Food and Recipes Entertaining Ideas & Tips 48 Tasty Tailgate Recipes To Make For Game Day Consider this your ultimate tailgate menu. By Southern Living Editors Updated on May 15, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Fall is football season in the South, and every good match has an even better tailgate spread that fans look forward to every game day. Over the years, menus have evolved to include wow-worthy recipes that are perfect for serving on any given Saturday. Our impressive roster of crowd-pleasing favorites contains a wide variety of dishes that are guaranteed to be the talk of the tailgate. It's never too early to get to planning so you're sure to score come football season. We've included easy make-ahead recipes, such as our Spicy Bisquick Sausage Balls and Muddy Buddy Mix, as well as ready-to-serve dips, including our most popular renditions of spinach dip and Rotel-studded cheese dip. Classic tailgating recipes like Deviled Eggs and Pimiento Cheese team up with new players like Bacon-Wrapped Party Poppers and Buffalo Chicken Dip to give your tailgating spread the crowd appeal needed to satisfy a hungry group from one Saturday to the next. Consider this your ultimate tailgate menu. 01 of 48 Ham-and-Cheese Sliders Photography and Styling: Karen Rankin Recipe: Ham-and-Cheese Sliders Southerners will instantly recognize this handheld staple, made with ham, cheese, Hawaiian rolls, and a homemade cheesy cream sauce. 02 of 48 Jalapeño Popper Dip Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke Recipe: Jalapeño Popper Dip If you're busy the day of the tailgate this dip is a great option that can be made ahead of time. 03 of 48 Slow-Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Ali Ramee; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland Recipe: Slow-Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs Game day isn't truly complete without a scrumptious meatball recipe on the table. 04 of 48 Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen Recipe: Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip This is hands-down the most crowd-pleasing dip recipe for when you're feeding a group of hungry Southerners. It's melty, creamy, cheesy, chicken-filled, and packed with a kick of buffalo flavor. 05 of 48 Buffalo Chicken Bites Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Bites If you'll be transporting these chicken bites after cooking, we recommend keeping the chicken and sauce separate until right before serving. 06 of 48 Baked BLT Dip Skyler Burt Recipe: Baked BLT Dip Creamy, cheesy, bacony, and oh-so bubbly, this dip will have the whole tailgate doing victory dances. Top with lettuce and cherry tomatoes to make it look just like the sandwich. 07 of 48 Pulled Pork Nachos Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Pulled Pork Nachos Pick up some pulled pork from your favorite barbecue joint to help these nachos come together in just 15 minutes. 08 of 48 Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels Imagine all the best flavors of buffalo chicken dip rolled into one delicious bite, and you'd get Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels. 09 of 48 Spicy Bisquick Sausage Balls Photography: Caitlin Bensel Food Styling: Ali Ramee Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland Recipe: Spicy Bisquick Sausage Balls Did someone say sausage balls? We can hear the people running from other tailgates already. This recipe spices it up a notch with hot pork sausage and pepper Jack cheese. 10 of 48 Pizza Pepper Poppers Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christina Daley Recipe: Pizza Pepper Poppers Use pepper as the base for cheese and pepperoni to deliver the flavor of pizza in popper form. 11 of 48 Buffalo Chicken Sliders Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Sliders You can never go wrong serving up a slider on a Hawaiian sweet roll. 12 of 48 Bacon Bow Tie Crackers Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Tami Hardeman Recipe: Bacon Bow Tie Crackers As is, this recipe makes 24 crackers so we recommend doubling (or tripling!) this recipe. 13 of 48 Spinach-Artichoke Dip Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Spinach-Artichoke Dip Serve this tasty dip with crackers, radishes, or fresh broccoli for a surefire crowd-pleaser. 14 of 48 Sloppy Cola Joe Dogs Melina Hammer Recipe: Sloppy Cola Joe Dogs Spicy, fruity cola gives the ground beef in this recipe a lively boost of flavor. 