Best Football Party Snacks

It’s almost that time of year again. The time for tailgates and touchdowns and time outs and that little yellow handkerchief they throw up in the air just to see where it falls (can you tell I’m a connoisseur). You guessed it, FOOTBALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL (the American kind) is back, and with the NFL preseason kicking off we figured y’all needed a hearty list of football party snacks to get your NFL preseason watch party inspo flowing. So here is our list of top NFL preseason snacks.

Foster Farms Hot & Spicy Chicken Wings

You can’t watch football without wings and, unfortunately, chugging a Red Bull doesn’t make them automatically show up at your door (I tried). You have to buy the wings ahead of time and be prepared but don’t fret, these frozen wings from Foster Farms are not only easy to prep, they are really good (just don’t cook them in the microwave). They are nice and crispy, well coated with sauce, and the sauce itself uses “aged cayenne peppers and a bit of vinegar to achieve that classically spicy, zesty flavor.” Go put these on your list of football party snacks—your buddies will thank you.

Fresh Finds Cheese Puffs

I don’t know why, but I feel like football and cheese puffs have the same energy. It could be the yellow goalposts almost sort of looking like a cheese puff, or all the puffy football padding that kind of reminds me of a cheese puff, or it could be the way cheese puffs are always tackling each other and getting concussions. We may never know. But whether you feel the same way I do or not, you cannot deny that cheese puffs are a satisfying snack, whether or not it is NFL preseason. That being said, these cheese puffs from Big Lots were the best we could find. As our taste tester put it, the “salt, fat, and powerful cheesiness of the Fresh Finds Cheese Puff was too decadent to be beat.”

On the Border Café Style Tortilla Chips and Casa Sanchez Foods Hot Salsa Roja

This classic combo is a crowd pleaser among football party snacks, sure, but also among all snacks ever, periodt. Plus, these are among the best chips and salsa we tried in our taste tests. On the Border tortilla chips are thick enough to dip, shattery and salty enough to eat on their own, and have a fresh-out-of-the-fryer oily taste that you simply won’t find in other chips. Casa Sanchez salsa tastes practically homemade with its insanely short ingredient list, fresh flavors, and significant kick of spice. When it comes to preseason snacks, you truly can’t beat chips and salsa.

El Monterey Extra Crunchy Southwest Chicken Taquitos

As a hot snack option, taquitos are excellent. They’re salty, oily, cheesy, and they actually fill you up to some extent. These taquitos, however, are all of those things sure, but they are also life-changing. They made managing editor Gwynedd Stuart shout, “Holy shit!” when she took the first bite. Why? Because they contain not just meat, but chicken, cheese, peppers, and beans all in a crispy, bubbly, almost wonton-like, coating. These things are exploding with goodies and you need to get them for your next football party.

Parmesan Pastry Pups

They are pups. They are pastry. They are parmesan. They are perfect snacks for your preseason partay. Plus, they are absolutely delicious. Trader Joe has outdone himself with these little guys. They may seem like just a slightly different pigs in a blanket, but hear us out, they are better. They are “even more decadent than the pigs in a blanket you’re used to,” according to Gwynedd, who tried these bad boys and described how “juicy mini hot dogs and buttery puff pastry combine to create a delicious, greasy slurry, and the parm on top gives them even more savory flavor.” If these don’t sound like a win, I don’t know what does.

Chex Mix Traditional

You have had Chex Mix. You know what it tastes like. We can all agree it rocks. But if you haven’t had it recently, as Gwynedd said, perhaps now is the time to revisit it. It is better than you remember, we promise. Not only did they bring the bagel chips back, you can always count on the trusty little Chex to soak up huge amounts of seasoning. Nothing feels more like a touchdown than when you get one of those Chex bits that is ABSOLUTELY SATURATED in seasoning, and that includes touchdowns themselves. Go grab some Chex Mix and your football party people will thank you.