Your ultimate game day recipe roundup

30 recipes from wings to vegan nachos to Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip — plus the tips to help any host with their cooking game too.

30 recipes from wings to vegan nachos to Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip

Jessica Brooks · CBC Life · Posted: Jan 31, 2019 2:38 PM EST | Last Updated: January 31, 2019

Whether you're a true-blue sports fan or one who cheers along when, well, things finally get good (we're not here to judge), hosting a game day gathering is great fun and a great tradition to start if you haven't already. There's no better time to begin than now, with things set to heat up in stadiums, rinks, courts and fields across the country.

Key to enjoying the fun with your party of two or twenty? Game day food! So we've rounded up our top recipe picks for game night. Classic and comfort food made for sharing, and lightened up versions too. Scale them up or down according to your group size — and be strategic about your cooking game too...

Here are our game day tips:

For bigger gatherings, we suggest you centre your menu around a one-pot dish that can be made ahead. Chili and stews are great options. If your guests ask what to bring, suggest drinks, dessert or sliced raw vegetables and dip; they're easy tasks to hand off, leaving you free to tackle the big stuff.

Freeze most everything. Do a little research and you'll be surprised at how much of your menu can be made even further ahead. Pizza, bean dips and cheesy casseroles can be easily reheated straight from frozen. Get them out of the way and into your ice box to make room for the beverages.

Serve store-bought tortillas or potato chips hot by warming them first in the oven. It's an easy technique for adding restaurant-quality flair without more work for yourself.

Make everything finger-friendly and conducive to a gathering without tables etc. Cut food you'd normally serve whole, like grilled cheese or pizza, into bite-sized versions after they're assembled. Transfer two-bite servings of lasagna into ruffly muffin tin liners before baking, remove before serving and dare your guests to guess your strategy.

With these simplifying tips in mind, let's get to the recipes. We've got small bites, heartier stuff, vegan options and special diet-friendly choices you can portion down and share. Here are all the game night (or day!) food ideas you'll need to win a crowd.

Oven Baked Ribs with Spicy Cornbread Biscuits