We are so close to the big game this season! With the ultimate showdown of the NFL right around the corner, it’s time to start planning our tailgate party food. The team here at Inside Tailgating knows what it takes to throw an awesome Super Bowl party. So to help you score a touchdown at your party, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to planning your Super Bowl party menu. Let’s get started!
Get Inspiration From The Masters
The best place to start when planning your tailgate party food for the Super Bowl is by tapping the expertise of other tailgaters. Tailgating cookbooks are a great place to find easy, crowd-pleasing recipes that your whole team will love. We love the Stadium Journey Pro Football Cookbook Paul Swaney and highly recommend checking it out for your party. Get the Stadium Journey Pro Football Cookbook here.
Tackle Your Entrée First
When it comes to tailgate party food, the best idea is to have lots of snacks, sides, and desserts that are easy to prepare. Then have a show-stopping entree that people will love. Grilled steaks, a delicious rack of BBQ ribs, or even slow-cooked pulled pork are great because they’ll feed a large crowd and impress your guests. However, if you are looking for something really unusual, might we suggest Sutbb’s Jalapeno Pepper BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meat Log?
Stubb’s Jalapeno Popper BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meat Log
Ingredients
- 3 Lbs Ground Pork Sausage
- 1 Package Cream Cheese
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Package American Cheese Slices
- 3 Packages Bacon
- 1 Onion, diced
- 2 Jalapenos, diced
- 1 Cup Stubb's Original Bar-B-Q-Sauce
Wow. That’s what we at Inside Tailgating have to say about this recipe. Our friends at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q joined up with FoodBeast to create this recipe and we now know why. This recipe is a beast. Any time there’s bacon, barbecue sauce, sausage and a cheeseburger all wrapped up in one meaty recipe, you know you’re onto something sinfully delicious. But then you check out this recipe and watch the accompanying video and realize this meat log actually features a layer of bacon weaved together, and you know you’re onto a one-of-a-kind tailgate meal. Give your buddies something to remember at the next game. Seriously.
What’s A Super Bowl Party Without Wings?
Every Super Bowl party menu is going to be different, different fans have different food traditions. However, there is one thing that is on the menu of possibly every Super Bowl party in the USA and that is wings. Wings are a Super Bowl staple.
Wings are the perfect tailgating food. They are easy to make, portable, and everyone loves them. One of the best parts about serving wings is that you can season them with different flavors. Over the years, we’ve featured some of the most delicious wings recipes. These recipes are not just a hit with us, but our readers love them. So we decided to do a roundup of our most popular chicken wing recipes for you to add to your next tailgating menu. These recipes feature a variety of different flavors, were crafted by some of the best chefs in the country, and are sure to be a hit at your next tailgate.
BILLS-INSPIRED GRILLED BUFFALO WINGS
Grilled Chicken Wings with Seasoned Buffalo Sauce
Ingredients
For The Wings
- 3 Lbs Chicken Wings (without tips)
- 1 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
- Vegetable Oil, for grill
For The Sauce
- 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 Clove Garlic, minced
- 1/4 Cup Plus 2 Tbsp Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Chili Powder
- 3/4 Tsp Sugar
Notes
The Buffalo Bills have been having a great season after great season since 2017. In celebration of their returns, Jenn Segal crafted up a set of grilled hot wings that make the perfect tailgating food. These hot wings are an incredibly popular tailgating food because they are absolutely delicious and can be made right on your portable grill. Whether you make them for the next Bills game or your favorite football team, everyone at your tailgate will love them.
Granted, most of the wings you eat at restaurants are fried, but we at Inside Tailgating think everything tastes better on a grill, of course. So we turned to Jenn Segal, of Once Upon a Chef, for her delicious recipe for grilled Buffalo wings. Find the full recipe here. These are a must-try!
BEER-BARBECUED WINGS FROM “BARBECUE! BIBLE”
Is it just us but does everything taste better with beer? Combining the classic hits of beer-battered wings with barbecue wings, this recipe knocks it out of the park. The best part? They come from one of our favorite chefs known for making killer tailgating food.These wings are inspired by the flavors of Australian BBQ. The wings are marinated, then the homemade sauce is brushed on and grilled until thick, tasty, and sticky. These are finger-licking good!
Australian Beer-Barbecued Wings
Equipment
- Knives
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Grill
- saucepan
- Spoon or whisk
- mixing bowl
- Basting brush
Ingredients
Ingredients For The Chicken And Marinade:
- 12 Whole Chicken Wings
- 1/4 Cup Peanut Oil
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/4 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Australian Beer (Foster's)
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
Ingredients For The Barbecue Sauce:
- 2 Tbs Peanut Oil
- 1 Small Onion
- 1 Clove Garlic, minced
- 2 Tsp Minced Peeled Fresh Ginger
- 1/2 Tsp Hot Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Cup Ketchup
- 1/3 Cup Australian Beer (Foster's)
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Honey
- 2 Tsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tsp Dry Mustard
- 1/2 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Steven Raichlen, author of New York Times bestselling cookbooks like the Barbecue! Bible and star of PBS’ Project Smoke, knows barbecue and he knows tailgating. We know that because we’ve spoken to him and if you missed it, check out this article we did with him about his recently-published Barbecue Sauces, Rubs and Marinades. After that, make out your grocery list for your first tailgating dish of the year, which is straight out of the Barbecue! Bible.
BEER BATTERED WINGS
As we said before, we think everything tastes better with beer. Inspired by the favorite food of Broncos fans, these beer battered wings are crunchy, tasty, and super easy to make. Beer battered wings are a really great option for tailgating. They are perfect if your tailgating team has a variety of tastes. You can serve them with different dipping sauces so everyone can get the flavor they love on their wings. These wings are great on their own too. These are also probably the best fried wings to make tailgating. They don’t require much prep and don’t require a deep fryer.
Beer Battered Wings
Ingredients
- 8-10 Wings, split and washed
- 355 Ml Beer (medium thickness)
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1 Egg
- Salt
- Pepper
To get you pumped up for the game, we provide you with a recipe that Broncos fans have been enjoying for decades — Beer Battered Wings. These are pretty simple to make if you have a deep fryer that is ready with hot oil.
STICKY CHILI CHICKEN WINGS
Chicken wings are a tailgating and barbecuing staple. They’re good for any season, any sport, any time. Now you can make them ahead of time and save yourself the game-day trouble with this recipe from our friends at Wonderbag. To get the lowdown on a new “green” way to slow-cook, click on the Wonderbag website.
Sticky Chili Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 30 Ml Oil
- 1 Large Onion, sliced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced
- 3 Chili's, chopped
- 3 Clove Garlic, chopped
- 24 Chicken Wings, tips cut off
- 1 400g Tin Tomato Puree
- 150 Ml Sweet Chili Sauce
- 15 Ml Salt
- 10 Ml Pepper
- 30 Ml Sugar
- 90 Ml Chopped Coriander
These sticky chili chicken wings are both sweet and spicy. We love prepping these ahead of time and grilling them right at the game. They are really convenient and everyone loves them. Our favorite part about these wings is how the sauce thickens. They are definitely sticky but they are not messy.
PANTHER CHILI LOBSTER CHICKEN WINGS
Now we know what you’re thinking, lobster on chicken wings? It sounds unusual but it is incredibly delicious.
Panther Chili Lobster Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 Quart Lobster Stock
- 1 Bottle Sriracha
- 1 Pint Soy Sauce
- 1 Cup Lime Juice
- 1/2 Cup Franks Red Hot
- 2 Sticks Butter
Notes
The recipe uses lobster stock which is light, slightly sweet, and briney. This makes for a perfect wash for chicken wings. Made with both Sriacha and Frank’s hot sauce, these wings are spicy and a little sweet. They were originally designed to celebrate the Carolina Panthers, but you don’t have to be a Panthers fan to enjoy them. These wings will be hit at any tailgate.
WICKED CHIMICHURRI WINGS
Wings are always a hit at tailgates. And who does not like spicy?
Wicked Chimichurri Wings
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Stubb's Original Wing Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 4 Tsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Cup Tightly Packed Fresh Parsley
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- 2 Tsp Dried Oregano
- 3-4 Lbs Chicken Wings
These spicy grilled wings are seasoned with chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri sauce is a traditional Argentinian sauce that is made with fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar. It’s the perfect accompaniment to meat and tastes incredible on chicken wings. These wicked chimichurri wings are also incredibly easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time. You simply whip up the chimichurri sauce and marinate the meat for at least two hours. Then pack them up and take them to the tailgate to be thrown right on the grill.
17 SAUCES PLUS THE MOST PERFECT CHICKEN WINGS EVER
If you would rather sauce up your wings, we have the best sauce recipes around.
CHICKEN WINGS ANYONE????????
I love chicken wings!! I prefer them baked and super flavorful. Here is how I bake the most perfect chicken wings (to keep them crispy) and 17 of my favorite sauce recipes to try out.
The Perfect Baked Chicken Wings
If you want to avoid the deep fryer, these baked wings are perfect with or without your favorite sauce.
The Perfect Baked Chicken Wings
Equipment
- Large pot
- Sheet pan
- Wire rack
- Oven
- Tongs
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings cut into 2 pieces with tips removed
- Chicken broth
- DRY seasoning salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.
