Recipes

Our Most Mouthwatering Recipes for Super Bowl Sunday

Football’s biggest day is for indulging in everyone’s favorite foods, from hot dips to spicy wings.

PHOTO: MURRAY HALL • FOOD STYLING: JESSIE YUCHEN

By SAVEUR Editors


Updated on February 5, 2024

Whether you’re a superfan, a fair-weather fan, or simply a fan of snacks, Super Bowl Sunday is a big day for eating. And because watching the big game is usually a group effort, it’s the ideal setting for endless amounts of appetizers and shareable main dishes. We’ve rounded up some of our very favorite recipes that will please all participants, from classic Buffalo wings to crab dip and spicy green chili with chicken and white beans. So fire up the smoker, the slow cooker, or your air fryer and get ready for all things smoked, crispy, and slow-cooked because Super Bowl Sunday is for serious snacking.

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

The recipe for these ham and Swiss sliders dripping in poppy-seed-butter sauce comes to us from blogger Nealey Dozier Thompson, the winner of SAVEUR’s September 2011 Home Cook Challenge Recipe Contest. As she puts it: “They may not seem like much, but they can move a grown man to his knees!” Get the recipe >

Cavan Images/iStock via Getty Images

An artfully arranged platter of meats—smoked, cured, or spiced—and cheeses is always a crowd favorite, particularly when grazing is the main dining mode. Here’s our guide to building a well-rounded board that will appeal to all your guests. Get the recipe >

Matt Taylor-Gross

This is a fresher, lighter version of the tried and true onion dip (and it certainly doesn’t come in a can), combining shallots, scallions, and chives with creamy yogurt and tangy sumac. Serve with wedges of fluffy pita or crunchy vegetables. Get the recipe >

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

Nothing says game day like a hot dip, and this one has all the right components: onions, cream cheese, parmesan, and mayonnaise. It’s a four-ingredient winner that is baked until hot and golden brown, ideal for scooping up with Fritos or tortilla chips. Get the recipe >

Photo: Belle Morizio • Food Styling: Laura Sampedro

Saltines get a major flavor infusion in this classic Southern snack, and it couldn’t be easier. Combine the crackers with oil and your fave seasoning mix, and let them marinate overnight. Toast them in the oven until golden and crispy, then consume by the handful. Get the recipe >

Photo: Belle Morizio • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen • Prop Styling: Kim Gray

A Cincinnati favorite, these oddly craveable hot canapés combine Velveeta, liquid smoke, and sausage, toasted atop pumpernickel or rye breads. They’re not quite a meal but they’re certainly a hearty appetizer that pairs perfectly with football. Get the recipe >

Farideh Sadeghin

Crispy breading encases gooey melted mozzarella cheese in this classic appetizer, best served with marinara on the side. Get the recipe >

Matt Taylor-Gross

This party snack from Eric W. Bolyard of Compagnie NYC keeps all the best parts of buffalo chicken—juicy meat, hot sauce, and crisp fried bits—in a neat and tidy package. Do not skip the rich, crispy schmaltz toasts, which take this dip up a level. Get the recipe >

Matt Taylor-Gross

Inspired by the small bites known as cicheti that food writer Dana Bowen ate in Venice, these crisp mini-sandwiches are deep-fried and filled with molten cheese. Get the recipe >

Matt Taylor-Gross

The dough, a variation on a Southern-style biscuit dough, is rolled out and folded several times to ensure delicate layers. Leftover dough and scraps can be rolled out again and cut and baked into biscuits. The dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen until ready to use. Get the recipe >

Matt Taylor-Gross

In this take on cheese dip, grilled sweet corn is tossed with a healthy dollop of milky ricotta, aromatics, and herbs, then baked until it’s bubbling and brown. Get the recipe >

William Hereford

Known as chupe de centolla, this Chilean crab gratin borders on a cheesy crab dip. While similar South American chupe are always prepared with milk-soaked bread and any combination of shrimp, scallops, shellfish, meats, and cheeses, Patagonia’s version relies solely on the massive local king crabs, the hallmark of fishermen’s kitchens along Chile’s southernmost coast. Get the recipe >

