25 Red Desserts for Color Themed Potluck
A new theme for potluck meals is to assign dishes to a color for each guest to bring. The whole meal could be one color, or they will assign different colors to different people in order to have a very colorful rainbow of foods.
Some popular times to have a red themed potluck would be for Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Christmas since red is a popular color for those holidays. It could also work for a potluck wedding reception or outdoor barbeque.
What are red desserts to bring to a potluck?
I have compiled a list of the best red desserts that will work well with a potluck meal. These dishes are easy to prepare ahead of time, simple to buy already made, or desserts that travel well.
1. Red Velvet (cake, cupcakes, cake pops)
Red Velvet has that beautiful red color and is perfect for a potluck. You can make a sheet cake with icing, individual cupcakes, or fancy cake pops if you have more time to make them. If you a pinched for time, just grab a cake mix from the store and you have a super easy dish to take.
2. Cherry or Strawberry Cheesecake
This one has lots of good variations that will work well for a potluck. You can do a basic cheesecake and just top with cherry or strawberry pie filling. Another option is to make little small individual cheesecake cups. If you don’t want to make a cheesecake from scratch you can use a no bake cheesecake or even a cheesecake flavored pudding. Lastly, you can mix cream cheese and cheesecake flavored pudding to make a Cheesecake Dip. The cheesecake dip goes really well with graham crackers and you can put cherries or strawberries on the platter or mix them with the dip for a nice red color! (Pro Tip: This option is not going to work well for an outside potluck just because cheesecake tends to taste better when it is cold. If you were to take this to an outdoor barbeque, the cheesecake will start to perspire and melt which is never appealing!)
3. Chocolate Covered Pretzels
I love to bring desserts and sweets to a party so doing white chocolate covered pretzels is a huge WOW dish that is really simple to make. You can dye the white chocolate pink or red by using food coloring, or you can simply dip the pretzels in white chocolate or milk chocolate and then add red sprinkles. This is a super easy potluck dish for Valentines! Store the pretzels in an airtight container in the fridge overnight once the chocolate has fully set. (Pro Tip: Just like the cheesecake, this option is best for an indoor event because high heat will make the chocolate melt.)
4. Red Rice Krispie Treats
I recently saw red Rice Krispie treats at a Halloween party and they looked like raw hamburger meat! It totally worked for the spooky aesthetic but wasn’t appetizing for a non-Halloween dessert. If you want to make this work for a regular party or Valentine’s party, you can add red sprinkles or red crystallized sugar to the top of your Rice Krispie’s right after you press them into a pan. This will make them stick and give the treats a cute red color! You can also use small red candies as well.
5. Peppermint Cracker Crack
Cracker crack is a super simple dessert that sounds totally weird but tastes amazing! The basics of cracker crack is that you start with 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar. All you have to do is melt the butter and sugar together in a saucepan until boiling, and then pour the mixture over a sheet pan lined with saltine crackers. Next you bake the crackers in the oven for 5 minutes and then top with crushed candy canes and red sprinkles. You will want to let the dish cool and set in the fridge for an hour and then you can break it up like brittle. Huge showstopper with a tiny amount of effort. (Pro Tip: once you have the basics down you can adapt this snack to work with anything. Use can use candies, nuts, chocolate, dried fruits, etc.) For a full recipe, check out LittleSweetBaker.
6. Cherry or Strawberry Brownies
This super simple dessert is so decadent that you won’t want to stop eating it! Basically, all you do is take 2 boxes of brownie mix, 1 can of strawberry or cherry pie filling, and the oil and eggs required for your brownie mix. The final texture is thick and chewy and tastes like a cordial cherry or chocolate covered strawberry. Needless to say, these brownie bars never last long!
7. Rhubarb Pie
I don’t know anyone that is making rhubarb pie from scratch these days, but you can easily buy a premade pie or make one with a can of rhubarb and strawberry pie filling. Rhubarb has a very tart or sour taste by itself, so most cans of pie filling will be mixed with strawberry to add more sweetness and cut the tartness down. This is a great summertime pie for an outdoor potluck because you can serve it warm or top with vanilla ice cream!
8. Strawberry Punch Bowl Cake
This super simple dessert is certainly a display piece! Basically, you start with a large punch bowl and make a layered parfait of yellow or pound cake, whipped cream, and fresh cut strawberries. This dessert is a huge hit for adults and kids alike. It also holds up really well for a long amount of time. Pro Tip: If you are going to an outdoor potluck during the summer, you may want to place the punch bowl in another bowl of ice to keep the whipped cream from melting in super high heat. You can also substitute raspberries or cherries instead of strawberries for this dessert!
