10 Healthy Party Snacks Perfect for the Big Game

By Jess Novak

January 28, 2024

Image credit: Downshiftology

Maybe you really care about football, maybe the game barely registered for you before Taylor Swift got involved — no matter how you feel about the game, there will be snacks. If there’s a perfect moment to enjoy indulgent party foods like buffalo chicken wings and potato skins, a football game is it. Although you might not think of these iconic football snacks as healthy — and you’d be right — the truth is, there’s almost always a healthy way to make foods that taste just as good as the classic versions (sometimes better). Here are ten of our very favorite healthy party snack recipes, just in time for the Big Game.

1. Buffalo Chicken Dip

This buffalo chicken dip recipe only requires five ingredients, everyone loves it, and it’s actually a really healthy, protein-packed snack — so it’s a major winner in our book. If you want the dip a little thicker, strain the cottage cheese and Greek yogurt for a few minutes before mixing them into the rest of the ingredients. Serve with crudités like sliced celery, carrots, bell pepper, and sugar snap peas.

Try the recipe from The Clean Eating Couple.

2. Cauliflower Pizza

Cauliflower has transformed into everything from rice to mac and cheese. And with pizza at the top of the list of football-watching foods, game day is a great time to whip up a nutrient-dense cauli crust.

This cauliflower pizza crust is super delicious, of course, and it’s also easy to make, with just four ingredients: cauliflower, cheese, egg, and seasoning. Make a few and cover them with all of your favorite toppings.

Try the recipe from Downshiftology.

3. Healthier Baked Potato Skins

These potato skins are baked, not fried, and the topping ingredients are totally up to you. For a lighter version of this pretty decadent treat, sub out half the cheddar cheese for part-skim mozzarella and swap the sour cream for 2% Greek yogurt. You can also easily make this a plant-based treat by using a melty vegan cheese and opting for carrot bacon, or topping with some sautéed broccoli.

Try the recipe from Dinner at the Zoo.

4. Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach-artichoke dip always seemed like it should be really healthy (the name contains two vegetables!), but the traditional version is mostly just a lot of sour cream and cream cheese. Neither appear in this recipe at all, but the dip still tastes great. Serve it with classic crudités, but also think outside the box — roasted asparagus spears would be delicious in this, too, as would endive.

Try the recipe from The Clean Eating Couple.

5. Crispy Baked Chicken Wings

My baked chicken wings were always perfectly fine — then I discovered tossing them in baking powder, and now they’re out-of-this-world good. For a really tasty, Whole30-approved buffalo sauce to toss them in, check out this recipe. You can include a side of ranch dressing to go with them by simply mixing commercial ranch dressing powder into Greek yogurt.

Try the recipe from Kitchen Sanctuary.

6. Homemade Paleo Pigs in a Blanket

Is making your own dough more work than popping open a can of crescent rolls? It sure is. But if you’re adhering to a Paleo diet (or just trying to eat fewer refined grains), the almond flour-based dough used to wrap these paleo pigs in a blanket is totally worth the extra effort. These honestly taste great (it’s hard to tell they’re Paleo!). Be sure to use the healthiest hot dogs you can find. For dipping, consider this keto sugar-free ketchup recipe.

Try the recipe from What Great Grandma Ate.

7. Baked Sweet Potato Chips

If you have a mandoline, these sweet potato chips are phenomenally easy to make — just please, please remember to always use a cut-safe protective glove with it. (Seriously, please.) You can enjoy these chips on their own with a little sea salt and cracked black pepper, or use them as a base for healthy-ish nachos (just melt a little cheese on top, then add black beans, chopped tomato, and a sliced jalapeno).

Try the recipe from Delicious Meets Healthy.

8. Authentic Guacamole

We’ve seen plenty of interesting plays on guacamole, but the truth is, they’re not really necessary: This authentic guacamole recipe is perfectly healthy without any adjustments at all. (Sometimes throwing a bunch of chopped baby kale into a dish isn’t the answer, you know?) Consider serving it with crudités like sliced jicama and bell pepper slices, as well as sprouted grain chips — Way Better incorporates sprouted flax, quinoa, and chia seeds into their chips.

Try the recipe from My Latina Table.

9. Plant-Based Queso

This cashew queso is remarkably — almost suspiciously — creamy, given that this dish contains exactly zero dairy products. This recipe would be excellent with crudités and sprouted grain chips, but also consider serving it with heartier roasted vegetables like halved Brussels sprouts and roasted broccoli.

Try the recipe from Minimalist Baker.

10. Date-Sweetened Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Desserts are a must on game day, and these chocolate peanut butter cookies are a great, healthy choice. They don’t use any added sugar, just the natural sugars found in dates (which do contain a lot of natural sugar, to be fair), but these cookies are also packed with fiber-filled rolled oats, which means you can enjoy them without a crazy sugar spike.

Try the recipe from Okonomi Kitchen.