20 Best Super Bowl Foods (And Their Recipes), Ranked

You can't lose making these foods at your Super Bowl party.

20 Best Super Bowl Foods (And Their Recipes), Ranked

Super Bowl Sunday has evolved into the greatest American food holiday besides Thanksgiving. Just check out the shocking stats.

When it comes to food, Americans eat 1.25 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday. We go through 69.9 million pounds of avocados for guacamole, 11.2 million pounds of potato chips and 12 million pounds of ultimate nachos.

So if you're throwing a Super Bowl Sunday party, you're going to need to bring it in the food department. That means having the right kinds of foods. Because there are certain expectations for a Super Bowl party. These are the best Super Bowl foods and their recipes, ranked.

20. Alabama Fire Crackers

Ingredients: 1 cups vegetable oil, 2 packets ranch dressing mix, 3 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 sleeve saltine crackers (this makes one 2-gallon resealable bag)

Prep time: Overnight/9 hours

Recipe: This southern delicacy can be found in dive bars all across the Gulf Coast, most likely being served out of oversized ziploc bags next to pitchers of cheap beer.

Put all of the ingredients, save for the crackers, inside of a 2-gallon ziploc bag and mix them up really well, then add a sleeve of saltine crackers and seal the bag. Make sure the crackers are well-coated with the mix and let them sit for about one hour before you flip the bag again. Allow the bag (or bags) to sit in the refrigerator overnight and serve 'em up the next day.

If you want to add a little more spice, just sub chili oil for vegetable oil.

19. Deviled Eggs

Ingredients: 6 eggs, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, teaspoon salt, fresh ground black pepper, paprika, 1 teaspoon vinegar

Prep time: 30-40 minutes

Recipe: Boil six eggs and remove from shells, slicing them lengthwise and removing yolks to a separate bowl and placing the whites on a serving platter. Mash up all the yolks into an intense crumble, then add mayo, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper and mix it up so it's a smoothly whipped froth.

Disperse that mix evenly into the egg whites and sprinkle with a healthy dose of paprika. If you want to level up, place a small, black olive slice on top of each or maybe a sprig of cilantro.

Here's the thing. We judge all holidays and parties by whether or not they have deviled eggs. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Super Bowl Sunday. You gotta have 'em.

18. Sweet Chex Mix

Ingredients: 3 cups Rice Chex cereal, 3 cups Corn Chex cereal, 4 cups Golden Graham cereal, 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup light corn syrup, 3/4 cup salted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup plain almonds

Prep time: Overnight

Recipe: Put the Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Golden Grahams, almonds and coconut into a large bowl and toss 'em up so they're mixed well. Put the sugar, light-corn syrup and butter into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

Remove the saucepan mix from heat and mix in the vanilla extract, then pour it over the cereal mix. Toss it all together until it seems like they are all evenly coated. Store it into a large tupperware container overnight.

If you're so inclined, top it with some powdered sugar before you serve it the next day. Maybe some of those little-bitty marshmallows as well?

17. Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Ingredients: Milk chocolate baking chips 10-20 oz., 1-2 pounds fresh strawberries

Prep time: 30-40 minutes

Recipe: Put wax paper on a large pan and set it aside. Wash all the strawberries and set them aside in a large bowl.

Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe dish and begin melting it in 30-second intervals and stirring it probably more than it seems like you need to, because if you burn the chocolate you're going to ruin this dish. If you want extra sweetness, make sure you get the milk chocolate. It's easy to grab the other stuff.

Dip the strawberries into the chocolate and give them a twist so the excess chocolate drips back into the bowl. Place in the refrigerator and let them cool for 15-20 minutes until the chocolate sets, then serve it up.

16. Green Apples and Caramel Dip

Ingredients: Green apples (6), caramel dip

Prep time: 5 minutes

Recipe: The simplest of our recipes. All you need is about a half dozen apples that you cut up into slices and arrange them on a plate.

Drop some decent caramel dip in the middle — you can't go wrong with Marzetti's — and put it alongside your hummus dip.

Now you've created an entire section of your party spread for vegetarians. Boom.

15. Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting

Filling ingredients: 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons cinnamon, 2 tablespoons vanilla extract, 2 plain cinnamon roll sleeves

Frosting ingredients: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 ounces cream cheese (softened), 3 tablespoons buttermilk or milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prep time: 60-90 minutes

Recipe: My first inclination was to put a recipe for cupcakes here, but I want your Super Bowl party to be one people talk about for a really long time. So I decided to swerve a bit. Practically speaking, you don't have time to make homemade dough, so pre-made cinnamon rolls in pre-packaged sleeves will work fine. Just toss that gross icing that comes with it in the trash.

Unroll those tightly wound little cinnamon rolls and cover the insides with a mix of melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract — use a cooking brush if you have one — then roll them back up and cover the tops with that mix as well. Place the rolls on a greased-up pan and in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

While they're cooking, mix the frosting ingredients together. You are going to want this pretty thick. And give them a few minutes to cool off before topping each with the cream cheese frosting. The key twist to this treat.

14. Homemade Caramel Corn

Ingredients: 10 cups popped popcorn, salt, 1 cup salted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Prep time: 30-40 minutes

Recipe: "But I can just buy this store-bought, right?" Yeah, but it's not gonna taste this good.

Pop all that popcorn, salt it up a little and set it aside. Melt the butter in the saucepan over low to medium heat, then add the brown sugar and bring that mix to a boil. Continue to stir for about five minutes before dropping to medium heat. Add the vanilla extract, stir for a few minutes, then add the baking soda. There's your caramel mix.

Slowly pour that over the popcorn, using a spoon to turn it over to make sure it covers all of it, then spread it all out over a large pan and let it cool for a bit. Then eat all of it.

Don't be scared to throw something into the mix once you spread it out over the pan. Maybe a little cinnamon or some nutmeg?

13. Hummus

Ingredients: Vegetables, pita chips, store-bought hummus (don't get the cheap stuff)

Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Recipe: We do not advise making homemade hummus. There are a lot of really great people out there who make really great hummus. Not you.

From over 20 years of buying store-bought hummus, I have come to some very concrete conclusions. One of those is that it's compatible with either vegetables or plain pita chips and sometimes really fancy crackers. Nothing else. Don't get flavored pita chips.

The second and most important thing to remember with store-bought hummus is you're going to get what you paid for. My approach to buying hummus is kind of like what I used to tell myself when I would buy DVD players. Just don't get the cheapest brand. And top it with paprika.

12. Luigi's Floats

Ingredients: 6-pack Luigi's Real Italian Ice, 2-liter of 7-Up or Sprite

Prep time: 5 minutes

Recipe: The simplest, most refreshing and delicious treat on this list. Each of the cups in the Luigi's 6 pack should make two floats. Just make sure the 7-Up or Sprite is already cold.

Drop half of the Luigi's into a cup, pour a liberal amount of 7-Up or Sprite on top of there and serve with a spoon or not. Totally about how you're feeling that day.

Since it's Super Bowl Sunday maybe pass on the spoons to limit the cleanup? Great alternative to messier, more cumbersome root beer floats. You heard it here first.

11. Taco Cups

Ingredients: 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 pound ground beef, 1 package taco seasoning, 1 14 oz can drained diced petite tomatoes, 24 wonton wrappers, 1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup (or more) sour cream, 1/4 cup sliced green onion or white onion

Prep time: 40 minutes

Recipe: By far, this the most complicated recipe we're putting on this list. And the one with the most upside as well. Every time I have ever served taco cups to friends, they've acted like it was some sort of new, alien dish.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and heat the olive oil in a large pan on the stove as you're doing it and cook the hamburger meat, just like you're making normal tacos except add the tomatoes after about 5 minutes.

Give a nice coat of cooking spray to your muffin tin and lay one wonton wrapper in each, putting one spoonful of meat into each topped with shredded cheese, then put another wonton wrapper on top of that and repeat.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until you see the cheese is melted and the wonton wrappers are brown. Then top each with sour cream and onions before serving.

