44 Easy, Simple and Delicious Potluck Ideas with Pictures!

Here are great ideas on what potluck dish to bring, and how to decorate or garnish your dish.  All the dishes look good and appetizing! Happy potluck!

Potluck idea # 1: Penne Pasta

Boil your pasta al dente, rinse and set aside.  Saute onions, chopped ham or sausages and pasta sauce.  Season with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and herbs such as basil and oregano.  Mix the pasta and sauce and serve on a nice Italian pasta platter.  Decorate with fresh herbs and put lots of parmesan cheese!  You can also make it into a vegetable pasta.  Grill vegetables such as red pepper, green pepper, zucchini and carrots, then add them into the sauce.

Photo credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=151

Potluck idea # 2: Fresh Caesar Salad

To make your own Caesar salad, buy fresh romaine lettuce and slice into bite size pieces.  You can add anything you like to your salad such as pecan nuts, chopped walnuts, bacon bits, sliced roasted chicken, grated cheddar, cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese.  You can mix in croutons too, but if you don’t want them to get soggy you can put them in a separate bowl.

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1824

Potluck idea # 3: Assorted Fresh Fruit Salad

Chop a variety of fruits into bite size pieces and put them in a glass bowl.  Make your fruit salad colourful by including fruits like kiwi, pineapples, watermelon or peaches.  Basically any colourful fruit combination is a great potluck idea.  Decorate your fruit salad with fresh mint to make it look elegant.

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1918

Potluck idea # 4: Fruits In A Fruit Bowl

Make your fruit salad unique by placing them in a hollowed half cantaloupe.  Use a melon baller to scoop out the fruits into little round ball shapes.  The ideal fruits for this are melon or cantaloupe and honeydew.  Then slice some fruits like peaches or nectarine into wedges.  Add fruits like kiwi or watermelon to add more color.  If you want to add banana wait until the last minute because bananas turn brown very fast.  This fruit bowl is one of the best potluck ideas!

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2019

Potluck idea # 5: Vegetable and Fruit Salad

Make a nice cold cocktail salad by combining fruits and vegetables.  Cocktail shrimp is an excellent choice for salads, as well as cherry tomatoes.  This potluck idea is very easy and simple to make, even if you make it at the last minute!

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2367

Potluck idea # 6: Fried Chicken!

Crispy fried chicken is one of the all time favourite potluck dishes.  Make your platter half regular and half spicy, for those who like hot stuff!  You can also bring roasted chicken instead of fried chicken.  Costco is a good place to buy roasted chicken legs and thighs.

Photo Credit: SXC – by theswedish

Potluck idea # 7: Spring Rolls

Buy frozen spring rolls and bake them in the oven.  Serve with dipping sauce.  Delicious!

Photo Credit: SXC – by Taluda

Potluck idea # 8: Chocolate Brownies

Brownies are very popular in potlucks too.  Slice them into small squares, stack them neatly and place them in a nice platter.  It is cheaper if you make brownies from scratch, but if you are in a hurry you can just buy it in the grocery.  You can also buy moist chocolate cake and slice them into squares.

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1783 

Potluck idea # 9: Fresh Blueberries

This is a simple but very elegant potluck idea.  Fill up a wine glass with fresh blueberries!  It is very healthy and easy to make.  You can make a couple of wine glasses and substitute with other fruits like cherries, raspberries or blackberries.

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=901

Potluck idea # 10: Corn With Shrimp Salad

Another easy potluck idea is corn with shrimp.  There are really endless easy potluck ideas just by combining different food.  Fill your bowl with sweet corn and top with cold cocktail shrimp.

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2367

Potluck idea # 11: Lemon Pound Cake Topped With Fresh Fruits

Buy a lemon pound cake, and on the center of the cake cut a slit and decorate it with fruits!  This plain cake will transform into a beautiful and scrumptious potluck dish!  Line up fresh blueberries, sliced strawberries or kiwi on top of the cake.  If the potluck is for a birthday celebrant you can also stick in a candle.  You can include other fruits like cantaloupe, pineapples, honeydew or mango.

Photo Credit: SXC – by gilbert198

Potluck idea # 12: Cheesecake

Cheesecake topped with shaved chocolate…..mmm this is heavenly!  Buy a cheesecake and slice it into small wedges, or alternately put the knife on a side of the platter and let the guests cut their own slice.  This is a great idea for potlucks!

