101 Cooking For Two

menu icon
subscribe
search icon
×

Easy Tailgate Recipes

Updated: · Published: by · 1 Comment

The best season of all, football season, is here, and it's time for tailgating or game parties. Put on your team jersey, practice the fight song, and then secure the best parking spot or seat in front of the TV. It's time to enjoy the company of friends and family.

Jump To (scroll for more)
College of food for tailgating.
Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Let the games begin. Whether tailgating, having a game party, or enjoying the game at home, you deserve great food without all the work.

Start with finger foods like potato chips or corn chips, cubes of cheddar or other cheeses, vegetable trays, and dips are always favorites.

While grilling, traditional hot dogs, brats, and burgers are a must. Here are a few other suggestions.

Save this recipe!

Enter your email address and we'll send the link straight to your inbox!

🥣Chili Recipes

I have 13 chili recipes, but these three are my favorites.

Easiest White Chicken Chili
Perfect for tailgating, this delicious chili will stay hot for a long time and keep you warm to the bone during the game. Make it with only five ingredients in your crock pot in a few hours.
5 Ingredient White Chicken Chili
spoonful of white chicken chili.
Small Crock Pot Chili
A small recipe that is easy to scale to crowd size. A wonderful All-American ground beef chile that is easy to make ahead in any size slow cooker.
All-American Ground Beef Chili
orange bowl with chili with cheese

And lastly, a wonderful change of pace recipe.

Salsa Verde Chicken Chili
It is the perfect change of pace chili everybody will love. A mildly spicy white chicken chili made with chicken, white beans, green salsa verde, and a few pantry ingredients: a simple dump-and-go crock pot or fast stovetop recipe.
Salsa Verde Chicken Chili
Salsa Verde chili on a spoon.

🌮Tailgating Nachos and Tacos

Spicy Tacos
The best nachos start with the best ground beef taco meat. Make it in 25 minutes with ground beef and an easy homemade taco seasoning. Make it spicy or make it mild; you're in control. You will never use packaged taco seasoning again.
Spicy Tacos
A plate full of ground beef nachos.
Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
You can prepare delicious chicken tacos or nachos with just three ingredients, a slow cooker, and five minutes of prep time. Cook the chicken for several hours, shred it, and cook for another hour. Serve this tender chicken taco meat as tacos, nachos, or other Mexican dishes.
Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
Chicken taco nacho chip in hand.
Chili Cheese Nachos
Chili Cheese Nachos with shredded beef chili smothered in melted cheese is perfect for tailgating and game-day parties. Easy to make ahead and serve both chili and nachos at the party.
Chili Cheese Nachos
plate of cheese chili nachos topped with tomatos and sour cream

🐓Wings and Dip

Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Make these extra Crispy Baked Chicken Wings in your convection oven using baking powder and a rack. They're a healthy alternative to fried wings with about half the calories. Add your favorite seasoning for the best Buffalo hot wings you've ever made—you'll never want to fry again.
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings from 101 Cooking for Two
Blue Cheese Dip for Wings
This homemade Blue Cheese Dip for Wings is the perfect recipe for buffalo chicken wings, vegetables, salads, and many other dishes. No more store-bought dressing when you can have a fresh, made-from-scratch dip at your game party in five minutes.
Blue Cheese Dip for Wings
Blue cheese dip on celery.

🍔Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken, or Brisket Sandwiches/Sliders

These are the classic tailgate dishes. I'm just giving you the meat since you can handle the serving.

Pulled Pork from Pork Butt in the Oven (Low and Slow)
Make juicy pulled pork with bark in your oven—just season a pork butt and cook it low and slow at 250°F. No smoker or grill needed.
Pork butt in the oven
pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce
Easiest Crock Pot BBQ Chicken
This is one of the easiest recipes ever—tasty BBQ chicken in under 4 hours. Great for family gatherings and parties or just when you want to be lazy for an easy family dinner.
Crock Pot BBQ Chicken
a shredded BBQ chicken sandwich on a white plate
Oven Baked BBQ Beef Brisket (Easy & Fall Apart Tender)
Make fall-apart brisket in your oven—smoky, simple, and beginner-friendly. A classic BBQ dinner with almost no prep.
Oven Baked Brisket
Oven Baked BBQ Brisket from 101 Cooking for Two
Crock Pot Pork Loin Pulled Pork (Easy BBQ Style)
Tender, juicy pulled pork from lean pork loin in your crock pot—perfect for BBQ sandwiches, meal prep, or a healthier take on classic pulled pork.
Crock Pot Pulled Pork Loin
shredded pork loin on a bun with sauce

🍮Sweet Endings

Dessert bars are a great addition to any tailgate party. Some easy cook-ahead bars will make you look like the hero.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bite (or whole cheesecake)
Easy and delicious make ahead for the party. Real cheesecake bites with Oreo crust that is easy to make at home.
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bites
Chocolate chip cheesecake bars on a platter square view.
Easy Lemon Bars
Easy lemon bars are delicious and simple to make in under an hour. These homemade lemon squares are a perfect dessert treat with a crispy, buttery shortbread crust and tangy and sweet lemon filling—a small batch 8X8 recipe you can scale to your needs.
Lemon Bar Recipe
Two lemon squares on a gray plate.
Easy Cheesecake Bars
These Easy Cheesecake Bars are creamy and delicious with a Graham cracker crust and lemon—the quick small-batch recipe you need with great tasting cheesecake bars.
Cheesecake Bar Recipe
Cheesecake bars on a blue plate.

Food Safety Tips

These gatherings are ready-made for food safety issues and leftovers at the party. Let's plan for food safety and get it right. Check out the USDA Food Safety recommendations.

two dog in Michigan bandanas

Don't forget the party animals and their treats, Homemade Dog Treats—Healthy & Low-Fat.

Enjoy the fall.

Wifo, Molly, Lilly, and DrDan

Originally Published August 28, 2019. It will be updated and republished yearly about this time.

More Recipe Roundups

Comments

    This post has been updated and republished. All comments are held for moderation due to spam issues.

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Linda Drews says

    I absolutely love everything about your website: the variety, the attention to detail. Always look forward to your posts. Thought I'd give you a heads-up on this post. Your SWEET heading unfortunately says SWEAT ENDINGS. Thought you would want to know in case it's changeable.
    God bless

    PS Every doggy pictures is cuter than the one before!

    Reply