35 BEST Recipes For Game Day

If you're looking for the absolute BEST Recipes For Game Day, you can find them here with everything from appetizers and dips to desserts.

If you’re looking for the ULTIMATE Recipes For Game Day, you’ve come to the right place! With College Football season starting up, it’s time to break out all the classic recipes for game days and tailgating. You’re sure to find a winner with everything from cocktails and appetizers to warm dips and Crock Pot recipes!

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This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think you can have a good football watch party without good food… it’s just a must-have in my book! Whether you want to make tons of appetizers and snacks, or you’re looking for a hearty main dish, you can find it right here.

I like to make game-day food no matter how many people are joining us. It doesn’t matter if you’re hosting a small group of friends, attending a potluck, or watching the game with your family, these recipes are sure to impress any crowd. 

In this collection, I have included 35 of my most highly requested recipes, all of my go-to dishes for game day celebrations! You can find a wide variety of food from classic dips, wings, and cocktails to cookout foods like Crock Pot Country Style Pork Ribs and coleslaw. No matter your preferences or tastes, you’re sure to find a new family favorite game day dish!

Delicious Drinks and Cocktail Recipes For Game Day

Homemade lemonade is refreshing and so easy to make. Fresh squeezed lemon juice sweetened with simple syryp made from sugar and water with a little water and poured over ice mades a delicious drink perfect for any time of the year.

Homemade Lemonade

Made with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and simple syrup, this simple drink recipe is perfect for serving at parties, cookouts, during the holidays, or anytime you want a glass of something cool and delicious.

2 pretty glasses of Tequila Sunrise cocktails on placemants with napkins.

Tequila Sunrise Cocktail

Grenadine and orange juice give this drink its vibrant color, and with a splash of tequila, you’ve got a drink that will make you feel like you’re on a tropical vacation!

Lemonade made extra special with basil and bourbon is a drink perfect for derby day or to sip on any time of the year!

Bourbon Basil Lemonade

Cool, refreshing lemonade with a Southern flair thanks to fresh basil and bourbon. This cocktail is great for parties or whenever you want to sit back and “chill” on a warm summer day!

Salty Dog made with grapefruit juice, vodka is served in a glass with a salted rim is refreshing and fun to drink!

Grapefruit Salty Dog

Sweet, tart, and salty flavors are what a Grapefruit Salty Dog is all about! It’s refreshing and a great, easy-to-make summer cocktail with a fresh burst of citrus flavor. 

Refreshing lemon shandy made with your favorite beer, lemonade and a twist of lemon is a great drink for summer, tailgating, game day or backyard cookouts.

Lemon Shandy

This classic drink made with lemonade and beer is a great drink on a hot day and is perfect for tailgating, game day or your next backyard party!

Amazing Appetizers and Dips

Air Fryer chicken wings are crispy, crunch and juicy. Made with chicken wings, Montreal Steak seasoning, garlic powder and salt. They are super yummy served with cool ranch dip and Texas Pete hot sauce.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings

Extra crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, these Air Fryer Chicken Wings are totally irresistible! No oil or marinating is needed for the BEST wings made in about 30 minutes.

Spicy Cheese Cracker Snack Mix

Spicy Cheese Cracker Snack Mix is a homemade treat that’s perfect for parties, game day, or movie night! It’s crunchy, salty, cheesy, and flavorful with a kick of heat. It’s so much better than store-bought and super easy to make.

Balck Bean and Corn Salsa in a white bowl with limes for garnish.

Black Bean And Corn Salsa

Made with 6 simple ingredients and in just 10 minutes, this salsa makes a great appetizer on its own, but don’t stop there. Serve it as a side dish, or pile it on tacos, salads, eggs, or just about anything!

Garlic Honey Lime Shrimp are easy to make in just 15 minutes! Made with peeled, deveined shrimp, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, honey, and fresh lime juice. Perfect for an appetizer or a main dish.

Garlic Honey Lime Shrimp

Easy to make Garlic Honey Lime Shrimp is sticky, sweet, and spicy with a burst of fresh citrus flavor! This 7-ingredient recipe is great served as an appetizer and will quickly become a favorite main dish at suppertime.

