These 20 Best Tailgating Recipes Will Make Everyone Your Fan

Make these MVP recipes and people will want to crash your tailgate.

By
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated November 09, 2024
Robin Shreeves
Meatballs in a slow cooker filled with tomato sauce with a spoon lifting a meatball out of the sauce.

Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel

The time honored tradition of eating and drinking together in the parking lot before a big game (or a concert) has become serious business. Tailgates are now often coordinated events in and of themselves, and they can be more fun than the game itself—especially if your team doesn't win that week.

There are certain foods, such as Buffalo wings, chili, deviled eggs, and even veggies and dip that people expect to be at a tailgate spread. You'll find them in this list, but you'll also find a few unexpected dishes such as a cheeseball, candied bacon, and a sandwich that's so good it will blow away a plain old hoagie or sub.

Best of all, this list will make it easy for you to answer the question, "What would you like to bring to the tailgate?"

  • Buffalo Chicken Chili

    buffalo chicken chili in a bowl with a green handled spoon
    Aaron Hutcherson

    As the weather gets colder, chili becomes one of tailgating's staples. Switch it up a bit with this version that uses chicken breast (feel free to use already cooked rotisserie chicken). Fire-roasted tomatoes and green chiles add a lot of flavor but not a lot of heat. If you want more heat, you can spice it up with additional hot wing sauce or diced jalapeños. Or have those on the side for people to add themselves.

  • Pickle Slaw

    pickle cole slaw in a white bowl
    Nick Evans

    Made with pickle juice in place of the vinegar, this slaw is the expected side for burgers or dogs, but with an unexpected twist. It's also great on top of pulled pork sandwiches, and you can make it ahead of time up to 2 days.

  • Grilled Chicken Nachos

    bbq chicken nachos in a aluminum foil boat
    Elise Bauer

    If you're firing up the grill at the tailgate for burgers or ribs, make sure to leave room on the grates for these BBQ chicken nachos cooked in foil. Prep all your ingredients at home including the sour cream mixed with BBQ sauce that's drizzled over top to make it easy to throw this together in the parking lot.

  • Sweet Tea Fried Chicken

    Sweet Tea Fried Chicken on a Platter, and in the Surroundings, a Glass of Ice Tea, a Lemon Wedge on a Small Saucer, and a Lemon on a Colorful Kitchen Towel

    Simply Recipes / Irvin Lin

    Simply Recipes Contributor Irvin Lin says, "Herbal teas (i.e. not green, white, or black tea) don’t have the tannins that help tenderize the chicken. It will still be tasty, but the black tea helps tenderize the chicken in a similar way that mildly acidic buttermilk does by breaking down the protein, allowing for a juicier fried chicken."

    Continue to 5 of 20 below

  • Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese

    mac and cheese topped with bread crumbs in a baking dish a spoon removing a serving
    Alison Bickle

    Depending on how many people are at your tailgate, you might want to make two pans of this crowd-pleasing mac and cheese because everyone will want a taste, or five. Shredding your own cheese works best for this recipe, but you can definitely use pre-shredded cheese to make it quicker to put together.

  • Slow Cooker Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

    Meatballs in a slow cooker filled with tomato sauce with a spoon lifting a meatball out of the sauce.
    Alison Bickel

    Is it even a tailgate if there aren't meatballs? Combine these easy-to-make meatballs with homemade or store bought sauce. Bring some provolone cheese and long rolls so your friends can fill up on meatball sub sandwiches before heading into the big game.

  • Buffalo Wings

    Close up of buffalo wings recipe with blue cheese dressing and celery.
    Elise Bauer

    Simply Recipes Editors say, "Both broiling and frying make delicious wings. Fried wings can have crispier, chewier skin and slightly richer flesh. But making broiled wings is easier and less messy, plus it's better suited to making a large batch all at once."

  • Texas Sheet Cake

    Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake
    Cindy Rahe

    When you bring a dessert to a tailgate, you have to bring a BIG dessert, enough for everyone in your group as well as the groups tailgating around you in case you make some new friends. This sheet cake is as big as Texas (sort of). People devour this moist chocolate cake topped with a layer of warm, poured chocolate icing made with cocoa powder and sprinkled with pecans.

