Memorial Day Potluck Recipes

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

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.

Fresh herbs season this ridiculously simple spread from BelGioioso Cheese in Wisconsin. It keeps well in the fridge and is delicious with cherry tomatoes or other vegetable dippers, as well as crackers or baguette slices.R

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

A crisp shortbread crust holds orange pastry cream in this recipe from Allison Gnade and Thomas Agran of Burrowing Owl Bakery, who have established themselves as a fixture at Iowa City's downtown farmers market. They would scatter the berries casually on top, but we couldn't resist stripes.

This comfort food hotdish offers a new twist on the usual hash brown casserole. Try it for everyday meals as well as potlucks!

Joann Gough-Stallbaumer of Topeka uses Kansas top sirloin steak and a horseradish-mayo dipping sauce in her prizewinning recipe.

Mix buttery pound cake, creamy vanilla pudding, soft cream cheese, and fresh berries for a rich comfort-food dessert. To trim calories, try making it with angel food cake, fat-free pudding, and low-fat or fat-free cream cheese.

Southside Minneapolis is home to this three-napkin burger famous for its molten cheese center. Both Matt's Bar and the 5-8 Club claim its creation. No matter the lineage, it's burgerlicious.

Fresh basil in the dressing lends a hint of pesto-inspired sophistication to this mayo-rich pasta salad.

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

A little chopped ham, wedges of potatoes and a cream cheese-Gruyère sauce fill this comfort food casserole. Crushed bagel chips make a crunchy topping.

Lime- and jalapeño-spiced guacamole adds a kick to layers of refried beans, cheese, tomatoes and onions. Serve seasoned tortilla chips on the side.

Sour cream, prepared horseradish and a splash of lemon juice spice up traditional mashed potatoes. 

The key to a perfect homemade brownie is not overcooking it. Rather than a toothpick test, trust your eyes and nose to tell you when the brownie is set. The center will stay ever-so-slightly moist.

We gave this popular veggie a new twist with a hint of ginger, some kick from black pepper and a finish of nutty sesame oil and seeds.

Although it sounds like it would be burn-your-mouth-hot, the five-spice powder in this fall comfort food is actually a mild blend that commonly consists of star anise, anise seed, cloves, cinnamon and ginger.

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

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

Tossing the cherries and blueberries with a little sugar draws out the juices. The sweet syrup is a perfect complement to the flaky, sconelike shortcakes. The dough for these shortcakes will be sticky. To easily cut out the star shapes, dip the cutter in flour between each cut.

A lively ginger marinade flavors chicken pieces on their way to the grill. The recipe is a backyard favorite of Linda Taylor of West Des Moines, Iowa.

Flax seed meal, wheat germ, dark chocolate and dried cranberries bring a healthy touch to this drop cookie recipe.

Uncooked ramen noodles, almonds and sunflower kernels add crunch to this salad, a potluck classic. 

Top burgers with a spoonful of homemade pimiento cheese, or stuff the burgers with cheese before grilling. The recipe also gives an alternative for grinding your own burgers from hanger steaks.

Michigan's fruit belt inspired our Cherry-Berry Rich Shortcakes. We played up the sweet cherries grown in the Great Lakes State, along with blueberries and raspberries. A shortcake biscuit base and sweetened whipped cream complete the dessert.

Sesame seeds, ramen noodles, soy sauce, ginger and fresh broccoli give Asian flair to cole slaw.

A red, white and blue dessert stars at any summer potluck. Red velvet cake mix makes our moist and gooey Firecracker-Red Cupcakes extra easy to prepare.

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

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."

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.

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

This sandwich looks a bit plain, but appearances can be deceiving. It's packed with flavor. Mustard, herbs and lemon zest season the meat, which is topped with wine-poached pears, sharp cheddar and pepper jelly. The recipe comes from Jen Smallwood of Portsmouth, Virginia.

These fantastic potluck bars come from Patrice Hurd of Bemidji, Minnesota. She won the grand prize in a Best of the Midwest® Recipe Contest. Patrice says they're a twist on her grandmother's cracker bars. They cut beautifully and brim with salty-sweet-nutty-chocolately flavor.