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35 Creative Potluck Themes + free potluck printables!

If you’re looking for creative potluck theme ideas, you’re in the right spot! You’ll get some great inspiration to host a super fun potluck with the theme ideas below! Be sure to grab my FREE Perfect Potluck Planning Blueprint to help you plan your next potluck!

Creative Potluck Theme Ideas

Note to you: if you’re here looking specifically for potluck themes related to seasons or holidays, I’ve been building up a collection of those! Check out these posts for seasonal inspiration:

Creative Potluck Theme Ideas

If you’re here looking just for fun and creative potluck themes that aren’t necessarily season-specific, you’re in the right spot. Whether you’re looking for fresh ideas for your next office potluck, dinner party themes, family gatherings, or just a regular monthly potluck that perhaps you host with a book club or church small group, I think you’ll get some great inspiration from this list!

Instant Pot Hearty Potato & Vegetable Soup

After you look through these themes, be sure to grab your FREE PERFECT POTLUCK BLUEPRINT! It includes 5 of my most popular potluck themes PLUS menus to go along with them! And, some super helpful menu planning tips to help you get started!

Tons of Creative Potluck Theme Ideas:

1. Restaurant Re-creations
Attempt making a dish from one of your favorite restaurants (homemade Pizookies from BJ’s are the best!)

2. Family Favorites
Have everyone bring one of their very favorite recipes. It’ll be fun to experience a unique potluck with different dishes…without people have to branch too much out of their comfort zone! (When we did this theme, almost everyone brought something yellow – cornbread, mac & cheese, king ranch chickencheesy potato casserole…needless to say, the meal was DIVINE. I mean, all the best potluck dishes are yellow, right? 😆) 

3. Rookie Cookie
There’s something out there we’ve all been wanting to try making but haven’t done yet! It’ll be a unique way to branch out and try new recipes without all the pressure…after all, if everyone’s trying something new, what’s the harm in a failed recipe or two?!

4. Throwback Night
Bring a favorite childhood food! (Yes, chicken tenders, Fruit-by-the-Foot, and push pops were all acceptable cuisine the evening we did this theme).

5. Southern Fare
Mmm-mmm, cornbread, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cheesy grits…you just cannot go wrong with food from the South.

Shepherd's Pie Soup - a hearty and flavorful soup full of protein, flavor, and vegetables! - 35 Creative Potluck Themes

6. Movie Meal
Bring a dish that reminds you of your favorite film (A friend of ours – a potluck regular – was planning to come the evening we did this theme, but he ended up having to work. He decided he still wanted to stop by and bring food, so he ran into our apartment, dropped off a platter of chicken, and ran out, saying the food was from Chicken Run. Hilarious.)

7. The VeggieTable
Everything, even the dessert, has to contain a veggie (when we did this, a friend of ours made chocolate fondue and she made everyone try to guess the veggie culprits in it…I don’t know if any of us guessed correctly – pureed avocado and carrots! You couldn’t even taste them!)

8. Leftover Grub
Make something from food you’ve already got on hand in your fridge or pantry (and yes, there are rules: 1) The food cannot be expired, and 2) The food has to be for humans – dog food does not qualify as an option)

9. Country Cuisine
Bring a dish from a country you’ve visited – what a great way to try a huge variety of dishes! (When we did this theme, we had some ridiculously good food – pierogi from Poland, crepes from France, potato pancakes from Germany, and qabili pilau from Afghanistan. We also had some food from Mexico and Spain, and I’m certain they were delicious!)

10. Brinner
Breakfast for dinner. Possibly tied with Southern food as the best meal ever! You can my my absolute favorite breakfast casserole for this!

The Best (and easiest) breakfast casserole recipe ever

11. Scrumptious Salads
Get creative! Chicken salad, pasta salad, tuna salad, egg salad, side salad, garden salad, Caesar salad, fruit salad, strawberry spinach salad, quinoa salad, etc. And don’t forget the dessert salad – Watergate salad, strawberry cheesecake salad, apple fluff salad…and because the desserts are salad, they’re healthy! (That is how that works, right?) Plus, with this kind of potluck, you’ll actually get some fresh vegetables AND this theme is SO easy to coordinate!

