5 Easy Super Bowl Food Ideas for a Family-Friendly Crowd

Are you hosting a crowd for the biggest football game of the year? Ollie can help! Cross planning a menu off your list. Here are 5 family-friendly dinner ideas that will please parents and kids alike.

Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Ingredients (serves 12):

  • 4 heads of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups milk (or a milk alternative for a vegan option)
  • 2 cups Buffalo sauce
  • Blue cheese or ranch dressing for dipping
  • Carrot and celery sticks on the side

Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, create a batter by mixing the flour, garlic powder, salt, and milk.
  3. Dip cauliflower florets in the batter, shake off excess, and place on the baking sheets.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through until crisp and golden.
  5. Toss baked florets in Buffalo sauce and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
  6. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing and a side of carrot and celery sticks.

Tips for feeding the kids:

  • Serve a “mild” version alongside the spicy one, with just a light brush of butter instead of Buffalo sauce.
  • Cut the cauliflower into fun shapes using cookie cutters if they’re large enough.
  • Include a variety of dipping sauces, like ranch, honey mustard, and BBQ, which tend to be kid-friendly favorites.

Mini Slider Burgers

Ingredients (serves 12):

  • 24 mini burger buns
  • 4 lbs ground beef or turkey
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional: 24 small slices of cheese (such as cheddar or American)
  • Lettuce leaves
  • 24 small tomato slices
  • Sliced pickles
  • Ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the grill or skillet to medium-high heat.
  2. Form the ground beef or turkey into 24 small patties. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Grill the patties for 2-3 minutes on each side (longer for well-done).
  4. If using cheese, add it to the patties during the last minute of grilling to melt.
  5. Assemble mini burgers with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and desired sauces on mini buns.

Tips for feeding the kids:

  • Offer a DIY slider bar where kids can choose their own toppings, such as ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, cheese slices, and pickles.
  • Make sure to have some plain sliders without any spicy seasonings or sauces.
  • Present the sliders on a fun platter or in a creative arrangement to draw their attention.

Savory Cheese and Fig Tartlets

Ingredients (serves 12):

  • 48 pre-made mini tart shells
  • 8 oz goat cheese or cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup dried figs, chopped
  • 4 tbsp honey
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Place tart shells on a baking sheet.
  3. Fill each tart shell with a teaspoon of goat cheese or cream cheese.
  4. Top with a few pieces of chopped fig and a small drizzle of honey.
  5. Bake for 8-10 minutes until tart shells are golden and cheese is slightly melted.
  6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and black pepper.
  7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips for feeding the kids:

  • Use mild cream cheese as the base, which has a more universally pleasing taste among children.
  • Make some tartlets with just cheese and a drizzle of honey, sans the figs, as the sweetness of honey is often a hit with kids.
  • Use cookie cutter shapes to make the tartlets extra fun.

Shrimp Ceviche with Avocado and Mango

Ingredients (serves 12):

  • 3 lbs cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped
  • 6 ripe avocados, diced
  • 3 ripe mangoes, diced
  • 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
  • A bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • Juice of 8 limes
  • 2-3 jalapeños, finely chopped (adjust to heat preference)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Tortilla chips for serving

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, jalapeños, and red onions. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
  2. Add the chopped shrimp to the bowl and let marinate for an additional 10 minutes.
  3. Just before serving, gently mix in the diced avocados, mangoes, and cilantro.
  4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Serve in a large bowl accompanied by tortilla chips for scooping.

Tips for feeding the kids:

  • Make a separate kid-friendly ceviche version without onions and jalapeños, as these can be too strong for young palates.
  • Serve them in individual cups with tortilla chips sticking out like a sail for a fun presentation.
  • You could also provide an alternative simple shrimp cocktail with a mild cocktail sauce for dipping.

Mediterranean Mezze Platter

Ingredients (serves 12):

  • 2 cups hummus
  • 2 cups baba ganoush
  • 2 cups tzatziki
  • 1 cup mixed olives
  • 1 cup stuffed grape leaves (dolmas)
  • 1 block feta cheese, cut into cubes
  • 2 large pita breads, cut into wedges and/or pita chips
  • Fresh vegetables (such as cucumber slices, bell pepper strips, and cherry tomatoes)

Instructions:

  1. Arrange hummus, baba ganoush, and tzatziki in separate bowls on a large platter.
  2. Scatter olives, dolmas, and feta cheese around the dips.
  3. Place pita wedges and/or chips along with fresh-cut vegetables on the platter.
  4. Serve immediately, allowing guests to help themselves to a variety of flavors.

Tips for feeding the kids:

  • Add finger foods like sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and cheese cubes, which are usually popular with children.
  • Serve the dips in colorful bowls and include some plain pita or flatbread for kids who might be wary of trying new flavors.

Bonus: Your copy-and-paste grocery list

Let’s make this even easier. If you’re feeding a crowd of 12 and this menu looks good to go, copy this grocery list and paste it into a text or Notes app so you can shop away.

Produce:

  • 4 heads cauliflower
  • 1 bunch carrots (or package of pre-cut carrot sticks)
  • 1 bunch celery (or package of pre-cut celery sticks)
  • 1 head of lettuce (enough for 24 mini burgers)
  • 6 – 8 medium tomatoes (enough for 24 slices)
  • 3 – 4 cucumbers (for mezze platter)
  • 3 – 4 bell peppers (for mezze platter)
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes (for mezze platter)
  • 6 ripe avocados
  • 3 ripe mangoes
  • 2 medium red onions
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 8 limes
  • 2-3 jalapeños
  • Fresh thyme (for 2 tsp)

Breads and bakery:

  • 24 mini burger buns
  • 2 large pita breads (or buy pita chips)
  • 48 pre-made mini tart shells

Dairy:

  • Optional: cheddar or American cheese (enough for 24 small slices of cheese)
  • 8 oz goat cheese or cream cheese (for tartlets)
  • 1 8 oz. block of feta cheese
  • 2 cups milk (or milk alternative)

Canned and jarred:

  • 2 cups baba ganoush
  • 1 cup mixed olives
  • 1 cup stuffed grape leaves (dolmas)
  • 1 cup dried figs
  • 2 cups Buffalo sauce
  • Blue cheese or ranch dressing (for dipping)
  • 4 tbsp honey
  • Optional: pickles (for mini sliders)

Deli and prepared foods:

  • 2 10oz. containers of hummus (2 cups)
  • 1 – 2 containers of tzatziki (2 cups)

Snacks:

  • Tortilla chips (for serving with ceviche)
  • Pita chips (optional, if not using pita bread)

Meat and seafood:

  • 4 lbs ground beef or turkey (for mini burgers)
  • 3 lbs cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped (for ceviche)

Pantry staples:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Ketchup
  • Mustard
  • Mayonnaise

Consider it done with Ollie

You have a million things going on. Planning and organizing the meals for your family should not be one of them. Ollie can help you cross meal planning off your weekly to-do list.

Here’s a little of what you can expect from Ollie: 

  • Customize your recipes: Swap ingredients, tailor portion sizes, and adjust seasonings. Ollie can instantly update recipes to your specific taste or needs.
  • Save hours from researching and planning: Before you can even think of it, Ollie will generate a meal plan based on your family’s preferences complete with a ready-to-go grocery list so you can cross this job off your list. 
  • Get ideas that will work for you: Ollie knows that you may not want to cook five new meals a week. More often than not, you want to cook something familiar and easy to please. Ollie adjusts its meal plans to your schedule and incorporates your tried-and-true meals into the weekly schedule so you have a plan that you can really use.

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