Photo Credit: SXC – by arinas74

Potluck idea # 13: Fresh Cherries

A bowl of nothing else but fresh cherries – this is a very easy thing to bring to a potluck.  Put your cherries on a white platter and serve.  The party guests will love this!

Photo Credit: SXC – by thea0211

Potluck idea # 14: Chicken Wings

The all-time favourite: chicken wings!  Choose any of the popular chicken wing flavours: teriyaki ,buffalo, barbeque or honey chicken wings.  Whether it’s sweet or spicy, chicken wings are always loved at potlucks!  Put some dip on a separate small container, and also garnish your chicken wing platter with green leaves and/or carrots.

Photo Credit: – SXC – by Kanae

Potluck idea # 15: Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can also bring cookies for your potluck, and one of the most popular is chocolate chip cookies.  Buy the cookies or bake them fresh.  You can make the dough ahead of time and put it in the fridge or freezer.  Bake your cookies and bring them to your potluck still warm! Yum!

Photo Credit: SXC – by superfloss

Potluck idea # 16: Cookie Platter

You can buy a can of chocolate cookie wafers, and lay them neatly on a nice serving platter.  This is another simple and easy potluck idea!

Photo Credit: SXC – by lamprinh

Potluck idea # 17: Doughnuts

This is a super easy thing to bring to your party, especially at the last minute!

Photo Credit: SXC – by alex27

Potluck idea # 18: Cupcakes

Another potluck idea is cupcakes.  If you are bringing for a big potluck crowd, here is a tip: buy generic plain cupcakes, then buy a can of icing and a bottle of sprinkles.  Pipe the icing on the cupcake and top with sprinkles.  An even cheaper idea is to buy the boxed cake mix and and bake them into cupcakes.  You can also buy 2 different kinds of sprinkles like rainbow sprinkles and chocolate sprinkles.

Photo Credit: SXC – by bluegum

Potluck idea # 19: Bread / Buns

This is another very quick idea to bring to a potluck!  Arrange the buns neatly on a basket lined with tissue paper.  If you want to make it extra nice, buy tissue paper with designs or patterns. 

Photo Credit:  www.pachd.com

Potluck idea # 20: Seafood

Grilled prawns! Yum!  To make your prawns straight, cut slits on the inner side of the prawns before cooking/grilling them. 

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1750

Potluck idea # 21: Peeled Fruits

Usually people bring chopped fruits to potlucks.  If you want to be unique you can bring a bowl of peeled oranges!  Oranges are very refreshing and many people like to eat them for dessert.  So if you’re looking for an easy potluck idea that everybody will love, this is a great idea!

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2367

Potluck idea # 22: Noodles

Stir fried noodles is also one of the potluck dishes that’s a crowd pleaser.  This potluck dish is relatively inexpensive to make.  Boil the noodles briefly, then stir fry it with any type of meat.  You can also make it a vegetarian noodle dish.  Garnish with green onions and lemon or lime slices.

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2367

Potluck idea # 23: Breadsticks

No preparation need, just put them all on a plate!

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2436

Potluck idea # 24: Chocolates

Small bite size chocolates with sprinkles are also great for potlucks.  Put them in small individual paper cups and arrange them all on a party tray.

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1750

Potluck idea # 25: Fruit and Cheese Tray

You can fill up your platter with assorted fruits like grapes, kiwi, strawberry, melon/cantaloupe, or you can fill half of the tray with sliced cheese.

Photo Credit: SXC – by theswedish

Potluck idea # 26: Mini Cupcakes

Buy a pack of plain generic cupcakes and pipe them with whipping cream, then top with fruits such as diced peaches, pear, cherry or kiwi.

Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1692

Potluck idea # 27: Candies

You can also bring a bowl of assorted gourmet candies.  Anything colourful is attractive in potlucks!

Photo Credit: SXC – by srbichara

Potluck idea # 28: Potato Wedges

Chop potato into wedges, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven.  Nice, easy idea for a potluck!

Photo Credit:  SXC – by keenanm

Potluck idea # 29: Pizza

Buy a frozen pizza and bake it in the oven, or buy a hot fresh pizza.  Yummy!!

