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When Potluck Goes Wrong: 21 Hilariously Bad Dishes Shared by Redditors

Roy R. Oct 24, 2023 07:00 PM EDT

Gather 'round, folks, as we venture into the bizarre world of potluck nightmares. In this culinary comedy of errors, we've compiled 21 epic fails shared by Reddit users, showcasing the absolute worst dishes ever brought to a communal table. From congealed casseroles to questionable desserts, these culinary catastrophes will have you simultaneously cringing and chuckling. Brace yourselves for a gastronomic adventure you won't soon forget!

worst potluck We had a potluck today and someone brought some Doritos. People started eating them and complaining that they tasted like dirt. We looked at the bag and it had a promo for Mockingjay part 1. The chips expired in 2014! This was a mixed department pot luck and we haven't found the person that brought the 9 year old chips. — Save

worst potluck An office potluck - as everyone is eating, one of the girls says, "I'm sorry if you find ant cat hair in the green bean casserole. My cat kept getting up on the counter to nibble at the edges." Cue everyone looking at each other like — Save

worst potluck We had a lady who made her special pb fudge. But she wouldn't put it out with all the food. She would walk around with her Tupperware and offer the people she liked a piece. Not more than 1 piece you were allowed to take. If she didn't like you, you didn't get one. This went on for years. The last year she worked there, we all decided to say no thank you when she approached us. Oh and 2 of us brought fudge for everyone at the table spread. She was furious that we foiled her — Save

worst potluck My cousin's wife wanted to make pimento cheese sandwiches for a Super Bowl party. Problem is she had no idea what went into pimento cheese and refused to go to the store because it "couldn't be that hard." So she mixed a bag of shredded cheese, an ungodly amount of mayonnaise, and for the little red bits? Maraschino cherry halves — Save

worst potluck Grandma's Jello salad, made with cottage cheese and celery — Save

worst potluck Casserole with a side of roaches. Not even kidding. They crawled out of the bag she brought her dish in. I stopped participating in potlucks after that. — Save

worst potluck I'll fall on that sword. I brought Shepards pie to a Christmas party and thought it festive to colour the mashed potatoes green. — Save

worst potluck Someone made brownies with ground meat in them to a church potluck. My vegetarian friend discovered this when she bit into one. She was more confused and horrified about their existence than she was upset about eating meat-- it was the concept of this abomination itself that was disturbing and baffling. — Save

worst potluck I thought she had to be wrong. "You haven't had ground beef in years, you don't know what it tastes like anymore, it's probably something else." I tried them. It was beef. I was disgusted and really, really, really confused. — Save

worst potluck Years later, I found out that apparently this was a thing. Someone came up with this-- putting beef in brownies-- as a substitute for walnuts for people with nut allergies. — Save

worst potluck While this explains it a little, in theory, I'm still confused about why someone would assume that people who can't eat walnuts would prefer to eat ground beef brownies over just. Regular nut-free brownies. — Save

worst potluck Some kind of "lasagna" made by someone who had no clue what lasagna is. There were layers of pasta; but the rest was things like chicken, grated cheddar cheese, canned jalapeños, mushroom soup, frozen mixed vegetables, spicy mayo etc. — Save

worst potluck An apple pie, but they didn't have apple pie spices, like clove, cinnamon, or nutmeg, and said they used taco seasoning by accident and expected people to eat it. — Save

worst potluck She opened a can of tiny shrimp and poured it out, liquid and all, on top of a block of cream cheese. That was it. I guess we were supposed to eat it with crackers. — Save

worst potluck My sister would bring 2 crockpots. . 1 with spaghetti sauce... the other with water and the noodles. The noodles would be cooking in the water all day. — Save

worst potluck Someone brought Devilled eggs and instead of sprinkling paprika on them they used cinnamon. — Save

worst potluck I love telling this story. I worked at a patient care clinic with mostly nurses. One nurse brings mashed potatoes inside of a Walmart bag. Not inside of a bowl inside of a Walmart bag. Mashed potatoes. Loose. Inside of a Walmart bag. That could've previously held raw chicken or some other gross thing. A NURSE. Iended up posting about it on Facebook later, after having forgot we were FB — Save

worst potluck Potato salad…with multiple hairs from his head, I hope. I just know they were human hairs, and they were tight and curly. — Save

worst potluck Had a friend show up with "his wife's specialty". It was deviled ham and cheez wiz scooped onto a ritz. They were also made some time ahead because the crackers were no longer crisp. To make it worse, he walked around with them and his wife telling everyone to try them. That was the night I learned that it will be ok to strategically lie about having food allergies. — Save

worst potluck half of a pie. not half of a pie that was sold that way by the bakery. a leftover half eaten pie. — Save

worst potluck A "salad" that consisted of shredded carrots, miracle whip, and raisins. I'm sorry grandma, but — Save

And there you have it, a potluck parade of culinary calamities! These stories remind us that the road to a delicious communal meal is often paved with good intentions but littered with hilariously disastrous results. Whether you're a seasoned potluck pro or someone who avoids them like the plague, these tales are a reminder that even the best-intentioned dishes can go horribly wrong. Here's to hoping your next potluck is free from such foodie fiascos!

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Posted by Roy R. About the author

Roy has been one of the internet's meme tastemakers for more than a decade. He and Phil started Thunder Dungeon in 2012 by posting the stuff they found funny, and it grew into viral photo and video creations, one of the largest meme community apps and one of the best sites for daily meme content. If you've spent any time online, you've probably laughed at one of his memes.