54 Super Bowl Snack Recipes We’d Pretend to Like Football For
Hi, hello, we're here for the snacks—from furikake Chex Mix and bacon popcorn to hot-honey cheese balls and Buffalo wings.
ByEmma Laperruque
Published On
Photo by Bobbi Lin
Maybe you’re having a few people over, or going to a giant rager, or chilling at home solo. Whatever you’re doing for the Super Bowl, I hope there are snacks. Lots of snacks. These are 54 of our favorite recipes for the occasion. Let’s dig in.
Popcorn, Snack Mixes & Pretzels
One pretzel to serve eight to 10 people? That’s the kind of entertaining efficiency we like to see! Serve this crusty-chewy masterpiece with mayo and mustard (or even the two mixed together) for dunking.
Whenever you fry up a few slices of bacon, I dearly hope you save the rendered fat in a jar, to save for later. It’s an easy-as-can-be way to upgrade plain popcorn.
Melted butter, curry powder, and an unshy shake of salt make this popcorn a real homerun. Erm, touchdown.
Almost-classic spiced nuts with brown sugar, cayenne, and—get this—cocoa powder, which adds cozy flavor and a sultry color.
Soy sauce upgrades buttered popcorn with lots of funky umami. If you want to take that a step further, swap in chile crisp instead of Sriracha.
“The ultimate party mix in my book,” Hana Asbrink writes. “The furikake seasoning gives a classic American snack a delicious, umami bent.”
These cuties start with a brioche-like, honey-sweetened dough. They’re sprinkled with flaky salt, but why not add some rough-crushed black pepper, too?
Pair these crunchy, cheesy, garlicky edamame with very cold beer. Or prosecco!
The secret here is to not only use everything bagel spices—like poppy, garlic, and onion—but to throw in some crushed-up bagel chips to boot.
Chickeny Things
If you’re looking for a basic at-home buffalo wing recipe, stop right where you are. This Genius Recipe from Mark Bittman requires zero deep-frying, just a quick trip under the broiler.
These super-citrusy wings come by way of our latest cookbook, Dynamite Chicken. "I find that Rose’s lime juice makes a perfect glaze for grilled or fried things because it is tart and sweet and sticky," Tyler Kord writes. "And chicken wings are no exception."
Now is the time to show off that air fryer. This appliance yields super-crisp skin with no oil splattering all over the place.
There are 10 ingredients in this dry rub recipe. Can you guess them? Go on. Guess!
Maangchi’s famous Korean fried chicken is as shattering and saucy as it gets. Psst: You can even make it ahead.
15. Chicken Fingers
Adults like chicken fingers, too. These ones from our co-founder Merrill Stubbs have Parmesan and oregano in the crust.
Tender chicken thighs means you don’t have to worry about the meat turning out overcooked or dry. Try to find larger fingerlings, if you can—they’ll be a bit easier to work with.
17. Nugs & Tots
Instead of the usual breadcrumbs, these chicken nuggets are dunked in tangy beer batter that fries into a cloud. And that’s not even mentioning the pickle-heavy tartar sauce.
Crispy-Crunchy Vegetables
We could eat these by the handful: crispy chickpeas, spiced with smoky paprika, fresh thyme, and lots of garlic.
Not all fries have to start with potatoes—these turn to chickpea flour instead. Pair with hummus for a very meta dunking experience.
Dreamed up by Molly Yeh, these pickles get wrapped in havarti, bundled in egg roll wrappers, and fried until melty and warm. Spicy ranch dressing alongside, hardly optional.
These craggy-crusty homemade tots star cauliflower instead of potatoes. Try with Dijon mustard for dipping.
Frying pickle slices maximizes the crunch in each bite. Our test kitchen director prefers to slice dill pickles himself (versus using pre-sliced bread-and-butter), so he can get the thickness just right.
23. Wonder Fries
Smash-fried potatoes, meet lemony miso mayo. As one commenter reviewed, “Goodness gracious!!!” Which about sums it up!
24. Broccoli Tots
More not-potato tots. These start with broccoli and call in some melty cheddar for good measure.
