18 Recipes to Make Your Tailgate a Total Hit

BY Dani Meyer ON September 30, 2016 UPDATED ON February 10, 2023

It’s football season! We’ve rounded up some of the best cooking and kitchen gadgets and tailgating recipes to help you make your party a total hit this year with kids and adults. Whether you’re at the game, or watching from home, these are our favorite picks for this season!

Setting up a great tailgating party is a cinch with just a few kitchen tools and prep. Our menu for today included chili with all the fixings, chips and dip, pizza and drinks! And don’t forget some cookies for dessert too!

We broke out the Pizza Que to get a perfect smokey cook on our pizza. It’s easy to whip up a pizza yourself at home (check out our Grilled Homestyle Pizza with Honey Sriracha Glaze for a simple option!)

Keeping all your napkins and silverware handy is important and having a small basket is a great option. We also really love using this for all our condiments when we do burgers and dogs too, so it’s multi-purposed!

Chips and dip are practically a requirement for any party. A pre-made dip works great.

Or if you are prepping ahead, whip up a batch of our Cheesy Onion Dip, cover with foil and cook it in the bbq before it’s ready for pizza!

Chili is such a simple dish to bring tailgating especially in Hamilton Beach’s Stay and Go Slow Cooker. This Buffalo Chicken Chili sounds like tailgating perfection!

Don’t forget lots of drinks for the kiddos and water to stay hydrated!

Everyone gets thirsty with the excitement of the big game!

This insulated PackIt 18 Can Cooler is perfect for packing in ice cold beer. The entire bag freezes solid so that it is cooled on all sides as you transport it!