Our Best Potluck Recipes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
June 25, 2013

Casseroles, dips, pasta salads, bar cookies and cupcakes are among our 40 top crowd-pleasing potluck recipes.

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Tortilla-Black Bean Casserole

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Layer a tomato-bean mixture, cheese and tortillas for a casserole with south-of-the-border flavor. Let each guest top their portion with chopped tomato, shredded lettuce, green onions, olives and/or sour cream.

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Cheesy Brat Stew Casserole

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This six-ingredient hotdish recipe from an Appleton, Wisconsin, reader features bratwurst, cheddar cheese and potatoes. "It's a quick, easy recipe," our reader says. "There's not much you can mess up."

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Panzanella (Bread Salad) with Summer Vegetables

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A backyard garden's worth of colorful summer veggies fill this beautiful potluck salad. The toasted bread chunks absorb the dressing and juices from the tomatoes; you won't believe how delicious they taste! 

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Fresh Taco Salad

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

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Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

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Graham cracker crumbs, cream cheese and blueberry pie filling turn yellow cake mix into a whimsical twist on a favorite dessert. The idea comes from Designer Desserts Bakery in Valparaiso, Indiana.

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Tropical Tomato Salsa

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

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BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

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

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Sweet and Spicy Cabbage and Peanut Slaw

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Fresh ginger and red pepper flakes add welcome zing, but the real surprise here is napa (aka Chinese) cabbage. Cara Mangini, of Little Eater in Columbus, Ohio, likes it for slaws because it's more tender than ordinary cabbage but still holds up better than lettuce. 

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Baked Ratatouille Sausage Penne

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What's the secret to keeping this pasta casserole as healthy as it is cozy? Lean turkey sausage, whole wheat pasta and just a sprinkling of cheese.

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Sassy Baked Beans

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

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Toffee Bars

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These moist, easy brownies get a little extra crunch from a topping of toffee pieces.

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Strawberry Pretzel Salad

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This classic potluck dessert includes a crushed pretzel crust, a layer of sweetened cream cheese, and a top layer of strawberry gelatin and strawberries. 

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Cheesy Italian Meatball Casserole

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Combine Italian meatballs, three kinds of cheese, pasta and sauce for this easy, crowd-pleasing casserole.

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Grandma's Potato Salad

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

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Salty Caramel and Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

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These cookies come with a friendly warning: Chewy caramel, toasted pecans and a flurry of sea salt will make you popular. Very popular. A product called caramel bits gives these cookies great flavor and chewy texture. Some supermarkets carry them, and they're widely available online. (Search for Kraft Caramel Bits.) Take care to follow recipe directions when baking: caramel bits melt quickly.

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Hash Brown Casserole

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

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Roasted Tomato Pasta with Mozzarella

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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.

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Lemonade Cake

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Lemon Butter Frosting tops a summer-perfect cake flavored with thawed lemonade concentrate.

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Sweet Corn and Black Bean Succotash

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This cilantro-flecked confetti salad from Little Eater in Columbus, Ohio, can be served at any temperature. The Southwest-inspired dressing is mild, so the flavors of just-picked sweet corn and peppers shine through.

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Sunny Broccoli Salad

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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.

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BBQ White Beans with Peppers

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Make a new bean salad for your next potluck with this fresh, easy combo of a sweet-tangy sauce with white beans, ham and green peppers.

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Garlic Shrimp Dip

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Just add mayonnaise and cooked shrimp to purchased dip for this easy party treat.

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German Potato Salad

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Serve this old-fashioned potluck dish warm.

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

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Peanut butter and chocolate meet for a sweet treat in this recipe from a Cedarburg, Wisconsin, reader who likes to make these bar cookies for potluck gatherings.

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Mediterranean Eight-Layered Dip

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We've seen a lot of dips through the years, but we've never forgotten this one— juicy veggies, tangy olive tapenade and feta piled on a thick layer of hummus. We like to make it ahead and serve it with warm toasted pita wedges. 

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Mississippi Corn Bread Salad

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

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Mexican Mac and Cheese

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Pair Mexican flavors with pasta for this comfort-food casserole that includes sausage, salsa and Monterey Jack cheese.

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Orange Cream Pop Cupcakes

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For this party-special cupcake, combine white cake mix, orange-flavor gelatin, orange juice, and cheesecake-flavor instant pudding and pie filling mix. Cream cheese frosting gets a flavor punch from orange gelatin and shredded orange peel.

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Deviled Egg Macaroni Pasta Salad

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Combine two potluck staples to create this yummy potluck salad. Expect classic deviled egg flavor with a little zing from the Dijon-style mustard and salty pickled onions.

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Cherry Crumble Pie Bars

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Zesty lemon peel adds zing to this fruit bar cookie; almond extract and brown sugar give it extra sweetness.

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Chicken Taco Casserole

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Sweet pepper and spinach bring lots of vitamins A and C to this Tex-Mex layered meal-in-a-dish.

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Italian Pasta Salad

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A simple red wine vinegar dressing makes this pasta salad side dish lower in fat and calories than most deli pasta salads.

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Out-and-About Cheesecake

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Combine sweetened Brie and cream cheese with fresh blueberries for this no-bake dessert designed for single-serving cups.

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Caramel Heavenlies

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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."

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Corn-Blueberry Salad

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This inventive salad features fresh sweet corn, blueberries, cucumber and jalapeño. Double or triple the recipe if you're serving a crowd.

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Mexican Biscuit Casserole

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This taco-flavored main dish is a potluck favorite from a Fargo, North Dakota, reader. Serve it with tortilla chips so your guests can scoop and eat.

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Edamame-Avocado Dip

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Combine edamame and avocado with basil pesto, lemon juice and chopped tomato for this easy potluck dip. 

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