An easy way to upgrade frozen tater tots: tingly, citrusy, numbing Szechuan peppercorns. (Psst: If you buy some for this recipe, put whatever is leftover toward this gong bao chicken).
Everyone loves onion rings and that’s a fact. These are pakora-style with an airy chickpea-flour batter and gingery yogurt sauce to go with.
You had me at Cheeto-crusted. Enough said.
Sandwiches for a Crowd
28. Slab Muffuletta
Start with a sheet pan of fluffy focaccia, turn out a crowd’s worth of muffuletta sandwiches. You can plan ahead by making the olive salad a day or two (or four) in advance.
If homemade pizza crust intimidates you, let French bread do all the hard work. This pepperoni version can be cut into two-bite slices for a party.
Another focaccia miracle. This time: grilled cheese, Super Bowl–edition. For bonus points, zhush up the flavors with pesto, crumbled bacon, pepperoncini, you name it.
Tuna salad may not be the most classic sports-viewing fare. But this French-style pressed sandwich—that you’re supposed to make a day in advance!—charms everyone it meets.
Eggs, Deviled & Not
Tried, true, and ready to throw down, these deviled eggs from Virginia Willis were dubbed Genius in 2012 and we’ve been stuffing them in our faces ever since.
Just a little smoked trout adds a ton of intrigue to classic deviled eggs. Don’t be shy with the herbs on top.
Hard-boiled yolks are mixed with mayo, soy sauce, and sesame oil, before being scooped (or piped!), then topped with a crispy nori chip.
Pickling eggs before you devil them changes everything. The tanginess! The brightness! The color! Feel free to skip the smoked salmon if you want.
You can make both the spicy tomato jam and the pistachio dukkah in advance for these deviled eggs. Score!
37. Soy Sauce Eggs
Not deviled! These salty, umami-rich eggs are one of our most popular recipes of all time.
Porky Bites
Supermarket staples come to the rescue in these foolproof pigs in a blanket: frozen puff pastry, everything spice blend, whole-grain mustard, and itty-bitty hot dogs.
Hands-down the happiest water chestnuts we’ve ever met. Team up with a zingy-sweet chutney you’d want to eat by the spoonful.
“I get more requests for my Devils on Horseback than any other snack time party food that I make,” writes community member HelentheNanny.
41. Sausage Balls
Oh, sausage balls! You never let us down. This recipe from Ben Mims was a uniquely savory part of our Cookie Chronicles series for the winter holidays.
Cheesy, Toasty, Dreamy
Moody kale pesto is an opposites-attract sort of match for milky ricotta. If you can’t get your hands on pine nuts (or don’t want to break the bank on them), swap in walnuts or peanuts.
Be judicious with the flaky salt on top here, since the kalamata olives are already quite briny.
44. Cheese Toasts
The secret to these gooey cheese toasts? A hidden layer of mayo, which melts under the broiler, and encourages the Havarti to do the same.
Serrano or jalapeño chiles wake up otherwise-rich cheese toasts. If you don’t have an air fryer, feel free to turn to your broiler instead (following a similar method as in the recipe above).
Nachos & Totchos
Pork chile verde is the sauce in these totchos (you know, tater-tot nachos). If you want to be a rebel, you could flip the script and serve bowls of chile verde with tater tots on top.
No tortilla chips here. Instead: roasted broccoli, which makes a mighty fine stand-in if we do say so ourselves.
For a vegetarian version, ditch the chicken breasts and call in more beans. Say, pintos or chickpeas.
If you live in a corner of the world where it’s grilling weather in February, take these foil-packed nachos for a spin—great for small-ish groups.
50. Salad Nachos
These cheesy nachos are topped with a sour cream–dressed romaine salad and we’re extremely into it.
Cheese Balls!
“This is the bomb!” community member Wendie M. writes. “I've made it two holiday seasons in a row. Do it now, you will be the hit of the party.”
Blue cheese, hot sauce, and the celery and carrots alongside give us all the game-day chicken-wing vibes. (Chicken wings, not included.)
Togarashi is a Japanese spice blend—and, it turns out, a total cheese-ball game changer. Serve this with seedy crackers and raw vegetables.
If you can’t track down hot honey, just add your favorite hot sauce to honey to taste. You can also swap out the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice.