Game Day Snacks That Food Network Staffers Swear By
Go the whole nine yards with these winning recipes!
Let’s be honest — no matter what you serve on game day, it’s basically guaranteed that the best part of the spread will be the snacks. Main dishes just can’t compare to delightful dips, classic wings and tasty small bites. This year, keep your guests satisfied until the very last play with our favorite game day snack recipes. A word of warning: these eats are so good, you may just be inspired to do your very own touchdown dance.
Crowd-Pleasing Guacamole
This recipe for The Best Guacamole is my go-to game day snack. It has just the right amount of acidity from the lime juice and heat from the jalapeno. Plus, the creamy texture of the avocado against a salty tortilla chip is the epitome of #winning!
- Amanda Neal, Recipe Developer
Sam Kaplan
Classic Buffalo Chicken Dip
My go-to recipe to bring to any type of sporting event is a classic Buffalo Chicken Dip. There is something about the combination of chicken, cream cheese and Frank's Red Hot sauce that makes me want to bypass my love of wings and nachos and just eat this dip all night. Most recipes are pretty similar, but this version from Food Network Magazine makes preparation a breeze with the use of a rotisserie chicken.
- Rachel Trujillo, Associate Content Editor
I make this beyond-easy Buffalo Chicken Dip for every big football game, and I know it’s a winner because it’s the one snack my brother can’t get enough of. (Buffalo-chicken everything is one of his favorite food groups.) He has to remove the dip from his vicinity when he feels himself getting full! The recipe prep takes about 10 minutes (assuming you don’t forget to soften the cream cheese!) and sometimes I even prep it ahead of time and leave it in the fridge until I’m ready to bake it. My brother loves to eat this dip with tortilla chips, but I swear by celery sticks to take in a few extra helpings. If you’re making this for more than two to four people, I highly recommend doubling the recipe to make sure there’s enough to go around.
- T.K. Brady, Senior Editor
Grab-and-Go Treats
I have to be honest — I’m not the biggest fan of football. But I do love an opportunity to try my hand at making a new snack recipe. This year, I’m most excited to try these Pull-Apart Pigs in a Blanket from Food Network Magazine’s January/February double issue. Buffalo chicken sausages nestled inside buttery layers of crescent roll dough — it sounds like a win-win in my book, no matter the game’s result.
- Michelle Baricevic, Online Editorial Coordinator, Food Network Magazine
Sky-High Layered Dips
Many moons ago the digital development team put together a story about layered dips featuring the layered dips we all know and love, along with some new additions. I tend to be very loyal to the classics but the day that these were developed I had a get together to attend and no time to pick up anything, so I packed up the Nine-Layer Cheeseburger Dip and the Five Layer Reuben Dip. My friends DESTROYED both. They were gone in minutes. All this to say: I’d recommend trying something new from that gallery, even if you’ve got your tried and true favorites. If not for you, do it for your friends.
- Larisa Alvarez, Managing Culinary Producer
Armando Rafael Moutela, 2013, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved 2013, Cooking Channel, LLC All Rights Reserved
Ultra-Crispy Wings
One of my favorite game-day and bar foods is wings. From tangy and crispy to blackened and braised, I can’t resist a pile of these delicious snacks, and have often made them my meal.This is one of my favorite recipes for wings. It was inspired by Korean style chicken wings but I developed it with easier to find ingredients. The mix of cornstarch and flour in the coating makes them super crisp even when drenched in the sauce. They are always such a hit and make frying in the home worth it!
- Alexis Pisciotta, Recipe Developer
Armando Rafael, 2016, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
Irresistible Onion Dip
My husband and I cannot resist caramelized onion dip — the homemade version beats the shortcut dip every time. The caramelized onions lend a sweetness to the creamy dip that is absolutely irresistible. Cooking the onions until they’re perfectly soft and brown requires more effort than stirring a packet of dip mix into sour cream, yes, but it’s so worth it (and it’s really only 20 minutes’ worth of “work”). And I love that you can make this dip a day (or three) ahead of time; then all you have to do is pull it out of the fridge on game day and dig in!
- Meghan Cole, Associate Editor
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