15 of 48 Basic Deviled Eggs Hector Sanchez Recipe: Basic Deviled Eggs Simplicity is key in this tasty make-ahead recipe. It comes together with just 5 ingredients in less than 20 minutes. 16 of 48 Brownie Cookies Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Prop Styling: Audrey Davis, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Brownie Cookies Hard choices aren't to be made on game day—so get the best of both worlds with this recipe that combines the sweet outer crunch of a cookie with the rich decadence of a brownie. Oh, and did we mention it all starts with a box of brownie mix? 17 of 48 Dry-Rubbed Smoked Chicken Wings Jennifer Causey Recipe: Dry-Rubbed Smoked Chicken Wings Cooked low and slow, these tender wings are sure to be a hit at your next tailgate feast. 18 of 48 Greek Stuffed Peppers Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Greek Stuffed Peppers Regardless of where game day takes you, this delicious dish is easy to grab, go, and serve. 19 of 48 Slow-Cooker Beef Sliders with Pickled Peppers Hector Sanchez Recipe: Slow-Cooker Beef Sliders with Pickled Peppers You can turn that slow cooker on the night before game day to make sure these pickled pepper-topped puppies are ready to be toted over to the tailgate. 20 of 48 Bacon-Pimiento Guacamole Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Bacon-Pimiento Guacamole In our opinion, the only thing that can make guacamole even better is the addition of pimientos and bacon—but that's just us. 21 of 48 Sweet-and-Salty Autumn Snack Mix Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Katie Jacobs Recipe: Sweet-and-Salty Autumn Snack Mix This perfect munch mix is filled with cereal, bite-size pretzels, candy-coated peanut-butter candies, mini marshmallows, and a yummy butter mixture that includes brown sugar and honey. What can go wrong? 22 of 48 Tex-Mex Deviled Eggs Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Tex-Mex Deviled Eggs Classic deviled eggs get a festive spin from cilantro, serrano peppers, chili powder, and cheese. 23 of 48 Pepper-Pepper Cheese Dip Coastal Living Recipe: Pepper-Pepper Cheese Dip This creamy dip is topped with bacon and pepper jelly for the ultimate game day combination. 24 of 48 Warm Cheese-and-Spicy Pecan Dip Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Warm Cheese-and-Spicy Pecan Dip We'll never turn down cheese dip, especially when it comes filled with three types of cheese and topped with homemade spiced nuts. 25 of 48 Smoky Black-Eyed Pea Hummus Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Smoky Black-Eyed Pea Hummus Smoked paprika gives all the flavor to this hummus recipe made with black-eyed peas instead of chickpeas. Top with extra olive oil, lemon zest, and paprika before serving. 26 of 48 Georgia-Style Boiled Peanuts Alison Miksch Recipe: Georgia-Style Boiled Peanuts This easy snack is always a crowd-pleaser at a Southern tailgate. Make them in a slow cooker and haul it over to the tailgate to keep the boiled peanuts warm all day. 27 of 48 Classic Pimiento Cheese Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Classic Pimiento Cheese Need we say more? It's not a Southern day party without at least one batch of pimiento cheese. Hot tip: Serve with crackers and a jar of Wickles on the side. 28 of 48 Muddy Buddy Mix Recipe: Muddy Buddy Mix Similar to its sweet sibling, puppy chow mix, this recipe gives chocolate and peanut butter lovers the ultimate game day snack option. Just a handful of ingredients and about ten minutes, and you're there. 29 of 48 Warm Spinach-Sweet Onion Dip with Country Ham Warm Spinach-Sweet Onion Dip with Country Ham Recipe: Warm Spinach-Sweet Onion Dip with Country Ham Every party needs a spinach dip on the lineup, and this one goes fully Southern with the addition of sweet onions and country ham. Can you say yum? 30 of 48 Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies Southern Living Recipe: Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies Filled with all the most delicious ingredients like chocolate chips, oats, coconut, and pecans, this reader-favorite cookie recipe makes a big enough batch to feed your crowd all day long. 31 of 48 Rotel Dip Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Rotel Dip We know that you know this dip—because it might be the most popular game day dip of all time. This recipe gives you the perfect ratio of cheese, meat, chiles, and tomatoes, which are all cooked and served warm in your slow cooker. 