Between getting the right gear together, making sure your RV is ready to go, organizing guests and more, the pre-tailgate work can take a toll. One area where tailgaters enjoy some relief is pre-game meal prep. A tailgate is not an elaborate dinner party, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some great food. Lazydays RV is here to help RVers put on a tailgate that’ll be talked about from the parking lot to the stands. One way to do that is with great food. Check out 15 of Lazydays RV’s favorite easy recipes that are perfect for any RV tailgate.
1. Wings
If there’s anything that goes better with football than RV tailgating, it’s hot wings. No matter if you’re watching the game at a friend’s house, a bar or enjoying at a tailgate, wings never fail. With dozens of possible sauce combinations, a tailgater’s options are limitless. To really impress your fellow fans, go with an off-the-radar sauce like coconut curry or Korean-BBQ style.
2. Pigs in a Blanket
When it comes to classic tailgate snacks, it doesn’t get easier than pigs in a blanket. This two-ingredient treat is great because of how quickly it is to prepare and the versatility of available flavor options. With a total prep and cook time of 20 minutes, this tailgate treat can be made on your way to the stadium. Even better, you can use any kind of sausage you like. No matter if you’re feeling a little spicy, try Cajun andouille or maybe you would prefer to go traditional with a classic chicken apple sausage, the choices are endless.
3. Gameday Guacamole
Whether you’re tailgating in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains at a Denver Broncos game or just outside The Swamp for a Florida Gators game, you can’t go wrong with fresh guacamole. Beyond using avocados, salt, and garlic, RVers can add a few more ingredients to give their gameday guacamole fresh flavor. One of our favorites has freshly squeezed lemon juice, diced red onion, pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce thrown into the mix. Feel free to include any other ingredients as you see fit!
4. Texas Chili
If you need to feed a lot of people on short notice, a big pot of Texas Chili is a go-to tailgate recipe. Unlike your standard chili, Texas chili only uses beef, chili paste and a few other spices to enhance the flavor. For the beef cut, chuck works great, or you can use brisket if you have the extra time to prepare. A typical Texas Chili recipe requires about 20 minutes of prep time and 2 ½ hours to cook.
5. Meatballs
Another versatile tailgate appetizer, meatballs are a simple, crowd-pleasing snack. You can use chicken, beef, or pork and prepare them in a myriad of ways from slow cookers to a grill. An array of sauces are available, from traditional Italian marinara to the sweet, savory delight of a bourbon-honey glaze.
6. Philly Cheesesteaks
Quick, tasty, and filling, a Philly Cheesesteak is a great roster addition from coast-to-coast. Made with four simple ingredients (roast beef, onions, peppers, and cheese) and placed in a bun, a Philly Cheesesteak spread can be quickly prepared in a couple of hours. Tailgaters can mix up this formula by using chicken instead of beef, a different cheese from the standard American or provolone, or adding a sauce like marinara or buffalo.
7. Sliders
What’s better than burgers at a tailgate? Sliders! Sliders give RVers plenty of ways to easily mix and match their ingredients, all while saving prep and cook time. Hawaiian bread rolls tend to be the best choice of bun, no matter the fillings you choose. They’re light enough to not make you feel incredibly full after a couple of sliders and their sweet flavor offers a perfect complement to the savory ingredients.
For fillings, the possibilities are neverending. Ham and cheese are a staple and are enhanced with other ingredients like onion cream cheese or butter, mustard and poppy seed sauce. Pulled pork, either by itself or with cheese is another great filling. Stand-out slider fillings include bourbon BBQ patties, beer-battered buffalo shrimp or mini-chicken and waffle sliders.
8. Grilled Salsa
Change-up your traditional salsa spread with the complex, unique flavors of grilled salsa. As the name suggests, grilled salsa involves an extra stage of prep where you grill many of the ingredients before blending them together. The result (depending on the type of grill and method you use) is a salsa with flavors ranging from savory to smoky.
