The American Art of Feeding a Crowd
We hate to break it to you, but American potlucks have developed their own strange food culture: canned soup counts as an ingredient, whipped topping can become a salad, and somebody always arrives carrying a casserole. Say what you will about it, but these dishes have more than earned their place in American culture, and you won’t find your way to a cookout without seeing at least one of these 20 plates!
1. Tater Tot Hotdish
Minnesota and the rest of the Upper Midwest turned frozen tater tots into one of America's most recognizable communal casseroles. We’re talking ground beef, cream-of-mushroom soup, vegetables, and a perfectly lined-up layer of tots, all of which make the classic version more filling than you’d think.
2. Funeral Potatoes
Despite the gloomy name, funeral potatoes are basically built for feeding a room full of hungry people. This favorite usually combines frozen hash browns, cheese, sour cream, condensed soup, and a crunchy cornflake topping. Its versatility also means that it winds up just about anywhere from post-funeral luncheons and church gatherings to big family events.
3. Watergate Salad
Only in America could pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, miniature marshmallows, nuts, and whipped topping end up as a salad! The thing is, don’t knock it ‘til you try it. Watergate salad became especially popular during the 1970s after Kraft introduced pistachio pudding mix, and it has remained on potluck tables ever since.
4. Strawberry Pretzel Salad
This Pennsylvania-born potluck dessert manages to be salty, creamy, fruity, and crunchy all at once. Honestly, we couldn’t ask for anything else! A crushed pretzel crust sits underneath a cream cheese layer and strawberry gelatin filled with fruit. Okay, it might not be a “salad,” but it’s still delicious.
5. Doritos Taco Salad
Speaking of things that aren’t salads, this one becomes distinctly American once a bag of nacho cheese Doritos enters the bowl. Potluck versions usually mix seasoned ground beef, lettuce, shredded cheese, tomatoes, dressing, and crushed chips immediately before serving. It’s not the kind of thing people complain about seeing!
6. Pineapple Cheese Casserole
Southern potlucks sometimes offer dishes that sound questionable, right up until somebody convinces you to try it. Pineapple cheese casserole is one of those plates, mixing canned pineapple with cheddar cheese and a buttery cracker topping—usually Ritz crackers for the best of both worlds.
7. Corn Casserole
American corn casserole sits somewhere between cornbread, pudding, and a side dish in its own league. Many versions use canned corn, creamed corn, sour cream, butter, and a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix, making it especially easy to prepare for a crowd. Thanksgiving may be its biggest stage, but neighborhood potlucks have kept it busy the rest of the year.
8. Seven-Layer Salad
Before composed salads became trendy, Midwestern families stacked vegetables underneath an airtight blanket of mayonnaise. We’re not complaining! Traditional seven-layer salad often contains lettuce, peas, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, cheese, onions, and a sweetened mayonnaise dressing inside a glass bowl. Don’t kid yourself; the transparent dish is practically mandatory so everyone can see what they’re in for.
9. Ramen Noodle Coleslaw
It might not seem like it, but those inexpensive packets have played a big role in American potluck cuisine. Crunchy uncooked noodles can be broken over shredded cabbage, almonds, or sunflower seeds, and with a sweet vinegar-based dressing, you have a tasty bowl on the table. It's especially common at backyard gatherings since nothing needs to stay piping hot.
10. Grape Salad
Leave it to American potlucks to find a way for grapes to get a cream-cheese upgrade. For this one, seedless grapes are typically folded into a mixture of cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla before being topped with brown sugar and chopped pecans. It's most common across the Midwest and South.
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11. King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Texas potluck tables have long made room for King Ranch chicken, so we hope you’re hungry! Layers of chicken, tortillas, cheese, peppers, and condensed soups create a creamy Tex-Mex-style casserole sturdy enough to feed just about any rumbling stomach. Recipes vary wildly from family to family, too, so you can always make it your own.
12. Hawaiian Roll Ham Sliders
A package of sweet Hawaiian rolls can disappear pretty fast once Americans turn it into a tray of baked sandwiches! Ham and Swiss cheese are layered inside the connected rolls, then topped with a mixture that often includes mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds. It’s as delectable as it sounds, and they make a great choice when nobody wants full-size sandwiches.
13. Broccoli Rice Casserole
We know it’s easy to roll your eyes at another casserole, but the broccoli rice version comes slathered in cheese. American versions also combine cooked rice, broccoli, cheddar, condensed soup, and sometimes processed cheese before everything goes into the oven together. Best of all, it can travel easily in a casserole dish, so you bet you’ll see it at a potluck.
14. Ambrosia Salad
Ambrosia has changed a lot since early American versions appeared in the 19th century, but the modern edition is still unmistakable. It’s really just canned mandarin oranges, pineapple, coconut, marshmallows, and whipped topping. They usually appear together with cherries or nuts, too.
Marshall Astor from Olympia, WA, United States on Wikimedia
15. Puppy Chow
Don’t worry—it’s not what it sounds like! This delicious dish coats Chex cereal in melted chocolate and peanut butter. It’s then shaken with powdered sugar, creating the sweet snack also known in some places as muddy buddies.
16. Texas Sheet Cake
Texas sheet cake was practically designed for American gatherings; one enormous pan can feed a small army. This thin chocolate cake needs to be warm before getting covered with a mouth-watering chocolate icing made from butter, cocoa, and chopped pecans. Sheet cake can also be cut up into tiny squares that feed more people than your traditional pastry.
17. Poke Cake
American convenience baking reached an impressive level when somebody realized you could punch holes into a finished cake. It’s a good thing, too, since now we have poke cakes, a dessert baked from boxed mix, pierced across the surface, and filled with gelatin or pudding! Add a little whipped cream on top, and you’re good to go.
18. Dirt Pudding
Again, it’s not what it sounds like—we promise! No, this one is actually chocolate pudding, crushed Oreo cookies, whipped topping, and sometimes cream cheese to create the "dirt.” Gummy worms then complete the presentation before being deliberately served in a flower pot.
19. Green Bean Casserole
Don’t turn up your nose at a good green bean casserole! Campbell's developed the famous recipe in 1955 using green beans, cream-of-mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, and crispy fried onions, and there’s a reason the whole thing has held up. Decades later, plenty of people consider that a staple.
Stephanie Clifford from Arlington, VA, USA on Wikimedia
20. Snickers Apple Salad
Hey, who doesn’t like chocolate? Who doesn’t like apples? Thanks to Americans, you no longer have to choose between the two! Snickers apple salad combines Granny Smith apples, pieces of Snickers, vanilla pudding, and whipped topping, with caramel sauce added for good measure. It's particularly associated with Midwestern gatherings, which is where you’ll find all the good stuff.
Zikandzephsperson on Wikimedia
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