What Should I Bring for Thanksgiving Potluck

One press picks one dish to take to a Thanksgiving potluck, with a line on getting it there.

What Should I Bring for Thanksgiving Potluck

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  1. Green bean casserolePack the crispy onions apart and scatter them on when you arrive.

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How it works

Press the button for one of 81 things to bring to a Thanksgiving potluck: sides, salads and sauces, breads, starters, desserts, drinks and things that need no cooking.

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Plan around the oven

On Thanksgiving the host's oven belongs to the turkey. The easiest dishes arrive ready to serve: hot in a slow cooker or an insulated carrier, or happy at room temperature, like rolls, salads and cranberry sauce. If yours needs oven time, ask before you choose it.

Tell the host what you drew

A potluck works when the courses balance. Text the host your pick, or write it on the sign-up sheet, so the table does not end up with five pies and no vegetables. Leave the turkey to the host unless you are asked.

  • Put a label on the dish that says what is in it, for guests with allergies and guests who do not eat meat.
  • Tape your name under the dish, so it finds its way home.

Questions and answers

What should I bring to Thanksgiving dinner if I can't cook?

Something from a store that fills a gap: bakery rolls and good butter, a pie, ice, sparkling apple juice, vanilla ice cream for the pies or boxes for leftovers. Washing up counts too.

What is the easiest thing to bring to a Thanksgiving potluck?

Cranberry sauce. It takes one pot, is made the day before, travels in a jar and is served cold. A leafy salad that you dress at the table is the next easiest.

How much food should I bring to a Thanksgiving potluck?

One dish. Ask the host for the head count and make enough for each guest to take a spoonful, not a full serving: a Thanksgiving plate has to hold everyone else's dish too.

What dessert should I bring to Thanksgiving?

Pumpkin, pecan and apple pie are the ones guests look for, so ask which are taken. After those, a pumpkin roll, an apple crisp or a plate of pecan bars adds something new.

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All 81 things to bring

Sides 16

  • Baked macaroni and cheese The dish the children's table goes to first.
  • Braised collard greens They sit in a lidded pot and taste better for the wait.
  • Cauliflower gratin A change from potatoes that still goes with gravy.
  • Corn pudding Soft enough for the youngest and the oldest guest at the table.
  • Creamed spinach Something green and rich that fits in a small pot.
  • Glazed carrots A bright dish on a table that runs to beige.
  • Green bean casserole Pack the crispy onions apart and scatter them on when you arrive.
  • Green beans with almonds The lighter answer when the casserole is already taken.
  • Mashed potatoes Carry them in a slow cooker set to warm and they stay soft until dinner.
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts Good warm or cool, so they need no oven space at the host's.
  • Roasted butternut squash Cut it into cubes so it serves with one spoon.
  • Roasted root vegetables Carrots, parsnips and beets on one tray, cut to the same size.
  • Scalloped potatoes Carry them in the baking dish, wrapped in a towel to hold the heat.
  • Stuffing baked in its own dish It travels in the pan it baked in, under foil.
  • Sweet potato casserole Ask whether the table leans toward marshmallows or pecans on top.
  • Wild rice pilaf A side that guests who skip the stuffing can pile up in its place.

Salads and sauces 10

  • Apple and walnut salad Toss the apple in lemon juice so it stays pale on the drive.
  • Cranberry and orange relish No stove needed: it is chopped, stirred and chilled.
  • Cranberry sauce Make it the day before and carry it in a jar. It is served cold.
  • Extra jug of gravy Ask first, then bring it hot in an insulated bottle.
  • Leafy salad, dressed at the table Often the only raw thing on the table, and welcome for it.
  • Mushroom gravy So the guests who do not eat meat have something to pour.
  • Pear and blue cheese salad Slice the pears last, at the host's counter.
  • Relish tray Pickles, olives and celery sticks for the hour before the turkey is carved.
  • Roasted beet salad Carry the beets apart from the leaves, or everything turns pink.
  • Shaved Brussels sprout salad It can be dressed before you leave and still arrive crisp.

Breads 10

  • Buttermilk biscuits Bake them last, so they are still warm when you walk in.
  • Corn muffins One each, no knife, easy for small hands.
  • Cranberry and orange loaf A sweet bread that sits between the rolls and the pies.
  • Crescent rolls Bake two trays. The first is gone before the plates are full.
  • Crusty loaf and a board Bring the bread knife too, with your name on it.
  • Honey butter A small jar that makes store-bought rolls taste like more.
  • Pull-apart dinner rolls Wrap them in foil and a towel straight from your own oven.
  • Pumpkin bread Slice it at home. What is left is the host's breakfast.
  • Skillet cornbread Bring it in the skillet, with a pot holder over the handle.
  • Sweet potato biscuits Orange inside, and good with leftover turkey tomorrow.

Starters 9

  • Baked brie with cranberries It needs a few minutes of oven. Ask the host before you count on it.
  • Butternut squash soup Pour it from an insulated jug into cups, with no bowls to wash.
  • Cheese board Build it on a board you can leave behind and collect later.
  • Cranberry and cream cheese pinwheels Roll and slice them the night before.
  • Cut vegetables and a herb dip Light on purpose. Nobody wants to be full before the turkey.
  • Deviled eggs with paprika They go first, so fill the tray.
  • Spiced nuts Set them out in small bowls around the room, and say nuts on the label.
  • Spinach and artichoke dip Bring it in a small slow cooker and it stays warm without the oven.
  • Stuffed mushrooms One bite each, served from a covered dish.

Desserts 14

  • Apple crisp It can warm in the oven while everyone eats dinner.
  • Apple pie It needs no warming and no oven space.
  • Bread pudding Carry the sauce in a jar and pour it at the table.
  • Chocolate cream pie For the guests who do not like pumpkin. There are always some.
  • Fresh whipped cream Whip it at home and keep it cold. Every pie on the table wants it.
  • Gingersnaps Bake them early in the week; they travel in a tin.
  • Mini pies baked in a muffin tin Two or three flavors, and no slicing.
  • Pecan bars Pie flavor in a square that needs no fork.
  • Pecan pie It rides flat on the car floor better than on a lap.
  • Pumpkin cheesecake Ask about refrigerator space before you choose it.
  • Pumpkin pie Ask who else is bringing one. Then bring the whipped cream as well.
  • Pumpkin roll Slice it at home and lay the slices on a platter.
  • Soft pumpkin cookies Small enough to manage after a full plate.
  • Sweet potato pie Set it beside the pumpkin and let the table argue.

Drinks 8

  • Box of tea bags For the guests who skip coffee with their pie.
  • Coffee for after dinner Bring the ground coffee and the cream. The host has enough to think about.
  • Cranberry punch Mix it in the bowl when you get there, so the fizz lasts.
  • Hot chocolate for the kids' table Bring the marshmallows in a bag of their own.
  • Sparkling apple juice Something to toast with that every age can drink.
  • Sparkling water with sliced citrus Slice the lemons and oranges at home and bring them in a tub.
  • Unsweetened iced tea In a jug, with the sugar on the side for each guest to add.
  • Warm apple cider Carry it hot in an insulated jug, or heat it in a slow cooker when you arrive.

No cooking needed 14

  • Apple cider donuts from a bakery For the cooks at breakfast, or for the dessert table later.
  • Bakery pie Move it to your own plate if you like. Nobody asks.
  • Bakery rolls and good butter Let the butter soften on the drive.
  • Canned cranberry sauce Slide it out whole and slice it. Somebody at the table waits all year for it.
  • Crayons and a roll of paper for the kids' table Roll the paper down the table and it is a cloth to draw on.
  • Deck of cards or a board game For the stretch between dinner and pie.
  • Dish soap, a sponge and rolled-up sleeves Washing up is the dish every host hopes somebody brings.
  • Extension cord Slow cookers gather wherever the outlets are.
  • Extra serving spoons Label them with tape, and they come home with you.
  • Fall flowers for the table Keep them low enough to talk over, in a jar the host can keep.
  • Ice, and a cooler to keep it in The host's freezer is full already.
  • Take-home boxes for leftovers Enough for every household at the table to carry a plate home.
  • Two extra chairs Ask first. A full table can come up a seat short.
  • Vanilla ice cream Ask about freezer space, or bring it in a cooler bag.