Photo Credit: SXC – by Kanae

Potluck idea # 30: Sausage Rolls

Just like the pizza above, you can buy frozen sausage rolls and bake them in the oven.  You can also buy sausage rolls from the deli.  Slice the rolls, serve on a nice serving platter and garnish with fresh herbs.

Photo Credit:  SXC – by hunterpastry   

Potluck idea # 31: Baked Nuggets

You can find many easy potluck ideas in the frozen section of the supermarket!  Chicken nuggets, fish nuggets, French fries, curly fries, or even shaped ones like smiley faces!   Heat up an assortment of them, and arrange neatly on a serving platter.  Serve with dipping sauce on the side.

Photo Credit: SXC – by Kanae

Potluck idea # 32: Vegetable Platter

Buy fresh asparagus, or alternately you can find them in the frozen vegetables section in the supermarket.  Blanch / boil them in slightly salted water.  Serve on a colourful serving platter.  Add tomatoes on the side.

Photo Credit: SXC – by muffet1

Potluck idea # 33: Vegetable and Corn Platter Combo

Boil the corn and break them into halves.  Put them on a nice plate, and fill up the plate with assorted vegetables: sliced red pepper, green pepper, sliced carrots, green peas, and sliced cucumber.  This dish looks really good in potlucks!

Photo Credit: SXC – by ancaNZ

Potluck idea # 34: Grapes Combo

Fill up a plate with red grapes alternating with green grapes.  The red and green colors are really nice.  This works well for any potluck, especially in Christmas or holiday potlucks!  You can put few slices of grapefruit or oranges on the side.

Photo credit: SXC – by Wormis

Potluck idea # 35: Strawberries

This is another example of nice red and green combination.  Slice strawberries into quarters, then garnish with fresh herbs or mint.  Simple potluck idea, easy and elegant!

Photo Credit: SXC – by Arki

Potluck idea # 36: Sushi

Fill up a plate with assorted sushi such as California sushi, BC roll, avocado sushi or cucumber sushi.  Your sushi plate will be popular in your potluck!

Photo Credit: SXC – by arinas74

Potluck idea # 37: Egg Salad

Fill a serving bowl with chopped iceberg or head lettuce, then top it with sliced tomatoes and boiled eggs.  Serve the salad dressing on the side.  This egg salad is very easy and simple to prepare for a potluck!

Photo Credit:  SXC – by pinijhuis

Potluck idea # 38: Tuna Salad

This is similar to the above salad.  Instead of putting boiled eggs, put canned tuna.  You can also add sliced onions.  Serve your salad dressing on the side. You can also garnish your tuna salad with sliced lemon.

Photo Credit:

Potluck idea # 39: Sandwiches

Another fast and easy potluck idea is to make sandwiches.  Put lettuce, ham and cheese and then arrange your sandwiches on a serving plate.  You can also buy mini buns to make your sandwiches smaller.

Photo Credit: SXC – by minasi

Potluck idea # 40: Shrimp and Vegetable Kabobs

Make your own kabobs by alternating cold cocktail shrimp, baby grape tomatoes, cucumber and red or green peppers.  This will be a big hit in your potluck!

Photo Credit: SXC – by GoldDuck

Potluck idea # 41: Mushroom and Vegetable Kabobs

This potluck idea is similar to the above kabob, but use mushrooms instead of shrimp.

Photo Credit: SXC – by CMSeter

Potluck idea # 42: Potato Chips

Bowl of potato chips – no preparation needed! Very quick and easy thing to bring to your potluck!  You can also mix a variety of potato chips in a bowl.

Photo Credit: SXC – mzacha

Potluck idea # 43: Cheese

Another fast, easy and delicious potluck idea: sliced cheese!  You can serve your cheese on a nice clean chopping board.  Add some sliced tomatoes and bread.  Decorate with fresh herbs.

Photo Credit: freedigitalpictures – by Grant Cochrane

Potluck idea # 44: Tortilla Chips

Buy tortilla chips of different colors – purple, yellow or red, then arrange them in a nice serving bowl.  Put salsa or dipping sauce at the center of the bowl.

Photo Credit: SXC – by gunner07

Hope you enjoyed these ideas for your party!