Check out over 80 awesome game day recipes! From easy finger foods like crispy calamari, tons of diet-friendly foods, carnitas tacos, and amazing football-themed desserts and dips, you’ll find exactly what you need to make your game day party the best one ever!
It’s here folks. Football season. In the South, this is serious business (hello, college football!).
The season where men hit each other with full force over a leather ball for our entertainment and we tailgate in the parking lot or have big game day parties at home.
It’s also the time when we all gather around on bleachers to cheer our kids on at school sports events, before we need to bundle up with thermoses of hot chocolate.
For football season, these game day recipes are some of the most delicious and fun dips, sandwiches, nachos, finger foods, football-themed dishes, and more that I could find among my food blogging friends. Remember when you make their recipes, to comment and rate their recipes on their blogs!
I made sure to add a diet-specific category, which has recipes that are gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian, dairy-free, keto, paleo, and so on so no one is left out of the game day deliciousness.
There are also many recipes to put your Instant Pot, slow cooker, or Air Fryer to great use as well so your stoves and ovens are open for all those good cheesy dips and oven-roasted French dip Sandwiches.
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Tailgating and Game Day Recipes
Wings
These easy Sweet Chili Chicken Wings are the perfect combo of sticky, sweet and spicy! The wings can be made in an air fryer or baked in the oven!
These Maple Gochujang Wings are here to improve your day, your weekend, and yes...they even draw teenagers out of the basement! Sweet and Spicy with just the right amount of sticky, they are super addictive. Betcha can't just eat one!
Whenever we’re having a party, Buffalo Chicken Wings are on the menu. These wings are perfect for game day or any day. I even make these for weekend dinners – sometimes baked, sometimes fried.
These Honey BBQ Chicken Wings are juicy, tender and flavorful. They’re covered in a blend of spices, baked to a crisp and then tossed in the best Honey BBQ Sauce!
These Lemon Pepper Wings are full of the most delicious and balanced lemon pepper flavor! They're tender and moist on the inside, and golden with some crispy bits on the outside!
Best Honey Hot Wings you need to try,these are oven baked ,sticky, spicy that makes them a perfect appetizer for any party!
Dips
If you’re planning a football watching party this fun and delicious Football Shaped Bread Bowl With Spinach Dip would be perfect to serve all your hungry guest. And, your appetizer table will look amazing with this fun bread bowl sitting on top of it.
Spicy Football Cheese Dip - quick, easy and delicious appetizer recipe for game day watching parties, football parties and tailgating events!
Bacon beer cheese dip takes your classic pub style beer cheese to the next level. With sharp cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, and your choice of beer, this bacon beer cheese dip is the perfect party app.
The ultimate in cheese dips, Pimento Cheese will melt your heart and leave you wanting more.
This dip has tons of flavor thanks to the addition of blue cheese and plenty of crumbled bacon. It is a perfect appetizer to enjoy while watching football, or any of your favorite sports on game day for that matter.
And I do mean awesome. In less than 30 minutes you have hot, cheesy spinach dip bubbling out of the oven with just three ingredients.
This Baked Chicken Enchilada Dip is super cheesy and the perfect dip for any party or holiday! This easy appetizer is ready in about 40 minutes and freezer friendly!
This magical Creamy Avocado Cilantro Sauce is finger licking delicious. It takes just 5 minutes to make in a blender and is perfect on tacos, burgers, salads, or just as a side with chips and vegetables.
Warm, spicy cheesy dip loaded with chorizo sausage, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and lime. Great football/tailgate recipe.
Beer cheese fondue is an easy appetizer dip recipe to serve on game day!
Main Dishes
Instant Pot Carnitas are tender, crispy, and delicious, made in less than an hour in your electric pressure cooker!
These Instant Pot Asian ribs are so tender, juicy, and easy to make! Fall off the bone baby back ribs covered in a sweet and tangy Asian soy glaze! The best pressure cooker Asian ribs you’ll ever taste!
