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Family Reunion Potluck

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.”

10 Tasty Thanksgiving Potluck Recipes

Does the thought of thanksgiving have your mouth watering? Does the thought of not doing all of the cooking on your own sound very much appealing? Well then, how about putting together a family reunion Thanksgiving potluck?

The food committee will have fun with this one, coordinating all of the dishes to ensure a well-rounded Thanksgiving meal. Though with such a large group of people, the host will need to cook more than one turkey which will require some help!

Turkey tips:

  • Turkey fryers: You likely won’t have enough oven space to cook more than one turkey, and turkey should be served warm to hot! Have a few people bring some fryers so they are all delicious and done at the same time!
  • Fry turkeys outside: Every Thanksgiving, it never fails: The news gets flooded with turkey fryer fire stories. Prevent a tragedy by frying them outside and learning the frying basics before attempting this stunt.
  • Number of turkeys: Take the number of people that will be present and figure one pound serving per person. So if you will have 25 people, you should get 25 pounds. 50 people? 50 pounds and so on. That’s a lot of turkey!

Dishes To Bring

Turkey is a given and should be the main course, hands down. What other recipes should people bring to a Thanksgiving potluck? Here’s a few!

  • Green bean casserole:  Perhaps one of the easier casseroles to make and always a winner for Thanksgiving dinner, this one is a must!
  • Green beans with almonds and thyme:  If you have the green beans, and you have the thyme, then why not spice up some green beans?  We don’t do canned green beans on Thanksgiving!
  • Homemade stuffing:  You can’t have a Thanksgiving dinner with boxed stuffing.  You just can’t.  This amazing recipe will surely stuff your guests!
  • Candied yams:  The perfect mix of sweet with your potatoes, everyone will just love these and be asking for seconds!  You might just need to double up on the amount you planned on making.
  • Creamy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes:  Everything is better with bacon and cheese, right?  Right, so what are you waiting for?  Start “bacon” those potatoes!
  • Pumpkin pie:  Last time I checked, it’s basically an unwritten law that you must have a good pumpkin pie with Thanksgiving dinner.  It’s probably a good idea to bring a different pie also for variety.
  • Cranberry nut bread:  Looking for the perfect Thanksgiving potluck treat?  This is it!  Dessert made with tart cranberries and just a hint of orange, your tastebuds will go wild!
  • Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire:  If it’s not enough to bring canned jellied cranberries, then you should really think about making this and serving it up with cream cheese on crackers!
  • Butternut squash soup:  Best Thanksgiving soup, ever.  Just try it.  It doesn’t get much more “fall” than a nice, hot soup made with squash!
  • Spinach artichoke dip in bread bowl:  Need appetizer ideas to make the crowd go wild?  This is it!  Be sure to make some extra dip!

Having a Thanksgiving potluck for a family reunion meal is the perfect way to bring your family together for this holiday. Say grace and be thankful that you can all be together!

How to Host a Family Reunion Potluck

Potluck: A meal where each person in attendance brings a dish to be shared with every guest. Potlucks are a smart, inexpensive way of throwing a party for many people while ensuring there is plenty of food there to feed the whole group. Having a potluck at a family reunion is a terrific idea for both the reunion planners and family members who will be attending.

Getting Family Involved

You cannot have a successful potluck without willing participants, so it is important that you get people on board with the idea before actually following through with it. To get your family involved, just let them know the benefits of having a potluck and that you could really use the help, and that it is a great way to get involved in the family reunion planning. Also, if you know of a dish or two that you enjoy from specific family members, let them know! Fluff it up so that they will want to make that dish.

Whether you talk to your family on the phone, send out a mass email, or post it on a social networking site, make sure you talk about how fun it will be to share different family reunion potluck recipes and how helpful it will be!

Planning the Menu

When it comes to family reunion potluck recipes, you will definitely need a way to plan out the menu to avoid a smorgasbord of potato salads and apple pies! You will need:

  • Drinks
  • Appetizers
  • Side dishes
  • Entrees
  • Desserts

It may also be very helpful to include a section for supplies such as cups and plates, but this is optional if you already planned on supplying such items.

Talk to Each Other

When it comes to planning the actual menu for family reunion potluck recipes, communication is key. There’s a few different ways to keep everyone in the light about who is bringing what. Try some of these ideas to avoid duplicate family reunion potluck recipes:

  • Pinterest: Create a board on Pinterest that your family can use to add what they will be bringing.
  • Keep a list: Maintain your own list and give weekly updates to family members about any changes.
  • Facebook: Create an event on Facebook and in the description, have a list with categories: Drinks, hors d’oeuvres, side dishes, entrees, and desserts. When someone posts what they will be bringing, edit the description to place the food item under the proper category.
  • Mass email: Send a mass email to family with the aforementioned categories and instruct everyone to use the “reply to all” feature and type what they will bring under the proper category.

Planning for a large event is a tough task, so keeping in touch with everyone will surely help you in planning for the potluck. Don’t be afraid to make suggestions, especially if a family member isn’t sure what to bring.

If money is an issue to anyone, see if they would like to help you set up the potluck, instead of bringing an actual dish. No matter what someone’s situation is, there is always a way to get them involved. Nobody should feel left out, especially at a family reunion!

Menu Planning Ideas For Your Reunion

Unless you have the power to feed five thousand people with just five bread loaves and two fish, you will need some creative planning and organization to be able to satisfy the appetites and varying taste preferences of your family during your reunion!

Whether you’re planning meals for 20 or 200, your menu planning skills will be challenged, so you consult with and seek the assistance of other family members for the task. A food committee may even need to be formed separately if you are expecting a fairly large number of guests.

Old-fashioned Potlucks

The popular BYOB (Bring Your Own Beverage) party spills over to other events as well, and might be an idea for your family reunion, a Bring-Your-Own style of meal preparation can be incorporated.

Also called a potluck dinner, each invited family member brings something for the whole group to enjoy. This shares the responsibility fairly to everyone, and is also quite cost-effective compared to other menu planning ideas.

To streamline the menu, have a checklist of food items and dishes that are needed for the event (from appetizers and salads, to entrees and desserts). This way, family members can see what the options are and be guided accordingly.

If you have a theme for the reunion, only put related food items on the checklist (For example: If you’re having a football themed reunion, include items you’d find at the stadium, i.e. nachos, hot dogs, popcorn).

Video: Menu Planning Online

60 Second Family Reunion Food Tip

*Tip: The potluck style is best for family reunions where everyone lives within the area or close to the venue.

Backyard Barbecues

There’s just something about eating outdoors that makes the event more relaxed and fun. If your family reunion is held during the summer or when the weather is generally pleasant, take advantage of the sunshine and have a barbecue outside.

Barbecue or grill parties are especially popular during the summer, or for family reunions coinciding with holidays such as Fourth of July or Memorial Day.

Menu planning ideas for backyard barbecues include:

  • baby back ribs
  • steaks
  • chicken
  • hamburgers
  • hot dogs

If you have a large group, make sure you have more than one grill, so everyone can eat at the same time and no one has to wait too long for food to be ready.

As for the costs and preparation, you can ask family members to either bring food to grill (potluck style), or pool money together and have the food committee do the shopping and preparation.

Picnics in the Park

Like barbecues, picnics are a family favorite for reunions! They offer guests a comfortable environment and reunion organizers easy planning and quick prepping!

Menu planning ideas for picnics in the park include:

  • subs & sandwiches
  • potato salad
  • baked beans
  • potato chips
  • watermelon & other fruit
  • …and don’t forget the lemonade!

Picnics are more commonly done in parks or other public venues, so usually food has to be relatively easy to prepare, bring to the picnic area, and require little or no cooking once at the location. Some picnic areas do provide cooking facilities, but many do not, so make sure this is factored into your menu planning.

Professional Food Caterers

If you are planning an event for a lot of extended family members, hiring a food catering service relieves you and your planners of much of the burdens related to meal planning.

Aside from the actual meal preparation, most food catering companies also provide assessments of how much food will need, based on the size of your guest list, and also offer different themes and customizable menus that match your reunion theme. If your reunion theme requires a formal, multi-course menu, professional catering is possibly the best option.

Professionally-catered menus for your family reunion also frees you and your guests from the clean-up that transpires after the event. This allows everyone the chance to simply relax and enjoy the reunion with the rest of the family members.

Food catering generally will cost more, however, so make sure that you are aware of the expenses. The whole family can pitch in for the costs; you can have a standard charge that everyone pays (this should be mentioned in the invitations). You can also include this information on your family reunion website with a family reunion registration form and add a place for registration dues.