25 Potluck Ideas For Your Next Community Gathering

Nothing screams potluck more than a beautiful and colorful cheese board. It is everyone’s go-to party food because it does not require cooking, and there is something for everyone. 

To make a cheese board, follow the 3x3x3 formula. This means you have at least three types of cheese, three savory extras, and three sweet extras. And do not forget the crackers. 

Everyone loves loaded nachos, which is why you have to bring them to your next potluck. This popular food munchie is a great appetizer, but with all the cheesy goodness and juicy protein, some might skip the dinner and load up on the nachos.
 
Best of all, nachos are the perfect blank canvas for all your favorite toppings. You can add homemade guac and salsa or dress them up for breakfast with breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs. 

Potlucks are incomplete without creamy pasta salads. In fact, it is such a popular dish that a few people might end up bringing it,  but the more, the merrier. 

You can customize a pasta salad in any way you like. Load it with veggies for a farmer’s market style, or add salami and olives for an Italian touch. If you want something lighter, skip the mayo and make the light, vinegary variety. For more inspiration, check out our list of delicious pasta salad recipes.

Falafels are delicious finger food options for potlucks since they are vegetarian and vegan. They are deceptively easy to make, healthy, and creative appetizers. If you are in a rush, you can always buy them and pop them in the air fryer.

But if you have time to spare, you can make them at home. Falafels can be made with fava beans, chickpeas, or any beans you have on hand. They are usually deep-fried, but you can bake them in the oven for a healthier version. 

A banana zucchini bread is ideal for breakfast potlucks. These breads are universally loved. They are usually made using eggs but are replaced with shredded zucchini for the vegan version.

For this recipe, you do not have to squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini and leave it as it is. You can also add chocolate chips for extra sweetness. There are also many other zucchini bread recipes to choose from for your next potlucks.

If you have kale and basil in the fridge, make a pesto salad that everyone will love. The pesto sauce is bright, herby from the basil and kale, and salty and rich from the creamy mozzarella and crunchy toasted pine nuts.

Prepare all of the components of the salad ahead of time and ensure you keep everything separate. Toss everything together right before serving.

A mashed potato is a staple in many holiday and celebration dinners, which makes it perfect for a potluck gathering. You can prepare it last minute or two days ahead and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it.

The key to making a good mashed potato is to use the right type of potato. Most recipes recommend using Russet if you want a buttery mash or Yukon Gold if you like tender chunks.

Related: Easy 15 Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe For Every Celebration

A bruschetta is a perfect summertime snack for any potluck gathering. The combination of sweet tomatoes and crispy bread makes it a real crowd-pleaser.

For a delicious bruschetta, the key is choosing the right tomatoes. You can use juicy tomatoes, but they could make the bread soggy. The trick is to salt the tomatoes to remove excess moisture before using them. 

Top your bruschetta with other toppings, like cheese, sauteed mushrooms, or prosciutto. 

Ham and potato casserole has all the comfort foods that people love. For this recipe, you can use leftover ham, sausage links, or bacon bits, and for potatoes, use a combination of Russet and sweet.

If you want to make it a little healthier, add veggies like green beans, carrots, cauliflower, or zucchini, although this is optional. As for the cheese sauce, cheddar cheese, Monterey jack, or a Mexican cheese blend.

A spicy pulled pork sandwich is one such popular potluck dish that there will be the first to go, and there will not be any leftovers. If you are wise, you would have a bite before you take the dish to your gathering.

All it takes to make are three ingredients: a pork tenderloin, a bottle of barbecue sauce, and a can of soda like root beer, cola, or Dr. Pepper. The soda tenderizes the meat and gives it the pulled-apart texture. 

Every family has a go-to potluck dish, meaning it is so good that they are famous for it, and no one dares to bring the same dish, for they know it will never be good enough. If you are looking for such a dish, try making a creamy, cheesy, and downright yummy mac and cheese.

There are many variations to this dish. You can add jarred pimentos, chopped roasted red bell peppers, or jalapenos. And if you want to elevate your mac and cheese, use Mexican Velveeta.

Nanaimo bar is a sweet, layered bar cookie that requires no baking and is named after the Canadian city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. People liken this to an American chocolate fudge, but it is way better than that.

They have a graham crumb, coconut, and nut crust and toppings consisting of a layer of buttery custard and decadent chocolate. The combination of the chocolate, crumbly biscuit base, and velvety custard center makes it irresistible. 

While hearty dishes like pasta and sandwiches fill your stomach, bite-size small portions of snacks on an antipasto platter stimulate the appetite. Antipasto platters are a great addition to any potluck gathering.