10. Spinach Dip

Ingredients: Sourdough bread loaf or Italian bread loaf, store-bought spinach dip

Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Recipe: Did you think we were really going to tell you to make homemade spinach dip? Come on now. There really is no reason to make homemade spinach dip unless it's like some sort of family tradition passed down through the ages or you just want to be insufferable.

Want to make a killer snack for your guests that's delicious? Just make sure you get a full loaf of sourdough bread or Italian bread. Rip it up with your hands into bite-sized chunks and arrange around your perfectly fine, store-bought spinach dip and everybody's going to be happy.

Also this is where I point out I've yet to have a homemade spinach dip I could distinguish from the store-bought kind. If you want to get really fancy, turn the sourdough roll into a bread bowl.

9. Good Ol' Guacamole

Ingredients: 3 big and ripe avocados, 1/2 white onion diced, 3 Roma tomatoes diced, 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, 1 jalapeno pepper gutted halved and diced, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 limes, chunky sea salt

Prep time: 15 minutes

Recipe: Don't be surprised when your guests see your homemade guacamole and greet it like an old friend before devouring the bowl. It's truly a Super Bowl party staple for the ages.

The key to making great guacamole is keeping all the ingredients as fresh as can be and making sure the avocados are as big and as ripe as it could be. The dexterity of the avocados when you gut them and mash them up is up to you, but after you've achieved that proper base, mix all of the ingredients together.

Top it with some chunky sea salt and squeeze an entire lime in there, not pre-packaged lime juice. Mix it a little more. Taste it. Add more salt or lime if needed. Serve it up fresh.

One thing I've tried in recent years that gave the guacamole a little kick was a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Not gonna be for everybody so proceed on that last step with caution.

8. Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients: 2 packages 8 oz. cream cheese, 4 cups shredded chicken (cooked), 1 cup Frank's Hot Sauce, 1 cup ranch dressing, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Prep time: 2 hours

Recipe: Buffalo chicken dip shows your guests "Hey, I know you could've gone to a sports bar to watch the big game but you chose me, and I chose you, thanks for coming." Mainly because getting that shredded chicken takes a little extra effort. I would recommend just buying one of the rotisserie store chickens and doing it like that.

Cut the cream cheese into cubes, then add the chicken, shredded cheddar cheese and the Frank's Hot Sauce (gotta be Frank's, sorry). Cook in slow cooker on high for about 2 hours, and keep stirring throughout. When you get about 15 minutes from the finish line, top it with some more shredded cheddar (we're not here to judge how much). And with about 5 minutes left, top that with the green onions.

You can get fancy and top with blue cheese crumbles instead of more shredded cheddar cheese, but that's being a little extra for our taste. Maybe keep them on the side if someone wants to do it themselves? Serve it with tortilla chips, and you're golden.

7.Prosciutto-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients: 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 12 jalapeno peppers halved and gutted lengthwise, 12 slices prosciutto

Prep time: 45 minutes

Recipe: For a pretty simple recipe, if you do this one right, you're going to seem like you put in way more work than you actually did. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, mix the cream cheese and cheddar cheese together in a bowl until they're evenly mixed, then fill each jalapeno half with that mixture.

Put the halves of jalapenos back together, wrap them in prosciutto and toss them in the oven for about 30 minutes. If you want to really ball out, serve 'em with a little jelly on the side.

That salty and sweet mix is going to blow people's minds, as is the healthier prosciutto option.

6. Instapot Fiesta Chicken

Ingredients: Chicken breasts, thawed (3), 1 packet ranch seasoning, 1 block cream cheese, 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles, 1 can corn, 1 can black beans, tortilla chips

Prep time: 75 minutes

Recipe: You'll need an Instapot for this one to cut down on time — it goes about six hours in a slow cooker.

Simply add all those ingredients into an Instapot, then set it on the "pressure cook" setting for one hour, mix furiously, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then serve with some tortilla chips.

And whatever you do, make sure you trim all the fatty parts off the chicken. If not it'll ruin the entire dish.

5. Slow Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs

Ingredients: 1 jar grape jelly, 1 bottle barbecue sauce (spiciness level up to you), 1 32 oz. bag frozen meatballs

Prep time: 4 hours

Recipe: We can't emphasize the need to go slow and low on this one to maximize the sweet/salty flavor mix and make sure it's a hit with your guests.

