkien fan, it thrills me to no end to know that celebrating some of my great loves all coincide on the same day. But then the question becomes, how to celebrate?! My answer: FOOD.
Whether you’re welcoming the change of seasons, want some comfort food to accompany thee first day of reading LOTR, or you’re just looking for a good reason to celebrate Tolkien’s work, I’ve put together a list of recipes and links from my own Hobbit Day menu to help you make at least one delicious meal or dessert for this special day.
I hope you get to enjoy eating whatever you make in a way that brings you peace and joy—whether that’s in the company of loved ones or a quiet meal by yourself.
Note to free subscribers: the Lord of the Rings read-through with the Middle-earth Monday weekly check-ins and deeper dives will be for paid subscribers only. I will still be doing brief check-ins for the read-through on social media, but if you want access to the full experience of reading The Lord of the Rings with the group, consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Either way, I’m honored you’re here.
Before I share what’s on my Hobbit Day menu, a small caveat: This post is lengthy, but that’s only because I wanted to give as many ideas as possible to celebrate this special day at your table.
However you can celebrate, I’d love for you to cozy up with something yummy and start reading Lord of the Rings with me this September 22nd!
Hobbit Day Menu Inspiration
Breakfast: waffles, bacon, eggs, coffee.
This is pretty straightforward so I’m not sharing any specific recipes. Our family likes eggs all different sorts of ways (boiled, fried, sunny side up and scrambled). And I’m not too fussy with my waffles. I use the Krusteaz Belgian Waffle box mixes and they turn out great! (I’ve also used the King Arthur gluten-free pancake box mix to make waffles and they were perfect!).
Second Breakfast: quiche
My recipe for quiche:
Make your own pie crust OR if you’re like me, you can buy the pre-made crusts in the freezer section at the grocery to bake home. Marie Callendar brand are my favorite for savory bakes!
Bake your crust
Cook bacon
In a largish bowl, mix together 8 eggs, diced bacon (if you’re adding it), as much cheese as you prefer (greek yogurt or kefir are good substitutes too) and use garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt to season.
Pour this mixture over your baked crust and pop back into the oven at 375 degrees anywhere from 35-40 minutes depending on how firm you want your quiche.
Once it’s finished, slice up and serve.
This quiche also keeps really well in the fridge and reheats beautifully so you can do what I usually do and make it the day before!
Elevensies: banana bread with coffee/hot chocolate
This one is simple, just tap here for this easy banana bread recipe (the only one I ever use because it’s perfect) and while you’re there, just get lost in all of Robyn’s incredible recipes. Everything I’ve made from her site is ridiculously good.
Luncheon: dairy free potato soup + crusty bread
Because you can’t have Hobbit Day without PO-TAY-TOES, right?!
I’m keeping things very low capacity and bought my sourdough loaf to pair with the soup at the grocery store.
And the potato soup I have has been my go-to for a few years now. I found it because I’m lactose intolerant but my family says they can’t tell the difference between this one and ‘normal’ potato soup loaded with cheese because it’s so full of flavor. And of course, you can always add cheese if you’re able to (enjoy it for me! 😉)
Before I share the recipe I use for potato soup, I will say I modified it quite a bit. You can find all my notes on the recipe below, and you can click here to see the original recipe for yourself.
Potato Soup Recipe Notes
Start by frying up bacon. Of course, it's optional. But, in my opinion, this potato soup needs a crispy salty texture added in with all the creaminess. We like thick cut bacon.
While you're keeping a close eye on the bacon, go ahead and finely dice up a yellow onion and a couple cloves of garlic. Again, the original recipe only calls for garlic powder. I used both and loved the flavor so much more.
Once the bacon is done, dump the hot grease in a mug (you're going to use some of it later) while saving a small amount in the skillet to sauté your onions and garlic cloves with.
At this point, go ahead and dice your potatoes. Please use the Gold Petite kind. You don't have to peel them and they are so flavorful on their own. I promise you'll thank me. I used two or three 24 oz. bags. Boil the potatoes in the chicken stock as instructed.
While you're bringing the potatoes and chicken stock to a boil, sauté the onions and garlic cloves in hot bacon grease. For some reason, having the onions sautéed isn’t mentioned in the first bit of instruction, but it is later on. Don't miss this step like I did the first time!
Blend everything together like the recipe says. This is where I also start adding in my spices (salt, pepper, fennel, cayenne pepper, garlic powder). These are all to taste, I don’t usually measure.
The recipe says only save out 1 cup of potatoes to not blend. But I saved a whole bowlful because I like my soup chunky.
Afternoon Tea: warm comfort drinks of choice + baked treats
We’ll keep this light and probably just try out some new teas and/or coffee with a special yummy bake for the kids.
Dinner: charcuterie board
While mine won’t be anywhere near as elaborate as this one we made for a family gathering a while back, I still plan on making a ‘family of four’ version that we can snack on to tide us over ‘til supper.
Supper: pot roast with vegetables + buttered green beans
You can use whatever recipe you want for your roast but as for me and my house I got one of those roast kits at the grocery store (have you picked up on my ‘keep it simple’ theme yet?).
I’ll be going in the crock pot to simmer throughout the day and probably toasting up another loaf of bread to go with it.
Desserts:
I say, do whatever would make you happy for dessert. I’ll include a few different options ranging from simple to the more elaborate. Have fun with this!
Another option is this double chocolate cake (pictured above, again from Robyn). It is admittedly a bit more of a time commitment, but having made it myself, I can say the extra effort is 100% worth it to enjoy this decadent masterpiece.
Try out some kind of variation of this dessert charcuterie board (with caramel and marshmallow dip) we made one for a family gathering awhile back. It was absolutely ridiculous in the best way.
This salted chocolate chip cookie recipe is also an amazing option. I usually make a dozen for our small family to eat and freeze the dough in two batches to pop in the oven if we ever want a quick treat.
And there you have it, a full day’s menu to inspire your celebration of this day in whatever way works for you. If you don’t end up doing anything special for ‘Hobbit Day’, don’t fret over it.
This day is supposed to be light-hearted and fun but if the idea of putting something together like this feels overwhelming, you’re allowed to celebrate with a simple cup of tea in a cozy chair somewhere, that totally counts too! (living with a chronic illness means I’m holding all these grand menu plans loosely myself, I get it).
Either way, I will be picking up The Fellowship of the Ring to begin our journey together on September 22nd and I’d love for you to join me.
Meet you in Middle-earth!
psst….if you want to know exactly what paid subscribers are getting and how this year’s read-through is going to work, just click here.
What a fun celebration! Happy Day!
Aww the picture of your family all dressed up is so cute