At hangouts, food is often the main attraction. Here, a way to get an interesting spread without burdening the host with its responsibility is to opt for a potluck. Here, each family member or household does their bit and brings homemade food. This creates a feeling of community and camaraderie, making the eating experience exciting. If attending such a hangout, one can choose from various crowd-favorite potluck recipes that are easy to prepare.
1. Chicken pot pie
This popular chicken recipe is a great comfort food option for potlucks. To make this, one would need boneless and skinless chicken breasts or thighs, chopped carrots, chopped celery ribs, sliced leek, chicken broth, heavy cream, puff pastry sheets, and eggs. Additionally, the recipe calls for extra-virgin olive oil, garlic cloves, unsalted butter, fresh thyme, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, all-purpose flour, lemon zest, and frozen sweet green peas.
- To get started, heat oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium flame.
- Add chicken and cook it for about six minutes and then remove it from the skillet and transfer it to a plate.
- Add butter to a skillet and mix in celery, carrots, leek, thyme, garlic, cayenne, and salt.
- Cook the vegetables in the skillet until they are soft. Then, sprinkle some flour over the veggies.
- Toss veggies until they are evenly coated and the flour begins sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
- Bring this mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook until it thickens.
- Add lemon zest, peas, and reserved chicken to mix and cook again for a few minutes before removing it from the heat.
- Over the skillet, place the puff pastry and tuck its edges to cover the chicken mixture completely.
- In a separate bowl, whisk an egg and a teaspoon of heavy cream and coat the top of the pastry in this egg wash,
- Then, using a knife, carve a three-inch “X” in the middle of the pastry to let the steam escape while the pot pie cooks.
- Set the skillet on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the top of the pie is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
- Remove the pie from the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes, and season the dish before serving it.
2. Fiesta pinwheels
Nutritious snacks like fiesta pinwheels can be crowd-pleasing potluck recipes when prepared well. To make this recipe, one would need softened cream cheese, sour cream, picante sauce, taco seasoning, garlic powder, chopped and drained ripe olives, finely shredded cheddar cheese, thinly sliced green onions, warm flour tortillas, and salsa.
- First, combine cream cheese, sour cream, picante sauce, garlic powder, and taco seasoning until smooth and lump-free.
- Add chilies, green onions, cheese, and olives to the mixture. Then, cook this mixture in a pan until it thickens.
- Take a few tortillas and spread around half a cup of this mixture over them.
- Roll the tortillas tightly, jelly-roll style, without leaving room for air bubbles.
- Place them in a refrigerator and cool them for about two hours or overnight.
- Cut into the tortillas to get one-inch cylindrical pieces or pinwheels, and they are ready to serve. Garnish the pinwheels and serve them with salsa.
3. Baked beans with bacon
This is another recipe that would work quite well for a potluck. The ingredients here bacon (halved crosswise), mustard, pure maple syrup, ketchup, light-brown sugar, low-sodium chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, rinsed and drained navy or small white beans. The recipe also needs kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Then, cook bacon over medium in a Dutch oven. Flip the bacon occasionally.
- After about seven minutes or until some of the fat is rendered and the bacon is browned in places, transfer it onto a plate.
- Simultaneously, in a large bowl, combine mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, chicken broth, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, beans, and maple syrup. Season this mixture with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the beans to the Dutch oven and top them with thyme and bacon. Cover the food before baking it for 30 minutes.
- Remove the bacon bean mix from the oven, uncover it, and then continue baking it until the liquid in the pot thickens and the bacon has completely browned. This should take approximately 40 minutes.
- Allow the food to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, add garnishings of choice before serving it.
4. Rice salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta
This delicious, light, fresh recipe is ideal for those planning to bring a vegetarian option to a family potluck. To make it, one will need extra-virgin olive oil, minced garlic, finely chopped onions, long-grain brown rice, halved small heirloom or cherry tomatoes, Kirby cucumbers (peeled, sliced, and quartered), and crumbled feta cheese. Additionally, one should use sherry vinegar, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, and roughly chopped fresh mint leaves to add flavor and freshness to the recipe.
- Over medium-high flame, heat some oil and add garlic, salt, and onions to it. Stir occasionally till the garlic and onions turn translucent and fragrant.
- Transfer the ingredients to a large bowl and place the saucepan back on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Add a tablespoon of oil and rice to the saucepan and stir the mixture until it turns golden. Then add some water and bring it to a boil.
- Lower the heat and stir once before covering the skillet. Allow the rice to cook until it absorbs all water and turns tender.
- After about 35 to 40 minutes, turn the heat off, cover the rice, and let it rest for about five minutes.
- Transfer the rice to a bowl with the onion-garlic mixture and let it cool again for about 20 minutes.
- Add the oil, vinegar, tomatoes, cucumbers, salt, and pepper to the rice. Top the salad off with cheese, mint, and parsley before serving.