9 healthy Super Bowl snacks and appetizer recipe ideas to score big points at your watch party | Sporting News (2024)

Jump to recipes:

• Lean Protein Nachos
• Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
• Guilt-free Lemon Cheesecakes
• Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
• Sweet Potato Skins
• Air Fryer Homemade Potato Chips
• Black Bean Hummus
• Oven-fried Pickle Bites
• Dorito Protein Chicken Nuggets

Do you want to serve unique and healthy dishes that taste good for your Super Bowl party? We’ve got you covered.

Here are nine different appetizers and snacks to serve that you’ll have fun making and won’t feel bad eating. From a twist on classic potato skins to healthy versions of cheesecake and mozzarella sticks, you’ll be score a touchdown with these can't-miss eats.

And unless your kitchen is fully stocked, we also linked out to helpful cookware you may need to make each recipe.

Let the festivities begin as we guide you through a flavorful Super Bowl experience that promises both health and taste!

Healthy Super Bowl snacks and appetizer recipes

Lean Protein Nachos

Ingredients (Serves up to 12)

1. 1 Bag of Low Sodium Tortilla Chips
2. 1 LB Low Fat Shredded Taco or Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
3. 1 LB Ground Chicken or Turkey
4. ⅓ Packet Low Sodium Taco Seasoning
5. ⅓ Cup Mild or Medium Taco Sauce
6. Mild or Medium Restaurant-Style Salsa
7. Canned Low Sodium Black Beans
8. Olive Oil Spray
9. Fresh Cilantro

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 256 Calories, 11.8g Fat, 22.6g Carbohydrates, 14.9g Protein

Part 1: Chicken/Turkey

Spray a dutch oven with olive oil spray. Next, add your ground chicken or turkey, a little bit of taco sauce, and roughly ⅓ packet of low sodium taco seasoning. Turn on the burner somewhere between medium and high heat and turn it down as you notice the meat cooking through. Then use a wooden turner to smash the meat down until it is cooked through. Once it is cooked through, just let it rest in the pot.

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Part 2: Nachos

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cover a 20’ round pizza pan with aluminum foil. Dump out the whole bag of low sodium chips onto the pan. Next, use a curved metal spoon to somewhat evenly distribute the ground chicken or turkey around the chips. Then, evenly pour the 1 pound of cheese blend over the nachos. Next, drain a can of low sodium black beans with a small strainer and distribute those as well. Next, using a small paring knife on a small cutting board, chop up a very small amount of fresh cilantro and put it on top of the nachos. Next, take restaurant-style salsa and put it in small dollops circling the plate. Lastly, drizzle some taco sauce on top. Finally, cook them in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Then they are ready to go and easy to serve.

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Ingredients (serves up to 8 people)

1. 8 Cups of Cauliflower Florets
2. 4 Eggs
3. 2 Cups of Panko Breadcrumbs
4. Any Mild Dry Wing Seasoning
5. 2 Cups Your Favorite Buffalo Wing Sauce
6. Celery
7. Baby Carrots
8. Nonstick Spray

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 146 Calories, 3,6g Fat, 21.6g Carbohydrates, 6.5g Protein

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a large metal baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Next, create multiple stations to batter the cauliflower.

First, crack four eggs into a bowl. Second, pour the panko into a large bowl. Third, squeeze out a lot of whatever buffalo sauce you pick into another large bowl. For each floret, dip it in the eggs, then the panko, then the buffalo sauce. Make sure it is thoroughly coated in the sauce before putting onto the baking sheet. Repeat for each floret. When done coating the florets, spray with nonstick cooking spray before placing in the oven for 30-40 minutes depending on how crispy you want them.

Finally, take them out of the oven and serve them on a tray of your liking paired with baby carrots and celery sticks. You may even add your favorite wing dips as well.

