23 Easy Game Day Snacks and Football Season Appetizers To Make Ahead For Parties
Yessiree – it’s football season again! Time to start making my favorite football season appetizers and game day snacks to munch on while we watch all the games on Saturdays (and Pro ball on Sunday and Monday nights).
I’d much rather watch the game than spend the day cooking for our crowd, so needless to say, my favorite appetizers are EASY. In fact, many are “make ahead” types of finger foods that I can toss in the crockpot or warm up when I’m ready to set out the buffet-style snack table.
Welcome to Life Hacks for Moms - we hope you enjoy all our tips and tricks for busy moms! Please note that we use affiliate links and ads to generate income at no cost to you.Thanks for visiting - and please feel free to share!
1. Game Day Hot Wings
It’s not game day if there aren’t hot wings!
Ingredients:
_ 2 lbs chicken wings
_ 1/2 cup hot sauce (I use these hot sauces)
_ 1/4 cup melted butter
_ 1 tbsp white vinegar
_ 1/2 tsp garlic powder
_ 1/2 tsp paprika
_ Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
– Preheat your oven to 400°F.
– Season the chicken wings with salt and pepper.
– Bake the wings for 40-45 minutes, turning halfway through.
– In a bowl, mix this hot sauce, melted butter, vinegar, garlic powder, and paprika.
– Toss the cooked wings in the sauce mixture until well-coated.
– Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese or ranch dressing.
2. Fan Favorite Loaded Nachos
These loaded nachos are my favorite snack to nibble on while watching games!
Ingredients:
_ 1 bag tortilla chips
_ 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
_ 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
_ 1 cup cooked ground beef or shredded chicken
_ 1/2 cup sliced black olives
_ 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
_ 1/4 cup sliced jalapeños (optional)
_ 1/4 cup chopped green onions
_ Sour cream and salsa for topping
Instructions:
– Preheat your oven to 375°F.
– On a large baking sheet, spread out a layer of tortilla chips.
– Sprinkle the shredded cheeses evenly over the chips.
– Add the ground beef or chicken, black olives, tomatoes, and jalapeños.
– Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
– Remove from the oven and top with green onions. Serve with sour cream and salsa.
3. Fan Favorite Blanketed Pigs
Yep, these are your standard Pigs in a Blanket but with a fan favorite seasoning twist!
Ingredients:
1 package of mini cocktail sausages or hot dogs
1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Pro Tip: Sprinkle With This Seasoning
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Unroll the crescent roll dough and cut it into small triangles.
Wrap each cocktail sausage in a piece of dough and place them on a baking sheet.
Brush the wrapped sausages with the beaten egg and sprinkle with this seasoning.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the dough is golden brown.
Serve with mustard or ketchup for dipping.
4. Game Day Lil’ Smokies and Meatballs
That recipe above is a MUST SAVE – I make it for EVERYTHING
(we all know I LOVE my LAZY easy crockpot recipes!)
Now, let me share the game day food ideas I make that are recipes from other wonderful food bloggers!
Easy appetizers AND Game Day drink ideas too!✅ I Found It Here
Sheet Pan 4 Hot Dip “Pull ‘n Dip”
A selection of FOUR hot cheesy dips surrounded by crescent roll dough bites makes for an EASY Game Day snack – we love it!
There are LOTS of easy sheet pan appetizers on the same page!
Sheet Pan 4 Hot Dip “Pull ‘n Dip” Recipe
3-Ingredient Sausage Roll Bites
These 3-ingredient Sausage Roll Bites are an absolute crowd-pleaser! It’s my favorite game day food because it’s SO easy to make (and they’re impossible to resist!)
And YES – only THREE ingredients!
3-Ingredient Sausage Roll Bites Recipe
Shredded Chicken Hot Wing Dip
This simple make ahead crockpot party dip is SO good… AND it’s crazy-easy to make!
Just a few simple ingredients to dump in your crockpot with a shortcut option if you do not have fresh cooked chicken on hand.
(recipe is about half way down this page:)
Crockpot Chicken Wing Dip Recipe
BBQ Sausage Bites
These BBQ Sausage Bites are a super simple appetizer for any football season gathering or game day party!
SO quick and easy to make with only 4 easy ingredients – smoked sausage, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and mustard.
Serve with toothpicks for a fan favorite finger food.
Super Simple Snacks
From pasta chips made in the airfryer (yes, it’s a thing – it’s a VIRAL thing on TikTok!) to super simple shareable snacks to make with a few cheap ingredients, this page has a lot of unique, yummy and downright SIMPLE football watchin’ food ideas.
Super Simple Snacks For Game Day
Game Day Cold Dip
This game day dip is so easy to make before we watch football games – and it is DELICIOUS!
I’ll be making it every weekend!
Loaded BLT Dip
This EASY Loaded BLT Dip Party Dip starts with a cream cheese and sour cream mixture with a tangy Ranch seasoning.
Serve this dip cold and top with layers of crispy bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.
Ham and Cheese Sliders
These Ham and Cheese Sliders are a classic party finger food sandwich that EVERYONE loves.
Made on Hawaiian rolls and with the yummiest sauce on top, these are going to be a huge hit with everyone at your football game day get-together!
Buffalo Chicken Sliders
These Buffalo Chicken Sliders are the perfect snacking sandwich for game day (or game nights!).
They’re tangy and a bit spicy made with seasoned butter on sweet Hawaiian Rolls with shredded Rotisserie Chicken. Super simple!
Buffalo Chicken Sliders Recipe
Game Day Snack Shortcut
If you love sliders AND Texas Roadhouse Rolls, why not pick up some of those yummy rolls To Go and then use THOSE rolls to make your sliders (trust me, they are SO good this way!)
Plus, we all know I LOVE easy ground beef recipes!
All you need is:
1 pound of cooked ground beef seasoned however you like it.
1 pack of Beefy Onion Seasoning like this.
A box of Texas Roadhouse rolls.
Reheat the rolls at 325 for about 5 minutes (and YES, spread that Texas Roadhouse butter on top!)
Take the rolls out of the oven, slice them open – and add the ground beef filling you made.
Pop ’em back in the oven for about 5 more minutes and TA-DA – yummy Roadhouse Sliders!
Ultimate 7-Layer Dip
Let’s be real – NO football party or game watching snack table is complete without a really GOOD 7-layer dip to snack on!
This dip is not only a crowd-pleaser but also so VERY easy to make. Whether you’re entertaining friends on game night, Super Bowl party, or a “bring a snack” potluck-type of College or Pro football game watchin’ event, this 7 layer dip is sure to be the star of the table – recipe found here.
And….
If you’re REALLY creative…
You can do something like this:
Pretty awesome, right?
Patio Party Food Ideas
Here in the South, we watch EVERY, SINGLE game outside on our screened in porch patio area.
On this page below, I have all my favorite outdoor party appetizer recipes:
More YUMMY Game Day Snacks:
The Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook✅ I Found It HereYummy Game Day snacks and appetizers✅ I Found It Here