20 Absolute Best Tailgate Snacks At Trader Joe's

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Every sports fan recognizes the distinct crispness in the air, the swell of numbered jerseys, and the faint smell of cheap beer that together mark the beginning of the football season. While cities like Milwaukee make parking lot pre-gaming a multi-sport event, tailgating is best known for preceding football games; the large stadiums flanked by vast parking lots filled with vans, grills, and coolers. Serving as a way for fans to party together without the confinement of a ticketed seat, tailgating has become an integral part of the season — and, for many, an art form to be mastered.

A good tailgate has chips, dips, and plenty of beverages, but a great tailgate has a grill filled with enough brats and burgers to share with a crowd. Even the smallest grate can handle a lot more than just meaty handhelds, though, and with Trader Joe's unique variety of prepared foods, you can easily level up your tailgating spread. To make football season easier, we rounded up all of the best tailgating snacks at Trader Joe's. To qualify, each item must be able to be eaten as-is or warmed on the grill. We even included a few breakfast options for the early morning crowd, because for some of us, there's no better way to start a Sunday than surrounded by other football fans.

What is any sporting event without melted cheese? Trader Joe's makes a particularly delicious White Queso Dip that is equal parts creamy and spicy. Made with white cheddar and chiles, it can be warmed into a perfectly gooey dip or a creamy nacho topping. If you don't have a heating element at your tailgate, you can also dive into the queso cold with chips, or warm it up in the microwave before you go. With a grill, you can heat the dip in a heat-proof container (a foil pan or small casserole dish would both work well), and once melted, dig in or mix with crumbled chorizo and other meats – just be mindful of the temperature if you're using steak.

Trader Joe's is always at the forefront of culinary trends, and this time, it transformed a popular trio of flavors into a transportable dip. Like the queso, the Chicken Uncured Bacon Ranch Dip is best served warm, though it can be eaten cold in a pinch. Warmed through, the cheddar melts into the creamy base, giving the dip a gooey, queso-like texture. Combined with chunks of chicken and crunchy bacon bits, this dip is a must-have for lovers of snack classics like Buffalo chicken. Serve with ruffled potato chips or fried potato skins, or use it as a topping on warm, baked potatoes prepared just right.

Because not everyone can eat copious amounts of cheese, having a dairy-free dip is a great way to add variety to your tailgating spread. Hummus can also be eaten cold, making it a great option for tailgates without any grills. The Three Layer Hummus is made up of regular hummus, spicy hummus, and cilantro-jalapeño hummus, meaning it has a flavor profile that fits alongside typical spicy spreads (think taco dip or loaded queso). Pair with the Trader Joe's pita chips or the highly-rated naan crackers, or add a few much-needed veggies to your game day diet and pair hummus with carrots and cucumbers.

It isn't game day without a warm dish of Buffalo chicken dip. A spicy, creamy, chicken-filled game day classic, Trader Joe's Buffalo Style Chicken Dip makes it easy to have everyone's favorite on the go. Another dish that works best when heated, plan to melt this one on the grill for a few minutes before serving. Eat it with Trader Joe's corn chips, a big bag of ruffled potato chips, and plain salty crackers, or make a meal out of it by piling it onto buns and serving them as sliders. No oven, no problem — the grill's smoky heat will add a new layer of flavor to the spicy dip.

The easiest items to bring to a function are a big bag of chips and a jar of salsa. No heating element required, this classic combo makes the perfect tailgating snack, and Trader Joe's has no shortage of great options for this. Perhaps the best is the Cowboy Caviar Salsa, which deviates from the typical tomato and pepper-based salsas and includes corn and black beans. For the best spread, pour the salsa into a bowl and serve with cup-shaped tortilla chips, which make it easy to scoop the medley of beans up in one bite. If you already know your crowd loves the bean-based salsa, pick up two jars — this dip goes quickly, especially with a crowd.

If you live in or are from the South, your football Sundays might involve a healthy dose of pimento cheese. Typically served with Ritz crackers or in sandwiches, the Trader Joe's Pimento Cheese Dip is creamy, a little spicy, and slightly tangy. It differs from the savory flavor of Buffalo chicken dip and is thicker and more tangy than queso, making it a completely different experience altogether. It can also be (and often is) eaten cold, making it an excellent choice for a tailgate table. The best part? It tastes delicious piled onto hot dogs and hamburgers, so you can use it at the grill, too.

In America's Dairyland (otherwise known as Wisconsin), a thick pub cheese spread is a necessity at any party, get-together, or tailgate. While port wine cheese is usually the most popular, Trader Joe's offers a new, unique option that fuses two tailgating greats into one: Buffalo Blue Cheddar Cheese Spread. The spread, which is thick, creamy, hot, and slightly tangy, is made with Unexpected Cheddar, a unique Trader Joe's cheese known for being savory like a cheddar and salty like a Parmesan. Combined with the spice of Buffalo sauce and the funky flavor of blue cheese, this dip is a fun option for dairy-heavy tables. Like pimento cheese, this spread can be heaped onto crackers and eaten cold, or melted and served with pretzels for easy dipping.

Burgers are easy enough to make — just form ground beef into patties, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and throw them onto the grill. Veggie burgers aren't as simple, though, and providing for meatless diets can be a challenge in a grill-heavy environment. Many plant-based burgers decently replicate hamburgers by using black beans or pea protein, but rarely are they equal to their beefy counterparts. That's where Trader Joe's Vegetable Masala Burgers come in: the patties are made out of potatoes, carrots, green beans, and peppers, then flavored with Indian-inspired spices like ginger and turmeric. On the grill, they crisp up like latkes, offering a savory, smoky, and flavorful option that can be sandwiched between buns and topped with lettuce and tomato.

No food may be as essential to football season as chicken wings. Typically a sports bar staple, wings still have a place at bustling tailgates wherever hot grills are involved. Wings can be grilled easily, and smoky charcoal infuses the pieces with even more flavor. The Trader Joe's Hot and Spicy Chicken Wing Sections are regarded as some of the better frozen wings on the market. To make them tailgate-style, cook the wings indirectly on the grill's grates or heat them in a foil pan, coating with cooking spray to avoid sticking. Pair the wings with one of Trader Joe's flavorful dressings, like the buttermilk ranch or hot honey mustard.

Vegetables aren't very common to see at a tailgate, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be there. Corn on the cob makes an excellent pairing for hot dogs and hamburgers, but it can be a mess to eat and prepare. Huskless and portioned into sections, the Trader Joe's Seasoned Corn Ribs are a great way to incorporate this summery vegetable into your grilling lineup without needing to do any extra prep. To make these corn ribs on the grill, simply add them to a foil tray and heat until tender — this takes about 10 minutes. If you're serving nachos, tacos, salsa, and guacamole, try sprinkling the grilled corn with Tajín and cotija cheese for a Mexican-inspired street corn twist.

If your grill is big enough, consider throwing a pizza on the grates for an easy, shareable tailgating option. Trader Joe's has some of the best frozen pizzas on the market at the lowest prices, many not even $5 a pie. The Margherita Pizza, like many Trader Joe's items, is imported from Italy and made with hand-stretched dough and fresh passata. It tastes like a freshly fired Italian pie — if someone set it down in front of you, you'd likely never know it was frozen. It's the perfect pizza for the grill, the high heat and direct flame an ideal match for the crust's smoky, wood-fire charred flavor. If your tailgating set-up can't quite fit a full pizza, slice the pieces first and heat them individually.

Trader Joe's doesn't just nail the frozen foods — it also has a great variety of pre-prepared foods, too. The Hardwood Smoked Pulled Chicken and the same brand of Pulled Pork are both handy to have around for quick meals, and are especially handy for tailgating with or without a grill. Though the chicken is cooked and ready to eat, it's even better warmed up, which can easily be done with a foil packet or metal basket on the grate. The pulled chicken is lightly seasoned, which means you can toss it in barbecue sauce and make sliders, or cover it with salsa and serve it as tacos. It's also great for topping nachos or stirring into chicken salad, which can be used for quick game-day sandwiches.

If you don't want to make the chicken salad yourself, Trader Joe's has you covered. Though the store carries several different varieties, the Wine Country Chicken Salad is the best option for tailgating — the mayo-based mix is a unique twist on a classic. The Wine Country Chicken Salad features cranberries and pecans. These add a crunch and sweetness that works well on crackers or sandwiched between soft bread. You can also roll the chicken salad into tortillas for quick, heatless wraps — a great, filling option when you don't have a grill to use. This chicken salad can do it all, making it perfect for parking lot parties.

