Gathered Again

Family Reunions, Events and Holidays

Header Right

Main navigation

Home » Family Reunion Food

Family Reunion Food

7 Crowd Pleasing Potluck Casseroles

Having a family reunion potluck? Well then you’d better consider bringing a couple of delicious potluck casseroles! The great thing about casseroles is if you are chosen to bring a main dish or a side, a casserole can fill either role (mmm, rolls, bring those too)!

With so many different kinds of casseroles to choose from for your family reunion potluck, your head might be spinning trying to decide what to bring. Here, I have compiled a list of a bunch of amazing casseroles to bring to your family reunion potluck. Okay, it might more difficult to choose from this list of potluck casseroles because they are all mouth-watering good, but at least the vast list of casseroles has been narrowed.

Choosing A Casserole Recipe

How do you go about choosing the perfect casserole? Well, it all depends on a few different things, and all things should be considered:

  • Time of day: Family reunions tend to run for a few days consecutively, so there is a chance that there could be a potluck breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or even all three)! So, it’s best to choose a casserole that is suitable for the meal in which it will be served.
  • Type of dish: Depending on how your family is coordinating the family reunion potluck, you might have your pick of the dish, or you may be assigned to bring a certain kind of dish. Whether it be a main course dish or just a little something yummy on the side, choose something that is suitable.
  • Don’t go too exotic: Stick with something pretty basic that you know a bunch of family members will love. Imagine the heartbreak seeing a still-full casserole dish at the end of the potluck after you slaved over that stove to make it!
  • Allergies: If you know of a family member or a few who have certain food allergies, either avoid making something with the offending ingredients (ideal) or make a little sign and attach it to the casserole dish listing the offending allergens.

Potluck Casserole Recipes

Ok, now for the good part, the list of potluck casseroles! Here goes…

  • Loaded Cauliflower Casserole: Who knew that cauliflower was such a suitable replacement for potatoes, and it’s low carb, too! Try this recipe loaded with cauliflower, bacon, cheese and a few other easy ingredients!
  • Shepherd’s Pie: Seriously, who doesn’t enjoy a good shepherd’s pie? This casserole will practically serve itself! Ground beef, veggies, potatoes and all of the other fixings make for a mouth-watering casserole choice.
  • Tune Casserole: Calling all tuna eaters! This can be a main dish or a side dish, and is a great choice all around! With noodles, tuna, and cheese, this recipe is sure to please!
  • Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole: Seasoned Ranch chicken, homemade Alfredo sauce, and lots of bacon and cheese! Talk about a comfort dish everyone will want seconds of!
  • Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole: If you are lucky, you’ll be bringing this amazing dish to a breakfast potluck. With ham, cheese, and potatoes, it might just work as a side for lunch or dinner as well! I don’t think anyone would complain.
  • French Toast Casserole: The title is a mouthful, and so is the dish! If you have any french toast enthusiasts coming to the family reunion potluck, then they will be in luck!
  • Patchwork Cobbler: With a variety of summer fruits, this dessert casserole will have everyone wanting to skip dinner just at the sight of it! Be careful making this one because it might not make it out of the door!

Potluck casseroles can really be any casserole that your heart desires, but these six casseroles are to die for! You truly can’t go wrong, and your guests will be raving about it. I call it “love at first bite.”

7 Mouth-Watering Family Reunion Desserts

Every party and celebration needs some good desserts to follow the delicious meal you will likely have. Without dessert at least being offered, the meal would seem rather incomplete and your guests might be disappointed! Well, if it’s family, it might be different, but family reunion desserts still need to be considered!

Choosing Your Desserts

Family reunions, especially if it’s a potluck, call for a variety of dishes since there will be a large group of people with many different tastes. Before you go signing up to bring your family-coveted dessert, consider the following:

Venue: Is it indoor or outdoor? Will there be power sources available for any equipment you might need to hook up? Is there a way to keep it cold enough if it needs to stay cold, or heat it up if it needs to be served warm?

