Featuring Recipes from 30 Minute Meals by Six Sisters Stuff, Copycat Dishes by Favorite Family Recipes, Scrumptious by Christy Denney and Kneaders Bakery & Cafe by Colleen Worthington
Game day is the perfect excuse to gather your favorite people and favorite foods in one place. Whether you are all in on every play or just here for the commercials, the snacks are what keep everyone cheering.
To make game day easier, we pulled four winning recipes from four of our favorite cookbooks. Each one brings something different to your menu and guaranteed to disappear before halftime.
Use these ideas to build your own game day lineup, then sit back and enjoy the compliments on the food, no matter how the game turns out.
When you need something fast before kickoff, 30 Minute Meals has you covered. BBQ Sloppy Joes come together in about half an hour, uses simple ingredients, and is easy to eat while you are glued to the TV. It is the perfect starting point for your game day spread.
Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 10 min | Total time: 15 min | Serves 6
Ingredients:
1. Brown meat in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. After meat is almost cooked through, add onion and green pepper and sauté for 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
3. Add barbecue sauce and warm on stovetop until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.
4. Serve on hamburger buns.
Game day food often feels like it should come from your favorite restaurant. Copycat Dishes lets you skip the takeout line and still get those familiar flavors. Sticky Fingers with Amazing Sauce delivers that classic restaurant taste in your own kitchen, and your guests may even say it’s better than the original…
Prep Time: 10 min • Cook Time: 20 min • Total Time: 30 min • Serves 8
Ingredients:
1. Prepare chicken strips according to package directions. If you want to prepare them like Wingers does, deep-fry them. For a healthier method, bake or air-fry.
2. In a small saucepan, heat up all sauce ingredients until all the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before adding to chicken strips.
NOTES
If anyone understands game day food, it is Christy Denney, known as “The Girl Who Ate Everything.” Her cookbook Scrumptious is packed with family friendly recipes, including her NFL husband’s favorites like Jalapeno Popper Bread and Garlic Parmesan Wings. This is a cookbook built around bringing people together over food that is easy to make and even easier to love.
Brown Sugar Smokies is exactly that kind of recipe. It is simple enough for a busy game day, big on flavor, and perfect for sharing while everyone is gathered around the TV. Serve it at your next watch party and you will see why “scrumptious” is the only word that fits.
Prep: 15 minutes • Cook: 35 minutes • Serves 12
Ingredients:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cut each piece of bacon into thirds. Wrap each sausage with a piece of bacon, securing with a toothpick. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until bacon is cooked to desired crispiness and brown sugar is melted. Serve warm.
Every good game day menu needs something that feels a little cozy and homemade. The Kneaders Bakery & Cafe cookbook brings that bakery case feeling right to your kitchen. Bloomin’ Jack is perfect for grazing all game long and adds a warm, bakery inspired touch to your lineup.
Makes 1 loaf • Prep Time: 15 minutes • Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Using a sharp serrated-edge bread knife, and making sure you end your cuts about .-inch from the bottom, cut the top of the bread lengthwise about 4–6 times, about .-inch apart, then cut the top of the bread widthwise 12–15 times, also about .-inch apart. This will make a “bloomin’ onion” effect; you want the top of the bread to look like a grid of .-inch squares.
3. Insert cheese slices between cuts. In a small bowl, combine butter, green onion, and poppy seeds. Drizzle over bread.
4. Wrap bread in foil. Bake for 15–20 minutes. Unwrap and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
To help you plan the perfect game day menu, check out these fan favorite and trusted cookbooks for more ideas:
