16 Crowd Pleasing Super Bowl Party Foods

Whether you love NFL football or you just like to socialize at well-attended sporting events (that’d be me!), you’re probably expected to bring something to the Super Bowl party you’re attending this Sunday.

Plus, if you call yourself a decent cook, or even worse, a food writer/recipe developer, you can’t just show up at these events with a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa. The pressure is on to make something with your own two hands that will please a crowd. And lucky for you, this isn’t my first rodeo. So, I’m here to help.

I’ve divided these super-bowl-party-appropriate appetizers into four categories:

• Meaty Options
  
• Vegetarian Options
• Vegan Options
• Sweet Options (includes one vegan option)

So here they are — my 16 Crowd Pleasing Super Bowl Party Foods.

MEATY OPTIONS:

Baja Shrimp Nachos

I made this massive pile of nachos last year for the Super Bowl.  I swear to you there are chips under there somewhere.  For me nachos are all about the toppings, so I went easy on the chips, which are on the bottom layer, and I left a bag of chips on the side for easy dipping. This is a little less messy for guests, especially if you serve this with a serving spoon to keep a lot of fingers out of the nachos. It’s just more sanitary.

I loved everything about these nachos, which happen to be my guilty bar food pleasure.

Spicy Asian Steak in Napa Cabbage Wraps {Gluten Free adaptable}

This recipe is super easy because it uses a pre-made marinade.  Plus it’s super tasty and unique to most typical Super Bowl party foods.  It will please meat lovers, paleo people, and gluten free folks, alike.

I would increase the recipe to include at least two pounds of steak or more depending on your crowd. The marinade amount (in my recipe) is for only 8 ounces (half a pound) of meat, so if you use two pounds of steak, multiply the marinade by 4, for three pounds, multiply by 6 (and same goes for the cabbage).  My recipe serves two as a meal.  I would guess it serves about four as an appetizer.

The marinade we used was not gluten-free, but it’s not hard to find or make a similar GF version. Here’s a simple recipe using only three ingredients.

VEGETARIAN OPTIONS:

Baked Eggplant Rounds

This is a hearty appetizer that is really easy to make, but unique and even a bit impressive because it’s out of the ordinary when it comes to manly party food. One eggplant makes a lot of these, so two or three eggplants can definitely serve a crowd. You could even leave them open faced to limit the amount of eggplant you need to buy, using one round instead of two. Serve these with forks and knives. Plastic-wear will be sufficient.

Pesto Brie Homefries

Another not-so-finger-friendly-food, but well worth the effort of adding a serving spoon and forks to the serving table. The simple combination of pesto, brie, potatoes, and tomatoes are amazing and sure to please both vegetarian and carnivores a like.

Sweet Potato Chips with Blue Cheese Dressing

This dish is a unique take on chips and dip.  I love the combination of subtly sweet sweet potatoes with rich and creamy blue cheese.  But for a party, I suggest serving the dip on the side, else the chips will get soggy. Since this is a unique combination, I  also suggest making it obvious that these two items go together by serving them in the same dish.  Maybe put the chips on a platter and stick a bowl of the dressing on the side of the platter, if you don’t have one of those nifty chip and dip serving bowls.

Deep Dish Veggie Pizza Dip

Another hit from last year’s Super Bowl Party. You’re going to need a serving spoon for this since the cheesy top layer makes it too difficult to actually dip something into the bowl. You need something much heartier than pita chips for this dip.  I recommend serving with sliced baguette that has been slightly toasted in the oven and brushed with a bit of olive oil.

Brad’s Spicy Pimento Cheese

I don’t remember the last time I threw a party and didn’t include this cheesy appetizer.  It’s a huge hit and our friends always ask for the recipe.  If you have a stand mixer, it makes everything come together easily and if you have the shredding attachment for your mixer, it gets even easier. But if you don’t have either of those things, trust me; it’s well worth the effort.  We serve this cheese with whatever crackers we have on hand. The crackers are merely a means of shoving this stuff into our face as much as possible.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas

I made this as a meal, but you can easily turn this into an appetizer by cutting each quesadilla into fourths. I would at least double the recipe, which would make eight quesadillas or 24 appetizer size quesadillas. Feel free to triple the recipe.  I have a feeling that these quesadillas will be very popular.

Pear And Brie Flatbread

Flatbreads are always an easy and popular contribution at my parties. They’re hearty enough to fill my guests and because I almost always use pre-made dough from Trader Joe’s, they come together effortlessly.

Old Fashioned Cheese Ball

I call this “old fashioned” because cheese balls were a party food staple in the 70’s. Maybe it was a southern thing…who knows. When I served this cheese ball on NYE two years ago, my friends looked at it like they had never seen a cheese ball before. But they’re not shy and within two hours, this enormous cheese ball was gone. To help put it in perspective for you, this cheese ball is about three times the size of the ones you can purchase in the grocery store. Don’t think about it, just do it.  Your fellow party guests, will ask “What’s in this stuff?” as they shovel cracker after cracker in their mouths piled high with cheese ball. That’s what my guests did, anyway.

Pesto Ricotta Flatbread

This is another easy and tasty flatbread option. I love making my own pesto, but when you’re short on time, don’t feel guilty for picking up the pre-made stuff.  No one will know the difference and you’ll have time to paint your nails, assuming you’re a person who paints their nails. If you’re male, you’ll get to the party in time for the pre-game show.

VEGAN OPTIONS:

Meatless Meatballs

I served these meatballs with pasta but they’re good on their own or you could include your favorite barbecue sauce for dipping on the side. It has to be said that my meat-loving husband loved these. I made another version once from another blog that were way too “bread-y” and he said these were 100 times better.

Faux Chicken Salad

This recipe is quite possibly one of my most talked about recipes of all time. This faux chicken salad will fool any meat lover and will have your vegan and vegetarian friends asking for the recipe. Serve in phyllo cups, on bread as little sandwiches, or use it as a dip and serve with crackers or pita chips.  This stuff is good.

Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade

If you’ve been paying attention, you already know that I loathe olives. But I thought this would be an easy recipe for a vegan-leaning bunch for a pre-bachelorette party I threw. Brad loved it and I received many compliments from my party guests so I’m assuming it’s good, despite the fact this stuff isn’t getting anywhere near my tastebuds.  Serve with your favorite crackers or fresh sliced baguette.

SWEET OPTIONS:

 

Peanut Butter Coconut Blondies with Chickpeas {Vegan}

This recipe is another Super Bowl party contribution from several years ago.  Simply put, they’re amazing and they went fast.  Someone’s dog stole mine right off my plate, and when I went back to get another one, they were gone.  Thank goodness Brad let me have a taste of his.  It’s kind of like a black bean brownie, but with chickpeas, and trust me, you can’t even tell they’re there.

S’more Brownies

I don’t think I need to wax poetic over this brownie recipe. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. However, I will tell you that these are a bit messy so don’t forget the napkins, plates, and forks. Or throw caution to the wind and lick your fingers. You won’t be the only one.

Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday!

Now how many of you are actually watching the entire Super Bowl or heading home early, like me, to watch Downton Abbey?