Easy Doesn't Mean Obvious
Some people hate the idea of potlucks because they think it means spending half a day chopping, baking, and washing dishes. The truth is, it doesn't have to be hard if you don't want it to be! Sure, showing up with a bag of chips or prepared dip from the grocery store doesn't look great, but there are ways to use premade foods to your advantage. Here are 20 potluck cheats you should have in your arsenal so that you can spend more time eating and less time actually cooking.
1. Improve Your Store-Bought Mac And Cheese
Listen, not everyone has time to create a delicious, homemade potluck dish! Besides, if it tastes good, does it really matter as long as you brought something? Something like store-bought mac and cheese can easily be spruced up at home with extra cheese, garlic powder, and your own breadcrumb topping; no one would be the wiser, and we can guarantee it'll be gobbled up.
2. Turn Rotisserie Chicken Into Buffalo Dip
Everyone's favorite grocery buy when they're in a pinch: rotisserie chicken. Instead of spending time seasoning and cooking your own chicken (which is arguably more expensive anyway), using this handy premade item allows you to quickly whip up a buffalo chicken dip that no one would be able to tell the difference to anyway.
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3. Upgrade Frozen Meatballs With A Homemade-Style Sauce
When you want to bring something nice but just don't have the time to make a dish yourself, frozen meatballs are one of the easiest shortcuts to hide. Once you warm them in a slow cooker and smother them in a sauce of your choice, it'll be hard to note the difference.
4. Use Premade Dough For Pull-Apart Bread
Making bread dough from scratch can be intimidating, especially when you're on a time crunch and failure isn't possible. That's where refrigerated biscuit or pizza dough comes in handy! Once you cut the dough into pieces and toss them with all the goodies like melted butter, garlic, and Parmesan, you'll have a warm and tasty appetizer with plenty of flavor that YOU added.
5. Make A Bakery Cake Look Homemade
Don't worry dessert-bringers, we've got a hack for you too. We know baking a cake takes a lot of time (and money), which is why transforming a plain grocery store cake is the more practical route to take. When you add on fresh berries, chocolate shavings, whipped cream, and more, the entire thing becomes something that looks like you made yourself. We won't tell anyone though.
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6. Finish Off A Pasta Salad With Bottled Dressing
Who said every part of a dish has to be homemade? There's no potluck requirement that says pasta salad needs to have a homemade dressing that's made from a complicated recipe, because honestly, making your own dressing is more work than necessary. If you chopped up and cooked all the ingredients already yourself, keep it simple and finish it off with your favorite store-bought variety.
7. Turn Premade Garlic Bread Into Cheesy Pull-Aparts
It's hard enough telling the difference between premade garlic bread and homemade versions, so taking it up a notch and transforming them into cheesy pull-aparts makes it even more impossible. Because once you throw on that extra mozzarella, Parmesan, and chopped parsley before baking, you've just created the easiest, tastiest appetizer that we know every hand will be reaching for.
8. Build A Dessert With Boxed Brownies
Everyone loves boxed brownie mix, and the best part is, it's easy to improve and affordable too! When you add chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, caramel, or other toppings into the batter, you're easily turning this obvious boxed mix into something far more luxurious and exciting. We'd recommend adding a delicious topping too, if you really want to prove to everyone else that potluck dishes don't have to be complicated to be a hit.
9. Use Premade Pie Crust For Savory Bites
Bite-sized, savory appetizers are always popular at potlucks, and turns out, they're not hard to make when you use this little cheat code. Refrigerated pie crust is a serious lifesaver, especially when all you need to do is cut them up into your desired size and fill them with your preferred mixture. Cheese, spinach, onion, bacon, whatever you want, it'll all taste delicious in that premade crust.
10. Canned Baked Beans Can Be Upgraded
Not sure what to bring? Canned baked beans can serve as an excellent starting point, and they're perfect for summer cookouts and casual gatherings. Once you stir in brown sugar, barbecue sauce, mustard, or other ingredients, you'll quickly realize it's easy to elevate them into something that tastes entirely homemade.
11. Make Shortcut Caprese Skewers
Don't have any cooking experience or simply hate stepping foot in the kitchen? You'll be happy to hear then that caprese skewers don't require any cooking and can be made with a handful of store-bought ingredients. Just buy cocktail picks, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, fresh basil, and balsamic glaze, and you're good to go.
12. Turn Bagged Coleslaw Into A Better Side
Is there really any difference between personally shredding vegetables and just buying a pre-shredded mix from the grocery store? We'd argue there isn't. Save yourself the hassle and use a grocery store mix as your base before loading it with your favorite dressings and toppings. When you're cooking for large groups, take every shortcut you can take.
13. Start Spinach Dip With A Seasoning Packet
If getting the seasoning right is the most intimidating part of cooking for you, don't be afraid to cut some corners. For a dish like spinach dip, using a packet of vegetable soup or dip seasoning can surprisingly go a long way. Because once you combine that with the rest of the ingredients and let the flavors develop, you'll have a well-rounded dip worthy of any potluck table.
14. Use Frozen Puff Pastry For Easy Appetizers
Another great option for savory appetizers is to use frozen puff pastry; it's a quick and easy way to make any mix of simple ingredients look polished! Filling them with brie, jam, pesto, or sausage before baking them until crisp and flaky will trick any guests into believing you're a pro baker.
15. Turn Store-Bought Hummus Into A Loaded Dip
Showing up with hummus straight from the grocery store container might get you a few glances, but not if you treat it as a base instead of the finished product. Scoop it out onto a plate, add chopped cucumber, tomatoes, feta, and more, and turn it into a loaded dip that no one would dare complain about.
16. Use Refrigerated Cookie Dough For Dessert Bars
Level up refrigerated cookie dough but turning it into something no one would suspect: the base of delicious dessert bars. It works as a wonderful foundation for a variety of mix-ins, because once chocolate chips, candy pieces, or chopped nuts enter the picture, no one would be suspicious that you didn't put in any work.
17. Make Deviled Eggs With Prepared Ingredients
Deviled eggs already involve enough peeling, so there's no reason to complicate the filling. Just mix the cooked yolks with store-bought mayo, mustard, relish, and whatever you like before piping them back into the whites for a quick potluck dish you can't go wrong with.
18. Turn Frozen Tater Tots Into A Casserole
Everyone loves tater tots, whether they're frozen, from a restaurant, or homemade. So to save you some extra time, a good ol' bag of frozen ones works perfectly as a base for a delicious casserole dish. Because once they're layered with grounded beef, shredded cheese, and veggies, no one will care if one of the ingredients was frozen!
19. Assemble An Icebox Cake Instead Of Baking
Icebox cakes are perfect for those of you who lack baking skills, allowing you to create a homemade-looking dessert with premade ingredients. With just a box of cookies or graham crackers, whipped cream, and pudding, fruit, or chocolate, you'll be left with a moist and delicious cake ready to slice after sitting in the fridge for a few hours.
20. Pour Jarred Salsa Over Cream Cheese
If you're really desperate for a quick potluck dish that looks like you spent more time on, all you need is jarred salsa and a block of softened cream cheese. Because when you mix the two together, and sprinkle on cilantro or green onions for better aesthetics, you'll have a surprisingly tasty dip when paired with some bread or chips.
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