15 Tailgating Recipes For Your Next Game Day

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — football time! Whether you enjoy watching the game or not, everyone can agree that tailgating recipes are a touchdown play. Who doesn’t love chips with dip, chicken wings, chili, jalapeno poppers and other finger foods? You’ll find those and more in this collection of 15 awesome tailgating recipes that you can bring to any parking lot party.

Chili Dogs by Good Housekeeping

Kick your tailgating party off to a fantastic start with these easy and delicious chili dogs from the Good Housekeeping test kitchen. The recipe starts with a simple homemade chili recipe made with ground beef, tomato sauce and spices. Once the chili has had time to simmer, top your favorite hot dogs with it. Don’t forget to add some of your other favorite toppings like shredded cheese and diced onions.

Salted Beer Pretzel Pigskin Bites by Pillsbury

Everyone’s had pigs in a blanket. Make your tailgating event a winner by kicking your recipe up a notch with these pretzel pigskin bites. This recipe uses smoked sausage links instead of hot dogs, and it turns regular crescent rolls into pretzel dough using an easy combination of beer and baking soda. Once the pretzel bites are done baking, you can decorate them with mustard to look like miniature footballs for a touchdown snack that everyone will love.

Spicy Peanut Butter & Pepper Jelly Chicken Wings by Food Wishes

Chef John Mitzewich is known for creating unique and creative sauces for chicken wings. These Asian-inspired wings with a peanut sauce base are no exception. They feature classic Asian ingredients for a peanut sauce, including soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce and sesame oil. The secret ingredient is pepper jelly, which gives the wings a sweet and spicy zing.

Game Day Fiesta Dip by Betty Crocker

This guacamole dip is great for tailgating for three reasons: it’s super quick and easy to put together, it adds some vegetables to your recipe lineup, and it will get everyone in a festive mood for game day. Start by spread store-bought guacamole onto a serving platter. Then, decorate with fresh vegetables and sour cream to resemble a football field. This is a delicious, nutritious and fun snack that everyone will be cheering about.

Party Poppers by MyRecipes

No party would be complete without some jalapeno party poppers. Fresh jalapenos are stuffed with a combination of cream cheese, chicken and cilantro, then wrapped in bacon and baked until melted and gooey. Just be sure to wear gloves when working with the jalapenos!

Ham And Cheese Sliders by My Baking Addiction

These baked ham and cheese sliders are an easy snack to bring to a tailgating party. Start with a pack of Hawaiian rolls split in half, and layer deli ham and Swiss cheese inside the rolls. Top it all off with a honey mustard sauce, and bake until the cheese melts. These hand-held bites are great right out of the oven if you are hosting a game-day party or don’t have far to travel. Or, they can be covered with aluminum foil and served at room temperature at a later time.

Game Day Colored Candy Popcorn by Our Best Bites

These candy popcorn treats are both tasty and easy to customize to your team’s favorite colors. A packet of Kool-Aid drink mix is the secret ingredient that you’ll need to add to other pantry staples, including butter, corn syrup, sugar and baking soda, to create the candy coating for this fruit-flavored popcorn. Personalize your popcorn cups even further with other candies, like Skittles or M&Ms.

Fresh Salsa by Simply Recipes

What party would be complete without salsa? And, why buy store-bought when this homemade pico de gallo is so simple and delicious? Fresh ingredients including tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and cilantro are blended together in a food processor. That’s it! This salsa is best made a few hours to a day in advance, to allow the flavors to blend together.

Football Whoopie Pies With Cinnamon Cream by Country Living

These adorable chocolate and cinnamon whoopie pies are sure to get all your tailgating guests in the game-day spirit. A cake batter flavored with cocoa powder and cinnamon is piped into football-shaped miniature pastries before baking. Then, the whoopie pies are filled with icing made from butter, powdered sugar and more cinnamon. Decorate the completed whoopie pies with white chocolate or icing to resemble miniature footballs.

Firehouse Chili & Cornbread Casserole by AllRecipes

Chili is a quintessential tailgating staple, and it’s best served with a side of sweet cornbread. Why not combine the two with this chili and cornbread casserole? Chef John brings this recipe to AllRecipes, starting with a meaty ground beef chili spiced with garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper and chili powder. Once the chili has had time to simmer and thicken, top it with a cornbread crust made easily from a package of corn muffin mix, eggs, milk and cheddar cheese. Bake everything together for a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs casserole that will give you enough energy to keep you cheering for your team for the whole game.

Strawberry And Goat Cheese Bruschetta by Homemade Hooplah

Take advantage of fresh fruit while it’s still in season with this strawberry and goat cheese bruschetta recipe. Start with a loaf of sliced baguette, oiled and toasted until golden brown. Then, top the bruschetta with tangy goat cheese crumbles, sweet strawberry slices, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar glaze for this festive and flavorful finger food.

Ultimate Party Meatballs by Ocean Spray

Whoever heard of using cranberry sauce to make meatballs? These cocktail party meatballs do just that, and they are one of the easiest and tastiest recipes you can bring to your tailgating party. This recipe calls for only three ingredients: pre-cooked meatballs, chili sauce and jellied cranberry sauce. Combine everything in a saucepan, and cook until the meatballs are heated through and coated with the cranberry glaze. Or, try cooking everything in a slow cooker to keep the meatballs warm until you’re ready to serve them!

Rotel Sausage Dip by Southern Living

A block of Velveeta cheese and a can of Rotel tomatoes are a quick and easy recipe for any tailgating party. But, this cheesy party dip brings it to the next level by adding ground beef and chorizo to make a hearty, crowd-pleasing dish to serve to hungry tailgaters and football fans. Don’t forget to bring tortilla chips or other dippers!

Buffalo Shrimp Hooters Style by Hilah Cooking

Hilah Johnson of food blog and YouTube channel Hilah Cooking is originally from Austin, Texas, and knows how to throw a Southern-style party. With a sauce made from Frank’s Red Hot sauce and spicy seasoned salt, these fiery buffalo shrimp will add a zesty punch to your game-day lineup! Serve with blue cheese sauce and celery sticks to keep things cool.

M&M Brownie Pizza

No party would be complete without a sweet treat to end with. This brownie pizza whips up quickly and easily, and it can be customized with your team’s colors. The crust is a simple brownie batter made from butter, chocolate, sugar, flour and eggs. Once baked, top the brownie pizza with a peanut butter frosting made from cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar. Then, decorate with candies, sprinkles and colored sugar to represent your team colors.

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