The Super Bowl: the sports-fanatic, beer-drinkin’ holiday of the year when everyone gathers around the TV for football, halftime chaos, witty Doritos commercials and of course, lots and lots of food.
And this year the stakes are higher: Seahawks vs. Patriots; Seattle vs. New England; East vs. West.
We know that throwing a killer Super Bowl party can be hard work and has the potential to get pricey depending on group size, but with our friends at Whole Foods Market, we’ve found a way you can do it for under 50 bucks and still feed at least ten friends.
Buffalo Chicken Wings
Photo by Yau Chan Ho
A Super Bowl Sunday staple, wings are almost expected to have a spot on that snack table. Now for this, you have two options: making them from scratch or buying Whole Foods Market’s Super Bowl package.
To make them from scratch, you’ll need:
12 chicken wings (about 3 pounds)
6 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup hot sauce
Salt
Since we’re assuming you already have salt in your pantry, making these wings from scratch only costs less than $20. Check out Alton Brown’s easy recipe for how to throw together this simple, tasty and economical dish.
If you would prefer not to make your own wings, you can also get about a pound of pre-made wings at Whole Foods for $6.85, which saves a bit of moolah too!
Guacamole and Chips
Photograph by Rachel Weitzman
The party go-to is hard to mess up, and since it only takes about 10 minutes to throw together, you’ll have far more time to watch the game or crack open a beer.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
3 ripe avocados
1 red onion, diced small
2 tablespoons lime juice
Hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Dice and mash up avocado in a medium bowl.
2. Add diced onion and lime juice.
3. Stir to combine.
4. Add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste
5. Serve with tortilla chips
And there you have it—the world’s easiest appetizer for just around $10. (Note: pick up your avocados as soon as possible, since they’re not in season. Put them in a brown paper bag in a warm area to ripen faster.) Whole Foods Market also offers pre-made guacamole with a kick for just $5.99.
Beer and Cheddar Dip
Super Bowl and beer are basically synonymous terms. We all know that, and since you’ll be drinking it, why not throw it into your food too? If you’re feeling adventurous and have the time, you can even make your own homemade soft pretzels—but we’ve opted for picking them up to save a bit of dough (ha. ha. get it?).
Photo by Paige Delany
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
12 oz. amber ale
2 teaspoons mustard
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Once butter is melted, stir in flour and cook for about 1 minute.
3. Whisk in the beer and allow it to thicken, stirring occasionally.
4. Whisk in mustard.
5. Turn the heat to low and stir in cream cheese.
6. Once the cream cheese is melted in, gradually add in cheese.
7. Add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve warm with pretzels.
Photo by Paige Delany
And just like that, you’ve got yourself a fun, warm dip for just $12.25 (including the pretzels)! Since it’s quite “beer-y” you can always reduce the amount of beer or add in more cheese. Want to make it even better? Crisp up some diced bacon before you get started and replace the butter with bacon grease.
And with that, you’ve created 3 fun and easy dishes for under $50—actually around $42 to be exact. So if you have a veggie craving on this calorie-heavy day, you can give the pre-made veggie tray a try for just $7.99.
Don’t forget—the Whole Foods in Foggy Bottom will be hosting a Super Bowl party in-store on February 1st starting at 6pm—it will be complete with cafe service, big screen televisions, plenty of food specials, pitchers for $10 and beer buckets.
Be sure to check out your local Whole Foods for Super Bowl events and specials in your area!
Thanks to Whole Foods Market for being a proud Spoon sponsor.