Tomatoes, sweet or medium peppers, garlic and onion are the typical ingredients along with pepper and olive oil. Sweet corn or hotter peppers like jalapenos can be included to add different flavors to your grilled tailgate salsa. Best of all, this dish can be prepared right in the parking lot!
9. Deviled Eggs
A Southern staple, deviled eggs are an easy-to-make tailgate snack that you can serve game after game. After hard-boiling the eggs, RV tailgaters have dozens of options to how they want to present the finished product. Garnishes like bacon and chives, smoked salmon, spicy pickle slices and seasoned shrimp are all fantastic choices. The yolk mix can be enhanced with anything from paprika to buffalo sauce to give tailgaters a snack with a fresh taste week to week.
10. Skewers
Skewers are a tailgate dish with the versatility of a great offense. Start week one with BBQ chicken and pineapple, then shift to a rainbow veggie mix for week two. If you’re feeling exotic, lime and cilantro fajitas (beef or chicken) or classic steak and potato skewers make a great one-two punch.
Depending on what recipe you bring to the lot, skewers should be prepared the night before a game. After a short hour or two of prep, they’re good to go for game day and can be grilled in a few minutes. The result: a game-winning tailgate dish!
11. Blondies
No great tailgate is complete without a few dessert options for fans to enjoy before heading to the stadium or during halftime! Blondies are an ideal tailgate dessert since you can make a few dozen of them in a short time. Many recipes take between 30-45 minutes of bake and prep time and produce a few dozen bars.
Standard ingredients include brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Where you can get creative is with the sweeter ingredients. Chocolate chips are a classic addition but other sweets like peppermint bark, caramel chips or chopped snickers make great additions.
12. Grilled Stuffed Peppers
Peppers are great additions to salsa or skewers and make even better main dishes. All you need for this tailgate treat are large peppers, a filling of your choice and a few toppings and flavorings. One simple recipe that is great for any tailgate features ground beef and rice topped with tomato sauce. Feel free to mix things up with stuffing and topping options like quinoa and sweet pepper, buffalo chicken or Cajun shrimp and cheese.
13. Beer Can Chicken
Beer can chicken is a quick way to make a delicious dish that avoids the dryness found with grilled chicken. A simple, tailgate-friendly recipe typically features a 5-lb. chicken, salt and pepper, canola oil and a half-full can of your choice of beer. The rub can be either homemade or store-bought, depending on your preference.
The chicken is prepared the morning of the game or while on the way to the stadium. Once your grill is ready, cook time is around an hour and a half. One 5-lb. chicken will be enough for five, so two may be needed if you have more mouths to feed.
14. Spice or Coffee Rubbed Steak
Throwing a few steaks on the grill is a tailgate tradition as old as time. Most involve a simple marinade or rub that tastes great but can get old after a few years. Switch up your traditional pre-game meal with a unique homemade or store-bought rub. Coffee rubs are one of the most popular trends and enhance the flavors of any steak. When grilled properly, coffee rubs create a crunchy, somewhat salty crust that gives a new twist to any tailgate feast.
If you’re in the mood for some pregame heat, go with a spice rub. Cajun or Southwest are two timeless styles that you can easily make at home or get in any store. Homemade recipes can call for a range of ingredients from red pepper flakes to turmeric.
15. Mississippi Mud Brownies
An offshoot of a traditional Mississippi Mud pie recipe, Mississippi Mud brownies are just as delicious. Even better, a few can easily be brought into the stadium for a halftime snack! The best part about this tailgate dessert is that you can use anything you want in the recipe. From Oreo™ chunks and marshmallows to pecans and butterscotch chips, RVers can get creative. Most recipes make around 3-4 dozen brownies, which are more than enough to make a few friends in the tailgate lot.
Stay tuned to the Lazydays blog for more tailgate tips, RV trip ideas and more. If you’re heading to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers home game this season, make sure to check out the Lazydays RV Tailgating Lot. Contact your local Lazydays RV dealer with any other RV questions today!
