Our Favorite Hot Super Bowl Apps: Bubbling Dips, Crispy Wings, and Maximum Cheese

Because the real competition isn’t on the field—it’s around the snack table.

By
Emily Johnson
Emily Johnson
Emily Johnson
Emily has worked as a food writer and editor for ten years, across publications such as Lucky Peach, Epicurious, Bon Appétit, and The New York Times Cooking.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Published January 22, 2026
A closeup of a hand holding a scoop of baked dip with melted cheese from a dish

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

I view Super Bowl Sunday as a competitive sporting event only insofar as cooking and eating appetizers can be considered a competitive sport. And boy, can they be. I'm elbowing people out of my way in pursuit of creamy corn dip. I'm dead set on bringing the best wings and artichoke dip my friends have ever tasted—and making fellow party guests jealous along the way. I'm fully kidding, except for the part where I think the excuse to eat so many cheesy, gooey, bubbly things is the best part of Super Bowl Sunday. Below, find some of our favorite appetizers and cheesy dips—so you can, forgive me, "win the party." 

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  • Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip

    spinach-artichoke dip headnote 2

    Serious Eats/Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Spinach and Artichoke is maybe the GOAT of hot, cheesy dips—and this version from senior culinary editor Leah Colins is the greatest of the great, striking a balance between a creamy base, swirls of spinach, and a bit of artichoke in every bite. A blend of cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream ensures the dip is tangy as well as rich. You can also boost its complex cheese flavor by adding cheddar or Monterey Jack alongside the usual umami-rich Parmesan.

  • Easy, Cheesy Pull-Apart Garlic Knots

    pullinh cheese garlic knot from cast iron pan and small dish of garlic butter on a black and white checkered fabric. 2 green plates and red napkin to the sides.

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    These cheesy garlic knots are sure to rival those from your local pizza parlor. For ease, we recommend reaching for store-bought dough. Tying the dough into knots creates lots of nooks and crannies for the garlic-butter mixture to cling to, and using a cast-iron skillet will give you crispy-bottomed knots with an airy, light interior crumb.

  • Spicy Maryland Crab Dip

    A closeup of a hand holding a scoop of baked dip with melted cheese from a dish

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This recipe conjures the flavors of crab picked apart on the Eastern shores of America, coated in salty, peppery Old Bay and dunked in butter. But it requires zero shelling, as the recipe calls for lump crab meat. Instead, you can participate in a different kind of digging: dunking a chip into a mixture of crab, cream cheese, mayo, and pools of melted cheddar.

  • The Best Oven-Fried Chicken Wings

    Oven-fried buffalo wings on a white rectangular plate with celery sticks and a glass cup of bleu cheese dressing.

    Serious Eats / Mariel De La Cruz

    Depending on your preferred wing texture, oven-baked wings may even be better than the deep-fried variety. For die-hard fry fans who don't want to deal with a mess on game day, though, this method from former Serious Eats editor Kenji delivers the thin-skinned crispiness you expect—without the splattered oil. The secret is an overnight air-dry, a baking powder coating, and high-temperature roasting.

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  • Creamy Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

    Vegetarian stuffed mushrooms on a blue and white platter, on top of a blue and white dyed surface. Serving plated and napkins to the side.

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Mushrooms seem almost designed by nature to be stuffed with gooey fillings and transformed into perfect bite-size appetizers. The best versions of this classic cocktail snack have creamy centers, crisp toppings, and jammy-textured exteriors that are browned, not soggy—and that's exactly what this one delivers. Use mushrooms that are at least 1 1/2-inches in diameter, so they're still bite-size but big enough to hold a decent amount of filling.

  • Warm Butternut Squash and Cheddar Dip Recipe

    20151119-warm-butternut-squash-cheddar-dip-top-morgan-eisenberg.jpg
    Morgan Eisenberg

    Here, Serious Eats contributor Morgan Eisenberg takes the memory of a not-so-beloved butternut squash casserole and turns it into an unapologetically delicious cheesy and creamy winter dip. The addition of caramelized onions highlights the sweetness and nuttiness of the butternut squash; cream cheese and sour cream provide richness; and a hint of sage adds a touch of herbaceousness.

