85 things to bring

What Should I Bring to a Potluck at Work

Slow cooker meatballs, pinwheel wraps, a fruit tray or the plates and forks: five things to bring at a press.

Show all 85

Sweet and sour meatballsLeave toothpicks beside the pot and nobody needs a plate.
Carton of hot coffee from a coffee shopAsk for cups, lids, milk and sugar with it.
Baked potatoes in foil, with toppingsThey wait in the pot, still wrapped, until each person is ready.
ShortbreadButter, sugar and flour, and it keeps in a tin all week.
Three tubs of dip and a bag of pita chipsPut the tubs on a plate and nobody minds that you did not cook.

Next step Draw another dessert Write the shopping list

All 85 things to bring

No kitchen needed 15

Antipasto skewers Olives, cheese and salami on a stick, eaten standing by a desk.
Bean and corn salsa with scoop chips Stir it the night before; it is better after a night in the fridge.
Broccoli salad with sunflower seeds It is as good at one o'clock as it was at nine.
Bruschetta, topping and toasts packed apart Spoon it on at the table so the bread stays crisp.
Cheese ball rolled in herbs Shape it the night before and bring a small knife for spreading.
Chicken salad and a sleeve of crackers Park it in the office fridge until the table is set.
Chopped Greek salad, dressing on the side Cucumber and peppers stay crisp where lettuce would wilt.
Cold sesame noodles Good straight from the fridge; bring tongs, since a spoon will not lift them.
Couscous salad with chickpeas A filling plate for the people who skip the meat.
Egg salad finger sandwiches Cut the crusts off and they look like more work than they were.
Pinwheel wraps, sliced They stack in one box and nobody needs a fork.
Seven-layer dip with tortilla chips Build it in a clear dish so the layers show.
Slider sandwiches on soft rolls Make two kinds and mark which tray has no meat.
Summer rolls with peanut sauce Lay a damp paper towel over them so the wrappers stay soft.
Vegetable sticks in cups, dip at the bottom One cup each, so nobody hovers over a shared bowl.

Slow cooker dishes 13

Baked potatoes in foil, with toppings They wait in the pot, still wrapped, until each person is ready.
Buffalo chicken dip Put celery sticks next to it for the people who skip the chips.
Chocolate fondue with fruit to dip A small slow cooker keeps it liquid; bring skewers.
Italian beef for sandwiches Bring the rolls sliced, and a slotted spoon so the bread stays dry.
Little sausages in barbecue sauce Two things in a pot, and the pot goes home empty.
Minestrone, with a bag of rolls Mugs beat bowls when people carry lunch back to a desk.
Pulled chicken and a bag of slider buns Shred it at home; a fork left in the pot does the serving.
Slow cooker oatmeal with toppings Brown sugar, raisins and nuts go in bowls beside the pot.
Sweet and sour meatballs Leave toothpicks beside the pot and nobody needs a plate.
Taco filling, with shells and toppings beside it Line the toppings up in the order people build a taco.
Turkey chili, toppings on the side Bring a ladle and paper cups, which are easier to hold than bowls.
Vegetable curry and a pot of rice Say on the card how hot it is.
Warm cheese dip with tortilla chips Stir it now and then so the top does not set.

Breakfast potluck 14

Bagels with two kinds of cream cheese Slice them at home; an office kitchen rarely has a bread knife.
Banana bread, sliced Slice it at home and wrap the loaf back together.
Blueberry muffins Bake them small and there is one for everybody.
Breakfast burritos wrapped in foil Write the filling on the foil with a marker.
Cinnamon rolls, iced when you arrive Carry the icing in a jar so the lid of the box stays clean.
Clementines and bananas Fruit that needs no knife, no bowl and no washing-up.
Coffee cake It cuts into neat squares and goes with what the office already brews.
Egg and cheese bake, cut into squares It reheats one square at a time in the office microwave.
Hard-boiled eggs, already peeled Bring salt and pepper; the office kitchen may have neither.
Mini quiches Two bites each, and nobody has to cut anything.
Orange juice and a stack of cups Somebody has to bring the drink that is not coffee.
Overnight oats in small jars Made the night before and eaten with one spoon.
Scones with jam They ride to work in a tin and need only a knife for the jam.
Yogurt, granola and berries to layer Set out cups and let people build their own.