32 of 48 Party Poppers Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Party Poppers Stuffed with a cream cheese mixture and wrapped in thick-cut bacon, these jalapeño poppers are guaranteed to get the party going. 33 of 48 Broccoli, Grape, and Pasta Salad Jennifer Davick Recipe: Broccoli, Grape, and Pasta Salad Say hello to the most dependable pasta salad this side of the Mason-Dixon. Everyone loves the simple combination of broccoli, grapes, pecans, and bacon. 34 of 48 Pecan-Praline Dip Alison Miksch Recipe: Pecan-Praline Dip Who said dips need to be exclusively savory? This sweet dip is made with butter, brown sugar, and toasted pecans—plus, vanilla wafers for dipping. 35 of 48 Sweet Heat Hot Dogs Photo: Jennifer Davick Recipe: Sweet Heat Hot Dogs It doesn't get any more classic than having a hot dog on game day, and this recipe gets its signature sweet heat from sweet-hot pickles and a crunchy slaw. 36 of 48 Pecan Pie Bars Photo: Helen Norman Recipe: Pecan Pie Bars These chewy, bite-size bars require just 20 minutes of prep time. 37 of 48 Beer-Cheese Fondue Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Beer-Cheese Fondue We upped the ante on this popular dip by using dry mustard, Gruyère, Cheddar, Worcestershire sauce, and a lager beer. Serve with sliced cooked bratwurst for extra fun. 38 of 48 Potato Salad with Sweet Pickles Southern Living Recipe: Potato Salad with Sweet Pickles Much like everyone's beloved old-fashioned potato salad, this recipe gets a little extra personality for the tailgate from sweet pickles. Only six more ingredients and you're there. 39 of 48 Mini Muffulettas Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Amy Burke Recipe: Mini Muffulettas You can easily make these mini muffuletta sliders the day before the party. Just assemble, place in zip-top plastic freezer bags, and refrigerate overnight. Store-bought craft paper and simple twine create clever sandwich wrappers. 40 of 48 Smoked-Tomato Salsa Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Smoked-Tomato Salsa What's a party without salsa? Make yours one to remember. 41 of 48 Salted Caramel Popcorn Southern Living Recipe: Salted Caramel Popcorn Popcorn is an easy snack to bulk up the tailgate table, and this recipe makes it even more exciting with the addition of a sweet coating of salted caramel. 42 of 48 Baked Goat Cheese Spread with Pepper Jelly Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Baked Goat Cheese Spread with Pepper Jelly There's nothing more Southern than literally anything topped with red pepper jelly—but we can't help but be partial to a melty goat cheese dip. 43 of 48 Fried Chicken Sliders with Pimiento Cheese Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Fried Chicken Sliders with Pimiento Cheese Store-bought chicken fingers and buns make a tasty duo when spread with our quick pimiento cheese recipe. It makes a hearty option for any tailgate. 44 of 48 Bacon-Cheese Dip Beth Dreiling Hontzas Recipe: Bacon-Cheese Dip Keep your game day party easy by making this tasty dip ahead of time. 45 of 48 Corn and Jalapeño Dip Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Corn and Jalapeño Dip Let your slow cooker be the star of the tailgate by filling it with this creamy corn dip. 46 of 48 Texas Caviar Southern Living Recipe: Texas Caviar Just a little stirring is required to pull this crowd-pleasing dip together. 47 of 48 Bacon Wrapped Smokies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Smokies No tailgate is complete without smokies on the menu. 48 of 48 Crispy Baked Chicken Wings Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Crispy Baked Chicken Wings Because sometimes firing up the grill just isn't an option. Pop these wings in the oven and get all the flavor with way less hassle. Frequently Asked Questions How do you pack food for a tailgate party? Depending on your tailgate set-up, bring warming trays or coolers to keep foods are the correct temperature. Prepare most food items before arriving at your tailgating location, and do not leave food exposed for more than a few hours to avoid contamination and disease. What additional items should you bring to a tailgate? To complete the tailgating experience, remember to bring or assign someone to get things like plates, cups, drinks, ice, and towels. Using food-safe gloves for handling raw meat is a good idea when serving meat products. Also, consider bringing tables and chairs. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit