Healthy Football Appetizers for Your Low Carb Football Sundays
Football season is here! Kick off the football season with these low-carb appetizer recipes that are sure to score points with your family and friends.
Score Points this Football Season with these Winning Low-Carb Appetizers
You can make your appetizers for football Sundays both delicious and healthy! Try these recipes and check out our entire library for more inspiration.
Baked Chicken Wings with Sugar Free BBQ sauce
Chicken wings have been synonymous with football since the 1980s, and they have only exploded in popularity in the decades since. Sadly, those of us cutting carbs have to take a pass on most chicken wings recipes, as these appetizers are often heavy on breading and sugary sauces for flavor.
Fortunately, you can make tasty chicken wings that are low in sugar and other carbohydrates. Simply coat chicken wings in ⅓ cup almond flour or almond meal instead of wheat flour and bake instead of frying them.
Cashew Ranch Dressing
You can pair these chicken wings with a homemade cashew ranch dressing! Many of the ranch dressings you find at the store contain unhealthy ingredients. You can offer your family and guests a healthier, yet tasty, alternative with cashew ranch dressing.
How to Make Cashew Ranch Dressing
Soften the cashews by soaking them in water overnight. Drain and rinse the cashews then put them in a blender with:
½ cup of water
2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt
lemon juice and zest
apple cider vinegar
garlic powder
onion powder
dill
salt and pepper
Blend until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Sheet Pan Nachos
Football night is “nacho night” in many households, but the tortilla chips make nachos high in carbohydrates. In fact, a plate of 8 typical nachos may contain as much as 20 grams total carbs, which is out of bounds for those on a low-carb diet.
Switching just a few ingredients can help lower the carb count. Nachos using baked zucchini chips instead of tortilla chips can bring the carb count down to 3g, for example.
Make Your Own Zucchini Chips for an Extra Healthy Snack
Start by lining a cookie sheet with parchment paper; brush the parchment paper lightly with olive oil to prevent sticking. Place a single layer of sliced zucchini onto the cookie sheet then brush the slices with olive oil and your favorite seasonings, such as paprika and cumin. Bake at 235°F for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the chips are crisp and golden; put any flimsy or damp chips back in the oven for a few minutes.
Allow the zucchini chips to cool completely before using them for nachos. Store any unused zucchini chips in an airtight container.
Topping Ideas for Your Low Carb Sheet Pan Nachos
Lightly oil a cookie sheet or use a non-stick spray. Place the zucchini chips in a single layer onto the cookie sheet then heap on the low-carb toppings, such as:
browned ground beef with taco seasoning
melted cheese
beans
bell peppers
green onion
olives
cilantro (If cilantro tastes “soapy” to you, feel free to use parsley instead – both are low-carb herbs that add extra kick to your nachos.)
Low-carb sheet pan nachos are a convenient football appetizer because you can whip up the zucchini chips a day or so before the big game, assemble and refrigerate the ingredients before the pre-game show, and pop the nachos into the oven just ahead of kickoff – you won’t miss any of the action!
Cowboy Caviar
Cowboy caviar is a refreshing dip that’s sure to please a crowd! In fact, your home team may request this chip-and-dip combo even after the Super Bowl.
Cowboy caviar is another dish that won’t take you away from the game – you can prepare ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. Packed with vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber, this zesty treat is also good for you.
Healthy cowboy caviar usually contains corn and black-eyed peas, which contain a hefty amount of carbs. To make it low-carb, skip the corn and replace black-eyed peas with canned black beans. To lower the net carbs even more, replace the tortilla chips with baked zucchini chips.
How to Make Cowboy Caviar
To make low-carb cowboy caviar, you’ll need one medium-sized and very large bowl. In the very large bowl, combine a can each of black beans, black-eyed peas, olives, 2 medium tomatoes, an avocado, some diced red onion, ¼ cup cilantro, and a diced red, yellow, and orange bell pepper with the stems and seeds removed. If you have a taste for something extra spicy, add in a diced jalapeño pepper. Toss the ingredients well and set aside.