Reduced Guilt Lemon Cheesecakes: Makes 8 Cheesecakes

Ingredients (makes 8 cheesecakes)

1. Keebler Mini Pie Crusts
2. ½ Cup Cream Cheese (light or regular)
3. ¾ Cup Greek Yogurt (Plain or Vanilla)
4. 1 Egg Yolk
5. 1 TSP Pineapple Juice
6. 1 Lemon, Juiced and Zest
7. ⅛ Cup of Granulated Sugar
8. Blueberries

Nutrition Facts Per Cheesecake: 194 Cal, 10.7g/Fat, 5g Protein, 19.5g Carbohydrates (This is with regular cream cheese)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. First open the mini pie crusts and set out eight of them.

Next in a large mixing bowl add the cream cheese, greek yogurt, egg yolk, pineapple juice, juiced lemon and lemon zest, and sugar. Then using a whisk or hand mixer, mix until no clumps remain.

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Using a scoop, add the mixture to each pie crust. Then, align the pie crusts on a large metal baking sheet. Bake them for 20-25 minutes. After they have baked, let them cool out of the oven for five minutes. Then, add 3-5 blueberries on top of each cake. Lastly, refrigerate them for one hour.

Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients (makes 12 cheese sticks)

1. 12 low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks
2. 2.5 cups of plain, panko, or italian bread crumbs
3. 1 TBSP of garlic parmesan seasoning
4. 3 Eggs
5. 1.25 Cups of flour
6. ¾ Cup Marinara Sauce

Nutrition Facts Per Cheese Stick: 130 Cal, 4.6 G/Fat, 8.4 G/Protein, 10.3 G/Carbs

Start by making three bowls: one with flour, one with eggs, and one with a mixture of bread crumbs and seasoning. Next dip a cheese stick in flour, fully coating it. Then coat it in egg until it is dripping with it. Then, coat it in the bread crumb and seasoning mixture fully. Then set it on a plate. Repeat this for all twelve cheese sticks. After you have coated them, freeze them for 30 minutes. I would recommend using food handling gloves for this step.

After they have frozen for thirty minutes, dip each one in egg and then breadcrumb mixture again until they are coated fully. This time, set them in air fryer liners on a plate to freeze.

As they are close to being done freezing, preheat your air fryer to 390 degrees. Cook them for 10-11 minutes or until they are crisp. As they are finishing in the air fryer, in a small saucepan heat up ¾ cup of marinara sauce. Then everything is hot and ready to serve.

Sweet Potato Skins

Ingredients (makes 8 skins)

1. 4 Small-Medium Sweet Potatoes
2. Olive Oil Spray
3. Salt and Pepper
4. ¾ Cup Shredded Cheddar (Regular or Low-Fat)
5. 4 Strips of Turkey Bacon
6. 2 TBSP Chopped Green Onions

Nutrition Facts Per ½ Skin: 100 Calories, 5g Fat, 8.1g Carbohydrates, 4.6g Protein

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Individually wrap each sweet potato in foil and let them cook for an hour or until very tender. Then, cut each potato in half and scoop out the inside. Next, wrap a large baking pan in foil and place the halved and hollow potatoes onto the pan. Spray the back of them with the olive oil spray and put salt and pepper on top of them. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until crispy. Then, cut the potatoes in half again and flip them over. Fill them about ¾ of the way with shredded cheddar and bake them for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

While the cheese is melting, cook the four strips of bacon in a nonstick fry pan. Then finely chop it into small pieces. Next, in a small or medium bowl mix the bacon with finely chopped green onion and top each of the eight skins with it.

Air Fryer Homemade Potato Chips

Ingredients (makes 4 servings):

1. Russet Potato
2. 1 TBSP Olive Oil
3. ¼ TSP Sea Salt
4. ¼ TSP Freshly Ground Black Pepper
5. 1 TSP Fresh Rosemary
6. Olive Oil Spray

(For large parties double or triple the recipe)

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 72 Calories, 3.4g Fat, 9.7g Carbohydrates, 1.2g Protein

Using a mandoline or very precise knife such as a santoku knife, slice the potato very thinly. Fill a large bowl with cold water and let the potatoes soak for 20 minutes. Then drain them with a strainer and pat them dry with a paper towel. Next, in a bowl add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary and lightly mix it together. Then add the potatoes and toss them around it until they are fully coated.

Spray an air fryer liner with Olive oil spray and move the potato slices into that. Set the air fryer to 375 and cook them for 30 to 35 minutes. If you like, you may also add additional rosemary to serve the chips when they are done.

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Black Bean Hummus

Ingredients (Serves up to 6 people)

1. Canned Black Beans
2. 1 Chopped Garlic Clove
3. 2 TBSP Tahini
4. 1.5 TBSP Lime Juice
5. 1 TSP Lemon Juice
6. 1 Lime
7. ½ TSP Kosher Salt
8. ½ TSP Cumin
9. ½ TSP Coriander
10. 2 TBSP Water
11. 2 TBSP Salsa Macha

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 85 Calories, 6.5g Fat, 5.7g Carbohydrates, 2.1g Protein

Start by rinsing and draining the black beans. Then add the beans, juices, tahini, seasoning, and water to a food processor. Run the food processor until everything is combined and smooth. Transfer this to a bowl and add 2 TBSP of Salsa Macha to the top as well as lime slices to garnish. Serve with your favorite baked pita or tortilla chips.

Oven-Fried Pickle Bites

Ingredients (Serves up to 6 people)

1. ½ Cup Flour
2. 2-3 Eggs
3. 1 Cup Plain, Whole Wheat, or Panko Breadcrumbs
4. 1 TSP Seasoning of Choice (ie Dill, Season Salt)
5. 1 Jar of Dill Pickle Chips (Can be reduced sodium or regular)
6. Olive Oil Spray or Cooking Spray

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories: 107, 2.3g Fat, 16.6g Carbohydrates, 4.2g Protein

Start by covering a baking sheet in foil and preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Then make four bowls. One should have the pickle slices patted dry, another with flour, another with eggs, and the final one with a mix of breadcrumbs and seasoning. Then spray the baking sheet with olive oil spray or cooking spray. Coat each pickle in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Place the pickle on the baking sheet. Repeat this process for each pickle. Once all of them are on the baking sheet, top them with spray again. Bake them for 10-12 minutes or until crispy and brown. Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

Mini Pepperoni Flatbreads:

Ingredients (Makes 12 flatbreads)

1. 12 Stonefire Mini Naan Rounds
2. 1-2 Jars of Traditional Pizza Sauce
3. 2-3 Cups low Fat Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
4. 48 Slices of Turkey Pepperoni
5. Oregano

Nutrition Facts Per Mini Flatbread: 214 Calories, 7.6g Fat, 24g Carbohydrates, 12.9g Protein

Start by coating a large baking sheet with foil and preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Then using a soup spoon, spread pizza sauce onto each small naan round. Add four slices of Turkey pepperoni to each round. Then, add up to ¼ cup of low fat mozzarella onto the flatbread. Sprinkle Oregano on top of each one. Bake them in the oven for 7-9 minutes or until the cheese is melted and flats appear crisp.

Air Fryer “Dorito” Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients (makes 12 chicken nuggets)

1. 1 LB Ground Chicken
2. 3 Eggs
3. 3 Bags of Quest Nacho Cheese Chips
4. Olive Oil Spray
5. 1 TSP seasoning of choice.

Nutrition Facts Per Chicken Nugget: 110 Calories, 6.1g Fat, 1.6g Carbohydrates, 12.2g Protein

Start by cracking three eggs into a bowl and beating them. Then, put on food handling gloves and crush three bags of Quest Nacho Cheese chips in a large bowl until they are in fine pieces. Add a teaspoon of any seasoning you see fit and mix it in with the chips. Open the chicken and form it into a small chicken nugget-esque shape, coat it in egg, and then into the chip and seasoning mixture. Repeat this until you are out of chicken. It makes up to 12 nuggets. Once they are in the air fryer, spray them with Olive Oil spray. Cook at 400 for 10-11 minutes a side. Serve with buffalo or barbecue sauce of choice.