Game day in the South serves as a sacred day dedicated to football, friends, and good food. Whether you’re hosting a game day gathering in your backyard, attending a friend’s party, or accompanying yourself to the game, appetizers are a must on any Southern football Saturday. Food is the center of our attention, whether it’s dips, grazing boards, or nachos.
These easy dishes will delight the crowd cheering on their favorite team on game day. If you’re busy leading up to kickoff, you can also make appetizers ahead of time, like Alabama Fire Cracker Saltines or Spinach and Artichoke Dip. Corn and jalapeño dips are easy to make in your trusty slow cooker. Who needs to eat while watching a game when you have the most delicious dips and dishes right in front of you? Gather around the appetizer table, munch on these delicious dishes, and cheer on your favorite team with these must-have recipes.
jennifer causey
This recipe only requires four ingredients and makes 50 sausage balls, making it perfect for entertaining a crowd. You may want to double the recipe, but it’s so delicious.
Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Emily Neighbors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Serve these mini tacos as an appetizer to reach the end zone. Make a sour cream mixture with coriander, cumin, lime zest, and lime juice and serve alongside the beef-filled cheesy dish.
Caitlin Bensel
Destroy the air fryer! It’s the perfect way to make tangy, spicy chicken wings with an amazingly flaky batter.
Caitlin Bensel.Food stylist: Tori Cox
These baked ham and cheese sandwiches are slathered with flavorful toppings for maximum flavor in every bite.
Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Micah Morton.Prop Stylist: Ginny Branch
These pastry snacks become even more delicious when stuffed with spicy smoked sausage.
Greg Dupree, Food Stylist: Emily Neighbors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley
If you’re looking for an appetizer that’s decadent but secretly light, this queso made with sweet potatoes is the perfect choice.
Victor Protasio.Food Styling: Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch
Yes, you can also fry deviled eggs. And we should definitely get together on the next game day.
Antonis Achilles. Prop styling: Kay E. Clark.Food Styling: Emily Neighbors Hall
Fondue isn’t just for candlelight restaurants. It also makes a fun game day appetizer, especially when made with beer and dipped with sausage.
Caitlin Bensel.Food stylist: Tori Cox
Not only is this layered dip easy to assemble, but it can also be prepared up to 3 days in advance. Win, win!
Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Prop Stylist: Kay Clark
These perfectly popping chicken bites are better than anything you’ll find in the freezer section.
Antonis Achilles. Prop styling: Kay E. Clark.Food styling: Chelsea Zimmer
What’s better than deviled eggs? Flavorful bacon deviled eggs, of course.
Hector Manuel Sanchez
Sweet potatoes add a touch of fall to this traditional Southern appetizer and keep it deliciously tender.
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Props Stylist: Shell Royster
Take a classic wok to the next level by grilling corn, onions, and jalapeños. The extra step sweetens the vegetables and softens the spiciness of the chili.
Alison Mikusch
Skip the usual pizza delivery and surprise everyone with this fun appetizer. Enjoy with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.
Victor Protasio. Food stylist: Ruth Blackburn.Prop Stylist: Christina Daly
Store-bought pizza dough is your ticket to this easy and delicious snack that uses pimiento cheese ingredients to create a crispy, perfectly spiced flatbread.
Antonis Achilles. Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley.Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn
Topped with smoked sausage (we chose Conecuh) and melted cheese and corn sauce, the nachos are gone before halftime. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Stephen DeVries
Have you ever thought that enchiladas could be a finger food? These bite-sized appetizers are gone before the first quarter.
Caitlin Bensel.Food stylist: Tori Cox
Burgers are a game day staple, but sliders give your guests room to fill up on other fun appetizers.
Caitlin Bensel
This dip requires no cooking, but it does need to be refrigerated for at least 2 hours or overnight for maximum flavor.
Hector Manuel Sanchez
It’s a good idea to have lots of potato chips on hand to serve with this dip. Just mix all the ingredients together in the slow cooker and let it do the rest.
Photography: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen.Food styling: Chelsea Zimmer
We’ve upgraded the classic potato skin with bacon and sour cream toppings.
Jennifer Causey. Prop styling: Christine Keeley.Food Styling: Tory Cox
It’s a classic for a reason. No southern party is complete without a big bowl of pimiento his cheese.
Greg Dupree
Feed the crowd on game day with these easy and quick sheet pan nachos. Lining the pot with foil makes cleaning much easier.
Jennifer Causey. Food Stylist: Emily Neighbors Hall.Prop Stylist: Claire Sporen
We enlisted the help of a rotisserie chicken to perfect this super simple hot dip.
Fred Hardy II, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Cooked eggplant mixes with harissa (a North African spice paste made at different temperatures) to add flavor to your tailgate table.
Victor Protasio. Food stylist: Ruth Blackburn.Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley
We prefer fresh crab chunks for this cream cheese-based dip, but canned crab is fine in a pinch. Add jalapenos to make it even more exciting.
Greg Dupree; Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley.Food Stylist: Melissa Gray
There’s nothing easier than the bite-sized snacks you can make with store-bought pimiento cheese and peppadew peppers. (Save 20 minutes on game day and make it the night before and decorate right before eating.)
Greg Dupree; Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley.Food Stylist: Melissa Gray
Ranch dressing mix and sour cream will make even the most veggie-averse football fan want to reach for a bag of potato chips.
Caitlin Bensel
Crispy potatoes in the air fryer without adding oil to a large pot.
Hector Manuel Sanchez. Prop styling: Lydia Purcell.Food Styling: Tami Hardeman
You can make this easy appetizer using just two ingredients. I recommend doubling the amount in the recipe as it will splatter all over the plate.
skyler bart
We’ve transformed all the classic flavors of this sandwich into a popular hot cheese dip.
Kate Robertson
Salty, flavorful, and finger-licking delicious, these crackers don’t even require you to turn on the oven.
