13 Iconic Dishes You'll Find At Every Kansas Potluck
By Clarisa|Published February 14, 2018
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Clarisa
Author
Born and raised Kansan, Clarisa has lived in both tiny towns and cities during their time here in the Sunflower State. As a busy mother of one crazy kid, two cats, and two geckos, they write whenever there is spare time.
Whether it’s a friendly get-together or a church lunch, you’ll find that potlucks are very common in the Midwest, especially Kansas. The table is loaded with glass dishes covered in aluminum foil and crockpots galore. At the end of the table, there are desserts, and at the beginning, there’s plastic silverware and friends all around. You’re at a Kansas potluck, but what’s usually on the table? Did someone go the easy way out and just bring a vegetable tray? Did Mary bring the deviled eggs she promised? Let’s take a look at 13 iconic dishes you’ll find at many a Kansas potluck.
Odds are, someone volunteered to bring mashed potatoes. If they are homemade, good. If they just poured flakes from a box... shame on you. We take our carbs seriously!
Pulled pork or BBQ chicken is a great meal for potlucks because you can just bring it in a crockpot and keep it hooked up during the whole meal. Of course, don't forget to bring buns!
Whether it's creamed corn or just a bunch of corn heated up in a crockpot, you'll find it at almost every potluck. Bonus points if it's in some type of corn-based salad you're too scared to try.
I personally am not a big fan of potato salad, but it's a common dish at any potluck in Kansas. Of course, some people just buy it from the store and bring a spoon.
Look, I don't know who came up with this idea in the first place, but I think it's terrible. I've tried it, it keeps appearing everywhere, and for some reason, people love it. I hear there's also a Green Jell-O variant, which makes it even worse.
If you were asked to bring chips, thank you. However, sometimes people don't communicate, and half of your potluck turns into 10 different types of chips instead of filling meal items.
Inevitably, someone is in charge of bringing dinner rolls. Whether they bought King's Hawaiian or made their own, you're glad they didn't forget them, because what would we do without bread?
Equally liked and hated, but this dish makes an appearance at any potluck where you find people trying to put vegetables into our diet. Was the corn not enough?
Whipped cream, grapes, mandarin oranges, cherries, and any other little bits of fruit find their way into this constantly-changing dish. I've heard horror stories of people using mayonnaise, but I don't want to think about that too hard.
