Potlucks and large gatherings mean shared plates, casseroles, dips, and slices. When home cooks are tasked with bringing one dish to a get-together, it’s human nature to fall back on old favorites, or dishes that have been popular with everyone in the past. It doesn’t have to be this way! You can get creative – even with familiar ingredients and comfort food staples – and breathe life into shared recipes so that your bake, salad, or dessert becomes the talk of the room and a must-try meal.
11 Super Shareable Dishes for Gatherings and Potlucks is a collection featuring variations on familiar comfort dishes, alongside recipes that you might not have considered taking to events before. They are all delicious and are also extremely well suited to sharing amongst guests. If you haven’t tried them out before, give them a go and see what happens!
Every potluck or gathering should be contractually obligated to provide a potato back of some kind! Most potato gratin dishes take an hour or so to cook in the oven, however this Perfect Potluck Potato Bake version cuts oven time down to just 30 minutes. The trick is simmering the potatoes in the cream on the stovetop first, so by the time they head to the oven they’re already partially cooked and infused with flavor. You can taste and season the sauce as you go, so you can be sure that the dish that comes out of the oven has the perfect flavor.
Easy Chicken Enchiladas is a recipe you can’t help but fall in love with. They have classic flavor, yet use just six ingredients, including rotisserie chicken and store bought enchilada sauce. It’s a brilliant, inexpensive recipe for gatherings and potlucks, so you can make a couple of these dishes in mere minutes, then cook them as needed. The key to this simple, but delicious enchilada recipe: heat the tortillas before filling them, if they are pliable they don’t break!
A bright, fresh succotash salad mixes up a variety of veggies into a zesty side dish, enlivened by the texture and salty taste of crispy bacon bits. Using frozen veggie makes for quicker, simpler cooking, with little effect on the dish’s overall flavor. Crispy Bacon Succotash is versatile too – you can cook it up the night before a function or party and it’s just as impactful on the next day’s table!
Not a lot of prep, a little bit of oven time, and you get a classic comforting baked pasta dinner that everyone will gravitate towards when they can see, smell, and taste it. Sour Cream Baked Ziti is a little bit of a creamy, tangy twist on traditional ziti, but it still tastes like the baked ziti you know and love – a reliable, comforting oven bake that won’t last long on the table!
I’m all for a chicken noodle bake that sets itself apart from the rest because there’s not a can of soup in sight. Chicken Noodle Mushroom Casserole is creamy as can be, using a roux to thicken up a mixture of chicken stock, milk, heavy cream, and sour cream to form a perfectly balanced sauce loaded with richness and flavor. It’s also chock full of earthy, savory mushrooms that add depth to the dish – I’m not a mushroom guy (not even a little bit), yet this recipe is a winner I can enjoy time and again!
As far as sweet/nut baking combinations go, maple and pecan is right at the top of the list for deliciousness. Maple Pecan Blondies are sweet, chewy, and full of pecan nuttiness that mingles nicely with the rich, deep flavor of maple. There’s plenty of chopped pecans in the batter, plus more nuts sprinkled on top to add some crunchiness. Make sure to use pure maple syrup in the baking, as artificially flavored syrups don’t add the same yummy sweetness throughout each slice.
Oven Baked Italian Meatballs is an almost perfect quick recipe: unbelievably tasty yet simple, with little clean up at all during the process. The traditional ingredients provide a delightfully warm and herby flavor further accentuated by the sharpness of parmesan, in the mixture and over the top of the meatballs. You can make these easy meatballs with any variation of meat, herbs and spices, and get delicious results in no time at all.
If you’re considering an interesting yet simple to make shared plate for a potluck or gathering, I would be quick to recommend this delightful recipe for Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls. It’s a simple and speedy method, each roll filled with delicious ingredients such as fresh mint, cilantro, and a warming chili sauce. The combination of flavors help make the shrimp taste lively and exciting, plus you can make a whole lot of them in quick time to feed guests!
What’s a big get together or potluck without the familiar taste of French onion in a bake or casserole – there’s a can or two saved in just about everyone’s pantry! A traditional comfort food classic ideal for sharing, this French Onion Chicken Bake is hot and filling, featuring the familiar and delicious combination of chicken, earthy onions, and bubbling shredded cheese. Make sure that if you’re taking this one to a potluck, that there’s plenty of it because the bake will be snapped up quickly once it’s uncovered!
I’m here for any recipe that fully utilizes a sauce proclaimed as “The top tailgating recipe of the south.” Captain Rodney’s Cheese Dip is a fantastic addition to parties and gatherings – it’s a uniquely delicious dip that works well amongst other shared plates and snacks. Sweet and gently spicy with a buttery, cheesy soul (and bacon!) it’s a dip that you won’t need to prompt your guests to try, they’ll all be queuing up for a taste.
Pesto Lasagna Rolls are a great time-saving riff on the traditional Italian pasta dish that is often deployed in potlucks and family get-togethers. These Lasagna rolls are quick and easy to put together – you can effectively use store bought ingredients – and they taste yummy! It’s a simple and inexpensive recipe that you can expand on to make in bulk for lots of people.
Conclusion
Potlucks and gathering need not feature the same recipes time and again – even with traditional recipes you can innovate and create shared plates that will be talk of everyone attending. You don’t need to get wild when you can use these excellent, interesting recipes that use familiar ingredients!
