If you’re looking for healthy game day recipes, you’re in the right place. This roundup has 30 awesome snacks and appetizers for your next sports ball shindig. You’ll find everything from chicken meatballs, adult chicken nuggets, and crispy chicken wings to cheesy dips, loaded tots and fries, bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers, and lots of nachos.
Without further ado, let’s shoot some touchdowns!
What makes a healthy game day snack or appetizer?
Like I mentioned in my roundup of high protein meal prep recipes, we like to put an emphasis on protein around here. Obviously it’s great for training recovery, but you may not have known that 20-30% of calories from protein are burned during digestion and absorption. Compare that to 0-3% for fat and 5-10% for carbs. Read about the thermic effect of food if you’d like to learn more on this topic.
While most of the healthy game day recipes in this roundup skew protein heavy like low fat chicken dip, chicken meatballs, and pulled chicken creations, you’ll still find some starchy treats like twice baked potatoes and higher fat options like keto spinach and artichoke dip.
A healthy game day snack can really be anything you want it to be, as long as you’re eating it in moderation. If you load your plate with BBQ chicken sliders and nachos with a side of cowboy caviar dip, that might be overkill. I mean, you clearly have great taste if you go that route. But for a game day filled with healthy appetizers, keep moderation in mind.
1. Easy Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers may not be the first dish that comes to mind when you think of healthy game day snacks and appetizers, but it’s one of my favorites. With these peppers, you essentially get a creamy, cheesy dip inside a tender crisp pepper that you can eat with a knife and fork or serve with chips for a build-your-own-nachos experience.
- Calories: 230
- Protein: 27g
- Carbs: 13g
- Fat: 8g
Recipes: Traeger Smoked Stuffed Peppers and Baked Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
2. Buffalo Chicken Dip
If you would rather use homemade pulled chicken instead of rotisserie chicken for the stuffed peppers above, this dip would be the perfect substitute. Or if you’re just looking for a dip with a surplus of diggity, the search ends here.
- Calories: 175
- Protein: 20g
- Carbs: 10g
- Fat: 6g
Recipe: Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip
3. Cowboy Caviar Chicken Dip
In case you’re unfamiliar, cowboy caviar is a corn, black bean, and pepper salsa. This dip mixes it with cream cheese, pulled rotisserie chicken, and even more cheese to make a rich and creamy dip that you’d never know is a high protein game day snack.
- Calories: 220
- Protein: 22g
- Carbs: 12g
- Fat: 9g
Recipe: Cheesy Chicken and Cowboy Caviar Dip
4. Baked Taquitos
A high protein ground beef filling is stuffed inside rolled corn tortillas and baked to crispy golden brown perfection. Serve these with a fresh salsa and guacamole spread, and you’ll have one of the spiciest game days in town.
- Calories: 115
- Protein: 8g
- Carbs: 10g
- Fat: 4g
Recipe: Baked Cheesy Beef Taquitos
5. Loaded Cheeseburger Fries
Crispy baked fries topped with lean ground beef, bacon, low calorie burger sauce, and melty American cheese.
- Calories: 340
- Protein: 23g
- Carbs: 28g
- Fat: 15g
Recipe: Loaded Cheeseburger Fries
6. Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
These extra porky poppers have creamy chorizo stuffed inside bacon wrapped jalapeño peppers. My favorite way to make them is in a smoker, but you can also use an air fryer or oven. I’ve included recipes for both versions below.
- Calories: 80
- Protein: 8g
- Carbs: 5g
- Fat: 3g
Recipes: Traeger Smoked Jalapeño Poppers with Chorizo and Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
7. High Protein Turkey Chili
Chili is perfect for game days because you can have a bowl on its own with all the fixin’s, or you can create elevated dishes with leftovers like stuffed potatoes, chili pies, loaded chili dogs, and more. This recipe uses lean ground turkey and three types of beans to make an ultra filling chili that’s packed with flavor.
- Calories: 235
- Protein: 23g
- Carbs: 31g
- Fat: 3g
Recipe: Instant Pot Turkey Chili
8. Twice Smoked Potatoes
If you have a smoker and haven’t made twice baked potatoes on it yet, that’s a mistake. These twice smoked potatoes pack smoked garlic and bacon inside smoked potato skins with tangy Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese. Don’t have a smoker? You can always bake them or even make air fryer twice baked potatoes.
- Calories: 200
- Protein: 12g
- Carbs: 22g
- Fat: 8g
Recipe: Traeger Twice Baked Potatoes
9. Loaded Tots
Sometimes you just need something easy, and it doesn’t get much easier than this recipe. Throw some frozen tots in an air fryer with bacon slices on top. What you’re left with is crispy bacon fried tots that are ripe for melted cheese and the crispy bacon bits.