In the medium-sized bowl, combine ¼ lime juice, ¼ apple cider vinegar, and a teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, and salt. Whisk together these ingredients while slowly adding ¼ to ½ cup of olive oil. Pour this “dressing” over the large bowl of ingredients and stir well.
Serve in a football-themed bowl surrounded by baked zucchini chips.
Roasted Eggplant Dip
Also known as baba ganoush, roasted eggplant dip is smoky and tantalizing. This dip is an epic addition to a Mediterranean appetizer board with low-carb chips or veggies.
How to Make Roasted Eggplant Dip
Slice the eggplant lengthwise and bake on a line cookie sheet at 400°F. Scoop the eggplant pulp into a food processer with some Greek yogurt, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, tahini paste, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.
Low Carb Pizza
Football is nearly synonymous with football, especially on Super Bowl Sunday. In fact, 56 percent of respondents to a recent survey said they’d be having pizza during the big game. Pizza is also popular throughout the football season.
Traditional pizzas can be high in carbs, which leaves those on low-carb diets sitting on the sidelines. Fortunately, you can reduce the carbohydrates in both the crust and the toppings to make a low-carb pizza that everyone loves on game day.
How to Make Low Carb Pizza Dough
The crust is the foundation of every good pizza, of course, but most pizza crusts are made from white or bread flour that are high in carbohydrates. An almond flour pizza crust has substantially fewer carbs than do crusts made from other flour, and almond flour crust scores an extra point when it comes to flavor.
How to Make a Low Carb Almond Flour Pizza Crust
Add 2 cups of blanched finely-ground almond flour to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk in 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, a teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 tsp. garlic powder. After adding a large egg, knead the mixture until it forms a smooth, uniform dough. If the dough seems dry, add a tablespoon of water then knead some more – repeat until the dough is moist.
Next, place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll until the dough is about 10” in diameter and about ¼” thick. Bake at 400°F for 7 to 8 minutes until the dough is crispy. Add toppings and return the crust to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Low Carb Pizza Topping Ideas
There are hundreds of pizza toppings available, but many of the most popular toppings are unhealthy or high in carbohydrates. Top your pizza with healthy, low-carb toppings, such as:
Pureed butternut squash or pesto to use as pizza sauce
Goat cheese
Basil
Pine nuts
Sautéed zucchini
Thyme
Red pepper flakes
Cheesy Zucchini Tots
You’ll score with your friends and family with low-carb cheesy zucchini tots. They’re good on their own or served with a dip!
How to Make Zucchini Tots
Combine baked or air fried zucchini pulp with shredded fontina or provolone, panko, almond flour, oregano, pepper and egg. Form the mixture into bite-sized tots. Bake for 20 minutes in a 400 oven, or air fry for about 6 minutes at 400.
Baked Carrot Chips
Baked carrot chips could possibly be your most popular low-carb football appetizers. Carrots are naturally sweet and delicious - and become tantalizingly crisp in your oven.
How to Make Carrot Chips
Slice 2 pounds of carrots at an angle to create long, paper-thin slices. Toss the carrot slices in a bowl with olive oil, salt, ground cumin and cinnamon to thoroughly coat the carrot slices. Lay the slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 435°F for 5 to 8 minutes. In the unlikely event that you have some left after game day, store the leftovers in an airtight bag.
Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted cauliflower is the clear winner in many households, both during football season and other times of the year – even people who think they dislike raw cauliflower make a grab for the roasted version.
How to Make Roasted Cauliflower
Simply drizzle cauliflower olive oil then sprinkle with paprika and salt. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. You can spice up these cauliflower bites with a variety of spices and herbs to your liking! You can also throw some roasted cauliflower in your sheet pan nachos for an extra nutrition boost.
Meet Your Health Goals with Mighty Health
These delicious appetizers will help you be the big winner this football season! For more winning recipes, consult with your own personal health coach at Mighty Health! We’re here to guide you to succeed in all your health goals.