Potluck Recipes to Please a Crowd

Easy Baked Brie — The Spruce / Cara Cormack

A hot bath, 800 thread count bed sheets, the color black: All of these are all timeless, simple pleasures, and if you ask us, so are potlucks. After all, how can a get-together with friends and food really be overplayed? These recipes represent many cuisines and preferences while being affordable and easy to make. So get inspired for your next potluck and browse through our batch of curated recipes.

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Homemade Ginger Ale

The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

This ginger ale is as refreshing as it is simple to make, only requiring ginger syrup, lemon or lime, and carbonated water. If you love the idea of making homemade sodas, we recommend you purchase a soda maker. It’s not only more economical in the long run, but also saves on plastic waste.
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Rosé Sangria

The Spruce / S&C Design Studios

Potlucks aren’t complete without a tasty drink option or two. If you’re looking for a boozy recipe, this rosé sangria will hold you down. This recipe calls for a dry rosé,
which will be readily balanced by the sweetness in the fruits and added sugar. Though, if the season isn’t right for berries or you’re feeling a different vibe, follow this guide on how to mix up any sangria.
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Baked Brie

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Two words: baked Brie. This recipe takes the concept of a charcuterie board and condenses it down to the cheese, which let's be honest, is mostly what we care about anyways. Simply add bread crisps, a crunchy topping like roasted nuts, and something sweet to round it all out. Since the Brie is the focus of this dish, consider going to a cheese counter with knowledgeable employees.
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Air Fryer Mac and Cheese Balls

An air fryer is essentially a convection oven, which cooks food faster and more evenly by circulating the heat inside. That said, these air fryer mac and cheese balls are perfect for anyone who’s prepping their potluck offering last minute. The recipe calls for a creamy dipping sauce, but you can also whip up a tomato barbecue or chogochujang sauce for a sweet and spicy foil.

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Curry Roasted Cauliflower

The Spruce / Ana Zelic

Roasting is a high heat cooking technique that blisters and caramelizes vegetables to perfection. With this in mind, you really can’t steer wrong with this curry roasted cauliflower. It’s tasty, fuss-free to prepare, and easily scalable for crowds. Just ensure to invest in a good curry powder since there are few ingredients in this dish.
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Garden Pesto Pasta Salad

The Spruce

This garden pasta salad is a balance between fresh flavors and creamy ingredients, like pesto and mayonnaise. This recipe requires both minimal effort and cooking, primarily relying on an array of raw vegetables to do the heavy lifting. That said, this is the sort of salad you want to put together at the last minute because otherwise, all the water in the vegetables will escape, leaving you with a soggy salad. No one likes a soggy salad so a little extra planning, in this case, is well worth the effort.
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Baked Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

From sauerkraut, braised cabbage, to stuffing for blintzes, the pantheon of Eastern European cuisine truly knows how to give cabbage life. So if using this hearty and
affordable vegetable appeals to you, why not give baked and stuffed cabbage rolls a
spin? One key difference amongst recipes is that sauces fluctuate between sweet
and tangy, so keep this in mind when measuring out your vinegar and sugar.
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Korean Potato Salad

The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

Potato salad is a classic staple in both American and German kitchens, but other cultures have gotten hip to the game, too. Korean potato salad adds a few unexpected ingredients, including diced apple and cucumber. It’s great for those who may be tired of their well-worn potato salad recipe but still want to please a crowd.

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Thai Green Mango Salad

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

In the unabating heat of Thailand, the green mango salad offers a respite. Green, or underripe, mango is crunchy and mild in flavor, making it a lovely base to layer on other ingredients. If you’d like to make the recipe vegan, you can still give this salad a punch of umami by swapping out the fish sauce for miso paste. And if you’re not able to track down mango, green papaya or even jicama works well.
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Fattoush

The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

Fattoush is the Middle Eastern expression of reviving stale bread into something
delicious. Classically, pita is used, but you can use any bread you see fit. The important factor is that the bread actually absorbs some of the dressing—that is to say, the bread isn’t a garnish but the star of the show. To really give your Fattoush authenticity (and flavor) points, sprinkle a bit of sumac over the finished dish.
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Mango Sticky Rice

The Spruce

Mango sticky rice is the ultimate Thai treat. It only requires coconut milk, sugar, glutinous rice, and ripe mango, but it doesn’t need anything more. Some versions are partially or entirely made with black sticky rice, imparting a purple hue on the dish, and generally yellow mangos like Ataulfo are preferred for this recipe.
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Bacon Broccoli Salad

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Between bacon, mayonnaise, broccoli, and raisins, this salad is a perfect balance between flavors and textures. What’s more, it’s easy to prepare and can easily be adapted to fit exact preferences. For example, you can swap out the bacon for one of its cousins or use sour cream instead of the mayonnaise. You could even dice an apple instead of using raisins. The point being, with this recipe, it’s more useful to think of its flavor structure than to follow it to the “T”.

