Two, four, six, eight! Which snacks are so great?! As the big game approaches, so does the immense pressure for a fabulous food spread. Do you want to make a healthy snack or kid-friendly main dish? Maybe you’re looking for keto, gluten-free, or other dietary restriction-friendly snacks. It can be overwhelming to plan for and prepare. I went on a hunt for some tasty recipes and found a few favorites to share.
Football Snacks
I have made loaded tater tots but this recipe was a “game” changer with the addition of ranch seasoning. It’s a perfect party food because you can prebake the tots and get them on the skewers before the party. Then when the guests arrive, throw on the seasoning, cheese, and bacon. Bake for 10 minutes and you are ready to serve. Super simple and delicious! Adding fun ketchup and mustard bottles from Dollar Tree makes it more party atmosphere too.
A favorite in our household is buffalo chicken dip. This took some time to find a recipe that tasted excellent. But without the ingredients that I regretted eating right afterwards. I came across this recipe while looking for overnight options. The ability to make this dip the night before and heat it when ready to serve. Or throw all the ingredients into a crockpot and cook on low for 3 hours. Both ways take pressure off as you prep for your party. There are many options for what you serve with this dip. Raw veggies, tortilla chips, pita chips, even wrapping it up in a tortilla to make a wrap. Let me know if you can taste a difference in this version!
My mom makes delicious puppy chow that includes pretzels and marshmallows with peanut butter. After I ate an entire bowl I realized I needed to find a healthier option to eat. So, I turned to a fellow mom and nutritionist for this go-to healthy version of puppy chow. Using only six ingredients, this puppy chow tastes even better than the original (Sorry mom!).
Rice cereal treats
This is a fun one for kids to help with. Divide the marshmallow mixture into three containers. Using food dye, you can make the team colors. Add the rice cereal and mix completely so the color is incorporated into the cereal. Now you can choose if you want to make bars or roll them into balls.
This is a fun drink for the kids. I put gummy sharks and ice cubes into a clear cup. Add equal amounts of fruit punch sports drink and lemon-lime soda. Stir the drink a few times and it’s ready to serve. A simpler option is just Shark Punch with blue sports drink instead.
The last idea is pretzel bits using team color chocolate candies. You make these by taking a pretzel square or round and melting a rolo candy in a low-heat oven until it softens. Then push a team color candy on top of the rolo. Minus the oven part, kiddos could make these with limited adult supervision. A fantastic way to have all family members involved in the food prep!
Hopefully those gave you some ideas to jumpstart your football party food prep. I would love to hear your ideas and recipes for family favorites. I always plan more food than needed, but it’s fun to have special foods and drinks to enjoy while watching the game.
