So maybe you’re not a diehard fan of the Cincinnati Bengals or the LA Rams. But who cares if it isn’t the ideal matchup? Super Bowl Sunday is about more than just football; it provides precious hours in which to snack on cheesy, salty, saucy, crispy bites—and The Takeout has an abundance of recipes that can be thrown together in advance of kickoff. Read on for a list of our best snacks, appetizers, and desserts to serve at your Super Bowl party.
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These bite-sized appetizers pack a surprising amount of flavor, even though they might look a little unassuming all stacked up on a plate. Cheesy Pinwheels are, in fact, the ultimate Midwestern snack: they’re packed with cheese, require only a few other ingredients, and yield dozens of servings, which is a plus if you plan on entertaining a crowd. You might have all the ingredients on hand already, including the salsa for dipping. Get the recipe for Cheesy Pinwheels here.
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Aside from their satisfying crunch and overall flavor, one of the best things about roasted chickpeas is how easy they are to make. This Super Bowl appetizer is the perfect snack to set out in bowls for guests to munch on like popcorn. The chickpeas can be made in the oven or air fryer, and the flavors can be adjusted to suit your crowd; sprinkle the finished product with garlic powder, curry powder, or any other spices you love. Get the recipe for Easy Roasted Chickpeas here.
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Broccoli and cheese go together like Super Bowl Sunday and multimillion-dollar advertising. And the cheddar in these Broccoli Cheddar Mini Tacos isn’t sprinkled on top of the fillings; instead, the entire shell is formed from crispy cheese. Play around with the spices, serve with salsa and pickled red onions, and just know that these don’t have to be mini tacos at all—go ahead and make them whatever size suits your game day lineup. Get the recipe for Broccoli Cheddar Mini Tacos here.
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Deep-frying anything in your own kitchen can be a royal pain. If you’re looking to cook wings at home, there’s a way to do it that will get you awfully close to the crispy, restaurant-quality experience, and that’s brining and baking on high heat. Brining chicken is like giving the meat an internal basting that there’s really no substitute for, resulting in a damn good wing whose flavor you can taste under the skin. No flying hot oil required. Get the recipe for Homemade Baked Buffalo Wings here.
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This Super Bowl finger food, known as Garlic Bread Fries, starts with a foolproof homemade focaccia, which is then air-fried slice by slice to create delectable, dippable spears. What comes out of the air fryer is crispy on the outside and just the right amount of soft on the inside to give you the full garlic bread experience. (If you’d like, you can double this recipe so you can use one focaccia to make fries and the other to make sandwiches.) Get the recipe for Garlic Bread Fries here.
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The trend of making vegetables taste like Buffalo chicken wings is one we wholeheartedly support. Who wouldn’t be intrigued? It’s hardly alchemy—it’s hot sauce and butter. Tossed with salt for 15 minutes, placed in a colander and drained, the cucumbers emerge crisp and perfectly salted. Drizzled with hot sauce and butter, sprinkled with blue cheese, you may demolish an entire plate of these cucumbers before you realize you no longer are craving chicken wings. Get the recipe for Cucumbers a la Buffalo Wings here.
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These chicken wings are always gone in a flash. What’s the secret? It’s not 11 herbs and spices. In fact, the recipe calls for just six ingredients, chicken included. The only one some people wouldn’t have on hand is dry mustard, and you can use a squirt of regular mustard in a pinch. The appeal of these wings is the sauce: a sweet-tangy mix that’s garlicky, soy sauce rich, and brown sugar sweet. It checks all the salty-sweet-savory boxes, and because the wings are not spicy, you can eat as many of them as you please without fear of sweating. Get the recipe for Hell Yeah Chicken Wings here.
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While there are a billion recipes for Buffalo Chicken Dip, a Super Bowl staple, we urge you to keep things simple—if you’re trying too hard to make buffalo chicken dip, you’re doing it wrong. Our recipe ditches the canned chicken and swaps in rotisserie chicken, which you can buy fully cooked at the grocery store, already perfectly juicy and seasoned. Shred it into your game day dip for a flavorful, indulgent upgrade on a classic. Get the recipe for Rotisserie Buffalo Chicken Dip here.
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There’s a whole lot we can say about this three-layer dip, but all you need to know for Super Bowl Sunday is just how easy it is to make: in a baking dish, spread one brick of cream cheese into an even layer, pour in a can of turkey chili, and sprinkle a bag of shredded cheddar on top. Microwave until the cheddar is melted. That’s it. Seriously. If it sounds basic, rest assured that this stuff is more than the sum of its parts. There’s a good chance you already have the ingredients you need, so why not give it a try this weekend? Get the recipe for 3-Ingredient Chili Cheese Dip here.
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Pok Pok Wings, also known as Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings, this recipe comes to us from Pok Pok: Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes, and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand. These wings are crispy, chewy umami bombs—lacquered in fried, caramelized garlic and nam prik pao, the spicy roasted chili paste—and they’ve been a sensation in Portland, Oregon for years. They’re sticky and ultra-crisp, thanks to a light dredge of rice and tempura flours and shellacked in what’s basically a fish sauce caramel. If you’re comfortable frying in your kitchen, this is the most worthy use of that frying oil. Get the recipe for Pok Pok Wings here.
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You and your fellow Super Bowl viewers will scarf up these three-ingredient snacks quicker than you can come up with a better name for them. The recipe is just peanut butter, melted butterscotch chips, and crushed Raisin Bran, mixed thoroughly and chilled in a baking dish to create a 9x13 slab of deliciousness that you then hack into rough squares for the entire household to enjoy. Fair warning: they’re not a pretty, picturesque dessert. But that’s okay, because they’ll be gone before anyone remembers to take a photo. Get the recipe for Peanut Butter Raisin Bran Bars here.
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If you’re waffling on which sweets to add to your sweet-and-savory Super Bowl spread, why not add them all in one go? This recipe for Beer & Pretzel Caramel Cookie Bars combines some of the best game day flavors to create one mega-dessert of untold power, a grown-up candy bar somewhere between a Twix and a Take 5 bar. Best of all, you can freeze your leftovers as individual pieces to thaw and enjoy later. And if you keep them well hidden in your freezer, you won’t even have to share. Get the recipe for Beer & Pretzel Caramel Cookie Bars here.
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Are you looking to add fancy flair to your Super Bowl offerings? Look no further than a classic Midwestern cheese ball, which only requires a handful of readily available ingredients yet somehow manages to exude sophistication. Three kinds of cheese, a few spices, and nuts—that’s all there is to it. Bring them all together for the most dynamic, photogenic snack on the table. Get the recipe for a Classic Cheese Ball here.
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Chili and the Super Bowl are a match made in whatever the NFL equivalent of Heaven is. (New England?) It’s a perfectly inviting wintry dish that can lure guests to your Super Bowl party or soothe the sting of your team’s crushing defeat. This chili recipe takes things in a new and exciting direction: ground venison replaces ground beef, cold brew coffee brings a rich, chocolatey mole note to the pot, and homemade from-scratch chili paste guarantees a one-of-a-kind flavor profile. Get the recipe for Venison Mole Coffee Chili here.
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Move over, Rice Krispies treats. Scotcheroos are the apotheosis of cereal-based desserts. Featuring the always irresistible combination of peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch, these crunchy, gooey party desserts only require five ingredients and yield a perennial crowd-pleaser. Slice them into small squares; they’re light and snackable enough that everyone will keep reaching for more. Get the recipe for Scotcheroos here.