I love BBQ potlucks! They’re one of my most favorite summer activities—and the bigger the potluck, the better. I love seeing everyone’s offerings and trying a little bit of everything. My kids get to run around like monkeys, and I only have to put a minimal effort into dinner. Win-Win.
I have some ideas for you that are (relatively) healthy, easy to throw together, and are sun-safe. Because mayo in the sun? No bueno.
Grilled Marinated Vegetables
One of my favorite summertime side dishes is grilled marinated vegetables. Unfortunately, my kids wince and make gagging noises when I pull out any grill-friendly vegetable *eye roll* so I make a big batch and take it to a potluck so I can have some and not have to eat it every day for a week.You can use zucchini or other summer squash, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, thick tomato slices, asparagus, and other vegetables that aren’t too delicate and would hold up to grill heat.
After you grill them, they get drizzled with an herb vinaigrette and hang out for an hour or so to get nice and tasty. It’s a perfect side dish to make ahead and it doesn’t have to be warm to eat. I actually prefer it at room temperature!
Light Cabbage Slaw
Another of my summertime staples is a light and fresh cabbage slaw. Traditional mayonnaise-coated coleslaw is a classic sidekick to a plate of BBQ, but I’m usually craving something lighter in the summer. Coating a slaw in a light, citrus dressing keeps it sun-safe and won’t leave you feeling heavy. I left you a recipe for some honey-mustard dressing, but you can play with any citrus. I also like to dress it in a southwest combination of lime, cilantro, and cumin.And if you have a food processor with a slicing blade, this slaw comes together in a snap!
Flavored Butter ... On Everything
Potlucks frequently feature a big container of cooked corn on the cob and some butter. Or a large pan of baked potatoes and some butter.What if the butter wasn’t just regular butter? What if it was garlic butter? Or lime butter? Or chipotle butter? You’d be guaranteed an invite at every potluck after that. My absolute favorite? Baked sweet potatoes with lime butter. TRY IT. Pretty please.
Flavored butter, or compound butter as it’s often called, is so easy to make. Just soften a cube of butter and stir in whatever you want. Make sure to use high-quality butter for maximum flavor. I really love Kerrygold grass-fed butter for its richer buttery flavor.
For the flavored butters shown above, just use one cube of butter with any of these add-ins:
- For Garlic Butter, add 2 to 3 cloves of minced garlic
- For Lime Butter, add the zest from 1 lime
- For Chipotle Butter, add a minced chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce.
You could do lemon butter, orange butter, herb butter, spicy butter, green chile butter, onion & chive butter or even bacon butter. My heart just skipped a beat with that one.
Melon-Berry Salad with Goat Cheese & Honey
Bringing a large bowl of melon to a potluck might seem like a boring idea, but have you noticed there is NEVER any melon left at the end?This recipe might not guarantee leftovers, but it’s an easy and creative riff on a bowl of chopped watermelon. Watermelon feta salad is a popular choice, too, but I went with goat cheese, mixed berries, and a drizzle of honey. It’s a fun and unexpected combination.
Fancy Burger Bar
Another way to make a BBQ more interesting is making fancy burgers! If you’re not in charge of the burgers, volunteer to bring some fun toppings. This might seem like a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be. Just gather some odds and ends from your fridge and add a few more prepped/cooked items.You could do a Southwest/Mexican theme and bring hot sauce, pepper jack cheese, whole green chiles, salsa, spicy mayo, and guacamole. Or a steakhouse theme and bring sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, bacon, and BBQ sauce. Or just bring a mishmash of things and let everyone go wild. It’ll be fun.
I hope this gives you some ideas to shake up your potluck offerings. I’d love to hear some of your favorite things to share!
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