10 Super Bowl-Themed Snacks To Make, Based On Your Favorite Team

With the Super Bowl fast approaching, even those who might not regularly follow football still anticipate the frills of the sport's biggest day – celebrity-laden advertisements, the halftime show, and now, Taylor Swift's gameday ensemble. Like July 4th, Super Bowl Sunday relies on house parties, and potlucks, with snack foods surrounding buffet tables intended for all-day grazing while the television blares the action.

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This year, the Kansas City Chiefs return to the field to face off the Philadelphia Eagles in the neutral territory of New Orleans. And whether or not you'll be donning red and gold, or green and silver, announce your allegiance to either team by bringing along a themed dish tied to your favored team.

Based on region, team colors, players, and even a couple of in-jokes we've compiled a list of dishes you can cook up ahead of the big game, all of which point out which of the two teams you'll be rooting for. So soak up your cheap beer and potential sorrows with these ten team-motif refreshments so that no matter the Super Bowl's outcome, you'll walk away from Sunday feeling like a winner.

Philly cheesesteak

Somewhat of a no-brainer, build Philadelphia's most famous sandwich to ensure you remain fueled up for the big game. A nearly 100-year-old invention of Domenico Bucci, the sandwich consisting of roast beef and gooey melted cheese encased in a hoagie owes its roots to its Italian heritage. The sandwich as we know it today was born out of Philadelphia's working class.

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Simple, unpretentious, and admittedly messy, the Philly cheesesteak sandwich not only succeeds as a crowd pleaser but also makes for an ideal snack to root for the birds. For a party, try tracking down an exaggerated, long, hoagie meant for sub sandwiches and cutting the cheesy snack into slider-sized portions. Or, think even more outside the box and twist the trifecta of ingredients into another inventive dish like a Philly cheesesteak pizza, salad, nacho, wrap, or casserole for an easy-to-share quality the sandwich itself steers away from.

Scotch eggs

If you're not easily intimidated by a multi-stepped recipe, impress your fellow football fans by frying up a batch of scotch eggs – or for the sake of the big game, Eagle eggs. Essentially a boiled egg swaddled in sausage breading, the fist-size treat remains a staple of England's pub culture despite being somewhat of a rarity across the pond. 

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A perfect single-portioned snack, you can prepare your Eagle eggs at home away from the pressure of hungry bellies and cheering sports fans, and fry up the morsels once the play clock starts ticking. Like the Philly cheese steak, the classic simplicity of a Scotch egg leaves plenty of wiggle room for your creative license to flow if you'd like to veer away from the anticipated insides of the fried egg and riff with your own amendments to the recipe. Try breading them in panko for an extra crispy exterior, craft an Italian-style meatball for your egg casing, or even halve and devil the eggs for a hybrid twist.

Water ice

Another Italian derivative,  Philadelphia's water ice (like the Philly cheesesteak) owes its existence to the city's Italian American community. An interpretation of Italian ice, the Philadelphia-centric version asks for flavoring to intermingle before hardening into ice rather than Italy's method of churning during the freezing process or the mode widely known snow cone method of simply dousing shaved ice pellets with sweet syrup.

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 A treat rarely seen outside of its region, homemade water ice requires an ice cream maker if you'd like to churn up a batch or two for the Super Bowl festivities but other than the one equipment ask, recipes for the frozen treat call for little more than the dessert's three key ingredients: water, fruit, and sugar. Drive your support of the Eagles home by tinting your Super Bowl batch of water ice with the team's signature "midnight green" tone and flavor your water with imaginative patinas like lime basil, mint, and matcha, or draw out your inner mixologist and incorporate a little Midori, or another green tinted liquor to spice up your rendition of water ice.

Philadelphia roll

Add a little seafood to the Super Bowl smorgasbord by rolling a plate of Philadelphia rolls for an intermission between fatty, fried goodies. A true Philadelphia origin story, the city's namesake roll debuted in the 80s after Madame Saito (widely referred to as the "Queen of Sushi," enjoyed a breakfast of lox and cream cheese at her Jewish friend's home when inspiration hit. 

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Incorporate salmon and cream cheese, the now widely served sushi roll combines the toppings of a bagel and weds them to the sushi world's rice, seaweed, and technique. Both a healthy option when compared to chips, dips, and cheesy loaded treats, the rice-based snack breaks up the sometimes monotonous game day fare with a bite of Japanese-inspired elegance, all in ode a bite-size ode to the Eagles.

Soft pretzel sticks

Notoriously one of the rowdiest fanbases in NFL fandom (as seen in the film "Silver Linings Playbook), Eagles fans are known for their over-the-top dedication to their team that includes incidents of punching police horses, burning jerseys, throwing cheesecakes, and throwing batteries – all in the name of fandom. Climbing public poles such as traffic lights, lamp posts, and signs are also among the fanatical phenomena Eagles enthusiasts subject themselves to while demonstrating their dedication to the birds.