  • Buffalo Chicken and Cheese Paratha

    Side view of buffalo chicken and cheese partha

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    These parathas are a marriage between the buttery, cheese-filled flatbread Serious Eats contributor Namrata Hegde grew up eating as a rare treat in Bengaluru, India, and the warm buffalo chicken dip that's so beloved in the US. They're spicy and zingy, thanks to Frank's hot sauce, and delightfully cheesy.

  • Creamy Corn Dip

    Overhead view of corn dip

    Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

    Instead of the cream-and-mayo combo you might find in other corn dips, this one uses a hefty amount of briny feta combined with cream cheese and half-and-half for richness. Red onions add zing, while the corn brings sweetness and crunch. A final sprinkle of mint bumps up the fresh flavors.

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  • Pizza Toast

    Slices of pizza toast arranged on a tray with cups of tea

    Serious Eats / Melati Citrawireja

    Like hambagu and omurice, this dish is a yoshoku (Western-Japanese) food that has become deeply embedded within Japanese culture and often found at retro cafés known as kissaten. It's common for the toast to be topped with a ketchup-based sauce, as in this recipe, because it offers concentrated tomato flavor and sweetness without adding extra moisture. Dried oregano, basil, and garlic give the sauce a flavor reminiscent of Italian-American pizza sauce. From there, you can layer on your favorite toppings—this version includes mushrooms and ham—plus a generous handful of melty mozzarella.

  • Fully Loaded Vegan Queso

    20150228-vegan-loaded-queso-dip7.jpg
    J. Kenji López-Alt

    There aresome great vegan queso products on the market now, but why not go to Super Bowl lengths for your vegan friends (or yourself) and make an excellent dip from scratch? This version is made with cashews, potatoes, diced canned tomatoes, and pan-fried vegan chorizo.

  • Baked Zucchini Fries With Herby Feta Dip

    Baked Zucchini fries on a white dish, with a bowl of dip on the side. The table has green printed table cloth and two glasses of water.

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    This recipe might even win over zucchini skeptics. Slicing the zucchini into thin, fry-like matchsticks and removing the watery inner seed area ensures they won't become soggy. A coating of Parmesan and panko, mixed with oil for extra crispness, adds umami and gives them a craggly, crispy texture. If that still hasn't convinced you, consider these a vehicle for an excellent feta dipping sauce.

  • Beer Cheese

    A round ceramic plate holding two Bavarian-style pretzels and a small bowl of beer cheese. Part of one pretzel is being dipped into the beer cheese by a hand.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    The best beer cheeses don't use beer just for volume—they use it to add nutty, malty complexity. Choose a full-flavored brown ale to really let that character shine through. Dijon, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce deepen the cheese's savory notes and add a welcome kick. If you wan tto be a truly ambitious Super Bowl host, you can even make your own pretzels for dipping.

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  • Crispy and Gooey Baked Jalapeño Poppers Recipe

    Finished jalapeno poppers on a plastic tray with a funky background and red dipping sauce

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

    This recipe delivers all the crispiness and gooeyness of a classic jalapeño popper—minus the deep-frying. A thick cheese sauce fills the center, while a mix of panko and cornflakes adds instant crunch and a touch of sweetness to balance the heat. Briefly freezing poppers before you bake them tenderizes them and results in a juicy final bite.

  • French Onion Soup Cheese Dip

    20140121-280747-french-onion-soup-cheese-dip.jpg
    Joshua Bousel

    This dip is essentially a thicker French onion soup—but if you find it too thick, you can thin it with a splash of evaporated milk. For a deeply flavored dip, mix caramelized onions with nutty Gruyère, Swiss cheese, and a glug of Worcestershire sauce.

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