22 healthy snacks you can make on gameday

We can’t serve a smorgasbord of apps and snacks without including fried pickles. Instead of deep-frying them in oodles of oil, cook them in your air fryer. The only oil in this recipe from Spend With Pennies is a bit of cooking spray. 

Beef jerky is generally made with lean cuts of meat, so it’s low in calories but high in protein. When buying beef jerky, avoid super-processed varieties that are high in sodium, sugar, and/or nitrates. Or you could make your own at home with your oven and this recipe from Once Upon a Chef.

Buffalo wings are a gameday staple, but not a very healthy option. Use cauliflower instead of chicken, as well as this recipe from Momsdish that’s made in the air fryer, and you’ll save some calories while adding some antioxidants with no excess oils. If you want a skinnier version of blue cheese for dipping, look for a yogurt-based variety.

Regular deep-fried french fries are unhealthy, but baked butternut squash fries are a simple, delicious way to get some squash in your diet. (Squash is high in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium.) According to Food.com, all you need is butternut squash, salt, and cooking spray.

Caprese salad skewers are simple, satisfying, and slimming sources of sustenance that make for a solid Super Bowl snack. You can probably figure them out yourself—all you need are grape tomatoes, mozzarella balls, basil leaves, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar—but just in case you need guidance, Taste of Home has your back.

Speaking of substituting cauliflower for things, why not lean into this current craze and create some crust using this healthy, versatile veggie? This recipe from Wholesome Yum requires only three ingredients to make a crust that’s so crispy you can easily pick up the pizza slices—which is great because you’ll want to cut it into snackable sizes.

When chicken gets fried, added to other things, or otherwise altered, it picks up calories and fat on the drive to the endzone. Instead, keep things simple and cut up the chicken into snack-sized pieces and toss it on the grill. Of course, you’ll still need a little marinade: this version from Healthy Recipes Blog calls for just olive oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, and pepper.

Cheese curds are a big part of life for fans in Packers and Vikings territory, but the deep-fried version doesn’t fit the healthy bill. Instead, opt for cottage cheese, which is low in calories and high in protein, calcium, and B vitamins. It doesn’t have to be plain, as you can add some razzle-dazzle with a recipe like this savory cottage cheese recipe from Skinnytaste made with cucumbers, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

Not just for fans of the team from Dallas, cowboy caviar is sort of like a Tex-Mex pico de gallo. This version from The Pound Dropper combines black-eyed peas, black & pinto beans, tomatoes, corn, a mix of bell peppers, jalapenos, red onion, and cilantro with a dressing made of fresh lime juice, vinegar, chili powder, and cumin. Eat it with tortilla chips, or just a fork!

De-shelling and eating snacks is a spectator tradition—think peanuts and sunflower seeds—so why not add an even healthier option with edamame? Peanuts are an excellent source of protein, and sunflower seeds contain a surprising amount of vitamins and minerals, but edamame is the whole package: low in calories and high in protein, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants…and they’re the most fun (and tastiest, in our opinion) of the trio. Umami Girl can show you how to make a five-minute, four-ingredient, chili-salted version.

A salad isn’t much of a snack (it’s more of a side or meal), but a fruit salad is because it’s basically just a bunch of cut-up fruit. You probably don’t need a recipe for this one, as it’s really just about putting together your favorite team of fruits—like pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, grapes, and mango.

Ah, the avocado. Purveyor of fiber and nutrients. Master of antioxidants. Offerer of omega-3s. And it’s easy to serve, whether sliced or mashed. Guacamole can go atop nachos, be tossed in a salad, or served as a simple yet satisfying dip alongside tortilla chips. Buy it pre-made, or make it at home with this recipe from Love and Lemons.

Deviled eggs are decently healthy, but almost every recipe calls for mayo. Skip the extra ingredients and extra steps, and instead opt for classic hard-boiled eggs. Don’t know how? Simply Recipes can give you the play-by-play.

Chickpeas, a.k.a garbanzo beans, are chock-full of protein, fiber, manganese, copper, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, and numerous other vitamins and nutrients—which means you can get all these benefits from hummus. Plus, this Middle Eastern dish is a tasty, crowd-pleasing dip for crackers, chips, bread, and veggies. Cookie and Kate can show you how to make it at home.

Potato chips—even the baked varieties—aren’t healthy, but they’re game-day regulars. The same goes for tortilla chips. But what if the chips were made out of healthy food…or even a superfood?! Enter kale chips, which sound sort of weird at first, but they totally work. Try this “no-fail” sea salt and garlic version from The Busy Baker, which requires only 2 tsp of olive oil.

Popcorn is a great snack because even if you end up mindlessly eating it while watching the big game, you won’t have consumed too many calories. Three cups of popped popcorn (not including any added butter or oil) only have about 90 calories, 2 mg of sodium, and 1 gram of fat, but boasts 3 grams of both fiber and protein.

If hummus isn’t your thing, keep the chickpeas whole and roast them until crunchy. This recipe from Vegan Heaven calls for just five ingredients: chickpeas, olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt. (Or make them in your air fryer to use even less oil!)

Nothing to change here; a shrimp cocktail is actually one of the healthier options you might find as part of a typical gameday spread. Since they’re not fried or deep-fried, each shrimp only has about 8 calories or 14 calories for linebacker-sized jumbo shrimp. Add just a few calories more for each dip or dab of cocktail sauce, and you’re still in the healthy zone—especially with the benefit of about 1 gram of protein per shrimp!

Tzatziki is relatively diet-friendly already, but this recipe from Skinnytaste eliminates the oil to make an even healthier dip. Spread it on fresh-baked bread, or pair it with an assortment of veggies.

These stuffed mini peppers from Fifteen Spatulas contain two types of melty cheese, so they’re not as healthy as some other entries in this list—but when you think of them as an alternative to potato skins, they’re a big improvement. The cheeses used are parmesan and goat, and aside from that, the only other ingredients are garlic, jalapenos, pepper, and a bit of olive oil. As for the peppers themselves, they are rich in vitamin C, capsaicin, and other nutrients.

Instead of serving bulky, filling wraps, you can snack-ify this dish by slicing it up. The trick to holding together the layers of turkey, cheese, lettuce, and tomato wrapped in a soft tortilla? Adding a layer of cream cheese, according to Culinary Hill.

Sliced raw veggies always try to sneak their way into Super Bowl spreads. (Sometimes, orders of wings even come with carrots and celery!) And why not? If you’re going to be endlessly snacking, you might as well graze on peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, or other healthy veggies. If you need some dip to make it more palatable: make that play call.