Notes
17 Sauces for the best chicken wings ever
Let’s face it, you only need 1 fantastic chicken wing recipe and then an arsenal of wing sauce recipes that will impress and keep ’em coming back for more. Find a favorite or try them all.
Classic Hot Sauce
Equipment
- blender
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- spoon
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup hot pepper sauce
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt to taste
Sweet N Spicy Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cups red hot sauce such as Frank’s
- 1/2 cups melted butter
- 1/2 cup mango habanero sauce
- 8 tbsps brown sugar
- 4 tsps chili powder
- 4 tsps garlic powder
- 4 tsps onion powder
- 4 tsps black pepper
- 4 tsps cayenne pepper
- 4 tsps seasoning salt
Wasabi Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- blender
- saucepan
- spoon
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 c Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon fresh horseradish not the creamy type
- 2 jalapeno peppers
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 2 teaspoons wasabi powder mixed with enough water to form a thick paste
- 1 c chicken stock
PB&J Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- blender
- saucepan
- spoon
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- 1½ cup grape jelly (you can use other flavors of jelly, just be sure to use the same flavored juice)
- 1 cup grape juice
- ½ cup vinegar
- ½ c chicken stock
Jerk Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- blender
- saucepan
- spoon
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 6 green onions chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and minced
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
Coca Cola Wing Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- blender
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsps canola oil
- 2 tbsps dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
- 3/4 cup Coca-Cola not diet or anything flavored!
- 2 scallions chopped
- Black pepper n salt to taste
Honey Sriracha Sauce
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- blender
- saucepan
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
Ingredients
- 6 tbsps butter
- 1/3 cup sriracha
- 2 tbsps honey
- 1 lime juiced
- 1/2 orange juiced
- 3 tbsps cilantro
Sticky Bourbon Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- blender
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 8 oz. red pepper hot sauce
- 1 c Bourbon
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
Garlic Ranch Sauce
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- blender
- saucepan
- spoon
Ingredients
- 2 cups melted butter
- 1 cup Sweet N Spicy Wing Sauce recipe follows, or hot sauce, such as Frank’s
- 4 heaping tbsps fresh minced garlic
- 4 tbsps brown sugar
- 2 tsps black pepper
- 4 packets powdered ranch dressing
Garlic Parmesan Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- blender
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter melted
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
Try pairing a classic Margarita or this Ginger Ale Margarita version and some chips and salsa at your next homegate with these Chili Lime Wings and you’ve got a theme!
Chili Lime Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- blender
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps of jalapeno pepper chopped finely
- 1 tbsp chili sauce
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsps fresh cilantro coriander leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
Notes
Tandoori Indian Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- blender
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- ¾ c Yogurt
- 1/2 tbsp Ginger paste
- ½ tsp Garlic paste
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Cumin powder
- 1 ½ tsp Coriander powder
- ½ tsp Chilli powder
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- ¼ tsp Ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp Oil- 1 tbsp
- Salt- to taste
Notes
Thai sticky Sauce
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- blender
- Measuring spoons
- saucepan
- Mixing spoon
Ingredients
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup lite canned coconut milk
- 3 tbsps brown sugar
- 3 garlic cloves pressed or finely minced
- 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp-sized knob of ginger grated
- Garnish with:
- 1 lime juiced
- ½ tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ cup chopped peanuts
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 4 green onions sliced
Asian Sweet ‘n Sour Carmel Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- blender
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1/2 c Water divided into 2- 1/4 c measurements
- 1 c Sugar
- 1/4 c Fish Sauce
- 1/4 c Mirin
- 1/4 c Lemon Lime, orange or other sour citris (each ones will give offer a different variation)
Chinese Plum Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- blender
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
- spoon
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons bottled hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate thawed
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- Garnish with: 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
Vietnamese Pok Pok Style Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- saucepan
- mixing bowl
- Spoon or whisk
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup superfine sugar
- 8 cloves garlic 5 crushed and 3 minced
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil plus more for frying
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp chopped mint
Video
Notes
Whatever your taste bud preferences, there is a sauce that will delight you and any chicken wing lover you know. Add any of them to this baked chicken wing recipe and you plus any guests will be saying these are the most perfect chicken wings ever!
Make Something For The Smallest Fans
The Super Bowl is one of the few events that brings together people of all ages. So when you are planning your menu don’t forget about the future tailgaters. Plan to have a few items on the menu that both kids and adults will love. Our writer Carroll has some great ideas for kids foods, here’s what she recommends:
5. Technically, hotdogs are a choking hazard, so please don’t report me to the department of children’s services but these sweet and sour hotdog bites look delicious for kids with a few more than almost four teeth! If your child can’t count his or her teeth on one hand, you best chop those hotdog bites into tiny little pieces!
4. They’re healthier than fudgsicles and just as easy to throw into a cooler next to the um, adult beverages. These frozen banana pops are sure to be a hit.
