31 Potluck Themes to do in June 2023

June is really the start of summer and is a great time to get together with friends and family to share food potluck style. June is such a hard time to stay cooped up at work, so having a potluck lunch is a great motivator.

Unfortunately, just a general potluck style meal gets a little boring, so we have compiled a list of fun and unique potluck themes that can used in the month of June. Let’s deep dive into all the different kinds of potlucks we can have!

June Potluck Themes

We have formed a list of different food themes that would be great for your next potluck. These will work for pretty much any event that food is brought to enjoy and will work for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners too.

National Olive Day (June 1)

This is a whole dedicated to olives and they are actually very versatile because they come in so many varieties. You can have a potluck event celebrating all things olive with dishes that contain olives. Popular olive dishes would include relish trays, olive tapenade with crackers, antipasti dishes, and lots of pasta creations. If that is too many olives for your taste, you can also have a color party in honor of olives by doing a full Green theme. Check out these green side dishes and green desserts.

National Rotisserie Chicken Day (June 2)

The rotisserie chicken is a super convenient food that is available at almost every grocery store. Roasted chicken is also super easy to make salads, dips like Buffalo Chicken, lots of main dish items, and so on. You could have a whole potluck spread with all the dishes containing rotisserie chicken for lunch at work or as a fun barbeque idea!

National Egg Day (June 3)

Eggs are the ultimate food because they can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, savory, or sweet. Let’s do a potluck where every dish contains eggs, and you will be truly surprised how easy it is to come up with dishes. We could include items like deviled eggs, egg salad, frittatas, quiches, cakes, cookies, and meringue pies!

National Bubbly Day (June 3)

Bubbly is a fun way to describe champagne and there are tons of foods that pair well with this beverage. June 3rd falls on a Saturday this year, so it would be so cool to throw a Potluck Champagne Brunch! Each guest would bring foods and dishes that pair well with Champagne like strawberry anything, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and anything lemon. Champagne comes in many varieties like sweet, dry, classic, and pink. So, raise a glass or a mimosa and celebrate National Bubbly Day!

National Wear Blue Day (June 3)

In order to celebrate Men’s Health Week, June 3rd is designated to wear blue to show that you support the men in your life. We can push that even further and have a Blue Themed Potluck! There are actually quite a few naturally blue foods that we can use to create wonderful blue hued dishes like blueberries, blue potatoes, concord grapes, blue corn chips, and purple sweet potatoes.

National Cheese Day (June 4)

Some of the best potluck dishes are creamy and covered in cheese, don’t you think? I say we celebrate all things cheese with a potluck dedicated to dishes made with all different kinds of cheese! I am thinking of cheese balls with crackers, chicken parmesan, ham & Swiss cheese sliders, a cheese tray, and of course any flavor or cheesecake for dessert!

National Veggie Burger Day (June 5)

I am always up for an outdoor picnic or barbeque, so let’s fire up the grill and have some veggie burgers. There are actually quite a few options to make veggie burgers that use lentils, soy, tofu, or even sweet potatoes. This will be a super simple request for your guests because so many dishes go well with veggie burgers! If you happen to be vegan or have vegetarian friends this would be an awesome potluck where everyone will feel included.

Queen’s Birthday (June 5)

Even though Queen Elizabeth passed away last year, I think we can still have a potluck in her honor! For this potluck, I am thinking of all dishes that are “Fit for a Queen” and have a grand Tea Party! So, this will be lots of rich and decadent foods that could go with an afternoon tea. I see lots of finger sandwiches and appetizers, as well as fun cookies and small cakes. If you want to push it further, have your guests get gussied up and make it a Royal Dinner with cocktails.

National Drive in Movie Day (June 6)

Everyone loves movies and there are so many fun treats that are often associated with going to see a movie. I am thinking of two different ways to celebrate with a potluck. The first would be to just bring your favorite snack and munchie food that would work for watching a movie like nachos, popcorn, and candies. The second option may cause your guests to get a little creative! I am thinking of dishes inspired by movies. Examples of this would be “Fried Green Tomatoes”, “Ratatouille,” Spaghetti & Meatballs for “Lady & the Tramp”, mint sorbet for “The Princess Diaries”, and there are so many more!

National Boone Day (June 7)

This is a day dedicated to Daniel Boone who was a captain during the Revolutionary War. If you are interested in American History, you could have a potluck where all the dishes would be similar to what would have been eaten back then. Dishes could include fried chicken, potato soup, pickles, corn, wild game, hominy, and greens.