Ease of transport: It’s one thing to make a dessert at home for a party because you don’t have to go anywhere but at a family reunion, you may be traveling some unfamiliar and possibly bumpy roads! Make sure it’s something easy to get to the venue.

Sign up sheet: Be sure to keep everyone in the know about what you are bringing so you can avoid someone bringing the very same thing. Unless it’s grandma’s delicious peanut butter cookie recipe, then those might need a double batch anyway!

Allergies: If there is an allergy common in the family, then avoid any recipes with the offending allergen. If you must use the ingredient in your dessert, make sure you label it clearly so anyone who is allergic knows to avoid it.

The Recipes

By now, your head is probably swarming with ideas, and your mouth may be watering as a result, so water away as you read through these recipes! You might just need a bib. Consider bringing one of these family reunion desserts:

Rainbow salad:  This is not exactly what it sounds like, but it’s delicious and festive!  It’s basically a fun Jell-o mold made with all of the colors of the rainbow!  Also see the adult version which is a suitable replacement for Jell-o shots.

S’mores bars:  Who needs a campfire to make s’mores??  Serve up these delicious treats whether you have a campfire or not!

S’mores:  Okay, if you are having a campfire, then it’s probably a good idea to bring all of the fixings for s’mores:  Honey graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars.

Hot fudge brownie cake:  Okay, I’m not going to lie; I already need a new bib after seeing this one.  Really though, you can’t go wrong with brownie anything, especially if women are present!

Chocolate fondue fountain:  If you happen to be attending a reunion indoor, then this will be a hit!  Be sure that there is plenty of bite-size things for dipping:  Fruit, rice crispy treats, more chocolate, or even bacon!

Sundae buffet:  Tasting as good as it rhymes, having a sundae buffet is a great idea and easy!  Just bring the ice cream and all of the toppings, and everyone gets to serve themselves with whatever they want!

Strawberry angel food cake skewers:  Can’t cook?  No problem.  Can you poke things with a stick?  Perfect!  Then try this easy dessert!  Offer the option of whipped cream for dipping, or as another option for the fondue fountain!

So now that your shirt is soaked, you’re probably still thinking about that hot fudge brownie cake, right? Sign it up!

Tips for Hosting a Thanksgiving Family Reunion

One of the greatest things to be thankful for is family, and what better way to give thanks than to gather everyone together for a Thanksgiving family reunion? Chances are, everyone has a group that they tend to spend it with every single year, those who they love that live nearby. It’s just not realistic to get together for every single holiday or family function.

With careful planning, and with enough heads up, you can make this possible! Not only is it a great idea to have a family reunion for Thanksgiving, but Thanksgiving is in the fall which is a beautiful time to be outdoors enjoying everything that fall has to offer.

Planning a Thanksgiving Family Reunion

When deciding whether or not to have a Thanksgiving family reunion, one of the biggest questions that always pops up is “should I actually plan it on Thanksgiving day?” This is a very valid question, indeed, and requires much thought. Think about this:

Extended family: It is likely that extended family members are usually spending Thanksgiving time with the family members close to you, such as your brother’s sister-in-law’s cousins. Do you think it would be unfair to exclude them?

Budget: How many people can you really afford to attend the reunion? If you do want to have it on Thanksgiving day, then it’s a good idea to try to at least invite each person who normally spends it with those you planned to invite initially. (This leaves little room for complaints!) You can cut food costs by having a Thanksgiving potluck!

Take a poll: You can’t have any kind of family reunion without family and it can be harder to get people to agree to having it over a holiday. You need to first see how many willing participants you have, and also ask people to explain why their answer may be a “no” so you can try to find ways to turn those “nays” into “yays!”

