Covered dish, covered
A potluck signup sheet that runs itself.
An online potluck sign-up sheet in one link. Guests claim a dish with just their name — no accounts, no app — and anyone who takes one of your dishes gets its recipe and shopping list scaled to the party.
Set up your sign-up sheet free → Takes a minute. Bring a dish or just run the board.
The group text is where potlucks fall apart
Every potluck starts the same way: someone posts “what’s everyone bringing?” and forty messages later there are three pans of brownies, no main dish, and one person quietly asking if anything will be gluten-free. A spreadsheet fixes the duplicates but creates a new job for the potluck organizer: maintaining the spreadsheet.
A signup sheet should do three things: show what’s needed, let people claim it in one tap, and update for everyone instantly. That’s what this is. Running it for Thanksgiving? There is a Thanksgiving potluck version with the turkey and side counts filled in.
How the online potluck sign-up works
- Say it’s a potluck. Tap Organize a potluck on the home screen — or, in the party planner, answer “Who’s cooking?” with “It’s a potluck — guests bring dishes too.” Tell it the occasion and headcount, and whether you’re bringing a dish yourself. You don’t have to.
- It builds your share and opens the board. Just your dishes (or none, if you’re only organizing), then a signup board with the usual spots — courses for guests to join, plus the ice and cups someone always forgets.
- Share one link. Guests open it on their phone — no account, no app — see the party’s dietary notes, and put their name on a spot with the dish they make best. Stuck? One tap suggests three ideas that fit the party. They can also claim one of your dishes instead.
- Everyone sees the same board. A claimed dish shows who’s bringing it. Duplicates show up before anyone commits, and there’s no forty-message thread.
Want the method behind the board? How to organize a potluck covers the three moves, the dish counts, and the timeline.
What guests get (the part spreadsheets can’t do)
- The recipe, scaled to the party. Claim the mac and cheese for a party of 20 and you get quantities for 20 — not a recipe card for 6 and a math problem.
- Their own shopping list for just their dish, with one-tap links to shop it online.
- The dietary picture up front. If the party is nut-free, guests see it before they choose — not in the driveway.
- A claim confirmation by email if they want one. We send it and discard the address — it’s never stored on the party.
And your shopping list keeps up: when someone claims a dish, its ingredients leave your shopping list automatically. You shop for what you’re making, not for the whole table.
What’s on the sheet
The board starts with the usual spots and you add or remove anything. Dish rows are open invitations — more than one person can take the same course, and you can set how many you’re hoping for. Supply rows finish once someone covers them, and the common ones — ice, cups, plates, napkins, chairs — carry a party-sized amount so nobody has to guess; for anything else, you type what you need.
| Row | What guests see | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Main | The host’s own dish, already covered — or an open spot if nobody’s cooking one | The host, usually |
| Appetizer · Side · Dessert · Drinks | Who’s bringing what so far, and how many the host is hoping for when they’ve set a number (we suggest one for sides and desserts) | Guests |
| Ice · Cups · Plates · Napkins | “About 3 bags of ice for 16 guests” — the amount, not just the word | Whoever claims it first |
| Chairs · Trash bags · anything you name | The amount you asked for, and what’s still needed as people sign up | Guests, or you |
| Dietary notes | The party’s needs up top, plus anything a guest adds (“my daughter can’t have shellfish”) | Everyone cooking |
Sign-up sheet vs. group text vs. spreadsheet
| This sheet | Group text | Spreadsheet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who keeps it current | It updates itself when someone claims a spot | Nobody — it’s a chat | You, by hand |
| Duplicates | Visible before anyone commits | Found out at the door | Caught if someone checks first |
| Guests need | The link. No account, no app | The thread | The link, and sometimes an account to edit |
| Dietary needs | Shown before a guest picks a dish | Buried in the thread | A column someone has to add |
| The recipe, scaled | Claim one of the host’s dishes and it comes sized to the party, with a shopping list; take one of our ideas and you get its recipe and list too | — | — |
| Ice, cups, plates, chairs | Ice and cups from the start; plates, napkins, chairs one tap away — all with amounts | Forgotten until the day of | If you remember the row |
Quick answers
Is the potluck signup sheet free?
Yes — the planner, the potluck link, all of it.
Do potluck guests need to download an app?
No. The link opens in any browser, on any phone. Guests claim a dish with just their name.
What happens if a guest drops out of the potluck?
They can release their dish (or you can, as host), and it goes back up for grabs for anyone with the link.
Do I have to cook to organize the potluck?
No. Say you’re just organizing and you run the board without a menu — guests cover the table, and the ice-and-cups list is still yours to share.
Can people bring their own recipe?
Yes — that’s the whole point. Guests sign up for an open spot and name their own dish (“my corn casserole”), and it shows on the board for everyone. If they’re stuck, one tap suggests ideas that fit the party’s dietary needs.
The potluck guides, by situation
Every potluck is the same math and a different room. Pick the one that matches yours:
- How to organize a potluck — the whole job in three moves: categories, one ledger, one link.
- The office potluck — one microwave, a hard lunch hour, and why the boss shouldn’t assign the dishes.
- The church potluck — covered dishes for 30, 60 or 100, warming-tray rules, and signups that work without an app or Facebook.
- The family reunion potluck — food that survives the drive, cooler math for the whole afternoon, and the eleventh-dessert problem.
- Classroom party food — the room parent’s version: snack counts for 20 to 30 kids, and the school allergy policy that comes before the sheet.
- Who brings what to a potluck — the division itself: what the host covers, what guests bring, and who should get the ice.
- Potluck etiquette — the rules nobody posts, posted: arrive done, label what it contains, and the leftovers custom settled.
- What to bring to a potluck — the guest’s answer for every situation, including the week you can’t cook.
- Potluck dishes that travel — what survives the car and the buffet clock, and the transport kit worth owning.
- The potluck, if you can’t cook — the non-cooking jobs, the store-bought food that’s welcome, and running the whole thing stove-free.
- How many dishes for a potluck — the counts by headcount, when you just need the numbers.
- The Thanksgiving potluck sign-up sheet — the host keeps the bird, the sheet fills the table: sides, pies and rolls for 12, 25 or 40, and when to send the link.
- The Christmas potluck — the annual family one, ham math included.
- Friendsgiving — the host’s share, and the board that prevents four desserts.
Start your potluck board.
Build the menu, flip on Potluck mode, and send one link. The group text can go back to being about who's bringing the good folding chairs.
Build this plan in Dinner Caddy →or start from scratch