9. Strawberry Pretzel Salad
I have never understood why this is called a salad instead of a dessert bar, but basically it is a layered partially baked dessert. You start with a pretzel crust on the bottom and bake in the oven. Then spread over the cooled crust with a mixture of cream cheese and whipped cream. For the top layer, strawberry Jell-O is made. We like to add frozen strawberries into the Jell-O, but you can use fresh strawberries as well. The final result is a crunchy and creamy dessert that is not overly sweet. This is a big hit with kids!
10. Cherry Salad
Cherry salad may sound like a side dish, but I think it qualifies as a dessert. You start with a can of cherry pie filling and mix it with crushed pineapple, sweetened condensed milk, and cool whip. Let the salad chill overnight in the fridge to set and you have a nice crisp cool salad that is equally sweet and tart! This is a nice change from other more traditional desserts the normally come to a potluck gathering.
11. Watermelon Cake
This cake is all about the appearance of a red juicy watermelon! Check out Betty Crocker’s recipe that just needs a box of cake mix, a tub of frosting, and a pack of watermelon Kool-Aid! The presentation of this cake will make everyone want to try it but not want to cut into it, so do everyone a favor and go ahead and cut a few slices to get them started. (Pro Tip: You can also make watermelon cupcakes if you have the time and want individual servings.)
12. Fruit Pizza
Fruit pizza is the ultimate easy dessert for a potluck, and it looks beautiful displayed on a buffet table. All you need is a sugar cookie crust that you can make from store bought cookie dough or make it from scratch. The sauce of the pizza is made from vanilla sweetened cream cheese or vanilla pudding, then the toppings are fresh fruit. I love to use sliced strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and you can even use grapes cut into slices or halved. For very little effort this fruit pizza can be a show stealer on the dessert table!
13. Cream Cheese Pie with Strawberries or Cherries
You may be wondering what exactly a cream cheese pie is and if it is different than a cheesecake. Well, a cream cheese pie is basically a no bake cheesecake! This super simple dessert requires a graham cracker crust that you can buy or make at home. Then you mix together cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract to make a custard. Once the custard has set in the fridge overnight you can top the pie with fresh cherries or strawberries. You can also just use premade canned pie filling too!
14. Red Candies
This is an excellent choice for those in a rush and don’t have time or skill to make a dessert! You can simply make a collection of red candies in a bowl. Some red candies you can include would be cinnamon disks, peppermints, red gummy bears, red m&ms, red skittles, red licorice, and Swedish fish.
15. Strawberry Lasagna
This cute dessert takes some time to make the layers, but the taste is amazing. The lasagna is constructed of a strawberry layer made with Jell-O, whipped cream, water, diced strawberries, and strawberry yogurt. (This layer reminds me of a fluffy strawberry jello salad.)
Then you make a cheesecake layer of butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and cool whip. (This layer is similar to a no-bake cheesecake.) When I make this dessert, I start with a graham cracker crust, then top with the strawberry jello salad and let cool. Then add the cream cheese layer and cool. Finally add another layer of strawberry jello salad, and let cool.
As you can see this dessert is simple to make, but it is time consuming. You really need to chill each layer as you make it, or you could end up with all your layers mixing together and not having that cool layered lasagna look. Once the dessert is fully set with the 3 different layers, I like to top with whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries.
The final dish is beautiful and quite the showstopper on the dessert table. I would not do this dessert unless you have the time and the patience since you really can’t rush the chilling stages. This dessert would also not be good for an outdoor event since it will start to melt in high heat. Save this dessert for when you want to wow everyone in an indoor setting!
16. Watermelon Jell-O Cups
This is a perfect self serve dessert for a party that has small children attending! All you need to do is make watermelon or any other red jell-o and let chill in the fridge until it is set. Then take small plastic cups and spoon jello into each cup and top with whipped cream. I also like to add fresh fruit like strawberries or raspberries on top too. These cups can then be placed into a cardboard box for easy carrying to the party! This dessert will work for most parties but if it is an outdoor potluck you may want to keep it out of the sun or the whipped cream will melt.
17. Strawberry Cake with Frosting
This one technically is more pink than red, but you could add red food coloring to white frosting to get that nice bright red color. I would buy a strawberry cake mix and make a sheet cake, cupcakes, or cake balls (cake pops without the stick. This can be adjusted based on the amount of time you have to prepare the dessert. If you are really rushed for time, just go with a sheet cake and frost the whole pan. For more time, go with cupcakes and for a lot of time you can make cake balls and dip them in white chocolate with red sprinkles!
