Easy Tailgate Recipes

Are you ready for some football!? Y’all, it is indeed football season and you know what that means…Sunday afternoons are spent with friends and family, eating and celebrating the big game! ‘Tis the season to try the new snack recipes so tummies are left full and satisfied to cheer your team on to victory! Today, we’re talkin’ chips, dips, and everything in-between!

When it comes to tailgating, the go-to recipes can be loaded with unnecessary fats, sugars, and mystery sauces…yuck! That is no fun at all! Are we right?! Today we are sharing our favorite healthier tailgate recipes that you can serve on game day Sunday or any day! Ready? Set. Hike!

Skinny Taco Dip:

Did y’all hear that? We said taco dip! This dish will surely be a hit with your guests. Taco dips have so many layers and so many flavors too! Salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, shredded cheese…it goes on and on-YUM! What’s not to love? The key to this recipe is swapping in lower fat ingredients. You won’t feel guilty about going in for seconds because it’s made on the skinny side. Get ready for this big scoop y’all!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz 1/3 less fat Philadelphia cream cheese
• 8 oz reduced fat sour cream
• 16 oz jar mild salsa
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning 
• 2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded fine
• 2 large tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
•  2.25 oz sliced black olives

 Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa and taco seasoning and mix well with an electric mixer.
2. Spread on the bottom of a large shallow glass dish.
3. Top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese and black olives.
4. Serve with baked tortilla chips.

 See the full recipe here! 

 Baked Tortilla Chips:

Now that we have the dip, we need some chips so we can dip! Sure, we can all go to the store and buy the 2 for $5 tortilla store bought chip sale.  Skip the long lines and this time, try baking your own tortilla chips!  That’s right! Baking them in the oven helps trims the fat, added salt, and calories too so you can load on the dip with every yummy scoop. Your guests may not even notice they are home made!  It will be our little secret…shhh!

Ingredients:

• 12 corn tortillas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with foil.
2. Using a pizza slicer, cut tortillas into 8 triangles by cutting in quarters then eighths; place in a bowl.
3. Drizzle olive oil and salt over tortilla triangles and mix well so all tortillas are evenly coated in oil and salt. 
4. Divide tortillas evenly between both baking sheets and spread out so that they are in an even layer. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until browned. 

 Thank you The Lemon Bowl.com for this deliciously satisfying recipe!

 

Cauliflower Wings:

Don’t you just loooove saucy wings? Chicken wings are a staple when tailgating, right y’all?! Wings always make our game day foods list. This recipe gives a new spin on wings! Cauliflower wings are a healthier alternative especially when you are indulging in an afternoon of munching. We just love the mighty cauliflower y’all and you will too with this skinny game day recipe! Here is how to make them!

 Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 2/3 cup of water
• 2/3 cup GF flour blend
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets
• 1/3 cup hot sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Heat avocado oil on med-high on stove-top, and saute garlic and onion for 3-4 minutes, until soft and translucent.
3. Remove from heat, and add to blender with 2/3 cup of water. Blend until mostly smooth.
4. Add GF flour, almond flour, tomato paste, paprika, and parsley to blender. Blend until it creates a batter that is thick and smooth.
5. Transfer into bowl with the cauliflower florets, and mix until cauliflower pieces are completely coated.
6. Place cauliflower pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, not touching each other.
7. Bake for 25 minutes, until the edges brown and crisp. (They will not get completely crispy while in the oven.)
8. Remove from oven, and let sit for 3-4 minutes to crisp up.
9. Drizzle with hot sauce and serve immediately.

 View the full  yummy recipe by Mallory Maddox here!

 

Skinny Pulled Pork with Cole Slaw:

This recipe had us at “pulled pork”. We gotta say that pork and cole slaw go hand n’ hand. Once a BBQ favorite, we loved it so much we started brinin’ it to our tailgate parties and the crowd went wild! Picture it Sweeties: One bite pork, the next bite slaw and chew- it’s always a win win! Here is the low down that will have your mouth watering!

 For the pork:

• 2 Tbsp garlic powder
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F
• In a small bowl, mix all the dry spices together
• Rub spices all over pork shoulder
• In a Dutch oven, sear each side of the pork shoulder with a little bit of olive oil.
• Cook in oven for 4 hours, covered
• Remove from oven and pour out half of the juices, add 2 cups of apple cider vinegar
• Place back in oven and cook for another 2 hours
• After 6 hours in the oven, the pork should be tender and should easily fall apart
• Shred and set aside to cool a bit
• Add more apple cider if desired

For the slaw:

• About 20 ounces of Red Cabbage, shredded
• About 10 ounces of Green Cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup yellow mustard
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Mix all slaw ingredients together until well combined

Thank you to Tara of Lace and Grace blog for creating and telling us about this yummy recipe!

Well y’all, who’s hungry? Remember to bring some Southern Breeze to your tailgate party with mason jars and ice! After all that cheering and chewing, you will certainly need to wet the whistle y’all! Our zero calorie delicious flavors will quench your thirst between every bite! It’s the guilt free sweet tea so always keep your glass full at all times! YES!

These dishes were created to please your tailgating guests and we think you will be making them game in and game out! If you are thinkin’ of retiring your go-to tailgate recipes, we are happy we have you covered and inspired to try a new dish! So bring on the chips, dip, wings, pulled pork, and slaw, we are ready for you! Tell us, which recipe will you try first? Come on, don’t be shy! Leave us a note in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you!