Celery stuffed with cream cheese, bacon, herbs and cheddar cheese are outrageously good! Served as an appetizer or snack, this is a recipe that's sure to become a favorite at parties, BBQs and family gatherings.

Outrageously Good Stuffed Celery

Celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese, bacon, herbs, and cheddar cheese are outrageously good! Served as an appetizer or snack, this recipe will become a favorite at parties, cookouts, and family gatherings.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Made with slow-cooked buffalo chicken, cheese and loaded with your favorite wing sauce, it’s a hot, creamy dip that will have everyone begging you for the recipe.

Crap dip with Dan-o’s seasoning on a cracker.

Easy Hot Crab Dip

Rich, creamy Hot Crab Dip cooked in a cast-iron skillet is the ultimate appetizer for any party! Your friends and family will be begging for this easy-to-make recipe, loaded with fresh crab meat and perfectly seasoned.

Southwest Ranch Dip served in a bowl with veggies and tortilla chips.

Southwest Ranch Dip

Southwest Ranch Dip is crazy delicious served with carrots, celery, and chips. Plus it’s awesome as a dressing, marinade, or a spread on burgers and wraps.

Warm dip made with crumbles sausage, cream cheese, pimento cheese along with green chilies and tomatoes is the perfect dip for parties, game day or tailgating!

Pimento Cheese Sausage Dip

Made with sausage, cream cheese, pimento cheese along with green chilies and tomatoes this over this top dip is ideal for game day, tailing or when you’re entertaining.

Mexican Corn Dip made with white and yellow corn, mayonnaise, sour cream, cojita cheese, canned green chilies, chicli powder, garlic, salt and cilanto. A yummy, easy to make appetizer servd with corn chips or tortillas.

Mexican Corn Dip

Mexican Corn Dip is creamy, cheesy with just the right amount of spice from chilies. Add a pop of fresh-squeezed lime and you’ve got a party in every bite.

Main Dishes For Game Day

Carolina Slaw Dogs are loaded with flavor! Made with hot dogs in buns, mustard, chili, onions and creamy coleslaw.

Carolina Slaw Dogs

A Carolina Slaw Dog is a classic hot dog recipe that deserves a spot at every summer cookout, game-day and tailgate!

Air Fryer Chicken Legs (Drumsticks) are so delcious flavored with lemon pepper, paprika, garlic powder. Roasted to perfection in just 20 minutes, this is a great, inexpensive weeknight main dish and perfect for feeding a crowd.

Air Fryer Chicken Legs (Drumsticks)

They are juicy on the inside with mouthwatering crispy, crunchy skin. If that were not enough, they are ready to serve in just 25 minutes!

Jalapeños, cheese, and sour cream topping Bloody Mary Chili.

Bloody Mary Chili

If you’re a Bloody Mary fan, then you’ll LOVE this chili! With all the bold flavors of that popular drink, this recipe makes a hearty bowl of goodness that’s loaded with beef, beans, and warm spicy flavors.

A delicious, easy to make casserole with spaghetti, chicken, Rotel tomatoes and chilie, cream cheese, sour cream and cheddar cheese. A great dish for potlucks, covered dish suppers or when you're feeding a crowd!

Out Of This World Rotel Chicken Spaghetti

Made with tender chicken, tomatoes and green chilies tossed in a creamy, cheesy sauce, this is pasta casserole taken to a whole new level!

Crock Pot Recipes For Game Day

Warm dip made with spinach and artichokes.

Crock Pot Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip is rich, creamy, and super easy to make in the slow cooker. This cheesy, warm dip with swirls of fresh spinach and artichokes is a crowd-pleasing appetizer that’s perfect for your next party, game day celebration, or when you’re entertaining.

Mississippi Chicken cooked in the crock pot made into sliders with cheese and baked in the voen.

Crock Pot Mississippi Chicken Sliders

With only 5 ingredients, Mississippi Chicken cooked in the slow cooker is tender, juicy, and packed with spicy flavors. This scrumptious recipe is great to serve as an appetizer, for parties, and perfect for game day!

Crock Pot Hawaiian Meatballs on spoon with pineapple.