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Chicken Empanadas

The Spruce

Empanadas belong to Latin America, but they can look quite different depending on the country or region. With their light and fluffy crust, these chicken empanadas are similar to recipes belonging to Argentina or Chile. You can make your own dough, but you don’t need to—store-bought pie dough will work just as well.
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Moroccan Zaalouk

The Spruce / Ashlae Warner

Moroccan zaalouk requires just a few ingredients, namely eggplant and tomatoes. Though by simmering them on high heat, the sugars in both the eggplant and tomatoes caramelize slightly, deepening their flavors. Serve it with the bread of your choice, whether it’s a crusty baguette or a Moroccan-style pita.
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Crab Rangoon Dip

Leah Maroney

It’s certainly not an authentic Chinese dish, but crab Rangoon is irresistible. Consider this recipe a deconstructed version of the Chinese takeout favorite, decreasing prep time. If you’re concerned about our oceans, read up on some more sustainable seafood choices or substitute the crab with seitan, tempeh, or a different animal protein, such as chicken.
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Turkish Poğaça

The Picture Pantry / Getty Images

As both the crossroads of many cultures and the center of the former Ottoman Empire, Turkey carries a deep and varied food tradition. Poğaça, or stuffed rolls, are a savory treat that is often enjoyed for breakfast in Turkey. This version calls for just feta cheese and a few herbs, but you can also add pork cracklings or cabbage to the fold while still keeping things authentic.

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Philly Cheesesteak Sliders

The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

As a Philly native, there’s only a select number of ways to order a cheesesteak: “wit” or “witout”. This can imply with or without onions, cheese whiz, provolone, or American cheese. Other than that, this sandwich is uncomplicated and delicious. Make it mini and bring cheesesteak sliders to your next potluck.
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Curry Puffs

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Curry puffs require just a few ingredients, leaning on a high-quality curry powder to tie flavors together. You can buy the dough to speed things along or make your own puffy pastry if it appeals. Aside from the beef and potato this recipe calls for, you can swap in spinach, caramelized onions, or cooked garbanzo beans.
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Instant Pot Meatballs

The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

Instant Pot recipes are convenient but they don’t require you to compromise on flavor or quality. To this end, Instant Pot meatballs fit right in at a potluck since they’re both universally liked and can be enjoyed as a small portion. You can bake or pick up rolls as provisions for a sandwich, or simply bring toothpicks so the crowd can readily serve themselves.
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Mini Taco Bites

The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

These truly bite-sized appetizers have all of the flavors you crave, but are much, much cuter. Plus, since they can be eaten in one bite, they won't make a mess. Customize these as you see fit, swapping out the meat for ground turkey, add cheese or beans, or ditch the crema for avocado. Serve with other fun Tex-Mex dishes like guacamole and margaritas.

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Party Ham Rolls

The Spruce / Wanda Abraham

Party sandwiches are a must at potluck parties. These popular little ham sandwiches are delicious and an essential party fare across the Southern states. They can easily be assembled in advance, stashed in the refrigerator, and then popped into the oven just before serving. Then, in a mere 15 minutes, you will have delicious, pull-apart mini-sandwiches oozing with melty cheese.
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Funfetti Cake Bars With Chocolate Glaze

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

This funfetti bars are made from scratch with no box mix. The recipe is still super simple, but the flavor has a better homemade taste. The end result is crispy exterior and soft moist center that sends these nostalgic treats off the charts.
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Pastelitos de Dulce de Leche

The Spruce

These little bites of pastry filled with dulce de leche are a special treat. Pastelitos de dulce de leche are so delicious you will want to make a whole batch of pastry dough dedicated only to these little cookies. When the leaking dulce de leche pools around the pastries in the oven, it gives them a delicious candy crunch on the bottom.

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