Sriracha Chicken Kabobs can easily be made in the oven or on a grill. They’re perfect for a weeknight dinner or entertaining friends.
Low and slow is the way to go to make these tender, succulent ribs with a spicy citrus and brown sugar glaze in the oven! This recipe for oven baked ribs is easy with a homemade spice rub and glaze.
The fish is cooked with spices and served in a warm taco shell with Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa and best Honey Chili Sauce!
Popular Bang Bang Chicken –seasoned bites of crispy chicken with the most awesome, creamy, sweet and spicy sauce– is easily made at home in just half an hour!
Our Walking Taco Bar is the perfect way to serve up a saucy taco filling and your favorite toppings for the big game. Crush the chips in your bag, top them with a flavorful beef taco filling, pile high with lots of taco toppings, add a plastic fork and you’re all set! Your portable taco is in the bag for a fun and easy Super Bowl food with easy clean up too!
Bring this pulled pork mac and cheese to your next potluck or cookout! Rich and creamy mac and cheese with that summer superstar -pulled pork- make for a match made in heaven any time of the year!
Sandwiches and Burgers
Pork is slow simmered with apples, onions, and root beer until it’s fall-apart tender, then mixed with barbecue sauce in this slow cooker root beer pulled pork recipe. Top off your root beer pulled pork with a scoop of coleslaw and then you‘ve got a heck of a sandwich.
Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders are a fun, easy, and crazy delicious freezer-friendly dish that is a hit at get togethers with adults and kids alike!
One of the perks of living in South Florida is that it’s grilling season all year long. These blue cheese stuffed burgers are melty, delicious, and your new favorite grilling recipe.
These Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes are serious comfort food. They make a great weeknight meal or tasty game day snacks. 20 minutes is all you need to make this recipe!
Hidden Vegetable Beef Burgers are great for fussy eaters that would rather eat burgers than vegetables, because this recipe is both, and they will never know!
No ordinary chicken burger, these Buffalo chicken burgers are tender, juicy, spicy and packed with flavor!
Deliciously drippy French dip sandwiches will be a new favorite in your meal plans. Roast beef sandwiches topped with melty cheese and golden onions dipped in flavorful au jus, it’s the best thing to happen to chuck since the pot roast.
These precious dill chicken salad sliders are made with a delicious rotisserie chicken salad recipe and a very special surprise! The buns are made of crispy, flaky, buttery puff pastry that takes only 20 minutes to bake.
Chili Joes (plus my favorite tailgating tips)! We love chili and we love sloppy joes! This easy recipe combines the two in one amazing bite for the perfect game day snack! Perfect full sized or as sliders!
Finger Foods
When the NFL’s top 2 teams face off on the field on Super Bowl Sunday, make sure you’re serving Quick and Easy Pigs in a Blanket and other game-day worthy appetizers and party fare.
Fresh calamari rings are tenderized in buttermilk, seasoned with garlic and paprika, and fried in crispy panko breadcrumbs. Fried calamari done right is full of flavor and irresistible!
This recipe for Skillet Pull-Apart Pretzel Buns with Creamy Cheese Dip has a wonderfully descriptive title! Soft delicious pretzel buns surround creamy cheese dip, all baked to a golden gooey perfection in a skillet, making it easy to serve and enjoy right out of the oven!
We call these three ingredient Bacon Wrapped Smokies “Meat Candy,” because they’re sweet, smoky, and impossible to resist! Don’t skip the dip recipe! It really puts this easy appetizer over the top!
Whip up an easy appetizer with this 4 ingredient recipe for Jalapeno Popper Pinwheels. Enjoy the game day favorite flavors wrapped up in buttery pastry.
These delectable chorizo stuffed mushrooms will have you drooling before you even take your first bite! You may want to have a fork handy to retrieve all the bits that get away.
A no-bake sweet & salty snack mix made with popcorn, pretzels, raisins, chocolate, and peanuts. Served in DIY football cups, this easy snack mix is perfect for game day.
