Do you have an upcoming event that calls for everyone to bring a dish? Stand out from the sea of pasta salads and mac-n-cheese by bringing one of our three favorite no-fail potluck recipes!
Planning for a Potluck
Hosting a potluck might just be the best idea ever…you have others share the load of feeding an army (sometimes literal), and everyone takes home their dirty serving dishes at the end of the party!
When it comes to being invited to a potluck, on the other hand, it is easy to get stumped on what to bring. Before settling on an idea, be sure to check with the host to see if there is a theme or a sign-up sheet to respect. You do not want to show up with Swedish meatballs to a fiesta-themed event, or be the 10th breakfast casserole to walk through the door! Once the parameters are known, have fun and pick a dish that you would want to try! Below, we’ve listed three no-fail potluck recipes that have won rave reviews at birthday parties, unit functions, and hail and farewells alike!
Raspberry White Chocolate Bars
Desserts are always a hit at potlucks, but we’ve been to a ton where the dessert table consists entirely of plates of various chocolate chips cookies. (NOTE: We are not hating on chocolate chip cookies, they are a fave around here! They are so popular, in fact, that everyone likes to make their version for parties, which leads to little variety.) Fight the urge to compete with Great-Granny June’s and Second-Cousin Annie’s “famous” recipes, and bring a heaping plate of these raspberry white chocolate bars instead! They feature a layer of shortbread topped with raspberry preserves, white chocolate chips, and shortbread crumble. Want to know the best part about this recipe? You can easily swap out the raspberry preserves for another flavor, such as cherry, peach, blueberry, or even fig jam!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 50 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1.5 cups sugar granulated
- 1.5 cups butter softened
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 4 cups flour all-purpose
- 2 eggs
- 1 18 oz. jar raspberry preserves
- 5 oz. white chocolate chips
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer, beat together sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla on medium speed for 1 min. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, until combined. Reserve 1 cup of this crumb mixture aside for the topping.
- Add the eggs to the remaining dough and mix on low speed until well combined. Press the mixture evenly into a nonstick 9”x13” pan and bake for 30 mins.
- Remove the pan from the oven and spread the shortbread with the raspberry preserves. Top preserves with the white chocolate chips and reserved crumb mixture. Bake for an additional 20-25 mins. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.
Warm German Potato Salad
This, by far, is one of the most requested side dish recipes we have! We often serve this warm potato salad in our regular dinner rotation, but it can easily be made in mass for a crowd! Aside from the bacon (because bacon makes everything taste better, amiright?!?!), the game-changing ingredient is the apple cider vinegar. That, paired with dijon mustard, gives the potatoes just the right amount of tanginess that sets them apart from traditional mayo-based counterparts. Since it lacks mayo, this potato salad holds up extremely well in a potluck environment. We think it is best served warm, but it’s also great at room temperature, or even chilled!
| Prep Time | 20 mins. |
| Cook Time | 20 mins. |
| Servings |
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- 2 lbs potatoes white or yellow
- 10 slices bacon
- 6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar granulated
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2-1 tsp salt + more for boiling
- 1/2-1 tsp black pepper
- 2-3 tbsp fresh parsley minced
Ingredients
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- Scrub the potatoes and cut into 1 1/2" chunks, keeping skin intact. Add to a pot of cold salted water and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of one of the pieces comes out easily. Drain the potatoes, then return to the pot, off the heat.
- While the potatoes are boiling, add the bacon to a skillet and cook on medium heat until crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain.
- Drain all but 2-3 tbsp of bacon fat and discard. To the bacon fat remaining in the skillet, add the apple cider vinegar, sugar, dijon, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Turn the heat down to low and whisk contents together, cooking for 1 minute. Crumble the bacon and add back into the skillet along with the drained potatoes and chopped parsley. Gently stir until the potatoes are well coated. Taste, adding additional salt and pepper, if needed. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.
- This potato salad tastes best when served warm, but it is also great at room temperature or chilled!
- The amount of salt needed for the dressing will depend on how heavily the water is salted for boiling the potatoes. You can start out with a small amount of salt and add more as needed to suit your taste!
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
If you are a fan of a slightly sweet chicken salad, then this is the recipe for you! We like to think that we found just the right balance of sweet and savory, all while keeping it on the lighter side. Instead of a full-fat mayo, we use half Greek yogurt and half olive oil mayo. Because it’s packed with lots of fruit, nuts, and fresh lemon juice, we promise that even the pickiest of eaters won’t notice the healthy substitutions! This can be made the day before the potluck, then served in a bowl with sliced croissants on the side so everyone can build their own sandwiches!
| Prep Time | 35 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 lb chicken breast
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup olive oil mayo
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup green seedless grapes quartered
- 1/3 cup red onion minced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries chopped
- 1/4 cup candied walnuts chopped
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt + more to taste
- to taste freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/8 tsp celery salt
- 4 croissants
Ingredients
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- Place a pot of salted water on the stove on medium-high heat. Cut each chicken breast in half, then add to the pot. Bring the water to a boil, cooking the chicken for 15-20 minutes, or until just cooked through to the center. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, cut the grapes into quarters, mince the onion, and chop the cranberries and walnuts into smaller pieces. Set aside.
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, use two forks (or your fingers) to pull apart the chicken into small shredded pieces. Place the chicken in a large bowl, then add the Greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, grapes, red onion, cranberries, walnuts, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, and celery salt. Stir until well combined, then taste, adding additional salt and pepper, if desired. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Slice the croissants in half and fill with the chicken salad. Enjoy!
- The chicken can be boiled in advance and stored in the fridge for a day or so before assembling!
- Candied walnuts can be found in the nut/snack aisle!
- Regular mayo can be substituted for the olive oil may using the same ratio.
Taking your potluck dish to a tailgate? Kick it up a notch, and Host the Ultimate Tailgate.
Photo Credit: Christina Carter
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