12. Backyard BBQ
Make it feel like the relaxed pace of summer by hosting a BBQ potluck – grill some burgers and hot dogs, make BBQ pulled pork, have folks bring potato salad, baked beans, and watermelon, and don’t forget the popsicles!

13. Tuxedo Platter
Get dressed up in your fancy pants and have a black and white dinner: white chicken chili, black bean enchiladas, black olive cheese bread, white chocolate mousse, etc. Could your entire meal consist of Oreos? If you’re hosting it at my house, the answer is yes.

14. Hometown Eats
If you’re hosting a potluck with folks from a bunch of different areas, have everyone bring a food that reminds them of their hometown. My hometown happens to love breakfast tacos. I also happen to love breakfast tacos, so if you invite me to your potluck, sign me up for those.

15. Home State Sustenance
Similar to Hometown Eats, if you’re hosting a potluck with folks from a bunch of different states (we did this when I was in grad school – people were from all over!), have everyone bring a food that represents their state. I absolutely love Texas cuisine, but if I were hosting this again, I’d make sure to invite someone from Maryland and ask them to bring crab cakes. (If you need some Texas recipes, you can go find some of my favorites here!)

King Ranch Chicken Casserole - 35 Creative Potluck Themes

16. Campout Cuisine
Have some fun by asking everyone to bring a dish that could easily be served on campgrounds. If you really want to get authentic, maybe you can even build a little campfire in the backyard and cook in a cast iron and/or foil packs. Do NOT forget the marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate.

17. Nautical Nutrition
Bring main dishes and side dishes that have some kind of seafood in them.  Hop on Pinterest to get some nautical dessert ideas (void of actual seafood, of course…), or make these gorgeous, realistic-looking candy seashells to top some cupcakes or brownies!

18. Cook Book
Have everyone bring a dish that represents their favorite book – foods that may have been served in the book, or perhaps foods from the setting’s locale and time period.

19. Potato Bar
Bake a batch of potatoes and have guests bring creative toppings to load ‘em up and bring a whole new meaning to “loaded potatoes.” One of my husband’s favorite places to eat in college was Potato Shack – you could order all sorts of crazy combos on a baked potato! For dessert, make a delicious loaded sweet potato casserole – lots of pecans & brown sugar, please!

20. Taco Bar
Similar to the potato bar, have a ton of fun with different tacos and toppings! Have different tortillas – flour, corn, spinach, spicy; different meats – chicken, beef, pork (I’m always a fan of creamy chicken tacos!); and different toppings – lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, cojito, Feta, queso, black beans, etc. If you type in “dessert tacos” on Pinterest, have a napkin or handkerchief handy because you’re going to start drooling. You could also make one of my faves – sopapilla cheesecake (MUY BUENO), or make these apple dumplings and call them apple tacos!

Easy Crockpot Creamy Chicken Tacos - simple weeknight meal; great for a crowd; absolutely delicious! - 35 Creative Potluck Themes

21. Picnic Party
Have everyone bring a picnic-friendly favorite – sandwiches, watermelon, pasta salad, cookies, etc. Invite everyone, but leave the ants off the invitation list!

22. State Fair Fare
Have everyone make a dish that could easily appear at a state fair. Make sure everyone knows they cannot all bring chocolate-covered bacon.

23. Diner Dinner
Make the menu reflect that of an old fashioned diner’s – hamburgers, meatloaf, chef salad, malts, milkshakes, apple pie, and buttermilk pie!

24. Alliterative Appetite
Choose a letter of the alphabet and everyone has to make a dish that starts with that letter (tip: if you plan on hosting several potlucks, maybe 26, maybe don’t start with the letter X). When we did this, I think we used the letter “P” – pasta puttanesca (extra points for the double “P” dishes!), pear salad, pistachio pudding cake, etc.

25. Jazzed-Up Classics
Think up some simple, classic foods – macaroni and cheese, pizza, grilled cheese, burgers, salads, chocolate chip cookies, etc. – and have everyone make them with some unique twists. Spinach, artichoke, and green chile mac & cheese? Yes, please!

26. Fancy Food
Put on your chef’s hat and have everyone try to create a dish you’d find on the menu at a fancy restaurant. The harder it is to pronounce, the better!

healthy and flavorful pizza soup - 35 Creative Potluck Themes

 

With almost 200 countries in the world, the options for regional foods to assign to a potluck theme are endless, but here are a few ideas to get you started!

27. All American
Have everyone bring a classic food from the good ‘ole USA (have a baseball game on TV or the radio in the background to really set the mood). You can’t have this potluck without apple pie or these delicious patriotic lemonade cookies!

28. Mexican
Enchiladas, chalupas, fajitas, beans and rice, and Mexican ice cream could be some delicious options. Sign me up!

29. Mediterranean
Greek chicken, couscous, falafel, tabouli salad, baklava, etc. Yum!

30. Asian
Maybe you want to focus on a particular country, or have a smorgasbord of options from different Asian countries. Either way, I’m sure you’d come away with some tasty new recipes.

31. Middle Eastern
My husband’s favorite food in Afghanistan was qabili pilau with naan – we’d do this theme just so he could make that food. I bet you’d find some really interesting recipes with fun-to-try ingredients!

 

Cast Iron Skillet Steaks - 35 Creative Potluck Themes

32. German
Brats, kraut, potato pancakes with apple sauce, cucumber salad, apple streusel, German chocolate cake – das gut!

33. French
Go pick up a copy of one of Julia Child’s cookbooks and I bet you’ll find a whole host of French dishes worth suggesting to your potluck attendees.

34. Italian
Spaghetti, Manicotti, lasagna, penne, fettucine, linguine, pizza…are you salivating yet?

35. Tropical
Strap on your aprons and have all of your potluckers choose one of the zillions of main dish, side dish, and dessert recipes that include coconut, mangos, and pineapples to make.

36. Finger Foods
A potluck full of easy appetizers or fancy ones – whatever people want to bring! A menu for this might include pigs in a blanket, meatballs, salad or caprese skewers, veggie tray, mini quiches, cookies, and brownie bites.

37. Charcuterie Board Potluck
Have everyone either bring their own mini themed charcuterie boards to then share (a meat one, a cheese one, one with fruit, one with nuts, one with sauces, etc.), or divvy up charcuterie items and have everyone just bring 1-2 items. A list may include: a variety of meats, cheeses, crackers, olives, pickles, grapes, apple slices, nuts, dried fruits, spreadable cheeses, pesto, jelly/jam, chocolate-covered nuts, etc. 

38. Slow Cooker Supper
Everything has to be made in the slow cooker! Main dishes, side dishes (creamed corn, baked beans, green beans, mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, etc), AND desserts!

39. Comfort Foods
Bring your favorite comfort food dish! Casseroles. Macaroni & cheese. Chicken fried steak. Mashed potatoes. Bacon & green beans. You know the drill. 😉

40. Baked Potato Bar
You supply the potatoes, have everyone else bring the toppings! (Depending on your turnout, you could even turn it into a mini chili cook-off!) Chili, bacon, various shredded cheeses, salsa, shredded chicken – buffalo, bbq, etc., chives, roasted veggies, and more!

Be sure to snag your free Perfect Potluck Blueprint to help you plan your potluck! 

Save these fun ideas for later! Be sure to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board!

 

 

5 Comments

  1. Thanks Barbara for your wonderful purple mac n cheese idea! That’s going to be a SMASH HIT at my next potluck 🙂

  2. One favorite at our office was food on a stick. We had kabobs with meat or fruit, cake balls, meatballs, etc. No cutlery needed! We had stick sizes from dowel rod to toothpick. (Since it was Halloween, I made my cake balls look like eyeballs, with white icing, an M&M iris, and red frosting bloodshot lines.)

    1. How fun! Reminds me of a State Fair theme! 🙂 Though my husband and I are both Texans, we go to the Wisconsin State Fair pretty regularly because we visit my family up there during the summers, and we always get such a kick out of what new “food on a stick” they have each year!

  3. Things that are purple– can’t believe you forgot that one. I made purple mac and cheese!

    1. How do I not remember this theme?! Yes, I will add a “color” theme to my list. I have the black & white one – I remember that one. I’ve thought of a few other since I published this post, so I’ll need to start a new list and create another post with more ideas!

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