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  • Gooey Butter Cake

    Gooey Butter Cake Cut into Pieces in a Baking Pan

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

    This butter cake makes 14 servings of crumbly, chewy, gooey, sweet, crowd-pleasing confectionary gold. Plan a bit ahead for this one. The cake is made with yeast. It's not difficult but it needs up to 2 1/2 hours to rise, and it's so worth it.

  • 5-Minute Ranch Dip

    ranch dip in a mini dutch oven on a tray with vegetables

    Simply Recipes / Claudia Cash

    Simply Recipes Contributor Claudia Cash says, "While this is a pretty straightforward recipe, if you’re looking for a higher protein dip and aren’t a fan of mayo, swap it out for cottage cheese. If you don’t like Greek yogurt, you can use light or regular sour cream in its place."

  • Candied Bacon

    Bacon Candy Recipe
    Nick Evans

    Do you want to be the hero of the tailgate? Bring candied bacon. Just 2 ingredients—bacon and brown sugar—bake together in the oven to create something that's even better than the sum of their already delicious parts. Once cooled, you can eat as is. Or, if you're having a Bloody Mary bar at the tailgate, candied bacon makes a great garnish.

  • Deviled Eggs

    Overhead view of a platter of Classic Deviled Eggs.
    Kelly Hamilton

    There are many variations on deviled eggs, but the classic version will please everyone at the tailgate. This version mixes mustard, mayonnaise, and Tabasco with the egg yolks from the hard boiled eggs to give it a tiny bit of heat, but not too much.

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  • Homemade Veggie Dip

    Platter of Vegetables and a Bowl of Veggie Dip

    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

    If you've volunteered to bring the raw veggie tray, watch how fast the crunchy vegetables disappear when you pair them with this veggie dip that's easy to make and full of flavor. You can also customize it in several ways, including making it into a ranch dip by using buttermilk.

  • Peanut Butter Buckeyes

    peanut butter and chocolate buckeye candies
    Irvin Lin

    Peanut butter. Chocolate. Always a winning combination. These easy to make, no-bake buckeyes, named so because they resemble the nut of the buckeye tree, are considered candy. They're super simple to make and this recipe makes 48 treats, perfect for a large crowd.

  • Classic Potato Salad

    Side view of homemade potato salad in a white bowl.
    Eliezer Martinez

    Boiled potatoes, sour cream, mayo, green onions, celery, parsley, pickles, and bacon go into this classic potato salad that deserves to be at every tailgate as a supporting character to the burgers, ribs, wings, and more.

  • Pico de Gallo (Fresh Salsa)

    tomato salsa in a bowl showing chopped tomatoes and onion
    Elise Bauer

    Grab some fresh tomatoes, chili peppers, onion, and cilantro, and chop them up. Mix them together. Add some lime and good salt. It lasts up to 5 days but the longer it sits, the juicier it gets so we suggest making it the morning of the tailgate if possible.

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  • Classic Muffuletta

    A Plate with Quarters of a Classic Muffuletta Sandwich Made with Cold Cuts, Cheese, and Olives

    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

    Sure, you can buy hoagies or subs from a sandwich shop and bring them to the tailgate. But, if you want to bring the most delicious sandwich on the planet, full of olive salad and cold cuts—you need to make New Orleans muffuletta. The sandwich feeds at least 4. After it's built, the sandwich needs to sit for at least two hours before eating. By the time you get to the tailgate, it will be perfect.

  • Classic Cheese Ball

    cheese ball surrounded by crackers on a white plate with a cheese knife
    Nick Evans

    We know cheese balls are usually associated with the holidays, but they're a brilliant addition to a tailgate. They're simple to make. You can make them up to a week ahead of time. People love them. And it just makes more sense at a tailgate than a fancy cheese board.

  • Banana Bread

    Easy banana bread cut into thick slices.
    Kelly Hamilton

    On game day, everyone is looking for a win. Everyone also loves homemade banana bread, especially this recipe, and making it is a great way to use up the frozen ripe banana you have your in freezer. Win-win, right?

  • Kettle Corn

    Side view of easy kettle corn in a teal bowl.

    Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel

    Four ingredients. Five minutes. And you're done making your contribution to the tailgate! This sweet and salty popcorn recipe yields six cups of popped corn. If you need more, make it in batches.

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