Wings are great. They are also a lot of work on game day. Frying or baking batches, saucing them at the last minute, and standing over a pan while the game goes on is not a fun way to spend a Sunday. The other problem is that wings do not hold. They are best in the first fifteen minutes, and then they get soggy.
The better plan is to choose food that holds: dishes that stay good for hours on a slow cooker, in a warm oven, or at room temperature. That way you cook before kickoff, sit down for the game, and let the food do its job.
Here are ten ideas that fit, with short methods and notes on making ahead and holding. At the end, there is a short food safety section that matters more than any recipe.
1. Slow cooker meatballs
Method: Use frozen or homemade meatballs. Put them in a slow cooker with a jar of grape jelly and a bottle of chili sauce, or with your favorite marinara. Cook on low for a few hours until hot all the way through, then switch to warm.
Holding: This is one of the easiest holds there is. Keep the lid on, stir now and then, and set out toothpicks. If they start to thicken, add a small splash of water.
2. Pulled pork sliders
Method: Rub a pork shoulder with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and a little brown sugar. Cook it low and slow in a slow cooker until it shreds easily with a fork. Shred, toss with barbecue sauce and a bit of the cooking liquid, and serve on small rolls.
Make ahead: Cook the pork the day before and refrigerate it. Reheat it in the slow cooker on the day. Pork reheats better than it has any right to.
Holding: Keep it in the slow cooker on warm, with rolls in a basket beside it and pickles on the side. Everybody builds their own.
3. Chili with a toppings bar
Method: Brown ground beef or turkey with onion and garlic. Add canned beans, canned tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and a little salt. Simmer for an hour or more, longer if you can.
Make ahead: Chili is better the next day. Make it the night before, cool it quickly in shallow containers, and reheat it in the slow cooker.
Holding: Slow cooker on warm. Put out shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped onion, jalapeños and crushed corn chips. Toppings turn one pot into a bar. If you want more ideas for the colder months, see these fall soup ideas.
4. Baked queso
Method: Combine melted cheese sauce, or a block of processed cheese cubed up, with a can of diced green chiles or tomatoes and some cooked sausage or chorizo if you like. Heat in a slow cooker or a low oven until smooth.
Holding: Slow cooker on the lowest setting, stirred occasionally. A queso that is left in a hot oven will form a skin, so cover it. Serve with tortilla chips and sliced peppers.
5. Sheet pan nachos, built in waves
Method: Spread chips on a sheet pan, layer with cheese, beans, and any cooked meat, and bake at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Add cold toppings after: salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro.
Holding: Nachos do not hold. Here is the trick: make them in two or three small pans over the course of the game rather than one giant pan at kickoff. Halftime is the natural second batch. Keep the toppings cold in bowls so they do not warm up on the chips.
6. Sheet pan sliders
Method: Line a baking dish with a full slab of slider rolls. Layer ham and Swiss, or roast beef and cheddar, or chicken and mozzarella. Put the top rolls on and brush with melted butter mixed with a little mustard, garlic and onion powder. Cover with foil and bake at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the cheese melts.
Make ahead: Assemble a day before, refrigerate, and bake before the game.
Holding: Keep the pan covered in a warm oven, around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, or wrapped in foil and towels. Slice and serve.
7. Cold pasta salad or Italian sub salad
Method: Cook pasta, rinse it in cold water, and toss it with chopped salami, cubes of mozzarella, olives, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and a vinaigrette. Chill.
Make ahead: Best made the night before. The flavors settle and you can forget about it.
Holding: This one needs to stay cold, not hot. Keep it in the fridge until serving, and put the bowl over a bigger bowl of ice if it will sit out for a while. It is a nice break from all the heavy, hot dishes.
8. Loaded baked potato bar
Method: Scrub potatoes, rub with oil and salt, and bake at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour, until tender. Wrap in foil to keep warm.
Holding: Potatoes wrapped in foil and stacked in a towel lined cooler stay warm for a good while, but keep an eye on time and temperature (see the safety section below). Set out cheese, bacon bits, chives, sour cream, chili and butter. It also helps to use the chili from idea three, which makes this the same pot twice.