These visually stunning platters require very little effort. Grab a board and decorate it with fruits, vegetables, cured meats, cheeses, and other pantry goodies. 

At any potluck gathering, there will be pasta, salads, and cheese boards, but rarely will you see stuffed mushrooms on the dinner table. That is because it requires a little effort, but at least no one else will show up with the same dish.

These bite-sized appetizers are absolutely delicious. A crispy, toasted mixture of panko bread crumbs, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, thyme, and cream cheese stuffed in juicy roasted mushroom caps is a guaranteed hit. 

Air Fried Cauliflowers are great as a snack, side dish, and in salads, buddha bowls, and soups. These vegetable florets are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and seasoned perfectly with a blend of savory spices. 

To get the irresistibly crunchy texture, dredge the florets in a quick panko coating. It will crisp up to a beautiful golden brown in the air fryer. The air fryer also brings out the natural sweetness, which makes it impossible to put down. 

A creamy, hot, and cheesy spinach artichoke dip is a crowd-pleaser at any gathering. The recipe is too easy to make. It just requires heating and mixing everything together. 

Like most recipes, it starts with onions and garlic and then incorporates fresh spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella, spice, and herbs. Everything melds together perfectly. You can serve with pita chips, homemade tortilla chips, crudité, or any type of crackers.

If you love dips but are not in the mood for the spinach and artichoke one, you can always make salsa and guacamole, especially if you are looking for Mexican potluck ideas.

This dip is perfect if you cannot choose between salsa and guacamole. Just mix the two together for the best of both worlds. And like the spinach artichoke dip, you can serve your salsa and guacamole with pita or homemade tortilla chips. 

If you are looking for potluck ideas for work, garlic breads are perfect. They can be consumed at any time and any meal of the day. If you do not want to go through the hassle of making fresh bread, there are plenty of fresh ones that you can buy from bakeries.

Once you have fresh bread, slather it with creamy garlic and parsley butter. And if you want to elevate your garlic bread, you can stuff garlic bread with chicken parmesan, meatballs, and beef cutlets. 

An egg dish might sound too simple for a potluck gathering, but you will be surprised when people keep coming up to you to ask for more deviled eggs recipes. This tasty treat is packed with flavor.

These eggs are hard-boiled, peeled, cut in half, and stuffed with a classic mixture of the cooked yolks mashed with mayo, mustard, and spices (typically paprika). For added texture and flavor, sprinkly crunchy bacon bits on top. 

Nothing gets as classic as a delicious chocolate cake for a potluck gathering. The gathering would be incomplete without a rich, decadent chocolate dessert.

Chocolate cake made on sheet trays is easy to make, slice into squares, and serve a crowd. It is also convenient to transport and will not be ruined even if it gets jostled a little in the car.

A tropical fruit salad is refreshing and an ideal palate cleanser after eating all the calorie and spice-laden food. It is made with delicious fruits, pudding mix, and whipped cream.

A key tip in making this salad is to choose fruits that do not brown easily, like apples and bananas. You can use them if you like, but add them to the salad right before serving. 

Raspberry bars are perfect for any kind of occasion, from potlucks and family lunch gatherings to picnics and barbecues. They can be prepared within 20 minutes and are scrumptious when served cold. 

Sweet, juicy raspberries are sandwiched between two layers of buttery oat crumble and drizzled with silky sweet-tart lemon glaze. If you do not have fresh raspberries, you can use a jam. 

If you are looking for slow cooker potluck ideas, an instant pot chili might be a great option. It is a hearty and comforting dish full of punchy flavors from ground beef, beans, classic chili spices, and all the other toppings.  

Once you finish the mise en place, you cook everything in the slow cooker. The Instant pot chili or a crock pot chili will cook in a fraction of the time compared to cooking on the stovetop.

Is there anything not to love about chicken empanadas? Tender and juicy shredded chicken and soft potatoes are flavored with cumin, garlic, and chili powder. 

This mixture is then wrapped in flaky homemade empanada dough that crisps to a beautiful golden brown once you bake it in the oven.

Once you bite into these empanadas, the aroma and the crunch will have you swooning. For your next potluck, definitely consider bringing chicken empanadas.

Sausage rolls are the perfect potluck appetizers. They are quick and easy to put together if you use store-bought puff pastry. The pastry needs to be thawed for this dish.

You can use any kind of sausage you like because once it is wrapped in the puff pastry and baked to golden brown in the oven, it will be addictive.