World Oceans Day (June 8)

This day is celebrated every year on June 8th to raise awareness about the role that the oceans play in the survival of our world. To help honor the ocean, let’s have a potluck that incorporates all foods from or near the ocean. We can include tropical fruits, seafood, sushi, anything that uses water like lemonade or tea, and exotic foods like sea cucumber or squid. You could also make dishes with sea salt like salted caramels or roasted vegetables.

National Donald Duck Day (June 9)

Donald Duck is a very well-known cartoon and at one time his face was marketed on tons of food items. These included items like orange juice, crackers, root beer, and broccoli. Nowadays, you typically only find is face on orange juice, so we could do a whole potluck that incorporates citrus fruits. There are so many savory and sweet dishes that include citrus like oranges, limes, lemon, and grapefruit. If you want to make your party similar to a scavenger hunt, you can have your guests search for old products that used to have Donald Duck’s face on them and use those items in dishes for a harder twist!

National Herbs and Spices Day (June 10)

There are almost 100 different kinds of herbs and spices, so celebrating them all may be a problem. But we can have an Herb & Spice potluck to see how many we can incorporate! Each guest can bring a dish savory or sweet that includes at least one herb or spice for a mild version of this potluck theme. Or we can take it up a notch, and have each guest draw an herb or spice from a hat and have to make a dish using that item.

National Corn on the Cobb Day (June 11)

Corn is one of the most versatile foods that we can use today. There are so many dishes that use corn from salads and side dishes to corn tortillas and chips. Corn can even be used in desserts like cornmeal cookies, popcorn balls, cornflake cookies, and even corn ice cream! For this fun potluck, I would challenge my friends and co-workers to a “Corn Cookoff” and have different winners like “Best Classic Corn Dish”, “Best Unique Corn Dish”, and “Sweetest Corn Dessert.”

National Red Rose Day (June 12)

Red Roses are truly beautiful and a great excuse to have a potluck. To make this potluck a lot of fun and get the guests in a creative mood, I would ask everyone to bring red side dishes and red desserts! Color parties are really trending this year, so let’s have a Red Rose Party!

National Kitchen Klutzes Of America Day (June 13)

Yes, this is an actual holiday that is celebrated every year on June 13th. We all try and attempt dishes we have never made before and if we are lucky they come out great, but not every dish is a winner. To help celebrate this day we can go in multiple potluck theme directions. We can ask every guest to bring a food that took them a long time to master. For instance, I could never make rice and after many years I have finally got it down. Other options for themes, could be a twist on Pinterest Fails. This would be where each guest picks a recipe on Pinterest and tries to recreate it. We could have a hilarious mix of fails and winners! The last option would be to bring foods that look like they are a ton of work but that didn’t take near as much to make. A good example of these are chocolate dipped strawberries or pinwheel sandwiches. (They look great, but they really are not that difficult to make.)

Flag Day (June 14)

In honor of the creation of our National Flag, we celebrate Flag day on June 14th every year. This can easily be a great theme for a Potluck especially if you want to have an outdoor picnic or barbeque. I would ask all guests to bring a dish that includes at least one of the flag colors of red, white, or blue!

National Smile Power Day (June 15)

June 15th of every year is the day to make others around you smile, and what better way than with food? For this potluck theme, I could ask everyone to bring a dish that makes them smile. That could be a dish with smiling cutie oranges or a yummy comfort food like mashed potatoes. This potluck theme is pretty open, so make sure everyone brings their favorite foods that just light up their smile!

National Take Back the Lunch Break Day (June 16)

Over the years more and more people work through their lunch break, so on the 3rd Friday of June is the day to celebrate your lunch break. This screams lunch potluck at work! Whether you make it a fun pizza potluck or just a sandwich and snacks potluck, I think the point is to enjoy a lunch with your co-workers! Of course, lots of desserts and sweets will be needed to get you through the afternoon too.

National Eat Your Vegetables Day (June 17)

Vegetables are a showcase on June 17th of each year as we encourage everyone to eat your vegetables. This screams easy potluck dinner, lunch, or even a snack party! Vegetables are delish and can be used in so many ways. I would ask all the party guests a dish that includes a vegetable. I can’t wait to try all the casseroles, veggie trays with dip, zucchini bread, chocolate avocado brownies, and lots more. You could even give a prize for “Best Hidden Vegetable Dish”!

International Picnic Day (June 18)

Thankfully Picnic Day falls on a Sunday this year, so it is the perfect day to invite friends and family over for an outdoor picnic. Whether you grill out or have a casserole cook off, this potluck is sure to be a lot of fun for adults and kids!