9. Sausage and pepper bites
Method: Slice smoked sausage into coins, and slice peppers and onions. Toss with a little oil, salt and pepper, and roast on a sheet pan at about 425 degrees Fahrenheit until browned. Or put everything in a slow cooker with a splash of broth and a spoonful of mustard.
Holding: Slow cooker on warm, with toothpicks, or in a covered pan in a warm oven. Serve with a bit of mustard or a spicy dip.
10. Taco dip, seven layer style
Method: Layer refried beans, seasoned sour cream, guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese, sliced olives and chopped tomatoes in a glass dish.
Make ahead: Assemble it the night before, but hold the guacamole and tomatoes for the day so they stay fresh.
Holding: Keep it cold until you serve it. It is a good option for people who do not want anything spicy or heavy, and it is a dip that kids tend to like.
The holding cheat sheet
A quick way to plan the whole spread:
- Slow cooker items: meatballs, pulled pork, chili, queso, sausage and peppers. You may need more than one slow cooker, or borrow a friend’s.
- Warm oven items: sliders and potatoes. A warm oven is around 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cold items: pasta salad and taco dip. Keep them in the fridge until needed.
- Made in waves: nachos.
If you have three slow cookers, one for each hot dish, that is a full menu and almost no work once the game starts. If you have one, choose your two favorites and fill the rest of the table with cold items and chips. If you want more low effort meals through the week, take a look at these 5-ingredient dinners.
Food safety: the part you cannot skip
A pot of chili that sits out for six hours is not a game day win. A few simple rules from the USDA and FoodSafety.gov keep everybody healthy:
- The two hour rule. Perishable food should not sit out for more than two hours. If the room or the outdoors is hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, cut that to one hour. After that, put it in the fridge or throw it out.
- Keep hot food hot. Hold hot food at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or above. The range between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit is often called the danger zone, because bacteria grow fastest there.
- Keep cold food cold. Cold food should stay at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Use ice under bowls or swap out small dishes for fresh ones from the fridge.
- Use a thermometer. A cheap food thermometer takes the guessing out of it. Check the middle of a slow cooker, not the edge.
- Reheat properly. Leftover food that you made ahead should be reheated to 165 degrees Fahrenheit before you set it on warm. A slow cooker on warm is for holding food that is already hot, not for heating up cold food.
- Serve in small batches. Put out a portion, and bring more from the kitchen when it runs low. This keeps food fresher and safer.
- Handle leftovers quickly. Get leftovers into shallow containers and into the fridge within two hours of being served.
Those are simple rules, but they are worth setting a timer for. A phone alarm at the start of the second half is a good habit.
A simple game day plan
If you want a short plan to follow:
- The day before: make the chili, cook the pork, assemble the sliders and the pasta salad, and build the dip layers. Refrigerate everything.
- Morning: start the pork or chili reheating on low, or set the slow cooker on to warm up.
- Two hours before: preheat the oven, bake the sliders and potatoes, and set out the chips.
- Kickoff: everything hot goes on warm. Cold food stays in the fridge until you are ready to set it out.
- Halftime: second batch of nachos, and check every hot dish with a thermometer.
That is a full spread that does not involve standing over a fryer. Wings can be a treat for the week you feel like it. The rest of the season, food that holds gets you back to the couch.
Sources: FoodSafety.gov, Game Day Food Safety Tips, USDA FSIS, “Danger Zone” (40°F to 140°F), USDA FSIS, Keep Food Safe from Kickoff to Leftovers
Common questions
Perishable food should not sit out for more than two hours, or one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. After that, refrigerate it or throw it out. Keep hot food at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or above and cold food at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
Use a slow cooker on the warm setting, a covered dish in an oven set to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit, or a chafing dish. Add a splash of broth or water to saucy dishes and keep them covered.
Chili, pulled pork, meatballs, layered dips, sliders and cold pasta salad all make ahead well. Cook and cool them the day before, refrigerate them, then reheat to 165 degrees Fahrenheit and hold hot.
Slow cooker meatballs, pulled pork sliders, chili with toppings, baked queso, loaded nachos, sheet pan sliders and a cold pasta salad all hold well for hours and feed a crowd.