- Calories: 325
- Protein: 9g
- Carbs: 32g
- Fat: 19g
While this recipe isn’t the healthiest game day snack on the list, you can use frozen veggie tots or lower fat options like this recipe to reduce the fat and calories.
Recipe: Loaded Air Fryer Frozen Tater Tots
10. Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs
This recipe combines ground chicken with Thai sweet chili sauce to make meatballs that can be served tons of ways. You can also swap the sweet chili sauce for BBQ, buffalo, or any type of sauce you like.
- Calories: 75
- Protein: 10g
- Carbs: 5g
- Fat: 2g
Recipe: Sweet Chili Chicken Air Fryer Meatballs
11. Smoked Chicken Meatballs
Smoking meatballs just adds another layer of flavor that’s impossible to replicate with indoor cooking. If you have a smoker, meatballs are a must make. I have two recipes for BBQ and buffalo chicken meatballs that should hit the spot.
- Calories: 65
- Protein: 10g
- Carbs: 2g
- Fat: 2g
Recipes: Traeger Smoked Buffalo Chicken Meatballs and Smoked BBQ Chicken Meatballs
12. Pulled BBQ Chicken
These two recipes, one for the Instant Pot and one for a slow cooker, are absolute must-haves when we’re making healthy game day snacks. The possibilities are endless when it comes to what you can make with it. I’ve included some of my favorites like sliders and loaded nachos below.
- Calories: 165
- Protein: 18g
- Carbs: 3g
- Fat: 9g
Recipes: Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken and BBQ Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
13. BBQ Chicken Sliders
Whether you use my pulled BBQ chicken or any leftover pulled chicken or pork, these sliders are a treat. They call for the real deal Hawaiian rolls, red onion, and Havarti cheese, which is exactly the way it should be.
- Calories: 215
- Protein: 14g
- Carbs: 17g
- Fat: 11g
Recipe: Leftover BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders
14. BBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese
You shouldn’t be able to make a dish this flavorful with only five ingredients. That’s the power of the pulled chicken above.
- Calories: 360
- Protein: 30g
- Carbs: 21g
- Fat: 19g
Recipe: High Protein BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese
15. Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos
That picture is worth at least 5,000 words. So I’ll just say, bacon, cheese, BBQ chicken, red onion, and crispy tortilla chips.
- Calories: 255
- Protein: 16g
- Carbs: 11g
- Fat: 16g
Recipe: Pulled BBQ Chicken Nachos
16. Buffalo Chicken Nachos
Pressure cooker shredded buffalo chicken with pinto and black beans on top of baked tortilla chips with melted cheddar and blue cheese. This is the perfect healthy game day appetizer to satisfy those salty, crunchy cravings.
- Calories: 295
- Protein: 17g
- Carbs: 28g
- Fat: 13g
Recipe: Shredded Buffalo Chicken Nachos
17. Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
An easy recipe for oven baked or air fried crispy chicken wings with a garlic lemon butter sauce.
- Calories: 440
- Protein: 32g
- Carbs: 13g
- Fat: 26g
Recipe: Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
18. Bacon Wrapped Dates
Stuff feta and pecans inside dates, wrap in bacon, bake, brush with maple syrup, and top with chili flakes. That has to be one of the most delicious sentences I’ve ever written.
- Calories: 125
- Protein: 2g
- Carbs: 21g
- Fat: 5g
Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Dates with Feta
19. Adult Chicken Nuggets
This recipe has seven seasoning blends so you can make little chicken breast bites in a variety of flavors. My favorite for a healthy game day appetizer would be the Nashville Hot or Chick-Fil-A copycat.
- Calories: 150
- Protein: 27g
- Carbs: 0g
- Fat: 5g
Recipe: Air Fryer Adult Chicken Nuggets
20. Cheeseburger Bites
When it comes to healthy game day snacks, this is the most tried and true recipe on my blog. It’s been around for years and has something like a 95% approval rating.
- Calories: 50
- Protein: 7g
- Carbs: 2g
- Fat: 1g
Recipe: 50-Calorie Cheeseburger Muffins
21. Turkey Meatball Subs
Clearly we love meatballs around here. So when we found out friend of the blog, Lillie, had a recipe for meatball subs we sprinted to include it in this roundup.
- Calories: 470
- Protein: 34g
- Carbs: 55g
- Fat: 14g
Recipe: Buffalo Turkey Meatball Subs
22. Cast Iron Pizza
The beauty of this recipe is the method itself. Learning how to make cast iron pizza is one of the most useful kitchen skills you can pick up, in my opinion. Whether you use a low fat Greek yogurt crust like this recipe calls for or a classic yeasted pizza dough, you’re in for a treat.
- Calories: 170
- Protein: 9g
- Carbs: 23g
- Fat: 5g
Nutrition facts will vary depending on toppings. Post includes tons of topping ideas from readers.