These buffalo chicken wontons with homemade yogurt blue cheese dip are so perfect for tailgating! By being baked in the oven with minimal ingredients, these are a great healthy alternative! They make for a perfect wonton appetizer for guests to grab, dip and go.
Air Fryer Oven Pizza Rolls. Introducing you to our air fryer homemade pizza rolls made with leftover homemade pizza dough and so simple to load up with your favorite pizza roll fillings.
Even the manliest of men will adore these little footballs. You can’t help but love them and your football-watching party guests will gobble them up so be sure to make enough for everyone. You may want to double or triple the recipe as needed depending on the number of party guests you’ll have over.
This cheese-stuffed soft pretzel bites recipe is the best! Homemade pretzel dough is wrapped around cheddar cheese, topped with sea salt and brushed with butter. Serve them as an appetizer, snack or on the side of your favorite bowl of soup.
Gooey cheese stuffed inside a tender beef meatball and bathed in a spicy sweet sauce… perfect for game day!
You can whip up these easy baked nachos in a pinch. This Super Bowl appetizer is simple to prepare (and serve), leaving you with more time to socialize, eat, and enjoy the game!
This sweet habanero roasted nuts recipe combines sweet coconut sugar with garlic and habanero sauce before perfectly roasting your favorite nuts. The sweet and spicy finger food snack is perfect for tailgating and holiday parties.
Diet-Specific Recipes
Do you love pizza–and hummus? Then you are sure to love this Super Creamy Pizza Hummus. It's not just the melding of two uber popular comfort foods, but it's sesame-free and dairy-free, making it great for almost anyone on a special diet too!
Adorable little mini cheeseburgers topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickle and of course the homemade thousand island dressing! Perfect for your next party!
Mouthwatering, delicious vegan sloppy joes are the perfect addition to your vegan sandwich collection! Look no further to satisfy your craving for comfort food, with a healthy, vegan twist.
Perfect for football parties and weekend snacking, this pizza dip is my kids’ favorite appetizer! Gooey and cheesy, this easy pizza dip tastes just like pepperoni pizza!
These vegan loaded sweet potato nachos are crispy, crunchy and topped with all the delicious fixings, including a cashew nacho cheese! Perfect for a game-day snack.
Homemade Air fryer crispy Tofu buffalo bites are super crispy and they’re totally kid-approved! Serve them at parties, game night, movie night, or snack time along with your favorite dipping sauce. They are irresistible!
A delicious take on my favorite stuffed Keto Jalapeño Poppers! These take a little more time but trust me — IT’S WORTH IT! Great as an appetizer! These Keto Fried Bacon Jalapeño Cheese Bites are Keto & LCHF Friendly! 1 Carb per serving.
The Best Slow Cooker Vegan Chili Recipe is wholesome, delicious and easy to make. Comforting and healthy freezable dinner packed with nutrients and flavors!
Clean-Eating Spinach Artichoke Dip! The PERFECT flavorful, healthy snack. (Dairy-Free, Paleo, Vegan)
Buffalo Cauliflower Bites are an easy, healthy, low-carb, gluten-free, Paleo, and vegan alternative to your traditional chicken wings to serve up on game day. This buffalo cauliflower recipe gets baked in the oven for super crispy and flavorful cauliflower “wings” that are worthy of being a Super Bowl party appetizer!
These Easy Low Carb Mini Pepper Nachos are so flavorful and delicious! This appetizer version of Mexican stuffed peppers is perfect for meal prepping or sharing with friends at your next get-together! Full of all kinds of yumminess, like lean ground beef, black beans, sweet peppers, tomatoes with green chilies and a zesty blend of Mexican spices. And best of all they’re low-carb and gluten-free!