Father’s Day (June 18)

As a family tradition we always had a huge Sunday Dinner over at my grandparents house for Father’s Day. As the years went on and the grandkids got older, we switched over to a potluck style dinner and it was awesome! We had appetizers and snacks, and then we usually did a big spaghetti dinner or some years we grilled steaks. These were great potluck dinners with lots of options to bring for side dishes and desserts! If you can’t do a dinner or lunch, this would be a great idea for brunch too!

National Garfield the Cat Day (June 19)

You can’t celebrate Garfield the Cat and forget about his favorite food of all time the classic pan of lasagna! This year we will be doing an Potluck all around Lasagna. Not only will we have the classic, but we can do a white chicken lasagna or a veggie lasagna. You can also try one made with zucchini or eggplant instead of noodles for those on a low carb lifestyle. There are tons of dishes that compliment lasagna too like salads, garlic bread, vegetable dishes, and of course yummy desserts too!

West Virginia Day (June 20)

I am a huge fan of oddball potluck themes and most of my guests are expecting some curveballs on what to bring to the party. West Virigina Day is on June 20th every year to celebrate when it became part of the Union. So, for this potluck theme, we are going to ask our guests to do a little thinking and research and bring foods that are associated with West Virigina! Examples would include pepperoni rolls, black walnuts, maple syrup, peanut brittle, strawberries, and the state dessert Shoofly Pie!

Summer Solstice (June 21)

This is the day that technically starts summer by being the longest daylight of the year. The Summer Solstice has a long history and has been celebrated for thousands of years by Native Americans, Romans, and others. One of the traditions to celebrating is having a large bonfire and to me that sounds like the perfect time to have a grilling Potluck! Other common foods to celebrate the solstice would include fresh fruits like strawberries, cherries, blueberries, and raspberries. Popular vegetables would be yellow squash, corn on the cobb, tomatoes, and zucchini. There would be tons of dishes that scream Summer that you could bring to a Grilling Potluck!

Dragon Boat Festival (June 22)

This year Dragon Boat day will fall on June 22nd because it always falls on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese Lunar calendar. This day is used to celebrate dragon boats, and some believe that if you can balance an egg on its end at high noon on this day that you will have good luck the rest of the year. This sounds like the perfect day to have a Chinese Themed Potluck! There are so many yummy foods that you can include from egg drop soup to egg rolls and spring rolls to almond pudding and fortune cookies.

Typewriter Day (June 23)

Typewriter Day is always celebrated on June 23rd and it honors that very machine that allowed so many writers complete their masterpieces from novels to plays. In order to celebrate Typewriter day with a Potluck, I am thinking of doing a “Literary Inspired” theme. This could include clam chowder from “Moby Dick,” Butterbeer from “Harry Potter”, Roast beef from “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” and so much more!

National Coconut Day (June 26)

Every June 26th, coconuts are honored with a day just about them. The Coconut Coalition Of The Americas wanted a day to educate people about coconuts being more than just for baking. So to celebrate, I think we should have a Coconut Cookoff! Yup, all the guests will bring foods with coconut to compete for the title of “Best Coconut Dish.” Depending on the number of guests you could have a savory and a sweet competition. Examples of coconut dishes could be coconut rice, Coconut Lime Chicken, Coconut Curry Popcorn, and super yummy coconut cake!

National Onion Day (June 27)

Dry your tears, and get ready to celebrate all things onion! Onions are actually a staple in most cooking and can be found in thousands of dishes, so it makes since to dedicate a Potluck Party to dishes with onions! Just think of a table filled with onion rings, onion pie, sauteed onion burgers, and sweet onion salad dressing!

National Paul Bunyan Day (June 28)

Paul Bunyan was a larger-than-life folk hero, lumberjack, and friend to Babe the Blue ox. It seems the best way to celebrate this day would be to have a Potluck full of blue colored foods or oversized items. For blue foods you can incorporate blue potatoes, blueberries, and purple cabbage. For oversized foods you can do jumbo shrimp, footlong sandwiches, extra-long hotdogs, and large fries.

International Mud Day (June 29)

I know what you’re thinking, are we going to serve mud pies at a potluck? Not really! Mud always reminds me of pigs, and honestly pigs are just great food. I am thinking that we should celebrate Mud Day by having a potluck all about Pork! Think of all the bacon wrapped appetizers, pork loins, pulled pork, and more. Of course, we could finish it off with a Mississippi Mud Pie made with super yummy chocolate!

Potlucks to Host in June

Hopefully this list of unique June potluck themes has inspired your next family get together, work lunch, or a potluck dinner with friends! Potlucks can get boring, and people bring the same thing every time, so having a fun potluck theme can really make a party a hit!

For more help with your next potluck, check out “How many Main Dishes for Potluck? (10 Helpful Tips!)” and “Are Potluck and Potlatch the Same? Differences and Similarities Explained.”