When it comes to game day, the excitement isn’t just on the field—it’s also at the tailgate! Whether you’re cheering for your favorite team or just enjoying the camaraderie of friends and family, having the right appetizers can make or break the day. From finger foods to savory bites, the perfect spread sets the tone for a memorable gathering.
Get ready to impress your fellow fans with these crowd-pleasing favorites that are as easy to make as they are delicious!
Dill Pickle Dip
Cook time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup dill pickles, finely chopped
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp dill pickle juice
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
- ¼ tsp minced garlic
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Serve with potato chips.
Mozzarella Sticks
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients:
- Egg roll wrappers
- Mozzarella
- Canola oil for frying
Instructions:
- Lay an egg roll wrapper on a flat surface and brush with water.
- Add a strip of mozzarella to the bottom half of the egg roll wrapper. Roll the wrapper up, folding in the sides halfway through. Seal the edges with more water if needed.
- Heat oil to 325° in a high sided pan. Once heated, add the mozzarella sticks. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden.
- Transfer to a paper towel to get rid of excess oil.
Soft Pretzels
Cook time: 45 min
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3-4 cups all-purpose flour
- coarse salt for sprinkling
- ½ cup baking soda
Instructions:
- Whisk the active dry yeast into warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow to sit for one minute to let the yeast activate.
- Whisk in the salt, brown sugar, and melted butter, then slowly add in three cups of flour, one cup at a time. Mix with a dough hook on medium-low until the dough is thick. It should feel sticky.
- Add 3/4 to 1 cup more flour and mix until the dough is no longer sticky. The dough should bounce back when poked with your finger.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for three minutes. Shape into a ball and cover loosely with a towel.
- Rest for 10 minutes. While the dough is resting, add the baking soda and 9 cups of water to a large pot. Bring to a boil.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 1/3 cup sections. Roll the dough into a long rope, and rope it into a pretzel shape.
- When the water is boiling, drop 1-2 pretzels into water for 20-30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon, letting as much water as possible drip off. Put the pretzels onto the baking sheet, then sprinkle each with sea salt.
- Bake for 15-17 min or until golden brown.
Single Serving Guac
Cook time: 7 min
Ingredients:
- Avocado
- Diced tomato
- Diced red onion
- Minced garlic
- Minced jalapeño
- 1 tsp lime juice
- Salt
- Pepper
- Sour cream
Instructions:
- Cut your avocado in half and scoop out the insides, keeping the skin intact.
- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except sour cream. Use as much or little of each ingredient as you like. Once mixed, scoop the guac back into each half of the avocado skin.
- Scoop sour cream into a plastic baggie and snip off the tip. Pipe football stitching onto each avocado half. Serve with chips.
Loaded Smashed Potatoes
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients:
- Baby Yukon Gold potatoes
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Shredded cheddar
- Bacon bits
- Chives
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 425º. Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted water until they are fork tender. Put them on a parchment lined baking sheet and smash with the bottom of a glass.
- Combine all the seasonings and olive oil, then brush the mixture over the top of the potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip and brush with more of the olive oil mixture.
- Bake for another 10 minutes, then top with shredded cheese and bacon bits. Bake for 3-5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Plate and top with chives. Serve with sour cream.
Hot Dog Bites
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients:
- Hot dogs
- Shredded cheese
- Puff pastry
- Butter
- Toppings of choice
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400º. Cut your hot dogs lengthwise, but don’t cut all the way through. Cut into 1 inch segments, opening up each piece.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make equal sized piles of shredded cheese, leaving room between each pile. Top with the hot dog segments, cut side down. Cover with a square of puff pastry.
- Brush with butter, then bake 14-17 minutes or until golden brown.
- Flip each piece of puff pastry and add your toppings of choice.
Queso
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients for the Topping:
- 4 scallions, charred
- 2 small tomatillos, clean and diced small
- ½ jalapeño, minced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Kosher salt, to taste
Ingredients for Queso:
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 ¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 oz shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 4 oz shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- In a small bowl, mix scallions, tomatillos, jalapeños, cilantro, lime, olive oil and salt. Set aside while you make the queso.
