Our Best Potluck Recipes

Layer a tomato-bean mixture, cheese and tortillas for a casserole with south-of-the-border flavor. Let each guest top their portion with chopped tomato, shredded lettuce, green onions, olives and/or sour cream.

Tortilla-Black Bean Casserole

This six-ingredient hotdish recipe from an Appleton, Wisconsin, reader features bratwurst, cheddar cheese and potatoes. "It's a quick, easy recipe," our reader says. "There's not much you can mess up."

Cheesy Brat Casserole

A backyard garden's worth of colorful summer veggies fill this beautiful potluck salad. The toasted bread chunks absorb the dressing and juices from the tomatoes; you won't believe how delicious they taste! 

Panzanella (Bread Salad) with Summer Vegetables 

Cilantro Ranch Dressing tops a flavorful blend of jicama, multigrain tortilla chips, avocado, black beans, queso fresco and greens. 

Fresh Taco Salad

Graham cracker crumbs, cream cheese and blueberry pie filling turn yellow cake mix into a whimsical twist on a favorite dessert. The idea comes from Designer Desserts Bakery in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Try this sweet, colorful salsa—made with tomato, mango and melon—over chips, fish or chicken.

Tropical Tomato Salsa

Prep juicy, tender pulled pork in your slow cooker. Low-calorie barbecue sauce and whole wheat buns help make this a healthier potluck option.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Fresh ginger and red pepper flakes add welcome zing, but the real surprise here is napa (aka Chinese) cabbage. Cara Mangini, of Little Eater in Columbus, Ohio, likes it for slaws because it's more tender than ordinary cabbage but still holds up better than lettuce. 

Sweet and Spicy Cabbage and Peanut Slaw 

Uncooked ramen noodles, almonds and sunflower kernels add crunch to this salad from a Dubuque, Iowa, reader. It was one of the winners in a Midwest Living® potluck recipe contest. 

Oriental Coleslaw

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What's the secret to keeping this pasta casserole as healthy as it is cozy? Lean turkey sausage, whole wheat pasta and just a sprinkling of cheese.

Baked Ratatouille Sausage Penne

Mix and match different kinds of beans and meat to suit your preferences. Our smoky-sweet baked beans will beat canned beans every time!

Sassy Baked Beans

These moist, easy brownies get a little extra crunch from a topping of toffee pieces.

Toffee Bars

This classic potluck dessert includes a crushed pretzel crust, a layer of sweetened cream cheese, and a top layer of strawberry gelatin and strawberries. 

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Combine Italian meatballs, three kinds of cheese, pasta and sauce for this easy, crowd-pleasing casserole.

Cheesy Italian Meatball Casserole

This sweet, radish-studded potato salad recipe was handed down from a Cosmos, Minnesota, grandmother to her twin granddaughters.

Grandma's Potato Salad

These cookies come with a friendly warning: Chewy caramel, toasted pecans and a flurry of sea salt will make you popular. Very popular. A product called caramel bits gives these cookies great flavor and chewy texture. Some supermarkets carry them, and they’re widely available online. (Search for Kraft Caramel Bits.) Take care to follow recipe directions when baking: caramel bits melt quickly.

Salty Caramel and Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

Here's a somewhat lightened version of a popular potato casserole recipe that's great for brunch, dinner or a potluck.

Hash Brown Casserole

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Red and yellow cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, and plenty of herbs and spices add color and flavor to this bountiful pasta salad. Sprinkle fresh basil on top.

Roasted Tomato Pasta with Mozzarella

Lemon Butter Frosting tops a summer-perfect cake flavored with thawed lemonade concentrate.

Lemonade Cake

This cilantro-flecked confetti salad from Little Eater in Columbus, Ohio, can be served at any temperature. The Southwest-inspired dressing is mild, so the flavors of just-picked sweet corn and peppers shine through.

Sweet Corn and Black Bean Succotash 

A Cleveland reader makes this potluck salad the day ahead and refrigerates the dressing and vegetables separately. When it's time to serve it, she tosses everything together. Bacon, sunflower kernels and raisins make a crunchy and flavorful side dish.

Sunny Broccoli Salad

Make a new bean salad for your next potluck with this fresh, easy combo of a sweet-tangy sauce with white beans, ham and green peppers.

BBQ White Beans with Peppers

Just add mayonnaise and cooked shrimp to purchased dip for this easy party treat.

Garlic Shrimp Dip

Serve this old-fashioned potluck dish warm.

German Potato Salad

Peanut butter and chocolate meet for a sweet treat in this recipe from a Cedarburg, Wisconsin, reader who likes to make these bar cookies for potluck gatherings.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

We've seen a lot of dips through the years, but we've never forgotten this one -- juicy veggies, tangy olive tapenade and feta piled on a thick layer of hummus. We like to make it ahead and serve it with warm toasted pita wedges. 

Mediterranean Eight-Layer Dip

Layers of corn bread, bacon and veggies ensure a flavor-packed salad that adds plenty of color to a potluck table.

Mississippi Corn Bread Salad

Pair Mexican flavors with pasta for this comfort-food casserole that includes sausage, salsa and Monterey Jack cheese.

Mexican Mac and Cheese

For this party-special cupcake, combine white cake mix, orange-flavor gelatin, orange juice, and cheesecake-flavor instant pudding and pie filling mix. Cream cheese frosting gets a flavor punch from orange gelatin and shredded orange peel.

Orange Cream Pop Cupcakes

Combine two potluck staples to create this yummy potluck salad. Expect classic deviled egg flavor with a little zing from the Dijon-style mustard and salty pickled onions.

Deviled Egg Macaroni Pasta Salad

Zesty lemon peel adds zing to this fruit bar cookie; almond extract and brown sugar give it extra sweetness.

Cherry Crumble Pie Bars

Sweet pepper and spinach bring lots of vitamins A and C to this Tex-Mex layered meal-in-a-dish.

Chicken Taco Casserole

A simple red wine vinegar dressing makes this pasta salad side dish lower in fat and calories than most deli pasta salads.

Italian Pasta Salad

Combine sweetened Brie and cream cheese with fresh blueberries for this no-bake dessert designed for single-serving cups.

Out-and-About Cheesecake

Graham crackers form the base for this bar cookie with layers of marshmallows, brown sugar, almonds and coconut. "I've made these cookies since 1984," says Georgine Simmonds of Genesee, Michigan. "They're one of my family's favorites."

Caramel Heavenlies

This inventive salad features fresh sweet corn, blueberries, cucumber and jalapeño. Double or triple the recipe if you’re serving a crowd.

Corn-Blueberry Salad

This taco-flavored main dish is a potluck favorite from a Fargo, North Dakota, reader. Serve it with tortilla chips so your guests can scoop and eat.

Mexican Biscuit Casserole

Combine edamame and avocado with basil pesto, lemon juice and chopped tomato for this easy potluck dip. 

Edamame-Avocado Dip

Vanilla ice cream, gooey fudge sauce and peanuts sit on a chewy rice-cereal crust. Trust us, it’s out of this world—perfect for potlucks or family dinners.

Peanut Butter-Fudge Pie

Swirl a mixture of cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla into rich brownie batter for this classic twist on a chocolate treat.

Marbled Cream-Cheese Brownies

Our five-ingredient sorbet is an instant antidote to summer's scorch—and so pretty, too! The recipe works with most melons, berries or citrus fruits, and you can make it in an ice cream maker or refrigerator freezer. Plus, it's fat free!

Any-Fruit Sorbet 

For more delicious potluck recipe ideas, click on any link below!