Simply mix all of the ingredients in the slow cooker/Crock-Pot and make sure all of the meatballs are totally covered in the mix and set it for four hours in the slow cooker, mixing occasionally.

Once it's ready to serve, our advice would be to keep some toothpicks on the side if you want to serve them one at a time and keep them warm during the party by keeping them in the slow cooker on the low setting.

4. BBQ Little Smokies

Ingredients: 6 packages of 10 oz. little smokies (or more), 2 cups barbecue sauce, 11/2 cups grape jelly

Prep time: 2 1/2 hours

Recipe: It's really not a Super Bowl party until you break out the Lil' Smokies. You'll want the Crock-Pot liner in there to minimize a pretty messy cleanup.

Drop the packages of little smokies — 6 10 oz. packages are about two servings — then pour the grape jelly and barbecue sauce over the top. Low and slow for about three hours in the Crock-Pot for two hours, then stir it really good and serve it up.

You're the star of the party now.

3. Queso Dip

Ingredients: 12 oz. white American cheese, 4 oz. shredded pepper jack cheese, cup half-and-half, 1 garlic clove chopped, 1 jalapeno chopped, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 can green chilies drained, diced tomatoes/cilantro/sliced fresh jalapeno for garnish, tortilla chips

Prep time: 1 hour

Recipe: Your slow cooker is going to get a workout on Super Bowl Sunday. Mix all of the ingredients except the green chilies, cover, and cook on high for one hour while stirring. Then stir in the green chilies, top with diced tomatoes, cilantro and sliced jalapenos. Pour into a bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

Wanna get fancy with it? Cook some chorizo on the side and dump that in the middle before you serve.

2. Ham and Swiss Sliders

Ingredients: 1 pound thin-sliced deli honey ham, 1 package Swiss cheese slices, cup mayonnaise, 1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 packages King's Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls, 1 tablespoon onion powder

Prep time: 15 minutes

Recipe: No Super Bowl party is complete without sliders. Doesn't really matter what kind. It's the kind of party snack that says you care about your guests having a good time on another level.

There are a lot of different kinds of sliders you can make, but for our purposes here, we're going to go with ham and Swiss sliders. You can maneuver around the brand for most of the ingredients, save for the King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.

Since the sweet rolls are stuck together, try and keep both sides together and cut the whole thing down the middle. Spread mayonnaise on one side evenly, place the ham and swiss out across the other side, and put those back together so it looks like one big ol' sandwich.

Mix up your dijon mustard, melted butter, onion powder and Worchestershire sauce in another bowl and — this part is important — brush it all over the rolls' tops and sides and bottoms and let them sit for about 10 minutes.

Bake that batch, covered in tin foil, at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cheese starts to totally melt. Then remove the top for another 3-4 minutes or until you start to see them turn golden brown. Remove, cut up with a pizza cutter if you have one, and serve it up.

1. Crispy Baked Chicken Wings

Ingredients: 4 pounds chicken wings halved at joints, discard wingtips, 2 tablespoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspooon cracked black pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Prep time: 1-2 hours

Recipe: You can't have a Super Bowl party without wings. We'll leave the sauce up to you, but you can go in any direction you want. We like going for the straight Frank's Wings Hot Sauce, water and brown sugar heated up and mixed in a saucepan, and placed in the fridge overnight.

The sauce can be whatever you want it to be, however. The wings are the key. Coat the wings in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and baking powder in a bowl as you preheat your oven to 425 degrees. If you don't have one of those elevated oven racks, clean the oven racks thoroughly and place them directly on middle rack above a pan, flipping them every 20 minutes for about 1 hour or more until they're cooked all the way through. Depends on the size of the wings.

Remove from oven and let them stand for about 5 minutes before coating them in sauce. The best way to do it is to grab each individual wing with tongs, dip it in the sauce, and place on a serving tray. Coat what's left at the end, and if you're like me, dip them in enough chunky blue cheese that you almost forget what the sauce flavor even was.