As an ultra fan of hummus, I proclaim this eggplant hummus the second-best thing. It has charred (or roasted) eggplant that gives it a smoky, sexy flavor that is just fabulous! A super easy and flavorful recipe! (vegan)
These quick and easy homemade vegan pizza pockets are so much better than anything you’d find in the frozen food section!
These Lemon Pepper Wings are full of the most delicious and balanced lemon pepper flavor! They’re tender and moist on the inside, and golden with some crispy bits on the outside! (Low-Carb and Gluten-Free)
Low carb, full of taste and protein! This bbq chicken dip recipe is super easy and can be thrown in the crockpot. Toss the ingredients in and by the time the game starts, you’ll be set!
You can also make this recipe in the oven!
Learn how to make crab dip! This EASY cold crab dip recipe with cream cheese (crab meat dip) needs just 5 minutes + 6 ingredients. (Low Carb and GLuten-Free)
This is seriously the Best Vegan Cheeseburger Dip recipe. Based on the French’s Mustard Best Cheeseburger Dip recipe, it will delight any vegan and overcome the reservations of even the most stubborn omnivore. Mmm, cheeseburgers. Mustardy, cheesy, gooey, cheeseburgers.
This Healthy Chocolate Fruit Dip is healthy, vegan, dairy free, and paleo–it's so rich and creamy, you won't believe that it's actually good for you! It's special enough for entertaining, but is so simple to whip up, it's an easy and delicious treat you can make anytime.
This Grilled Fruit Platter with 2 Luscious Sauces is a perfect way to let guests customize their own sundaes. Plus it shows off the best of late-summer produce. Take it to the next level with my two sauces – Maple Ricotta and Chocolate Chai – and you’ve got one impressive meal finale. Plus it’s gluten-free, grain-free and can be dairy-free, too!
Desserts
Make a chocolate dessert cheese ball football dip for the big game! Or shape into a regular round cheese ball for a party anytime of year. Either way, this chocolate dip is sure to please your guests.
This no-bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip is ready in only 10 minutes and makes the perfect Fall dessert or appetizer! Pair the pumpkin dip with sliced apples, graham crackers or vanilla wafers for the perfect party snack.
Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookies are known for being chewy, chocolatey, and absolutely massive! Thankfully you can enjoy the world’s most famous cookie at home with this easy recipe.
These Touchdown Turtle Brownie Bites are a deliciously easy way to celebrate game day! Rich chocolate brownies baked in a mini muffin pan topped with a chocolate covered caramel and football shaped pretzels with pecans
Nachos are ALWAYS fun to make and delicious to eat. But how about an irresistible dessert version? These Cinnamon Dessert Nachos with Salted Caramel Apple dip taste like decadent Churro chips and caramel apple pie bites.
Are you ready for some football… or should I say Football Candy Corn Cookie Cups! Have you seen these awesome the awesome new Football Candy Corn from Brach’s? Football has never been so sweet!
Whether you are a fan of professional or college football or maybe you have children playing in school or in the local leagues, one thing we all have in common is an appreciation for good football party food! These football character cookies will be a big hit at any football party! No baking involved!
This Football Sprinkle Surprise Sheet Cake starts with a moist chocolate cake that’s filled with sprinkles colored to represent your favorite football team! Top it off with camouflage frosting and chocolate dipped football strawberries and you’ve got the ULTIMATE Superbowl dessert!
These Nutter Butter Football Cupcakes are the ultimate treat for the chocolate and peanut butter lover and just in time for football season.
Melted chocolate is taken to the next level with a sprinkling of almond M&M footballs, green M&M's and roasted almonds. The perfect bark for the big game!
Perfect for the start of NFL season!
Eden Westbrook is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Sweet Tea and Thyme. A classically trained chef, Eden has inspired home cooks into the kitchen with cultural comfort foods, easy family-friendly eats and sweets, and glorious spreads for date night and entertaining since 2015.
Just by looking at the pictures really made me hungry. Can’t wait to try these someday. Thanks for sharing!
What an awesome selection. I can’t wait to give lots of them a try.