Planning The Menu

So it’s set, you’re having a Thanksgiving family reunion, but now you need to think about one of the biggest expenses related to Thanksgiving: The food! So whether you’re doing all of the cooking yourself (I salute you!) or you’re having a potluck, here’s an idea on how much food you will need:

  • Turkey: You will need a whole lot of turkey no matter what; it’s Thanksgiving after all! Rule of thumb says to buy a pound for each person who will be present, even count infants to compensate for your uncle who might eat his weight in turkey. So for a 100 person reunion, you’ll need a 100 lbs of turkey! Just 20 people? 20 lbs of turkey.
  • Stuffing: How much stuffing will you need? Plan for 1/2 – 3/4 cup of prepared stuffing per person. So for a dinner for 20 people, you’re looking at at least 10 cups of stuffing. For 50 people, you’ll be looking at anywhere from 25 – 37 cups of the stuff!
  • Potatoes and sweet potatoes: A fair estimate for potatoes is 3 lbs for every eight guests. This means for 20 people, you’ll need about 8 lbs of potatoes. 50 people? 19 lbs. 100 people? 38 lbs!
  • Green beans: If you are making the green beans, then you will need to know how much to buy! 1 lb for every four guests is a good estimate, so 20 people, you will need 5 lbs, 50 people will require about 13 lbs, and 100 people should have a heaping 25 lbs of green beans!
  • Dinner rolls: Think of how many dinner rolls each person typically eats. To make sure you have enough for everyone, plan 2 rolls for every person in attendance.
  • Pumpkin pie: Or any kind of pie, you will want to have one pie for every 6 people. So if you have 20 people, round up to 4 pies. 50 people? Nine pies. 100 people? 17 pies!

Of course there is going to be other things that will be served so you can use the above estimates to make an educated guess as to how much you will need to buy for anything else. If you need more of a guide, I found this guide on the Good Housekeeping website that might just come in handy. That’s a lot of food!

Delicious Appetizers To Impress Your Family

If you are on the hunt for family reunion food ideas, then you should first be focusing your attention on appetizers.  Appetizers are there to prime the taste buds for the meal that is about to come; quite the tease, really!  With such a big job, appetizers should be, well, appetizing!

For a family reunion, you likely have a lot of family to feed, so you may opt for something that allows you to make large batches in a short amount of time, right?  Right.  So here is a list of family reunion food ideas that is sure to please the crowd:

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This is an amazing appetizer that many will love! You make the dip, hollow out the bowl and place dip inside, use the bread from the middle of the bowl to eat the dip, then cut up the bowl once the bread chunks are gone. Easy and satisfying!

Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

If you love bacon and you love mushrooms, then prepare for the potentially greatest appetizer to ever meet your taste buds! Although these take some time to make, the recipe yields quite a bit, so it is well worth the time and effort.

Tomato and Mozzarella Bites

This is a fun way to serve up tomato mozzarella salad! You can opt to serve smaller portions on decorative toothpicks, or serve larger portions on skewers. You know everyone will be grabbing these two and three at a time!

Zesty Onion Dip

If you are an addict to that onion dip in the tubs at the store (you know who you are!) then you will certainly inhale this recipe before it makes it to the reunion! Serve it up with fresh veggies, crackers, or chips and it is sure to be a hit!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Calling all spicy food enthusiasts! If you have never awarded yourself the pleasure of tasting this stuff, then you really haven’t lived! If you plan on making this, I recommend making a very large batch. Worst case scenario isn’t so bad either: you might end up with leftovers (doubt it)!

Classic Deviled Eggs

This is a must-have for any get together or party! They are simple to make and easy to dress up, and don’t take much time at all! With a large group of people, you really can’t go wrong!

Homemade Salsa

Face it, you can tell a clear difference between homemade and store-bought salsa! Homemade is where it’s at! And don’t stop at just making the salsa, serve it up with these easy-to-make Homemade Tortilla Chips!

Citrus Marinated Olives

Just when you thought you have tried all things olive, another delicious, tempting recipe pops up! Although this one takes a couple of days to marinade, it’s well worth the wait! Just try it.

Now that you have eight great family reunion food ideas, which ones will you be making?  Bring a variety of these family reunion food ideas to the table so that everyone can have a taste of your cooking talent!