Even if you're just watching the game from your couch, these delicious snacks will kick the day off right. Of course we've included some of our most crowd-pleasing wing recipes here, as well as scoop-worthy dips, gooey fried cheese appetizers, meatballs, sliders, and more. With this crave-able collection of game day snacks, we're sure the home team will score big in the noshing department.
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Taco Dip
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This dip from F&W Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple is a fun riff on seven-layer dip. Chapple takes the dip to another level by starting with a layer of super–flavorful ground beef that's spiced with homemade taco seasoning.
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Fried Cheese Curds with Buttermilk Ranch Dipping Sauce
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White cheddar cheese curds are battered and deep-fried until they're golden brown for an irresistible appetizer or snack perfect for game days. The batter includes white rice flour, which is the secret to extra-crispy frying. It's spiked with lager and gets a subtle zip from yellow mustard.
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Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp
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Coconut shrimp are well suited to all sorts of dipping sauces, but we keep it simple here and use Thai sweet chili sauce spruced up with a little chopped fresh cilantro. Using an air fryer instead of frying in oil on the stovetop means crispy shrimp without any splatters to clean up afterwards.
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Chicken Wings with Angry Sauce
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This Korean-inspired recipe is fiery and a little bit sweet. If you'd like, you can make the sauce one day ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. (Just make sure to bring it to room temperature before you toss it with the wings.)
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Spicy Spinach Dip with Pine Nuts
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Cayenne and chile powder give this yogurt-based dip an extra touch of spice. Serve it with toasted bread or your favorite veggies.
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Pigs in a Blanket with Black Pepper Pastry
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Une Femme Wines cofounder Jen Pelka loves serving Champagne with playful bite-size foods like pigs in a blanket. To take them up a notch, she brushes the puff pastry with a tasty mix of honey, mustard, and fresh black pepper before rolling up with the hot dogs and baking.
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Crispy Cheese Sticks
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Flattened white bread serves as the wrapper for these quick and simple crispy cheese sticks. Mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, parsley, and crushed red pepper come together to make the gooey filling.
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Chorizo-Filled Dates Wrapped in Bacon
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This timeless tapa from Spanish cookbook author Penelope Casas has everything going for it — it's sweet, smoky, and savory, all in one bite.
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Hill Country Smoked Chicken Wings with Texas Ranch Dressing
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Rubbing chicken wings with a variety of sweet and spicy seasonings before smoking gives them a double dose of delicious flavor. The ranch dressing goes equally well with these wings as does a nice smoky lager.
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Mayan Pumpkin Seed Dip
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This super-easy, thick pumpkin seed spread from the Yucatan, called sikil pak, might just be the new guacamole — it seems to be on Mexican menus all over the U.S. Our orange zest-scented version comes from Top Chef finalist Mike Isabella.
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Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Green Goddess Dip
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Inspired by merguez, a North African lamb sausage, these meatballs are loaded with cumin, garlic, and paprika for the ideal one-bite nosh. Harissa gives them a fiery heat that's tempered by the herby dip. Not a fan of lamb? Try preparing these make-ahead meatballs with ground beef or a plant-based meat alternative, such as Impossible.
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Carnitas Sliders with Tomatillo-Avocado Sauce
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Perfect for entertaining, these grab-and-go sliders star tender carnitas topped with a creamy tomatillo-avocado sauce sandwiched between pillowy homemade rolls.
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Fried Boudin Balls with Creole Mustard Dipping Sauce
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These Fried Boudin Balls boast pork, rice, liver, and seasonings that are shaped into balls and fried for a crispy exterior and a light, almost creamy interior. We use chicken livers instead of pork livers and panko breadcrumbs instead of crushed crackers, but swap in pork liver and crushed crackers if you prefer.
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Honey Chile Chicken Wings
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Chef Tim Wood avoids the deep fryer and instead opts to broil or grill his chicken wings, which turns them super crispy. A soy and honey glaze makes them sweet, sticky, and salty.
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Buffalo Chicken Dip
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This crowd-pleasing dip has all the punchy flavors of buffalo chicken wings. It gets its creamy texture from a combination of cream cheese and sour cream. Serve it with tortilla chips and celery sticks.
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Tater Tot Nachos (Tatchos) with Kimchi Cheese Sauce
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Tater tots on their own are good. Tater tots dipped in cheese sauce are even better. Tater tots turned into nachos are the best, especially on game day!
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Potato Chips with Whipped Beurre Blanc
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Chef Dave Beran loves the combination of Champagne and potato chips. For this dip, he took inspiration from the classic French butter sauce beurre blanc, spiked with shallots, wine vinegar, and herbs.
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Stuffed Jalapeños
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Perfect served with beer fresh from the kegerator, these stuffed jalapeños are a great snack for your next get-together. Halved jalapeños are packed with a cheddar and cream cheese filling flavored with garlic, cilantro, and scallions.
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Tandoori Chicken Wings with Yogurt Sauce
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These Indian-spiced chicken wings from chef Ben Ford are superb on their own with a squeeze of lemon, but they're even better dipped in the thick and tangy, minty yogurt sauce that's made with cream cheese.
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Rye Bread Dip Recipe
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For this dip, a rye bread boule is hollowed out and filled with a creamy, herb-packed dip. Cut the interior into chunks for dipping and serve the rye bread dip with your favorite crudités.
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