Sweets 13

Caramel corn in paper bags Portion it out so people can take a bag back to their desks.
Chocolate-dipped strawberries Carry them in a single layer so the chocolate does not smudge.
Coconut macaroons Chewy, and they stack in a tin without sticking.
Fruit dip with sliced apples Slice the apples at work so they are still white at lunch.
Fudge, cut small A little goes a long way, so one pan feeds a big team.
Lemon bundt cake Glaze it at home; it slices cleanly with a plastic knife.
Mini cheesecakes in paper cases One each, and no slicing at the table.
Oatmeal raisin cookies A cookie that is still good on day two, if any are left.
Sheet cake, already cut Cut into small squares, one pan serves the whole floor.
Shortbread Butter, sugar and flour, and it keeps in a tin all week.
Snickerdoodles No chocolate to melt in a warm car.
Trifle in a clear bowl Bring a long spoon, and expect to explain what a trifle is.
Whoopie pies Cake you hold in one hand, so no plates and no forks.

From the shop 16

A dozen doughnuts Bring a mixed box and cut a few in half.
Bagged salad kits, tossed in a big bowl Two kits, one bowl, and the dressing is already in the bag.
Bucket of fried chicken Good hot or cold, which suits a lunch that starts late.
Cans of flavored seltzer Chill them the night before; ice is hard to find in an office.
Carton of hot coffee from a coffee shop Ask for cups, lids, milk and sugar with it.
Fruit tray Take the lid off and your part is done.
Name cards and a marker for the dishes Each cook writes what the dish is and what is in it.
Paper towels and a roll of trash bags The cleanup nobody signs up for and everybody is glad of.
Party sub, cut into pieces Order it the day before and ask for it sliced.
Plates, forks and napkins for everyone Sign up for these early: the table cannot start without them.
Pot stickers with dipping sauce Pick them up on the way in so they arrive warm.
Rotisserie chicken, pulled off the bone Shred it at home and bring rolls; it becomes sandwiches.
Three tubs of dip and a bag of pita chips Put the tubs on a plate and nobody minds that you did not cook.
Tray of samosas from a restaurant Ask for the chutneys in separate tubs.
Two large pizzas, timed for noon Have them delivered to the front desk and carry them up hot.
Vegetable sushi rolls Ask for extra soy sauce packets and chopsticks.

The odd one nobody else brings 14

A toaster and a box of frozen waffles Bring syrup, and check that the kitchen has a free socket.
Ants on a log Celery, peanut butter and raisins: the after-school snack, for adults.
Dill pickle dip with potato chips The pickle from the side of a sandwich, turned into a bowl of dip.
Edamame in the pod Salt them and set out an empty bowl for the pods.
Fortune cookies for the whole team One each, read out loud at the end of lunch.
Fruit most people have not tried Dragon fruit, lychees or star fruit, cut up, with a card that names it.
Instant noodle cups and a kettle A hot lunch for the person who finds nothing else to eat.
Lunchbox snack board Cheese sticks, crackers, fruit leather and raisins, laid out like a platter.
Popcorn with five seasonings to shake on Pop it at work and the smell does your advertising.
Rice cooker full of plain rice It goes under half the dishes on the table.
Six bottles of hot sauce, mild to wild Line them up in order of heat, with plain crackers for tasting.
Stuffed dates Sweet, salty and gone in one bite; say on the card what is inside.
Three boxes of cereal and a jug of milk A cereal bar is odd at noon, and people line up for it anyway.
Your family's dish, with its story on a card The plate coworkers ask about is the one they have never seen.

How it works

These 85 things to bring to a potluck at work cover dishes that need no kitchen, slow cooker pots, breakfast, sweets, things from the shop and a few odd ones.

Read the full guide

Plan for one microwave

An office has a fridge, one microwave and a line for both. Pick a dish that is served cold, that arrives hot in a slow cooker, or that is fine at room temperature. If yours must be warmed, bring it in pieces that heat a plate at a time.

Read the sign-up sheet first

Fill a gap. If the sheet is long on desserts and chips, take a main dish, the plates or the forks. Write your dish down as soon as you choose, and ask where the outlets are before you promise a slow cooker.

Stand a card by your dish that says what is in it: nuts, dairy, meat, wheat.
Tape your name to the pot, the lid and the spoon; all three wander off in a shared kitchen.

Questions and answers

What is the most random thing to bring to a potluck?

A cereal bar: three boxes of cereal and a jug of milk. A toaster with frozen waffles, a rice cooker of plain rice or a line of hot sauces are just as odd, and all four get eaten.

What should I bring to a potluck at work if I can't cook?

Something from a shop, moved to a plate: a rotisserie chicken with rolls, a party sub, a fruit tray or a dozen doughnuts. Plates, forks and napkins count too, and someone has to bring them.

What is the easiest thing to bring to a potluck at work?

Sweet and sour meatballs. Meatballs and a jar of sauce go into a slow cooker at home, the pot plugs in near the table, and people serve themselves with toothpicks.

What should I not bring to a potluck at work?

Anything that needs an oven, a dish that has to be carved or put together at the table, strong-smelling fish for the shared microwave, and alcohol unless your workplace has said yes.