For the Love of Football
The Super Bowl has become more than just a football game. Super Bowl food, much like turkey at Thanksgiving or lit up houses during Christmas, is a tradition unique to American culture.
Since January 15, 1967, the Super Bowl has gained popularity as the country’s most-loved unofficial holiday season. For generations, family and friends gathered together to share in the experience of pigskin gladiators and comfort food.
In fact, the Super Bowl food is key. If you’re planning a Super Bowl party of your own, you’ll need the right snacks and I’m here to help!
Nobody wants to fumble a Super Bowl party, especially when it comes to food. With the average game lasting 3 hours and 44 minutes, there is plenty of time to make the experience enjoyable for all.
From restless men to chatty wives to bored children, it’s your Super Bowl party food menu that has the power to raise morale and keep it steady from kick off to championship.
Think of your kitchen as the gridiron. It’s your snack food vs. the fan hunger in the den. The line of scrimmage has been drawn and it’s time to put this party into play.
With 15 of our family-favorite Super Bowl recipes, you’re sure to make a touchdown this season.
Meat: The Most Popular Super Bowl Food
Clearly, the most popular Super Bowl food is a tasty meat dish like hot wings. The wonderful thing about serving a meaty snack is that it doesn’t have to be an elaborate, time-consuming task.
After all, the most attention ever given to a hot dog at any given game is some heat, a bun, and maybe some mustard, yet it’s been a fan-favorite at every sports event for nearly a century.
Any special touch you add to your dish will be greatly appreciated by your guests, so try not to make things harder on yourself.
1. Little Smokies Slow Cooker Honey Barbecue Sausage
In my family, we like to stick with Super Bowl finger food ideas when it comes to a meaty snack because they’re tasty, but also self-serve and require very little effort to prepare.
For example, you won’t be disappointed by my honey barbecue sausage Little Smokies. With just 4 ingredients and a slow-cook time of 3 hours, you can toss it together in under 5 minutes and forget about it until kickoff.
2. Juicy Lucy Sliders
Photo Credit: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/juicy-lucy-sliders
Over at Bon Appétit, Laura Murray has introduced a recipe by Rick Martinez that looks absolutely delicious! It’s perfect for those of you who want to both impress and fully satiate your guests with a more-rounded meal, as opposed to finger foods.
Simple yet satisfying is how I would describe this option. You’ll be working with 10 ingredients and dealing with about 20 minutes of prep. This Super Bowl party food serves 16 sliders in total and alternative ingredients can easily be swapped in, depending on preference.
Ask your guests to bring chips and drinks, and you’re all set!
Note: For vegetarians, try this quinoa black bean burger recipe in place of the beef chuck.
3. Super-Easy Slow Cooker Super Bowl Swedish Meatballs
Another 4-ingredient, 3-hour slow cooker favorite of ours! We sometimes alternate between our homemade turkey Italian meatballs and regular store-bought frozen meatballs as the base, but both work extremely well—you’ll just have to adjust cooking time, depending on which option you choose.
Either way, these slow-cooker Swedish meatballs are sure to be a hit at your Super Bowl party!
4. Sloppy Tacos
Photo Credit: Matt Duckor
Bon Appétit delivers yet another sensational game day food: Sloppy Tacos. This dish requires about 22 ingredients (mostly seasonings, herbs, and sauces that you probably have on-hand already), 3-minute pre-game-day lime sour cream prep with an overnight chill, followed by nearly a 20-minute prep the day of the game.
The great news is that this Super Bowl party food is easy to make and allows your guests to assemble themselves. Not to mention, it covers a lot of hunger ground, which means all you’ve got left to worry about is dessert and drinks.
Perhaps that’s why the folks over at Bon Appétit gave it nearly 4 out of 5 stars.
Note: For vegetarians, consider substituting the ground beef with soy crumbles and leave out the Worcestershire sauce (on account of the anchovies).
5. Cheeseburger Dip
Photo Credit: Screenshot of Food Network’s video for Eddie Jackson’s recipe.
Are you in the mood for a crunchy cheeseburger sans bun? Well, you’re just 18 ingredients and 20 minutes away from scoring Eddie Jackson’s 6 – 8 serving Super Bowl appetizer. This is a super easy touchdown for the meat lovers among you.
Super Bowl Appetizers
Sometimes, your guests prefer a buffet of Super Bowl appetizers or Super Bowl snacks on the big game day instead of an actual meal.
It might be easier on you in the long run if you cater to chips and dip, popcorn, or other similar Super Bowl finger food ideas. Let’s tackle the easiest first!
6. Spicy Popcorn
Photo Credit: Bake Your Day.com
BakeYourDay.com offers a tasty twist to popcorn. There are so many awesome things about this game day food.
First, you can pop your own, whether it’s in an air popper or over the stove, or you can simply microwave a few bags that are lite in sodium.
Second, once seasoned, this snack can be eaten hot or room temperature, so it won’t matter when your guests get to it.
Third, there are 9 ingredients in total, prep time is only about 10 minutes, and, if you dish out just 1 cup per guest to start, it’ll render you about 8 servings or 8 happy guests. If anyone asks for second helpings, it’ll take you little time and effort to pop some more.
Last, these ingredients are on the “healthier” side, which means you can eat this guilt-free!
Note: If you don’t have all these ingredients or you want to avoid a select few, consider a more simple recipe of coconut oil for popping and drizzle with ground Himalayan salt, white pepper, and nutritional food yeast as seasoning.
7. Guacamole
Photo Credit: Screenshot taken of AllRecipes.com’s video located here.
Look, you’re never going to go wrong with guacamole. It’s impossible. At AllRecipes.com, a solid 5-star rating goes to one of the most beloved traditional guacamole recipes of all time.
With just 8 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep, this easy Super Bowl food is truly the stuff of legends.
8. Healthier Spinach Artichoke Dip
Photo Credit: Alyssa at MySequinedLife.com
It seems I’m on a roll with healthy Super Bowl recipes in the appetizer section. Well, there’s nothing wrong with “healthy” game day food when it’s tasty, wouldn’t you say?
What makes this spinach artichoke dip special is that its base is cannellini beans. This makes for a more filling dish that will leave your guests not only pleased but satiated.
There are 11 ingredients and the total time needed for this appetizer is 45 minutes, but 20-30 minutes of that is baking time—not prep.
This dip would go well with a French or sourdough baguette, or you could simply stock up on some Ritz crackers.
9. Mini Corndog Muffins
This is where childhood memories, fairground treats, and guilt-free adulting combines to create ultimate in Super Bowl snacks. A wonderfully indulgent lady over at Holly’s Cheat Day food blog has gifted to the world this modern-take on a very Americano dish.
Step by step, she has broken down this recipe of 9 ingredients with an abundance of photographs and information. Prep and baking time combined is about 20 minutes.
If you invest in mini muffin pans, you can expect a yield of 36 muffins, but regular-sized muffin pans will work just fine—but be mindful to check your batter with a toothpick to be sure it’s thoroughly baked since baking time might need to be extended.
Note: This recipe can easily be made vegetarian or even vegan. Substitute with Loma Linda Big Franks or any other plump soy-based “hot dog.” You can also use almond milk instead of buttermilk and coconut butter instead of real butter.
Simply let the batter sit in the bowl after mixing for about 1-2 minutes, then fluff with a fork before filling the muffin pan. This will give the cornbread a thick and fluffy texture similar to buttermilk.
10. Kids Can Make: Mac ‘n’ Cheese Bites
The beauty of this Food Network dish is that you can keep your little ones busy in the kitchen with you. No doubt their sense of pride will make Super Bowl pasta bites.
Super Bowl Desserts
You’re nearing the end zone now! It’s time to whip out your arsenal of sweets and bring this game to a close. Remember: simple, traditional, hand-held and self-serve desserts will be much more appreciated than something dainty and pretty.
Always supply at least 2 options because you’re going to have your chocolate lovers, but then there’s going to be that one die-hard fan who despises chocolate with a passion. (Unfathomable—I know!)
You also might encounter someone watching their weight, so consider a dessert that they can shamelessly enjoy.
11. Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Footballs
Photo Credit: Party Pinching.
You can’t beat Super Bowl dessert that only calls for 3 ingredients. Prep time is 10 minutes, cooling time is 20, and decorating will only take an extra 5 minutes at the most.
Tablespoon’s recipe calls for nutty chocolate bars, but feel free to substitute any chocolate bar you like. (I suggest a dark chocolate with sea salt and toffee.)
Also, be sure your strawberries are thoroughly dried before you make the dip, otherwise the chocolate won’t stick.
12. Chocolate Brownie Cookies
Photo Credit: Recipe by Alison Roman. Photos by Ditte Isager.
Six ingredients. Twenty minutes. Absolute decadence. These chocolate brownie cookies will be the talk of your Super Bowl party.
With a rating of 4 out of 5 stars on Bon Appétit, there’s no dropping the ball on this one.
13. Caramelized Banana Pudding
Photo Credit: Heidi’s Bridge.
Thanks to Kat Boytsova of Bon Appétit, we have a fresh take on banana pudding. This Super Bowl dessert received excellent reviews among visitors to the site with 83% claiming they would gladly make this again.
With 10 ingredients and a prep time of 30-40 minutes, as well as a settling time of 4 hours, this dish—though a tad time-consuming—is a well-worth the wait. While most loved its unique flavors, some weren’t convinced of its perfection.
For example, some said they would prefer it with vanilla wafers instead of the graham crackers. As a lover of the more traditional banana pudding recipes, I say give this a try just as it is.
Looking for something simpler? Try this banana pudding recipe from the Food Network instead.
14. Peanut Butter Football Cookie
Peanut butter football cookie?! Need I say more?
15. Slow Cooker Chocolate Fondue
Photo Credit: Screenshot of The Food Network’s video of The Kitchen’s recipe.
Just 5 minutes of prep with 6 ingredients, plus 30 minutes of slow-cooking in your Crock-Pot®, and you’ve scored yourself delicious fondue Super Bowl dessert that very nearly rivals any other option because of the great variety of dippers you could use.
From pretzels to pineapples to strawberries to croissants, the possibilities are endless.
Conclusion
Well, those are my top 15 picks for a Super Bowl party food menu. I tried to keep the recipes quick, tasty, and simple in the hopes that we can all be champions this Super Bowl.
So, let me know in the comments below which ones you consider a complete and utter fumble and which dish(es) you think are an easy-peasy touchdown.
Also, did you add any personal touches to the dishes in this menu? I could always use some fresh ideas!
Until next time, ladies! Enjoy!
What are your favorite game day food recipes?