3. Pizza is too easy, right? You’re a total slacker should you show up at a tailgate with a Domino’s box. But these pepperoni pizza puffs look just as good, they’re easier to hold and eat at a tailgate and they look pretty easy to make! Win-win!
2. This individual seven-layer dip in a cup not only looks cool and is easy to carry around in parking lots, which kids will love, and it goes with something as simple as a bag of Fritos, it is also easy to make. Not to worry bleary-eyed moms, all seven of those layers can be made from ready-made ingredients!
1. What kid-friendly tailgate is complete without football whoopie pies?! They are a little higher maintenance than the dip recipe but they can be made ahead (a.k.a. when the kids are asleep!) and you’ll love taking home an empty dish.
Don’t Punt On Desserts
Maybe it’s because we’re all obsessed with perfecting the most delicious BBQ sauce recipe ever. Maybe we’re trying to take our burger toppings to the next level. Maybe we just simply forget. In general though, when planning our tailgate party food, we often forget dessert. To make sure you have some sweets ready for your Super Bowl party, here are some easy desserts to add to your menu.
For your Super Bowl party, keep desserts easy to grab, no fuss and self-serving so you have one less distraction from the half-time show. All diets are off for Super Bowl Sunday so go all out with the richest, yummiest ingredients and match desserts to your party theme. Icing designs, regional ingredients, stadium vendor’s fare with a twist, or a surprise nod to the unofficial drink of the Super Bowl will give your guests a sugar rush even if the game is less than heartstopping.
Commercial Break Cupcakes
Cupcakes are simpler Super Bowl fare than a large cake that requires cutting, plates, forks and a hassle. But don’t give up the themed cake decorating that adds a big wow factor to the party table.
- Tint separate bowls of buttercream icing green and light blue with food coloring.
- Frost each cupcake in half green and half blue and then sprinkle colored nonpareils on the blue side.
- Use a pastry tip to draw white goal lines in icing on the green side and separate the two colors with a squiggle of white icing.
- Then push a hard sugar football decoration into the icing in the middle of the “field” for a mini-gridiron tableau that’s as tasty as it is good looking.
Not Your Mama’s Popcorn
Popcorn is a traditional munchy that you can enhance shamelessly to boost to dessert status. If you’re into real stadium décor, serve it in paper boxes like the ones you get in the stands. But keep some wipes handy because this yummy corn treat is sticky and messy as well as irresistible.
- The secret to divine popcorn is all in the moonshine—you add 1/2 cup of Jack Daniels or another favorite liquor to maple syrup and melted butter. The syrup gets drizzled lightly over popped corn, roasted peanuts and tiny crumbles of minced, baked pancetta before the whole mess goes into the oven in a roasting pan to crisp.
- If you don’t want the expense or bother of popcorn boxes, try serving the dessert in jumbo cupcake liners in team colors.
Team-Theme Magic Cookie Bars
If you are in the mood for a real diet-buster, look to 7-Layer Magic Cookie Bars. There are so many rich ingredients in these bars that you can slip in something from your favorite team’s local specialties for super-loyal fans.
- Peanuts from Georgia fold right into the recipe as do pecans. Coconut from Florida is standard, even if they didn’t make the play-offs. Small amounts of Texas minced jalapenos or chili powder for Kansas City will spice things up and you can create a thin layer of sticky-sweet blueberries if Minnesota is on your screen or a coffee and Irish Whiskey syrupy glaze for San Francisco flavor.
- The graham cracker crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate and butterscotch chips, plus coconut and nuts are so sugary and heavy that you can cut a large tray into bite-size pieces that will satisfy every sweet tooth.
More-Beer Truffles
What better to up your endorphin levels than chocolate and beer? The combo is so Super Bowl and, as beer is a main theme of many Super Bowl parties, completely compatible with the rest of the menu.
- Add three or more tablespoons of your favorite brewski to the other three ingredients: healthy dark cacao, heavy cream and unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Roll truffle-size pinches of the chocolate mix into tiny football shapes if you’re obsessive about the party table.
- Make twice as many as you think you’ll need so you don’t run out before kick-off.
Create An Unforgettable Spread
Once you have all your Super Bowl tailgate party food planned, all that’s left is to plan an unforgettable spread. Add a few football-themed serving dishes and all that’s left is your guests to bring their appetite. Here are twelve football serving trays, platters, and drink dispensers to show off your tailgating cooking skills. Read the shopping guide here.
For other Super Bowl tailgate party food ideas, check out more recipes here. We feature tons of recipes, product reviews, and ideas to make your Super Bowl party a hit. For more ideas for your tailgate party, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and check out our Amazon Storefront. We’ll be checking the mail for our invite.