The best autumn evenings include the rich smell of spicy, slow-cooked chili and the roar of football on the TV. Though a staple of football-themed cuisine, chili doesn't usually have a place at a tailgate — the mixture is too cumbersome to transport and too difficult to heat with the limited resources in the parking lot. Trader Joe's solves this problem, offering a canned chili that can be heated easily in a dish on the grill. And this chili isn't an indistinguishable mush, like many canned versions. Once removed from the can and gently heated, this turkey chili with beans tastes homemade, like it was cooked in a Crockpot that morning. The chili can be scooped with corn chips, dressed up on hot dogs, or eaten plain with cornbread, making this small tin a mighty choice for a tailgating party.

Trader Joe's has a vast variety of chips and crackers to scoop up the many dips and spreads it sells, but the store also has some more unique options that can be eaten on their own, too. The Almond Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets are a good example of this, and a great grab for football Sundays, especially those spent right outside the stadium. When bitten into, the salty, crunchy pretzel explodes with creamy, nutty flavor. These pretzel bites are super easy to eat and require no setup or assembly, making them a perfect tailgate snack for any party.

Where there are sports, there are usually bowls of Chex Mix nearby — the salty variety of miniature crunchy pieces is an easy snack to love. Trader Joe's has its own version of the popular snack mix made up of cheesy corn sticks, cayenne-coated almonds, pretzels, and corn nuggets. The mix is tossed with jalapeño powder for a hot and spicy kick. It's just fiery enough to be interesting without being overly hot, and is an easy addition to any tailgating spread, especially one that doesn't involve a grill. In fact, no party spread is really complete without a snacky bar mix, and this spicy, crunchy version from Trader Joe's is the perfect fit.

There are two types of people: those who love pickles and those who don't. For the former, there may be nothing that can't be improved with pickle flavor (even breakfast), and this includes some of our favorite salty snacks. With the Chips in a Pickle Dill Pickle Flavored Potato Chips, Trader Joe's infuses light and crispy kettle-cooked chips with the tangy taste of pickles, giving each bite a uniquely bright and acidic finish. Pleasantly sour and perfectly salty, the Chips in a Pickle are great for snacking sans dip or digging into with a buttermilk ranch. You can also double the pickle flavor by pairing them with a tangy pickle dip — because really, you can never have too much pickle.

Like pickles, pork rinds are a snack that divides people into groups of lovers and haters. The snack is made by frying dehydrated strips of pork skin, creating a flavor that's salty, crispy, airy, and rich. They're a perfect pairing for crisp golden ales and hoppy IPAs, and are easy enough to enjoy on their own but versatile enough to be paired with any dip. This means pork rinds are a great item to have at a tailgate party that's already heavy with chips and dip. Best of all, the Trader Joe's Fried Pork Rinds are flavored with chile and lime, giving them a spicy, tangy kick that balances the meaty flavor (so even those against pork rinds might give these a try).

It's not uncommon to see avid tailgaters lining up before the sun rises for a good spot on the lot where they can spend the day. If you're one of the early-bird trucks lined up before Dunkin' opens, plan ahead and pick up Trader Joe's Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes to snack on while you wait. Like Dunkin's famous Munchkins, the small, round donuts can be eaten as-is and are easily shareable. The glazed pieces are nearly bite-sized, and the rich flavor is perfect for anyone who wakes up with a sweet tooth (and has a long day of grilling ahead of them).

Football season coincides with the best parts of fall: pumpkin spice and apple cider. Local apple farms are often the best places to find apple-based products like cider donuts, but if you don't have a farm nearby, Trader Joe's sells the next best thing. Made by a bakery in Massachusetts, the Trader Joe's Apple Cider Donuts are prepared with real apple cider, making them light, fluffy, cakey, and bursting with apple flavor. Hand rolled in cinnamon sugar directly after frying, the donuts are ultra sweet and perfect for dipping into warm coffees and teas. Even if you aren't an early morning tailgater, these donuts are a good way to make friends after you've run out of beer.

For this ranking, I chose items that can be heated on a grill or eaten as-is and left out for a few hours without a noticeable difference in their quality. These Trader Joe's products are meant to make life more convenient, and for tailgating, this means less prep, transportable, and easy to pack up and store in coolers during the game. I also chose items that are typical to see at sporting events — hamburgers, wings, dips, and chips — just with a Trader Joe's twist.