Tailgates and watch parties are upon us and with that comes food! Game day food takes on a life of its own, often being almost as fun as the game itself. With that said, it can be a lot of work to put something together! That’s why we’ve created a list of 25 best game day recipes that are easy to make and sure to please. When selecting your dish, be sure to keep in mind the number of people you expect to feed, the time you have to prep, and if your dish will need to be heated or refrigerated and if you’ll have that available.
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1. Easy Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Sliders are always one of the best game day recipes in our opinion, and they’re even better when they feature a delicious cheese and Buffalo sauce! This recipe also uses rotisserie chicken, so there’s not even much prep beyond assembling and baking.
2. Game Day Crock-Pot Queso con Carne
Queso is a game day staple, and this option is sure to be a people pleaser. It’s a rich and flavorful recipe that you can just throw in the crock pot for an easy game day recipe!
3. Bacon Spinach Dip
Spinach is great, but honestly the bacon is really the draw in the next of our best game day recipes. This cheesy, decadent choice is assembled and baked in a skillet or pan for easy prep and serving.
4. Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Something about bacon wrapped shrimp feels fun and almost fancy? Is that just us? Anyways, these delights are easy to make and throw in the air fryer for and only require four ingredients.
5. Slow Cooker Fiesta Bean Dip
It is our professional opinion that hot dips make some of the best game day recipes, especially when the weather starts to get chilly! This Fiesta Bean Dip is a delicious cheesy choice that is easy to prep and cook in a slow cooker so you don’t even have to worry about it on the day of!
6. Loaded Smashed Potatoes
These little beauties look and taste just like mini loaded baked potatoes and are an amazing finger food option for tailgates and parties. The best part is how customizable they are, you can adapt the toppings to match your tastes for endless options!
7. Game Day Crock Pot Meatballs
These meatballs offer a delightful combination of savory and sweet and are another slow cooker recipe. With just four ingredients, they’re not only one of the best game day recipes, but they’re one of the easiest, too!
8. World’s Fudgiest Brownies
You really can’t go wrong with brownies! This recipe is for fudgier, gooey brownies, so keep that in mind if you prefer something firmer or more “done”. However, if you love a richer, softer brownie, these ones are sure to please.
9. Baked Potato Skins
Baked potato skins are often considered one of the best game day recipes, a football season staple, and for good reason! This recipe features the classic baked potato fixings, but you can tweak them to suit your taste.
10. French Dip Sliders
We love a good French Dip, and these French Dip sliders come together so quickly! This recipe has a few different components that all come together for a delicious handheld option for game day.
11. Big Batch Crock Pot Chili
Some of the best game day recipes are the ones you don’t have to think too hard about. This big batch crock pot chili is one of those! It’s an easy one to prep beforehand and cook either the night before or the day of and the leftovers are great to put in the freezer for later.
12. Pretzel Dip
This savory dip is easy to make and is flavored with bacon, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and green onions and comes together in a single bowl, which is great for minimal clean up. This pairs well with pretzels (obviously), but is also great with chips like Fritos or tortilla chips!
13. Honey Lemon Pepper Wings
Wings have graced many lists of best game day recipes, which makes complete sense because they’re a classic! These honey lemon pepper wings add another layer to the traditional lemon pepper flavor, making them tart, sticky, and slightly sweet! The best part is that they’re baked, so you don’t even have to worry about the mess of frying.
14. Buckeye Dip
This sweet dip is inspired by the chocolate-peanut butter dessert called “buck eyes”! It tastes a bit like cookie dough, but with that delicious peanut butter twist. Serve with pretzels, graham crackers, or fruit for a game day option people are sure to love.
15. Slow Cooker Chili Mac
We’ve already covered chili in our best game day recipes, but this recipe adds a hearty twist: noodles! This recipe is not only filling, but it’s a set it and forget, it one pot slow cooker recipe, so there’s minimal mess and clean up.
16. Italian Pinwheels
These Italian pinwheels are bite-sized and delicious and highly customizable! They’re packed with flavor and easy to make ahead for minimum stress, a great option for those who don’t have much time to spare.
17. Cheddar Ranch Cheeseball
A cheeseball that features ranch and bacon? Sign us up! The next of our best game day recipes is a simple combination of just five ingredients mixed in one bowl. You can serve it in that bowl or form it into it’s recognizable ball and serve with cracker of your choice!
18. Brownie Batter Dip Recipe
Brownie Batter Dip is a rich, decadent dip perfect for fruit, pretzels, and graham crackers. It’s a sweet option that you can make in fewer than 15 minutes with ingredients found in most kitchens!
19. Ham and Cheese Sliders
We have the last slider of our best game day recipes, the delightful ham and cheese. These are quick to assemble and are baked in the oven for a cheesy and delicious game day meal.
20. Dill Pickle Dip
Our next option is a the tart Dill Pickle Dip, a refreshing, cold dip that pairs well with veggies, chips, or even pretzels. It’s a light and fresh option for some of the hotter game days in early fall, a refreshing choice to contrast the heavier options you typically find at tailgates and watch parties.
21. Garlic Parmesan Wings
We have another baked wing recipe, this time they’re garlic parmesan. This choice has shockingly few ingredients and only take about an hour to bake, making them one of the best game day recipes in our book.
22. Pull Apart Pigs in A Blanket
Pull Apart Pigs in A Blanket is a fun twist on a classic finger food. They’re great to prep ahead of time and are fun to put together if you have some helpful kids around!
23. Crack Corn Dip
We have another savory dip for our list of best game day recipes, but this one is inspired by Mexican street corn! It features tons of textures and flavors that will keep everyone coming back for more.
24. Mini Chicken Quesadillas
Quesadillas are a phenomenal handheld option, especially when they’re minis like these! The filling is easy to throw together and it only takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook, though you’ll want to serve the same day to keep them from getting soggy.
25. Slow Cooker Chicken Nachos
Nachos are clearly one of the best game day recipes, but being able to prep them in a crock pot? Gamechanger. Prep these the morning of for a hearty and delicious option for the big game!
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