Regardless of what happens on the field, court, or rink, these snacks are a guaranteed hit. We’ve included some of our most crowd-pleasing wing recipes, along with scoop-worthy dips, gooey cheese appetizers, meatballs, sliders, and more. Pick a few game day favorites from this craveable collection and watch the home team score big in the noshing department.
Crispy Potato Skins with Chorizo
Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
Baked three times to achieve the perfect texture, these hollowed-out potato skins are loaded with smoky chorizo and sharp cheddar, crowned with lime-infused crema, and topped with scallions, radishes, and cilantro.
Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Dill Pickle Slaw
Food & Wine / Photo by Sara Haas
If you’ve got Buffalo chicken fans in the house, these inventive sliders are sure to land. Grilled and shredded Buffalo chicken is topped with thinly sliced rings of red onion and tangy pickle slaw studded with blue cheese crumbles, ensuring each bite is a perfect balance of flavor and texture.
Bacon and Cheese Pigs in a Blanket
Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Sally McKay / Prop Styling by Abby Armstrong
These next-level pigs in a blanket were practically born for game day noshing. The bite-size favorites are wrapped in bacon and tucked inside store-bought crescent rolls with cheese for a quick appetizer.
Pimiento Cheese Jalapeño Poppers
Food & Wine / Photo by Sara Haas
Stuff and bread the peppers a day in advance, then all that’s left to do on game day is fry, bake, or air-fry this fan-favorite spicy snack.
Sheet Pan Nachos
Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser
Baking your nachos on a sheet pan ensures the perfect chip-to-cheese ratio. Serve these straight from the pan along with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole for dipping.
Bavarian Pretzels
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Homemade pretzels are a labor of love, but the end result is oh-so worth it. Mix up your dough the day before the game so you can enjoy fresh, hot pretzels at the watch party.
Buffalo Wings
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Amelia Rampe
There’s no substitute for classic Buffalo wings when it comes to game day snacking. These wings are fried, then tossed in a buttery hot sauce and served with blue cheese dip and celery.
Salsa Asada de Aguacate (Avocado Salsa)
Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva
Lightly char tart tomatillos on the grill up to three hours ahead and mellow the heat with buttery mashed avocados for this creamy, spicy salsa with the best elements of guacamole and salsa verde.
Boiled Peanuts
Matt Taylor-Gross
Peanuts are a time-honored, fun-to-eat snack. You’ll need to allow several hours to soak and boil the raw, in-shell nuts, but the recipe itself is largely hands-off.
Beer Cheese
Food & Wine / Photo by Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans
A blend of sharp cheddar and cream cheese is spiked with a generous amount of pale ale for a tangy, spicy spread that’s terrific with pretzels and raw veggies.
Grandma Pie Pizza
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland
Use store-bought dough and a half sheet pan to make a tasty pizza at home. This pie has a thick, deliciously chewy crust simply topped with an easy homemade tomato sauce along with mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and fresh basil.
Hot Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Bites
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Stylist by Josh Hoggle
These oven-baked nuggets from F&W recipe developer Nicole Hopper are seasoned with dry mustard, dredged in crushed honey mustard pretzels, drizzled with hot honey, and served with honey mustard for dipping.
Crispy Air Fryer Onion Rings
Chris Simpson / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis
Onion rings are nothing without their crunchy exterior, but you don’t need to deep-fry to achieve it. Here, we coat sweet onions with crushed cornflakes and use the air fryer to make a lighter version of the classic snack.
Ham, Soppressata, and Two-Cheese Stromboli
Food & Wine / Photo by Jacob Fox / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Addy Evans
Pizza dough gets stuffed with two meats, two cheeses, and two kinds of peppers for this make-ahead snack that can be served warm or cold.
Korean-Style Fried Cauliflower
Food & Wine / Photo by Jacob Fox / Food Styling by Kelsey Moylan / Prop Styling by Breanna Ghazali
Battered and fried cauliflower florets take on next-level flavor when tossed with a sweet, fiery gochujang-based sauce. To finish, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with lime wedges.
Fried Cheese Curds with Buttermilk Ranch Dipping Sauce
Huge Galdones / Food Styling by Christina Zerkis
A rice flour mixture combined with egg, yellow mustard, and lager beer transforms white cheddar cheese curds into a deep-fried savory snack for game day. We completed this recipe with an herby buttermilk ranch sauce that’s perfect for dipping.
Pepper Jelly Cocktail Meatballs
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Inspired by slow cooker grape jelly meatballs, F&W recipe developer Nicole Hopper coats these broiled pork and beef meatballs in a sticky, spicy-sweet sauce made with pepper jelly and chipotles in adobo sauce.
Caramelized Onion Dip
Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
Sure, it takes a little while to get the onions cooked down to their sweetest, stickiest state, but the payoff is right there in the flavor of the finished dip — set aside an hour to make it.
Pepperoni Rolls with Garlic-Anchovy Marinara
Jen Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Serve these pepperoni and provolone rolls appetizer-style with a side of marinara sauce that’s been bolstered with caramelized baked garlic and salty anchovies.
Vada Pav (Potato Fritter Sandwich)
Rachel Vanni / Food Styling by Judy Haubert
Add these fun little sandwiches to your list of ways to love fried potatoes. Here, balls of generously spiced mashed potatoes are battered and fried; to serve, they’re layered with chutney and pan-fried serrano chiles on a soft bun.
Cheesy Pinto Bean Dip with Chorizo and Chiles
Cedric Angeles
Deliciously savory and hearty, this party-ready dip features creamy pinto beans flavored with three kinds of chiles and packed with Mexican chorizo, crispy bacon, and onions. Gooey Oaxaca cheese ties everything together — feel free to melt even more on top if you’re feeling especially indulgent.
Honey-Pepper Coconut Shrimp
Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Christine Keely / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer
Perfectly crisp and golden, these tasty shrimp bites are coated in a sweetened shredded coconut and panko breading and glazed with a zesty, peppery sauce. Serve with mango-habanero aioli.
Crispy Chicken Wings
Diana Chistruga
These wings are a lesson in simplicity. Seasoning them with nothing more than salt and pepper enables you to get as creative as you’d like with your game day dipping sauce. Once you master the technique for achieving maximum crispiness, you can build on the recipe from there.
Sweet Potato Oven Fries
Matt Taylor-Gross
Customize these fries with seasonings of your choice: pimentón or Urfa biber for a little smokiness, chile powder to bring the heat, or herbs like oregano and thyme for an earthy boost. Then dip away in your favorite condiment.
Potato and Poblano Taquitos
Taquitos are a great party snack for a crowd. Fry them up in advance and freeze for up to a month, then simply heat them in the oven and serve with salsa.
