10 Ways to Amp Up Your Football Snacks with Pepperoni
Come game day, pepperoni is the ultimate team player. The Italian-American salami is slightly smoky, just spicy enough, and can contribute a little savory-salty punch to make pretty much any savory appetizer trophy-worthy. These pepperoni snacks are delicious proof. So instead of store-bought ranch or frozen pizza, tag in these pepperoni dip recipes, pepperoni bread recipes, and beyond to make your football spread one for the record books. Grab a package or two of mini or regular pepperoni, such as Hormel Pepperoni Slices ($4, Target), on your next grocery run so you're stocked and ready to show off your snack game.
Pizza Dip
A handful of refrigerator pantry staples makes it possible to add this pepperoni dip recipe to your spread—no special supermarket trip required. Top a creamy base with an Italian-seasoned tomato sauce, then sprinkle on the cheese. Crown the easy hot dip with your top-rated pizza toppings—including mini pepperonis, of course—and bake until bubbly.
Pizza Monkey Bread
Monkey bread isn’t just for brunch. In fact, our entire staff goes bananas for this savory twist on the pull-apart bread that calls for taking an assist from a few store-bought items like canned biscuits and jarred marinara or pizza sauce. Be sure to stock up on extra sauce or add a side of ranch so everyone can make a winning pass through one or the other with each piece of this pepperoni bread recipe.
Pepperoni Pizza Cups
During stressful moments of game-day play, some of our family members (OK, us; we’re talking about us) cannot be trusted around a whole baked pizza. That’s where this pepperoni snack comes up clutch. With the same elements of dough, sauce, oregano, cheese, and pepperoni in a portion-controlled muffin tin-size package, it’s much simpler to stick to one.
Buy It: Trudeau Structure Muffin Pan ($17, Bed Bath & Beyond)
Pizza Quesadilla
Craving Italian and Mexican fare at the same time? The correct play is this mash-up pizza-inspired recipe. It’s served in a south-of-the-border-inspired format, but features the Italian pepperoni recipe flavors you know and love, including marinara sauce, olives, pepperoni, and cheese.
Gluten-Free Mini Pizzas with Spaghetti Squash Crusts
Even the gluten-free and low-carb fans in the crowd can get in on the action with this pepperoni recipe. Instead of flour, the crust is constructed with a basil-spiked mixture of spaghetti squash and egg. Make them mini and ask each diner to top their single-serving pie with sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and their pick of veggies.
Pepperoni-Olive Grilled Cheese
This dressed-up grilled cheese sandwich is a brilliant way to keep everyone well-fueled all game long. Since the pepperoni recipe takes just 20 minutes per batch, you can slice them small (we recommend in quarters) for easy-to-carry bites and refill the platter as needed. Pro tip: Because some eaters might throw a penalty flag on the concept of olives here, make half with and half without.
Buy It: Cuisinart Griddler ($120, Target)
Olive-Pepperoni Kabobs
Yes, there are pizza-ish recipes that can please the low-carb, high-fat keto diet crowd! Instead of on a crust, this pepperoni and cheese keto snack comes served on a stick. Actually, a sprig—a sprig of rosemary. We recommend pairing the pitted Kalamata olives and pepperoni pieces with provolone cheese, but pretty much any medium to firm style of cheese would work great.
Quinoa Pizza Bites
Sneak in some whole grains and a hint of extra protein by making these easy, cheesy bites with cooked quinoa as the base. You need only five other ingredients to whip these up, and if you opt for a mini muffin tin as the vessel, they can be on the table in 30 minutes. To make them a cinch to eat, poke each with a skewer or sturdy toothpick and make this a hearty yet healthy pepperoni snack stick recipe.
Pizza Cheese Bombs
That pizza slicer is no longer just for cutting a pizza into slices. For this pepperoni bread recipe, we suggest using it to quickly and easily slice the dough into 24 even pieces. Take each of those dough balls, fill it with cheese and pepperoni, and press to seal. Coat in Parm and bake to golden perfection for an itty-bitty calzone that will be a definite competitor to win the “best game-day snack” award.
Buy It: KitchenAid PizzaWheel ($10, Target)
Pizza Lettuce Wraps
The gridiron action is probably hot and stressful enough, so keep your cool with this no-cook pepperoni roll recipe. Slice up tomatoes, pepperoni, basil, and oregano, and toss with shredded mozzarella and white beans. Serve with fresh Bibb lettuce leaves, and everyone can assemble their own healthy lettuce wrap that’s packed with 12 grams of filling protein.
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