Our 50 Best Homegating Recipes

Updated September 29, 2020

Football season may be different this year, but you can still enjoy game day with our best homegating recipes. From slow-cooker dips to oven-baked nachos, these healthy twists of your favorite tailgate foods will have your taste buds saying “touchdown!”. Recipes like Sriracha-Buffalo Cauliflower Bites and Loaded Sweet Potato Nacho Fries are flavorful, delicious and best enjoyed from the comfort of your couch.

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Sriracha-Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

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This recipe for spicy Buffalo cauliflower bites is a great vegetarian alternative to Buffalo wings. Roasted cauliflower stands in for chicken and provides more fiber and fewer calories. Serve this easy appetizer with carrot sticks, celery and your favorite ranch or blue cheese dressing.

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Sweet Potato Skins with Guacamole

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Top crispy sweet potato skins with guacamole for a healthy take on classic potato skins in this easy crowd-pleasing recipe.

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Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip

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This healthy copycat recipe for classic Buffalo dip cooks in your slow cooker for an easy, hands-off appetizer you can keep warm for the whole game, party or any casual gathering. Serve with carrot sticks, celery sticks and tortilla chips for dipping.

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Jason Mraz's Guacamole

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In this easy guacamole recipe, musician Mraz prefers California Hass or Reed avocados because they are the creamiest. Adjust the heat, tang or other flavorings to suit your tastes.

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Soy-Lime Baked Buffalo Wings

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Make this baked Buffalo chicken wing recipe at home to save 138 calories and a whopping 598 milligrams of sodium compared to the same number of deep-fried wings. If your market sells its chicken wings whole, you'll want to separate each into a "wingette" and a "drumette" so they cook evenly. They're easy to split apart with a sharp knife. Serve with carrot sticks, celery and ranch (or blue cheese) dressing.

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Loaded Sweet Potato Nacho Fries

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Bump up the vitamin A and fiber when you swap tortilla chips for sweet potatoes in this healthy recipe. Serve as an appetizer at your next party or turn it into dinner by adding chicken, tofu, shrimp or more beans for protein.

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Beer-Battered Onion Rings with Roasted Pepper Aioli

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Cornmeal adds crispiness, and a touch of brown ale in the batter adds a subtle malty flavor in this healthy onion rings recipe. While the onion rings bake, roasted red peppers from a jar and a clove of garlic turn plain mayo into a easy dipping sauce.

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Barbecue Pulled Chicken

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This BBQ pulled chicken recipe is a fanciful reinterpretation of pulled pork that slow-cooks chicken in lots of tangy tomato sauce. Have sliced jalapenos, sliced red onions and some sour cream on hand to top this barbecue pulled chicken, which makes a hearty main course. You can turn it into an unbelievable sandwich or serve it on mashed potatoes or even whole-grain spaghetti. Serve with shredded napa cabbage tossed with low-fat mayonnaise, cider vinegar, celery seed and honey to taste.

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Chili-Cheese Nachos

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Make nachos a healthy dinner when you top them with an easy 30-minute chili. Serve this healthy recipe with sliced scallions, avocado, fresh tomatoes and sour cream, if desired.

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Sausage, Pepper & Mushroom Pizza

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This sausage, pepper and mushroom pizza is just a little more work than calling for delivery (but not by much), but there's no tipping required when you make it yourself. Plus you get it fresh from your oven, and with whole-wheat dough and a generous amount of vegetables on top it's far better for you.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Enchilada Dip

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A quick fresh-made blender enchilada sauce makes all the difference in this slow-cooker recipe for Mexican cheese dip. Serve it straight from the crock pot, with tortilla chips, to keep it warm and gooey.

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Layered Strawberry-Mango Margaritas

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Swirl layers of red strawberry margarita with yellow mango margarita in this skinny frozen cocktail for a festive party drink that will wow your guests. It tastes just as good as a restaurant frozen margarita, without all the sugar!

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Avocado Hummus

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This vibrant green hummus recipe couldn't be easier--just toss a few ingredients in the food processor and whir away! Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) and avocado make this healthy dip extra smooth and creamy. Serve with veggie chips, pita chips or crudités.

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Sweet Potato Chips

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Make perfectly crunchy veggie chips at home with this healthy recipe. Use a mandoline to slice the sweet potatoes extra-thin for the optimum crunch!

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Chicken Parmesan Dip

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No breading and frying here! Layer on the cheese and tomatoes using leftover chicken (or turkey) in this healthy dip recipe. Pair with soft Italian bread and a salad for an easy dinner or serve it as an appetizer for your next party.

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Pulled Pork with Peppered Vinegar Sauce

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To keep sodium in check we've left salt out of the rub in this healthy pulled pork recipe. The vinegary sauce infuses salty goodness throughout the pulled pork rather than just on the surface of the meat. If you have both a charcoal and a gas grill, choose charcoal as it will produce a more authentic smoke flavor. The pork is served here North Carolina–style: with peppered vinegar sauce and slaw.

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Skinny Pineapple Margaritas

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Pineapple juice adds plenty of sweetness to this no-sugar-added margarita recipe.

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Tex-Mex Chili Nachos

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This healthy nacho recipe is a great way to use leftover chili. Serve these nachos as a game-day appetizer or for a hearty lunch. To make these nachos super-fast, skip layering each chip with the toppings and just pile everything onto a platter.

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Polynesian Glazed Wings

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Serve these baked appetizer wings for a party. The prep is quick: buying frozen chicken wing drumettes saves you having to split the wings yourself.

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Asian Pork Nachos with Wasabi Cream

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Make your own healthier nachos-with-a-twist from toasted corn tortilla wedges. Asian-inspired flavors infuse the pork and the light crema that's made with Greek yogurt.

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Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Nuggets

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Adults and kids alike devour these crunchy pretzel-coated chicken nuggets. What really makes them special is the tart-sweet cranberry dipping sauce. Make some extra sauce to spread on post-holiday turkey sandwiches.

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Sweet Potato Tater Tot Nachos ("Totchos")

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Make a crowd favorite even better with this nachos upgrade that uses sweet potato tots instead of classic tortilla chips for nachos that are a little sweet, a little crisp and pack in tons of flavor.

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Slow-Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip

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This creamy, crowd-pleasing dip comes together with ease in your crock pot. Leave it in the slow cooker all party long to keep it warm for serving with perfect, melty cheese in every bite. Whole-wheat bread and raw veggie dippers allow you to dig in without the guilt.

 

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Loaded Sheet-Pan Nachos

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This quick and easy Super Bowl recipe has been referred to as "the best nachos people have ever had." With easy-to-find ingredients, an optional pop of tang and spice from the pickled jalapeños, and the salsa verde and sour cream for serving, we think it's earned its title!

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Whipped Frozen Lemonade

Credit: Casey Barber
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Whipped frozen lemonade combines the creaminess of a milkshake with the thirst-quenching tanginess of freshly squeezed lemonade for an incredibly refreshing treat. And this simple frozen lemonade treat comes together with just four ingredients and a blender. You can use light coconut milk or refrigerated coconut milk in place of full-fat coconut milk, though the end result won't be as rich and creamy. Leftover simple syrup will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

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Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels

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Satisfy your sweet tooth (and your salty tooth!) simultaneously with this chocolate-dipped pretzel recipe. Cocoa nibs give these chocolate-dipped pretzels an extra layer of chocolaty flavor.

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Slow-Cooker Flank Steak Au Jus Sandwiches

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Juicy flank steak, beefy sauce and caramelized onions come together easily to create this delectable hoagie sandwich. The flank steak is tender, moist and flavor-packed, making it a great base recipe not only for these sandwiches but also for any recipe that calls for shredded beef, such as Italian sandwiches or chili.

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Buffalo-Chicken Celery Sticks

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These stuffed celery sticks, packed with zesty Buffalo chicken and tangy blue cheese, make a perfect low-carb game-day snack. The kick of flavor from tangy Buffalo sauce is tempered by creamy Neufchâtel (reduced-fat cream cheese), but you can cut back if the hot sauce is too much for sensitive palates. Drizzle a few drops on the sticks before serving for those who can handle the heat.

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Berry Bubbly Vodka Soda

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This bright and bubbly sipper combines berries with vodka and seltzer to make a colorful 3-ingredient cocktail you can enjoy year-round, thanks to frozen berries. Amp up the flavor even more by using a flavored seltzer rather than plain!

 

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Oven-Baked Curly Fries

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These oven fries crisp up without the greasy mess of deep-frying. Plus they're a bit easier and faster to make than traditional hand-cut fries thanks to the quick work of the spiralizer. Just watch the thickness: cut too thin, the fries will burn easily.

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Slow-Cooker Turkey Nachos

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Host a cocktail party or game night and serve guests these tasty slow-cooker turkey nachos. The turkey picks up smoky flavor from the chili powder and cumin, and the chips and toppings give the dish varied textures. Serve with margaritas or cold beer and fresh lime wedges, if desired.

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Air-Fryer Buffalo Wings

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A sports bar favorite comes home with these deliciously crispy chicken wings, which require just 10 minutes of active prep time, thanks to the air fryer. In fact, one of EatingWell's recipe testers declared this air-fryer Buffalo wing recipe "a reason to buy an air fryer." Add a spicy sauce, carrot sticks, celery sticks and ranch dressing for dipping and you have a healthy take on wings that's sure to score.

 

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Five-Spice Pulled Pork Sandwiches

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These pulled pork sandwiches are designed to travel to a tailgate or picnic. Plan ahead to prep the pulled pork in the slow cooker a day ahead. Tote the pork in an aluminum pan and reheat it on a portable grill.

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White Turkey Chili

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This healthy white turkey chili recipe is gorgeous, with flecks of green from zucchini, oregano and green chiles. To keep the saturated fat low, we use one pound of ground turkey and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber in this chili recipe. After all the ingredients are added to the pot, we like to slowly simmer our chili for close to an hour to develop the best flavor, but if you're in a hurry, reduce the liquid by half and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

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Caramel-Pretzel Apple Dippers

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Caramel apples can contain up to 60 grams of carbohydrate, so try this lower-carb apple dipper option. A tasty twist on the traditional recipe, apple slices are dipped in rich white chocolate, sprinkled with crushed pretzels, and topped with a sweet caramel drizzle.

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