Crock Pot Hawaiian Meatballs

Hawaiian Meatballs smothered in a sweet tangy sauce with pineapple and fresh ginger are cooked low and slow in the crock pot. These succulent meatballs are a slow cooker masterpiece and are great served as an appetizer or main dish!

Crock pot full of country style pork ribs being served with a fork.

Crock Pot Country Style Pork Ribs

Slow-cooked country-style pork ribs are fall off the bone tender and juicy! These meaty ribs are coated in a thick rich sauce flavored with garlic, honey, soy sauce, and chili powder and are perfect for weeknight meals or weekend gatherings.

Buffalo chicken cooked in a crock pot.

5-Ingredient Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken

Enjoy this easy-to-make Buffalo Chicken on sandwiches, in dips, salads, sliders, or pizza! Buffalo Chicken made with just 5 ingredients cooked low and slow in the Crock Pot is a recipe with so many uses!

Bourbon Meatballs in a black pot with a wooden spoon

Crock Pot Bourbon Meatballs

Crock Pot Bourbon Meatballs are tender, succulent, and loaded with irresistible flavors. These meatballs, prepped in just minutes, are cooked in the Crock-Pot and are perfect to serve as an appetizer, for game day or on lazy weekends.

Pasta Salads and Side Dishes

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Easy Crock Pot Baked Beans

Slow-Cooked, sweet and savory baked beans with brown sugar and bacon is a side dish recipe that’s pure perfection!

Best Creamy Coleslaw

Extra creamy with a healthy crunch, this coleslaw recipe is the perfect side dish for any cookout, summer lunch, or dinner. Creamy Coleslaw also makes a terrific topping for hot dogs and hamburgers!

Macaroni Salad for a crowd is an easy to make recipe for potlucks, covered dish suppers and when you're entertaining. With celery, onion and a simple dressing it's always a crowd pleaser.

Macaroni Salad For A Crowd

Macaroni Salad For A Crowd is an easy to make recipe that’s ideal for potlucks, covered dish suppers or entertaining. This simple recipe with pasta, onions, celery and a creamy dressing is always the first to disappear on the buffet table!

Blue Cheese Coleslaw in a bowl with small white bowl and fork for serving.

Blue Cheese Coleslaw

The perfect coleslaw with an added kick of blue cheese for all of your grilled burgers.

Spaghetti Salad is the perfect side dish for a party, potluck or when you're feeding a crowd. Made with tender pasta, pepperoni, fresh veggies and tossed in a zesty dressing then topped with Parmesan cheese, this easy to make salad is ideal for "soup and salad" night!

Spaghetti Salad

Made with tender pasta, pepperoni, fresh veggies and tossed in a zesty dressing then topped with Parmesan cheese, this easy to make salad is ideal for game-day!

Sweet Treats and Dessert Recipes For Game Day

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Creamy 3-Ingredient Fruit Dip

Creamy, sweet, and made with only 3 ingredients, this fruit dip is terrific served any time of the year! Serve it with your favorite fresh fruit, cookies, or pound cake for a refreshing treat everyone will love.

Super Simple S’mores Brownies

All the flavors of your favorite campfire S’mores turned into brownies, right in your own kitchen! S’mores Brownies are super easy to make with a box brownie mix and then amped up with toasted marshmallows, crispy graham crackers, and chocolate.

Butterscotch cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.

No-Bake Butterscotch Cookies

No-Bake Butterscotch Cookies are so hard to resist! Made with crunchy corn flakes, melted butterscotch chips and creamy peanut butter, then dusted with a bit of salt, they are so easy to make you’ll be amazed.

Chocolate Dip in bowl on fruit platter with cookies and pretzels.

Chocolate Dip

Creamy, dreamy, light, and fluffy is what Chocolate Dip is all about! This decadent treat whipped up in less than 15 minutes is great served with fresh fruit, cookies, or your favorite salty snack.

Slice of Southern Pound Cake with berries on a plate with fork ready to be enjoyed.

Southern Pound Cake

It’s buttery and soft on the inside with a thick crumbly top that makes it totally irresistible. This cake made with simple ingredients is the star of any meal and perfect for the holidays and family celebrations.

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