50 Tailgating Recipes That Score

These little beef sandwiches make a great appetizer for a party. And you can put them together in just 20 minutes.

Mini Italian Beef Sandwiches with Pepperoncini Slaw

Ground turkey, reduced-sodium and light ingredients, and a confetti of crisp, colorful veggies make this potluck staple more nutritious than a typical layered dip—but every bit as tasty.

Light and Layered Taco Dip

Pureed corn thickens the hearty mixture of beans, veggies and turkey. A tailgating crowd-pleaser. 

Aunt Maude's Southwestern Turkey Chili

Perfect for parties and tailgating! Make these cheese balls up to three months ahead of time then freeze. Thaw frozen cheese balls overnight in fridge before serving.

Ripe Olive Cheese Ball

A Cleveland reader makes this potluck salad the day ahead and refrigerates the dressing and vegetables separately. When it's time to serve it, she tosses everything together. Bacon, sunflower kernels and raisins make a crunchy and flavorful side dish.

Sunny Broccoli Salad

Bring along extra toppers inspired by pizza-parlor classics: thinly sliced sweet peppers and onion, spinach, sautéed mushrooms, jarred banana peppers or sliced olives.

Pizza Burgers

Don’t be surprised if this nutty, caramel-y, chocolaty snack mix disappears quickly! Good thing it only takes six ingredients to whip up.

Caramel Snack Mix

Steep your grilled brats in this onion-and-herb beer mixture for an easy way to keep them warm while tailgating. Beer-Braised Brats get a liberal dose of cranberry-pickle relish for extra color and tang.

Beer-Braised Brats

Lots of Monterey Jack cheese goes into this creamy fondue, along with sour cream, chipotle peppers and bacon. Scoop up with bread or tortilla chips.

Jack Cheese and Smoky Chipotle Fondue

Combine edamame and avocado with basil pesto, lemon juice and chopped tomato for this easy potluck dip. 

Edamame-Avocado Dip

Combine hash browns, sausage, bacon, eggs, cheese and chopped veggies for a hearty breakfast tortilla. Top the colorful mixture with cool sour cream and spicy salsa in this recipe inspired by RAGBRAI vendor Farm Boys.

Breakfast Burritos

A leafy celery stalk is the classic bloody mary garnish, but you can also use long picks with green olives and small pickles, or even a strip of crisp bacon or smoky beef jerky.

Bloody Marys

Hummus is easier than you might think: Just throw the ingredients in the food processor. Find canned smoky chipotle peppers in the Mexican aisle of large supermarkets.

Roasted Red Pepper-Chipotle Hummus

The Coney Island Lunch Room in Grand Island, Nebraska, has served its all-American chili dog since 1933. In honor of this Cornhusker State edible institution, we created this recipe for Beefy Chili Dogs. Stewing the hot dogs in the seasoned meat mixture makes them extra juicy. Top them with cheese.

Beefy Chili Dogs

This salsa does double duty as a tortilla dip or a meat topper. Serve with a slotted spoon over grilled pork, smoked bratwursts or sausages, grilled chicken or salmon.

Black Bean Salsa

This easy sauce spices up hot dogs, sandwiches or any grilled meat.

Horseradish-Mustard Mayonnaise

This recipe blurs the line between baked beans and chili. It's great for feeding a crowd.

Calico Bean Bake

This chili is great for tucking into your slow cooker in the morning, so you can come home to a warm winter dinner. Omit the meat if you'd prefer a hearty meatless main dish. If you like, add chopped avocado or shredded cheese as toppers before serving.

Chipotle Black-Bean Chili recipe

Grated Parmesan cheese gives extra cheesy flavor to this blend of crispy corn and rice cereals, canned shoestring potatoes, crisp breadsticks and bite-size cheese crackers.

Cheesy Snack Mix

Good food and friends are what tailgating is all about, says Debbie Pamperin of Suamico, Wisconsin. Debbie plans her Green Bay Packer tailgating experiences with this in mind. The Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe, originally from one of her co-workers, has been a crowd-pleaser at her tailgate parties.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

Loaded with protein and fresh greens, this is a simple yet flavorful potato salad. Paired with a fruit salad, it's almost hearty enough to eat as a meal.

Greens, Eggs and Ham Potato Salad

We traded the traditional roast pork for rotisserie chicken, but kept the signature Cuban flavors—mustard, onion and pickles.

Chicken Cuban Sandwiches

Vary the heat of this easy chowder by choosing sweet or hot sausage and serrano or jalapeno pepper. Cumin adds subtle Southwest character.

Southwestern Potato Sausage Chowder

Spicy poblano chile pepper and tequila pack a punch. Serve as a party dip with tortilla chips, or create upscale quesadillas with a warmed tortilla and chorizo.

Tequila-Spiked Queso Fundido

A crispy, savory crust of cheese, crushed cornflakes and butter tops a combination of ham, hash brown potatoes, cubed cheese, condensed soup and sour cream. A potluck favorite!

Hash Brown Casserole

Carrot and celery sticks add crisp crunch to the platter of Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing. Our wings recipe includes blue cheese, garlic powder, vinegar, and spicy cayenne pepper sauce for kick.

Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing

Whip up this comforting soup in just 45 minutes. Swap out the chicken with chopped, roasted turkey to save even more prep time. 

Creamy Wild Rice Soup with Maple Bacon            

This classic sandwich stars at breakfast when rye bread is swapped for English muffins or biscuits.

Reuben Breakfast Sandwiches

Sugared bacon and melting cheese curds or string cheese make a mouthwatering filling for these behemoth burgers. The recipe comes from chef/owner John McClure of Starker's Restaurant at Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

Starker's Bacon and Cheese Curd Burger

We traded the traditional roast pork for rotisserie chicken, but kept the signature Cuban flavors—mustard, onion and pickles.

Chicken Cuban Sandwiches

Chalk this recipe up as an occasional indulgence. It's topped with a totally mouth-watering combo of thin-sliced potatoes, bacon, sausage and a delectable garlic-rosemary butter. The recipe comes from Hidemi Walsh of Plainfield, Indiana.

Meat and Potato Pizza

Easy pulled pork bursts with apple flavor. The secret? Add cider into the slow cooker with the pork as well as in the barbecue sauce.

Apple Cider Pulled Pork

Three kinds of cheese blend with artichoke hearts and spinach for a crowd-pleasing dip. Bake in batches to keep the party well-supplied.

Party Hot Pot Dip     

Assemble these hefty ham-and-cheese sandwiches at home, then grill them on-site for a warm game-day meal. The recipe is from Dave Sutton of Menomenee Falls, Wisconsin.

Dave's Pigskin Special

Bulgur wheat lends meaty texture, fiber and protein to soups and stews, where it can cook in the broth. In our sweet and savory chili, we match the grain with salsa verde, peppers and edamame—a weeknight meal that makes it oh-so-easy to be green.

Chili Verde with Corn Bread Croutons

Toffee pieces give a sweet twist to classic blonde brownies in this simple, crowd-pleasing recipe.

Toffee Blondies

Dried cranberries plump up when tossed with vinaigrette in this tangy coleslaw. The recipe was a winner at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Crimson Slaw

Peanut butter and chocolate meet for a sweet treat in this recipe from a Cedarburg, Wisconsin, reader who likes to make these bar cookies for potluck gatherings.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

The chips are easy and definitely add to the dip's appeal, but rice crackers, sugar snap peas, celery sticks and baby bok choy leaves all make good Asian-inspired dippers.

Creamy Crab Rangoon Dip with Wonton Chips

This unusual recipe combines orange marmalade and soy sauce to make a sweet-and-salty dressing for chicken, cabbage and crunchy ramen noodles. Serve the mixture over a bed of fresh spinach for a nutrient-packed meal.

Orange Chicken Coleslaw Salad

Cayenne and dried green chili peppers bring the heat, while beer soothes the palate. Serve with cornbread.

Sweet Heat Beef Stew

Gail Gladding-Pullara of Oregon, Wisconsin, created this simple, crowd-pleasing soup. "My family loves this recipe," she says. "It’s easy and tastes like you’ve been cooking for hours."

Italian Dinner Soup

Trail mix ingredients such as salted peanuts, pretzel sticks, dried cranberries, raisins and chocolate pieces make a sweet-and-salty topper for brownies.

Trail Mix Brownies

Combine kidney beans, garbanzo beans and frozen sweet soybeans (edamame) with red onion, cilantro and lime juice for a fresh twist on three-bean salad.

Zesty Three-Bean Salad

Italian seasoning makes homemade roasted peppers extra special. Serve them on sandwiches, on an appetizer tray or mixed into pasta.

Joe Montes Marinated Roast Peppers

Purchased puff pastry adds to the ease of this dessert recipe, but the real star is the filling the pairing of sweet apples and tart cranberries. Homemade icing rounds out this crowd-pleasing potluck pie.

Easy Apple Cranberry Slab Pie

Illinois grows 80 percent of the pumpkins processed in the United States. That's why we created Apple Bagel Sandwiches with Pumpkin Cream Cheese. They're a good option for morning tailgating events. Or try them as a meatless sandwich any time of day.

To see more one-of-a-kind sandwiches created using ingredients special to each Midwest state, click the link below.

Apple Bagel Sandwiches with Pumpkin Cream Cheese

More Midwest sandwiches

Soft melting marshmallows blend with toasty pecans and chocolate to create a sure crowd-pleaser.

Cocoa-Cola Cake

Nina Swan-Kohler of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, loves easy-to-make dishes that travel well to football games or other events. Tex-Mex Cheesy Chicken Chowder is one of her favorite recipes. "It uses a variety of convenience foods that are stirred together in one big pot, and brings out the great flavor of all the ingredients," Nina says.

Tex-Mex Cheesy Chicken Chowder

More soups and stews

Mustard, mayo and dill pickle spice up this grilled ham, pork, salami and Swiss cheese sandwich. Our recipe gives step-by-step instructions to make this a tailgating success!

Cuban Griller

Layers of corn bread, bacon and veggies ensure a flavor-packed salad that adds plenty of color to a potluck table.

Mississippi Corn Bread Salad

Click below for more great Midwest Living party and snack recipes!