- In a small saucepan over medium low heat add butter and melt. Add in onion and garlic, and cook until soft and translucent. Stir flour into butter.
- Whisk in chicken stock and cook, whisking, until mixture is bubbling and thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat. Let mixture sit off the heat for 1-2 minutes to insure its not super crazy hot before adding the cheese.
- Stir in cheeses, in three additions, whisking to melt fully before adding more cheese. Melting in the cheese off heat will keep your queso smooth and silky!
- Stir in cream and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve warm topped with scallion and tomatillo topping. Only top as much queso as you think you are going to eat so that you can still warm up the remaining as needed. Rewarm extra over low heat, stirring constantly.
Jalapeno Popper Corn Fritters
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients:
- 2 cups corn (approximately 4 ears)
- ½ cup flour* (or corn flour, or rice flour, etc)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup cheddar cheese, grated
- ¼ cup cream cheese, room temperature
- 2+ jalapeno peppers, diced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- 2 Tbsp oil
Instructions:
- Mix the corn, flour, egg, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, jalapeno, paprika, garlic powder, green onion, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, form into 1/4 cup patties and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.
Pizza Bread
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients:
- 1 roll of puff pastry, thawed
- Pizza sauce
- Mozzarella cheese
- Pepperoni
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400º. Roll out your puff pastry on a floured surface. Flatten it into a rectangle using a rolling pin.
- Dollop pizza sauce onto the pastry, and spread it around leaving a 1 inch border. Sprinkle mozzarella over the pizza sauce, then top with pepperoni.
- Roll the pastry into a log, being careful to keep the filling from spilling out. Take a knife and cut the log in half, starting about an inch from the top. Twist the cut sides of the halves so they are facing up, then take turns folding one half over the other into a braid.
- Pinch the end, then transfer the braid to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve with more pizza sauce.
Spicy Honey-Baked Chicken Nuggets
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients for the chicken:
- 6 cups cornflakes
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 Tbsp hot sauce
- 2 lbs chicken breast tenderloins
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Ingredients for hot honey:
- ½ cup honey
- 2-3 Tbsp hot sauce
- 1-3 tsp cayenne pepper
- ¾ tsp chipotle chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- sea salt
- fresh thyme, cilantro, or parsley, for serving
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, combine the cornflakes, parmesan, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. Pulse until you have fine crumbs. Alternatively, you can crush the crumbs in a ziplock bag by stepping on them. Dump the crumbs into a shallow bowl.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the hot sauce and chicken, and toss well to coat.
- Dredge the chicken through the crumbs, covering fully. Place on the prepared baking sheet. For a thicker coating, dip the chicken back through the eggs, then through the crumbs a 2nd time. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp all around.
- Just before the chicken is done cooking, make the sauce. In a sauce pot, warm together the honey, hot sauce, cayenne, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder, plus a pinch of salt.
- Drizzle the warm sauce over the chicken. Top with herbs. If the sauce thickens, warm for 5 seconds in the microwave. Enjoy!
Spicy Honey Baked Feta
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients:
- 1 block of feta
- Olive oil
- 2 Tbsp chili crisp
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400º. Place the block of feta in a baking dish, and drizzle with olive oil.
- Spread 2 tbsp of chili crisp across the top, then bake for 15 minutes. Drizzle ¼ cup honey on top, and broil for 3 minutes.
- Serve with crackers and enjoy!
Candied Bacon Ritz Crackers
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients:
- Ritz crackers
- Bacon
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
- Dash of cayenne
- Jalapenos (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lay Ritz in a single layer.
- Cut the bacon into squares, and lay a piece on top of each Ritz.
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard, and cayenne. Smear the mixture on top of each bacon-topped Ritz.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until bacon is crisp.
- Plate, and top each Ritz with a jalapeno.
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