Matt Taylor-Gross

With both serrano chiles and jalapeños, the dip has a bright spiciness that cuts through the richness of two cheeses (the more cheeses the better, in our opinion). The tangy sour cream added at the end brings it over the top. Get the recipe >

Belle Morizio

This is a snacking mainstay, but there’s always room for improvement. Grind your cilantro, onion, and chiles into a paste before folding in mashed avocado for the deepest flavor. Get the recipe >

Matt Taylor-Gross

Brisket is braised in stout, bourbon, and soy sauce in this spicy pimento cheese-topped sliders from Louisville chef Edward Lee. Best served with dill pickles and a crisp beer to cut through the richness of cheese and beef. Get the recipe >

Ingalls Photography

Chili powder, cinnamon, and celery seed are just a few of the spices that go into this deeply flavored Cincinnati-style chili that can be prepared two-way (chili over spaghetti), three-way (with cheese), four-way (with onions), or five-way (with a finishing flourish of kidney beans).  It’s a Midwestern classic for a reason. Get the recipe >

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

Swap out tortilla chips for potato chips in this deliriously good riff on nachos that’s straight out of Ohio. Our favorite version comes from Cap City Diner in Columbus, which features thick-cut kettle chips drizzled with a garlicky alfredo sauce, topped with Maytag blue cheese and chives, and heated until gooey. Get the recipe >

Belle Morizio

The classic jalapeño popper recipe (a whole green chile, filled with cheese and then roasted or fried) has roots in the Mexican chile relleno, which goes back to the 1800s or earlier. It’s also a classic bar snack that can’t be beat for its excellent combination of spice and deep-fried crunch. Get the recipe >

Thomas Payne

They might as well be proclaimed the official football snack, as they’ve become almost synonymous with football snacking at this point. This recipe is based on the wings at Anchor Bar, the buffalo bar credited with starting the whole thing. Get the recipe >

Photo: Yudi Ela Echevarria • Food Styling: Caroline Hwang • Prop Styling: Rebecca Bartoshesky

These spicy wings are based on a classic Sichuan dish in which golden chunks of chicken are tossed with spices and presented atop an intimidating bed of fried chilis. In this recipe, Jing Gao, founder of chili crisp brand Fly By Jing, uses bone-in wings that are coated with mala spice mix then tossed with a heady mix of fried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and spicy peanuts. Get the recipe >

Joseph De Leo

This quick tomatillo-based green chili stew tastes like it simmered on the back of the stove for hours and is perfect for game day or a weeknight dinner. Get the recipe >

Kat Craddock

Simply seasoned, with a thin, crisp coating and tender, juicy meat, the fried chicken from Charleston, South Carolina’s now-closed Martha Lou’s Kitchen is some of the best we’ve tasted. Get the recipe >

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

Whether you know it as Frito pie or a “walking taco,” this crunchy creation is always a hit. Corn chips are mounded high with chili, cheddar, onions, sour cream, and sliced jalapeños, right inside the Fritos bag. It’s efficient, hearty, and the ideal dish for a crowd on game day. Get the recipe >

Reprinted with permission from Trejo’s Cantina by Danny Trejo with Hugh Garvey copyright © 2023. Photographs by Larchmont Hospitality Group LLC. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

The smell of a Danger dog—also known as a Sonoran hot dog, Tijuana dog, or, in Los Angeles, a Dodger dog—is irresistible. Hot dogs are wrapped in bacon and browned, then smothered with a mixture of peppers and onions. Get the recipe >

Maura McEvoy

Stuffed with black-eyed peas, sausage, and cheddar, this hearty cornbread was the standout dish at a tailgating party food writer Carolynn Carreño attended at the University of Mississippi. Closer to a breakfast casserole, the dish achieves its custardy, pudding-like texture with buttermilk and creamed corn. Get the recipe >

These classic hors d'oeuvres are welcome at all gatherings, from Easter brunch to the coffee table during the Super Bowl. Mustard and vinegar provide the devilment for a flavorful bite, particularly when topped with a scattering of scallions and paprika. Get the recipe >

Matt Taylor-Gross

Beer and cheese are football staples, so why not just combine them? This particular recipe has a strong cheddar-based foundation that’s then topped with piquant Gorgonzola for a more complex version of a hearty favorite. Serve it with crusty bread and more beer for a true Super Bowl win. Get the recipe >

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