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Though New Orleans' city dwellers already are pleading to Eagles fans to remain off their public poles, you can still acknowledge your awareness of Philadelphia native's extreme commitment without putting yourself in physical danger by baking a piping hot batch of soft pretzel sticks ... or in this instance, poles nodding at the bizarre manner Eagles supporters celebrate their team. An excuse to also whisk up a bowl of cheese sauce or queso, the pretzel poles also exhibit another beloved local snack – the soft pretzel that Philadelphia city dwellers purportedly consume twelve times more of than the rest of the country.

Cherry turnover

Get incredibly punny while also pleasing the sweet tooths in your Super Bowl circle by baking up a hand pie gesturing to football lingo: a fruity turnover. Referring to when one team loses control of the ball without punting or kicking the oblong object, turnovers (on the football field) include both fumbles and interceptions. In the kitchen, however, the term conjures up an image of miniature baked goods that mimic the shape of a football.

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Demonstrate your admiration for the Kansas City Chiefs by filling your turnover with a bright, red cherry center to match the team's crimson jerseys. And if you're handy with a piping bag, try decorating the upper crust with frosted lines imitating the grip zone of an actual football to solidify the snack as extra topical.

Burnt ends

For a bit of regional flare, concoct a dish whose genesis lies in the rich history of Kansas City barbecue culture. Though Missouri's City of Fountains might best be known for its saucy take on barbecue, Kansas City's dining history shares space with burnt ends or end pieces of brisket slathered in the aforementioned Kansas City barbecue sauce. An innovation born in an African American barbecue joint, Arthur Bryant's Barbecue, after the establishment's namesake decided to salvage meat scraps and serve the crispy end bits as a signature dish.

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Now a well-known regional dish, burnt ends represent both Kansas City but also gastrotomy's admirable quality of reusing remains of unwanted food waste and reimagining them into new delicacies. Easy to share, transportable, and relevant, bring a foil tray of burnt ends to your celebration to cheer on Patrick Mahomes and co.

Arrowhead chicken nuggets

Since we wanted to steer clear of Kansas City's controversial mascot (The Chiefs' name referencing Indigenous peoples has been pointed out as racially insensitive to many), we waded into Arrowhead territory due to its representation on the team's bright red helmets. While we're aware of the chicken wings' mass appeal, especially during sporting events, the pesky bones cause not only an inconvenience while consuming them, but they also provide awkward moments when discarding. Skip the worry and unseemliness of chewed-on bones lingering on your still-active plate or a communal bowl intended for bones by reverting to the childhood chicken classic of nuggets.

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Shape your white meat morsels into bite-size arrowheads and serve them alongside a painter's palette of sauces meant to please the masses like the team color's matching ketchup and mustard to fan favorites like barbecue and ranch.

Mini dogs

We wanted to include one dish for the casual football viewer who keeps their eyes fixed on the luxury boxes and their celebrity ranks, even more than the field. And since Kansas City's tight end. Travis Kelce publically gushes over his ongoing romance with the most famous singer/songwriter of the moment, Taylor Swift, we felt it appropriate to gesture to the Era's tour darling and the rest of the WAGs watching from up high.

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Though the acronym stands for "wives and girlfriends" we decided to take the term literally and suggest a pot of mini hot dogs referencing the "WAG" title but top them in a Kansas City classic – chili. Another regional dish featuring the city's barbecue sauce, Kansas City's variation on the thick stew can feature brisket, pulled pork, or ground meat and toppings such as jalapenos, grated cheese, pickles, and relish. Combine the two concepts with an easy-to-carry and reheat pot of little smokies doused in Kansas City chili.

Z-man slider

Not exactly the most health-conscious dish, Kansas City's Z-man sandwich rivals the guilty-pleasure appeal of Philadelphia's cheese steak sandwich for caloric heft. Built atop a Kaiser roll, the Z-man sandwich contains smoked brisket, melted provolone cheese, onion rings, and, of course, the city's beloved barbecue sauce.

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Brought to life in 1997 at Kansas City's Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, after the shop's regular, a local sports radio personality, Mike "Z-Man" Zarrick, shared his idea for a sandwich with Joe's proprietor. The decedent's sandwich quickly caught on and now enjoys the status of local flare along with jazz, fountains, and the Chiefs. For your Super Bowl gathering, scale back your sandwich into slider-sized portions so spectators save room for the other team-themed dishes surrounding the table, and make sure to wash them down with a tall highball of the city's signature quick cocktail, the Horsefeather.

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