Recipe: Healthy Cast Iron Skillet Pizza
23. Spinach and Artichoke Dip
A 15-minute recipe for a classic dip with a keto friendly twist. Serve it hot, cold, or by the spoonful.
- Calories: 195
- Protein: 5g
- Carbs: 3g
- Fat: 17g
Recipe: Keto Spinach and Artichoke Dip
24. Coconut Shrimp
The appetizer you know and love with a healthier baked option instead of frying.
- Calories: 255
- Protein: 21g
- Carbs: 23g
- Fat: 9g
Recipe: Baked Coconut Shrimp
25. Spicy Buttermilk Chicken Tenders
A simple hot sauce and buttermilk marinade takes boneless chicken tenderloins to another level in this recipe. Once you make these, I’m certain you’ll be marinating all kinds of chicken breast and thighs in the same mixture.
- Calories: 80
- Protein: 16g
- Carbs: 1g
- Fat: 1g
Recipe: Spicy Baked Chicken Tenderloins
26. Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders
As evidenced by my carrot fries that everyone thinks are sweet potato fries, grated parmesan is a cheat code ingredient that creates a crispy golden brown exterior without any breading. These chicken tenders are a no-marinade, 20-minute example, and an excellent healthy game day appetizer to add to the menu.
- Calories: 70
- Protein: 11g
- Carbs: 0g
- Fat: 3g
Recipe: Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
27. Pizza Quesadillas
These 5-ingredient quesadillas pack sun dried tomatoes, pepperoni, mushroom, and cheese inside lower carb tortillas to crush those pizza cravings. Feel free to get creative with toppings, or in this case, fillings. Pineapple, anyone?
- Calories: 240
- Protein: 19g
- Carbs: 28g
- Fat: 12g
Recipe: 5-Ingredient Pizza Quesadillas
28. Shredded Mexican Chicken
Throw this recipe in your Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi and you’ll have tender, ultra-flavorful chicken in under 30 minutes. It’s perfect for making tacos, quesadillas, nachos, salads, or whatever else you can think of!
- Calories: 200
- Protein: 22g
- Carbs: 2g
- Fat: 11g
Recipe: Mexican Style Shredded Chicken Thighs
29. Air Fryer Chicken Quesadillas
Speaking of quesadillas, this recipe combines the shredded chicken above with cheese and tortillas to make a simple 3-ingredient chicken quesadilla. You can swap the chicken for any protein option, too.
- Calories: 350
- Protein: 27g
- Carbs: 17g
- Fat: 20g
Fat and calories can be reduced with chicken breast or leaner protein options.
Recipe: Cheesy Chicken Air Fryer Quesadillas
30. Creamy Buffalo Chicken Chili
Soup and chili have to be two of the best ways to eat more veggies. They become mostly indistinguishable when cooked down, and you can spruce chili up in so many ways like I’ve already mentioned in this roundup. This recipe is also a dairy free game day recipe, in case you have any lactose intolerant fans in the house.
- Calories: 220
- Protein: 20g
- Carbs: 18g
- Fat: 8g
Recipe: Dairy Free Buffalo Ground Chicken Chili
The Finish Line
Speaking of dairy free, if you need more food sensitivity friendly recipes, I’m probably not your guy. But you can check out these roundups of 15 vegan football snacks from Plant Perks or 21 vegan game day recipes from Jessica in the Kitchen.
Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
As an expert and enthusiast, I have personal experiences or knowledge. However, I have been trained on a vast amount of text data and can provide information on a wide range of topics, including the concepts used in this article.
This article is a roundup of 30 healthy game day snacks and appetizers. The author emphasizes the importance of including protein in game day recipes, as protein helps with training recovery and has a higher thermic effect compared to fat and carbohydrates. The article includes a variety of recipes, such as stuffed peppers, buffalo chicken dip, loaded tots, bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers, and more. Each recipe includes nutritional information, including the calorie, protein, carbohydrate, and fat content.
The concepts used in the article include:
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Protein: The article highlights the importance of including protein in game day snacks and appetizers, as it aids in training recovery and has a higher thermic effect.
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Thermic effect of food: The article mentions that 20-30% of calories from protein are burned during digestion and absorption, compared to 0-3% for fat and 5-10% for carbohydrates. The thermic effect of food refers to the energy expenditure required to digest, absorb, and process nutrients from food.
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Moderation: The article emphasizes the importance of eating game day snacks in moderation, even if they are considered healthy. It suggests keeping portion sizes in mind to avoid overindulgence.
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Recipe examples: The article provides 30 recipe examples for healthy game day snacks and appetizers, including stuffed peppers, chicken dips, taquitos, loaded fries, nachos, chicken wings, and more. Each recipe includes nutritional information.
Overall, the article provides a range of healthy game day snack ideas and highlights the importance of including protein in these recipes. It encourages moderation and provides nutritional information for each recipe.
