It’s the Big Game! Or it’s the play-offs for the Big Game. Or it’s a Little Game. As long as it’s a game, it’s time for snacks. Fried snacks, snacks for dipping, crispy snacks, salty snacks—and drinks, of course. But don’t just grab the first bag of potato chips you see—and don’t try to make wings from scratch. Here’s the Sporked guide to Game Day eats, whether you’re watching that football game or hunkering down for a five-day cricket championship.
Ultimate Game Day Eats
The Best Canned Chili for Game Day
Yes, you could make chili for all your friends to prove you love them, OR you could buy very good canned chili and prove you love them by hanging out and watching football with them instead. Your choice!
The Only Queso You Need for Game Day
We have a whole entire ranking of great queso (see the Dips section below), but there’s really only one that’s perfectly suited to a Game Day crowd.
The Best Wings for a Game Day Party
Before you order wings from your favorite sports bar or pizza place, consider buying frozen Buffalo wings—these wings in particular.
Store-Specific Hauls
What to Buy for Game Day at Trader Joe’s
From frozen snacky stuff to incredible dips, here’s what you should pick up at TJ’s if you’re hosting company for the Big Game.
What to Buy from Game Day from Aldi
There’s no better place to shop for game day than Aldi—especially if you want to save some coin. Here are some essentials we love.
Frozen Essentials
Why bother dealing with the mess that is deep-frying wings when you can buy the best frozen wings at your grocery store? Whether you want to season them yourself or are looking for pre-sauced selections, we’ve got you covered.
We tasted through the best frozen pizza brands and these were the best pies, no matter your favorite style.
Soft pretzels dunked in queso (see below for recommendations on that!) are Game Day snack royalty.
We tried everything from corn-wrapped chicken to flour-wrapped beef to find the best-tasting taquitos on the market.
Warm up some jarred marinara and throw the best frozen mozz sticks in the airfryer. You’re practically running your own gastropub.
Wing Accompaniments
We tasted as many buffalo sauces as we could get our hands on so all you have to decide is whether you want a drum or a flat.
Not a buffalo fan? Here’s the best of every other type of wing sauce.
Spicy wings need cooling blue cheese dressing, and these are the best ones out there.
We ate big spoonfuls of salad dressing to find out which ranch is the ranchiest ranch on the market.
Dips
Spinach dip is a top-five appetizer. Here are the best spinach dips to buy.
Onion expert Jordan Myrick tried every French onion dip they could find at the grocery store to see which ones were chip worthy.
Every Game Day party needs a jar of queso and a big bowl of chips.
Don’t forget the bean dip! Whether you’re making a seven-layer dip or just filling out your spread, these bean dips are tried and verified.
Don’t hurt yourself making guacamole. You can buy great pre-made guac at the grocery store.
Sure, you could have just bean dip or just guac—but why not go nuts with both (plus five other ingredients).
Whether you like it spicy or mild, we have a salsa rec for you.
Jordan tried a whole slew of dips to see which truly set their mouth on fire.
These are the absolute best store-bought buffalo chicken dips.
Crunchy Snacks
Tortilla chips are the unsung heroes of the chip world—and they’re absolute staples in a Game Day spread.
We’ve tried a lot of potato chips for a variety of rankings, and these are the best potato chips to eat by the bagful.
If there’s beer at your party, then you also need to have pretzels. It’s the law.
Vegan Dupes
We tried every single vegan buffalo wing we could find, and these are the meatless buffalo wings you should be buying.
Vegans shouldn’t give up on their search for a delicious, cheesy-but-cheese-less queso. We found three we genuinely recommend.
Vegan frozen pizza has come a long way. Satisfy your plant-based guests with these picks.
Drinks
We tried many, many, many cans (over 60) and these are the best seven to buy—both single flavors and mixed cases.
This is the definitive (for now) ranking of the best IPA beers you can buy at the supermarket.
We sat down to find the best-tasting non-alcoholic beer out there and these beers made the cut.
Rejoice! For a few breweries have figured out how to make perfectly delicious gluten-free and reduced-gluten brews.
Want to buy the best tasting light beer for reals? We did the work.
The best hard apple cider is more than just a stand-in for beer for people who think beer is too bitter. Here are our top picks.
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