Southern Style Potluck Dishes Everyone Should Try

There's nothing like a potluck. Few things are better in life than meeting up with friends and family, with the dishes that everyone's bought coming together to build a glorious feast. Potlucks are often said to have come from the tradition of Native American "Potlatch" dinners, a reciprocal form of eating where hosts would alternate providing food to people. However, others state that the word originated in 16th century England, indicating an unplanned meal given to a weary traveller or surprise guest, who would receive the "luck of the pot" — also known as the leftovers of last night's meal.

Regardless of where potlucks actually began, though, it's clear that they've always existed as a social style of eating which exudes hospitality and warmth. It's therefore no surprise that potlucks took off so much in the South. In the Southern states, virtually everyone has a specialty potluck dish that they can whip up at short notice. Plus, so many of these dishes have remained Southern staples, and haven't quite taken off nationwide. Menu items like corn pudding, seven-layer salad, and Texas sheet cake are staples of Southern potlucks that loads of folks have yet to try, and we've decided it's time to make a case for them.

Most people know that cornbread is delicious, but they're also aware that it isn't the most nutritious item on the menu. As such, it's only natural that there have been moves to make eating it feel a bit more wholesome — but when this happens in the South, you can guarantee that making it taste good remains top priority. The result is cornbread salad, a potluck dish which first became popular in southern Texas. It soon spread across the South, with variations showing up in places like Florida and New Mexico. While its exact origins are unclear, it may well be an offshoot of gazpacho salad, a spin on the famous soup which serves its classic flavors in solid form.

The difference between cornbread and gazpacho salad, though, is simple: The former has cornbread in it. Leftover cornbread is crumbled up and mixed with chopped vegetables, bacon, and mayo. Additional ingredients like hard-boiled eggs, dill pickles, and seasonings can be mixed in, too; it's a great way to use up whatever you have left over. However, it doesn't keep quite as well as alternatives like potato and macaroni salad, as the longer the cornbread sits the gloopier it will get — so it's best eaten straight away.

We love a dish that tells you how it's made in its very name. Five cup salad is one of these dishes. A fruit salad, this menu item is also known as ambrosia or 24-hour salad, and it was a favorite in the South in the first half of the 20th century (although references to the dish started first appearing in cookbooks in the 1860s). It's especially closely associated with Christmas, with its sense of fanciness and luxury coming into its own when you're organizing a holiday potluck, and its seasonal flavors matching the other dishes served during festivities. Nowadays, though, it's also a pleasingly retro potluck dish.

So, what's five cup salad made of? No prizes for guessing that it's constructed of five cups of different ingredients. A cup each of canned oranges, canned pineapples, and fruit cocktail make up the fruit element. Next comes a cup of mini marshmallows, which give the salad a delightful bounce. The final cup is a heaping pile of whipped topping, which serves as the dressing for the other ingredients and brings them all together. Its preparation is simple, its flavor is timeless, and its appeal is universal. Five cup salad is pretty much unbeatable.

Few dishes scream potluck more than grape jelly cocktail meatballs. This is the kind of menu item you're unlikely to find anywhere but a buffet table or a barbecue, but that doesn't make it any less delicious. Despite their slightly kitschy, old-fashioned feel, grape jelly cocktail meatballs were originally billed as an elegant dish when they first appeared in the early 1960s. Although they were big in the South, they're one of those potluck foods that have universal appeal across the country — although nowadays you're more likely to find them in the Southern states, where their appeal remains evergreen.

Part of that appeal is chalked up to how easy they are to make. Grape jelly cocktail meatballs require very few ingredients, with meatballs being mixed with a combo of the titular grape jelly and chili sauce. You can make your own meatballs if you want, but the easier way to do it is just to use the frozen kind. You can also mix in extras like mustard, barbecue sauce, and chives to create more layers of flavor. Whatever you add, though, the final result should be tangy, spicy, sweet, and meaty.

Corn pudding isn't going to win any beauty prizes, but it's certainly one of the tastiest things you'll find at a Southern potluck. The dish is a spin on English savory custard pudding, adapted to incorporate corn, which has traditionally grown in abundance across the South of the country. Corn pudding has been made for generations, with recipes handed down between friends and family members, and it's the kind of thing that can be served in virtually any social situation that calls for food, whether it be a small midweek gathering or a massive holiday event.

The main ingredient in corn pudding is, of course, corn. The vegetable is mixed with beaten eggs and half-and-half or cream, and then seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Then, the whole thing is baked in a dish until set through (although other variants aim for a creamy consistency in the center). Because corn has such an easygoing flavor profile, you can push your corn pudding in one way or the other. If you want to make it sweeter, you can amp that side up with sugar or honey; if, conversely, you want a savory pudding, bacon and chives are the way to go. However it tastes, it should be served heaped onto a plate in generous proportions.

Pound cake may not be exclusive to the South, but it's definitely most at home at a Southern potluck. This classic of Southern kitchens dates all the way back to the 19th century, and although techniques and methods have varied over the years to help make the cake lighter and more delicate, most recipes all start with the same ingredients. Butter, sugar, flour, and eggs are all combined in a bowl, with any extra flavorings that the cook desires being added in, before the whole thing is baked. Cake recipes don't come much simpler than that, folks.

