10 Tailgating Recipes For Football Season

Football season is under way! It feels like Christmas to this Aggie-loving girl. One of my favorite aspects of football season is the food. We are all about football food in our house. I thought I would compile 10 of my favorite tailgating recipes that will be perfect for your next tailgate or party. 

These recipes are all easy to throw together and big crowd pleasers. If you're hosting a football party, the last thing you want to do is spend the entire thing in the kitchen. You need to be out there and enjoying the game, so let's make food that allows us such luxuries. 

Pico de Gallo Salsa

Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Crockpot Cocktail Weenies

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

Crescent Roll Jalapeno Poppers

3 Ingredient Crockpot Pulled Pork Sliders

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Seven Layer Mexican Dip

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Crockpot Cocktail Meatballs

The Cream Cheese Sausage Balls are my favorite from the group, and my husband could eat the Crescent Roll Jalapeno Poppers every day. Hopefully these recipes will come in handy for your next football party. Enjoy this glorious season, and gig 'em! (I had to.)

Tailgating Tuesdays: Seven Layer Mexican Dip

This recipe was given to me by my mother in law before Parker and I were married. I had forgotten all about it until a recent football party, and I am so glad I rediscovered it! This recipe is easy to whip up on the fly and a great crowd pleaser. If you have people coming over and are short on time, make this stuff!

 

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese

1 can turkey chili

1 can fat free refried beans

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 tomato, chopped

handful of chopped green onions

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Put cream cheese in an 8x8 glass pan and melt for 30 seconds. Spread evenly across the bottom of the pan.

3. Mix the chili and beans in a separate bowl and with a little salt and pepper. Pour chili mixture over melted cream cheese.

4. Top with chopped tomato, chopped green onions, and grated cheddar cheese.

5. Heat in the oven about 20 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and entire dish is hot. Serve with chips.

Enjoy!

Tailgating Tuesdays: Fried Mozzarella Sticks

We are back for another round of Tailgating Tuesdays, so I thought it was finally time to share this delicious little recipe for homemade mozzarella sticks.The Pioneer Woman does it again with this recipe. Her cookbooks are my favorite, and this recipe does not disappoint. I mean it's fried cheese... what's better than that? Paired with a little marinara or ranch dressing, this is the perfect appetizer for your next football party!

Ingredients (makes 32 pieces):

16 string cheese sticks, removed from their wrappers

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes

canola oil, for frying

marinara or ranch, for dipping

Directions:

1. Slice the string cheese pieces in half for a total of 32 pieces. 

2. Place the flour in a small bowl. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.

4. In a third bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the parsley flakes. 

5. One by one, roll the mozzarella pieces into the flour, then dunk into the egg mixture, then roll into the panko mixture. 

6. Place the coated mozzarella pieces on a baking sheet and put into the freezer for 20-30 minutes to flash freeze.

7. To fry the mozzarella, heat 1.5 inches of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the mozzarella pieces 6-8 at a time. Watch them closely and turn them over to brown evenly. They should cook for less than 2 minutes. Make sure the cheese doesn't start to bubble and leak!

8. Remove ready pieces to a paper towel-lined plate and serve immediately with warm marinara sauce or ranch dressing.

 Enjoy!

Tailgating Tuesdays: Pico De Gallo Salsa

Chips and salsa are always a favorite for football parties, especially in Texas. I realize we don't actually live in Texas anymore, but we eat like we do. This recipe is a cross between pico de gallo and salsa and tastes superb on a tortilla chip. It was simple to whip up and scarfed down in minutes. I decided to serve it a little chunkier, but you could throw all of the ingredients into the food processor and puree to make a thinner salsa as well. I've done both, and both are equally good!

Ingredients:

5-6 roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (more if you like it spicier)

2 Tbsp garlic, minced

2 Tbsp lime juice

salt and pepper, to taste

 

Directons:

1. Mix everything in a bowl. Seriously, that's about it. I would suggest making it the night before or early the morning of your party to let it sit. The longer it sits, the longer the flavors permeate. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve!

 

 

 

Serve with chips and enjoy!

Tailgating Tuesdays: Crockpot Cocktail Meatballs

Since Tailgating Tuesdays are in full swing, I thought I should probably share the easiest football recipe known to man. People have 1000 ways to make meatballs these days, but there really is no reason to over think it. Football food is supposed to be two things: simple and delicious. I made these for our first football part of the year, and people loved them. I almost felt guilty taking the credit considering how little work went into them! Yall, this recipe is three ingredients. Seriously, three. I made them the exact way I make these BBQ cocktail weenies, and the recipe works just as well on the meatballs! Don't be alarmed by the odd pairing of ingredients. It's a match made in meatball heaven.

Ingredients:

2 lb bag plain, frozen meatballs

12 oz jar of grape jelly

12 oz bottle of BBQ sauce 

*I just poured the jelly in first and then poured the BBQ sauce into the empty jelly jar before emptying into the crockpot to make sure the measurements were even.

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a lined crockpot for easy clean up. 

2. Stir everything together so the jelly and BBQ sauce are well blended. 

3. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 2-4 hours.

Enjoy!