18. Fruit Skewers
This is a great one for the all the people that don’t really want to cook anything. All that you need to do is grab some red fruits like watermelon, strawberries, raspberries, and red grapes. Cut the watermelon into nice 1 inch chunks and then arrange the fruit on long toothpicks or kabob sticks. This is kind of like a fancier elevated fruit platter and works well for kid’s parties too! I like this one for outdoor barbeques so kids can eat their dessert quickly and it doesn’t require a fork.
19. Chocolate Covered Strawberries
This super fun and looks really fancy dessert is actually really easy to make! You can work with milk chocolate and white chocolate or just use the white chocolate. I like to clean and dry my strawberries but make sure to keep the green tops on so you have something to hold onto. I then dip the strawberries in chocolate and then set them on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Once all the strawberries are dipped, I place the pan in the fridge to set the chocolate. You can then start to make them really fancy by decorating the strawberries with red dyed chocolate drizzle or drizzle with plain white chocolate drizzle and sprinkle red sugar or sprinkles. I like the tiny sprinkles for this one and I think the big jimmy style ones don’t look as nice. These strawberries end up looking really expensive but really just take time. Be aware that these strawberries need to be kept cool or they will start to sweat. I would save these for an indoor party unless you can put a pan of ice under them.
20. Cranberry Apple Crisp
This casserole style dessert is super easy and always tastes great. It’s basically a simple apple crisp that you add fresh cranberries or canned whole cranberries to and it gives a beautiful red color. The pairing of apples and cranberries work really well because the dish is not too sweet and has a nice tartness. You can make the crisp topping using Bisquick mix or a simple oatmeal crisp topping. If this is for an outdoor barbeque you can top it with ice cream or just serve the dessert at room temperature. This is a nice fruity dessert that offers something different and unexpected.
21. Strawberry Shortcake
This is one of those dishes that you can make entirely from scratch or you can buy all the ingredients and just assemble. If you want to buy the premade ingredients you can start with an angel food cake, a carton of strawberries, and a container of whipped cream. I have seen this as one giant cake that gets sliced, as individual cups made like a little parfait, or if homemade it served like a sheet cake in a casserole style pan. It doesn’t matter how you serve it; Strawberry Shortcake is always a well-received dessert!
22. Chocolate Covered Cherry Pudding Shots
This is another super fun dessert for a party that kids or kids at heart will be attending! You basically start with chocolate pudding, and you can add some red food coloring if you like but no necessary. Then on top of the pudding you make a little dollop of whipped cream. The literal cherry on top can be a fresh cherry (de-pit them first), a maraschino cherry, or a spoon full of cherry pie filling! If you use pie filling you can actually put some at the bottom, then the pudding and whipped cream for extra cherry flavor. This dessert does need to be kept cool or the pudding and whipped cream will start to sweat and melt.
23. Drunk Strawberries
Now this is definitely a NSFW (not safe for work) or for kids, but this new trend of soaking strawberries in alcohol is a great dessert for adults! Basically, you take clean strawberries and soak them in a light bubbly wine like champagne, sparkling rose, or prosecco. You can also use harder liquor like vodka or rum but be careful serving heavy booze and make sure your guests know before trying them. Once the strawberries have soaked for at least an hour, then you can dip or roll them in sugar for a sweet, frosted look.
24. Raspberry Sorbet
I love raspberry with a hint of lime sorbet for a nice cool refreshing dessert. You can also make homemade sorbet using watermelon or strawberries too. The easiest way to make sorbet is to break out the blender! Using fresh or frozen fruit and lime or lemon juice, you make a nice slurry of frozen fruit. I like to taste it as I go to make sure it isn’t too tart or too sweet. Once the taste is to your liking freeze overnight. I just use a nice Tupperware dish or casserole type pan. (Pro Tip: Just be careful that your pan won’t break when freezing!) This dessert works really well at an outdoor barbeque but keep the sorbet in the freezer or in a well iced cooler until dessert time!
25. Strawberry Funfetti Cake Batter Dip
This super cute dip is a great light dessert that is easy to make. All you need is a box of strawberry cake mix, a tub of Cool Whip, a tub of strawberry cream cheese, and a little milk to thin the mixture. This pretty pink dip goes really well with strawberry wafer cookies or fresh strawberries.
Red Desserts to bring to a Color Party
Hopefully this list of red desserts to bring to a potluck party have given you inspiration for your next event! I usually advise against using red food coloring on foods just to make them red, because they look very unnatural.
When foods look strange or unnatural, it is unlikely that people will want to eat them because they don’t look appetizing. So, try to stick to foods and fruits that are already red, and you will be a big hit at your next potluck party!
If you are looking for red side dishes for your potluck, check out “45 Red Side Dishes for Themed Potluck.”