Although pound cake's name implies that you're heaping in ingredients by the pound, the truth nowadays is a little more complex. Pound cake was originally made with a pound each of butter, eggs, sugar, and flour, but over time chefs figured out that those ratios weren't ideal for the best crumb and the ideal flavor. As a result, pound cake recipes nowadays generally ask for more flour and sugar, to balance out the heaviness of the eggs and butter. Artificial leaveners like baking powder or soda are also typically added. Nonetheless, it's the homely, simple appeal of this cake which keeps it so popular at potlucks.

There aren't a lot of dishes which feel as Southern as pimento cheese, which is why it's so surprising that it was invented in another part of the country entirely. Pimento cheese was first pioneered in the late 19th century, and stemmed from two new foods coming into their own in the United States. Cream cheese (which was invented in the 1870s in New York State) and sweet red peppers imported for the first time were mixed together to make a brand new dish. Soon, factory-produced pimento cheese was being made in vast quantities, mostly across Northern states.

However, the rise of the domestic red pepper industry in Georgia and the broader popularity of pimento cheese's ingredients across the South led to a relocation. Over time, pimento cheese came to be considered a Southern food, and one which graced potluck tables throughout the 20th century. In the last couple of decades pimento cheese's popularity has died down a little, as folks look towards other sources of spice and creaminess. Nevertheless, it remains a quintessentially Southern dish.

Not all potluck dishes are meant to be served at happy events. Texas sheet cake holds the distinction of being a Southern potluck menu item which is primarily served at funerals, although it can also show up at church events. Also known as Texas funeral cake (for obvious reasons), it's unclear at what point exactly it became associated with mourning. However, recipes for the cake began appearing in recipe books towards the middle of the 20th century, and funeral cakes themselves have been a constant in northern European countries for generations. At some point, people clearly decided that this sweet, gooey, pecan-topped chocolate cake was just the thing that folks needed at times of intense sadness.

Perhaps Texas sheet cake's appeal at funerals also comes from its preparation. This is the kind of cake that you can throw together easily, without too much thought going into it, making it ideal for moments when cooks are distracted by other things. Although it's typically made with chocolate, Texas sheet cake is versatile enough to take on other flavors, and red velvet and peanut butter spins on it are common.

Southern cuisine is often associated with spice, corn, and meat, pointing towards the food resources that are most common in the region. However, it's easy to forget how much its cuisine has been influenced by the sea. The Gulf Coast and its food traditions have led to some unique dishes which show up time and time again at potlucks, and smoked mullet dip is one of them, a creamy, spicy, woody dish that's best served heaped onto crackers.

Smoked mullet dip has its roots in South Florida, where people have been smoking the fish for hundreds of years, influenced by the practices of the indigenous Tocobaga community who were the original residents of the area. Once smoked, the fish is then flaked up and tipped into a food processor with cream cheese, jalapeños, Old Bay, mayo, and lime. The ingredients are whizzed into a smooth paste and served, although other folks may mix in some diced veggies to give it a little extra crunch. The ideal way to eat it is with a dash or two of hot sauce on top, to provide tart contrast to the smokiness of the fish.

We love a potluck dish that's also a visual showstopper, and seven-layer salad definitely delivers on that front. Although seven-layer salad is distinctly Southern, its popularity has spread beyond the bounds of those states, with the Midwest also putting their own spin on this menu item. We can see why: It's a salad that's effortlessly appealing, requires way less work than you might think to put it all together, and covers a lot of flavor bases in one fell swoop. You can also add almost anything you like, although ingredients like bacon, eggs, cheese, frozen peas, and green onions are all pretty standard.

The key to a seven-layer salad is in (you guessed it!) the layering. You start with a base layer of lettuce, spinach, and other vegetables, before then piling on your proteins. A dressing made from mayo, sour cream, sugar, and other seasonings is then added, before frozen peas given the salad the crowning touch. The separation between the salad leaves and dressing can help to keep this salad crispy for a while, but it's the kind of thing you want to serve as quickly as possible. Oh, and don't forget to make it in a clear dish: You don't want to miss out on how good it looks from the side.

What's more Southern than a deviled egg? These little nuggets of flavorful joy are perhaps the quintessential potluck menu item, and while they've spread all over the country (and indeed the world), all roads lead back to the South. Deviled eggs show up at virtually every potluck event imaginable in the South, and have done so since the late 19th century when they started showing up in cookbooks. Their popularity is so massive that specially designed platters have been made to display the eggs in all their glory, and these platters were once prized bridal gifts back in the '40s.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why deviled eggs are so popular at potlucks, but perhaps it comes down to how versatile they are. Every cook out there has their own spin on deviled eggs, with different flavor combos coming together in the yolk mixture that demonstrate their heritage, traditions, and tastes. Deviled eggs are also affordable to put together, easy to eat by hand, and very transportable. In short, they're the perfect potluck dish, and one everyone loves.