Honestly I never thought writing a Super Bowl Appetizer post could be so exciting. But my Chiefs are in the Super Bowl! Why is that so exciting? Because Kansas City has been waiting 50 YEARS for this moment! Although this post started as a line on my content calendar saying “bacon wrapped apps”, last weekend it became so much more. As a Kansas City girl I was taught growing up what it meant to be a true fan. Not one of those “fair weather fans” that only loves a team when they win. No way. We love our Chiefs Kingdom and our Boys In Blue rain or shine, win or lose, good or bad. However, something we’ve always got (even when our teams are losing) is the loudest stadium in the NFL, a whole lot of hometown pride, and we know how to tailgate.

Obviously I watched a lot of sports with my dad growing up. In fact, my parents’ basement is full of the most amazing Chiefs and Royals memorabilia. Although I was never allowed to talk during the game – just commercials (which is an impossible task, if you ask me…) – I always loved hanging out with my dad. Plus he always made sure we had the best game day food. However, over the past handful of years our football food has changed. A few years ago I found out I was allergic to gluten, legumes, and dairy. And about a year before that, my dad adopted a low-carb lifestyle. So our go-to snacks of crackers and cheese, chips and salsa, and ALLLLL the queso are now off limits.

However, just like our Chiefs, we’re pretty good at adapting. We pass when they expect us to run, and we always go for extra points with our Paleo/Whole30/Low Carb snacks. Last year I shared my favorite Paleo football snacks, and this year I’m back with more. Not only are these snacks Paleo, but they’re also Whole30 compliant and 2 of the 5 are low carb. (One has pineapple tidbits and two have dates in them – and dates are basically little balls of sugar. So…. def not low carb. Sorry dad.)

My biggest piece of advice with any of these recipes is to line a pan with foil and cook all of your bacon wrapped goodies on a metal cooling rack in said foil lined pan. They will cook so much faster that way. In fact, every single one of these recipes has the same instructions, which makes it super easy to make just one or all of the different kinds at the same time! Pro tip – put your cooked bacon wrapped apps into a crockpot on warm to keep them fresh and hot all game day long.

Cooking instructions for all 5 bacon wrapped appetizers:

1. Assemble bacon wrapped goodies of your choice
2. Place on cooling rack on foil lined pan (make sure pan has a lip/edge so the grease doesn’t spill out)
3. Heat oven to 425 degrees
4. Bake 15 minutes
5. Flip
6. Bake 10-15 more minutes depending on your taste preferences and oven

Bacon Wrapped Dates

First, let’s start with the aforementioned dates. Bacon wrapped dates are the perfect appetizer. They’re sweet, savory, warm, and gooey. Plus they’re unique and unexpected. Ultimately, they’re a huge hit at any get-together.

• Bacon (cut in half)
• Dates (pitted and cut in half)
• Wrap the bacon around the date and place it on your cooling rack

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dates

Wanna kick things up a notch? Add a slice of pickled jalapeños to the aforementioned Bacon Wrapped Dates. Everyone loved my Bacon Wrapped Dates so much at Thanksgiving that they requested I bring them to Christmas as well. However, my mom suggested we add jalapeños to make them even better. And oh man was she right. We call them “Hot Dates” because without fail, every single person walked into the kitchen on Christmas and said “Hey! I’ll have a Hot Date for Christmas” and it just kind of stuck. I highly recommend you use hot jalapeños. But if you want some flavor but can’t handle the heat, you can always use the mild kind. We won’t judge you.

• Bacon (cut in half)
• Dates (pitted and cut in half)
• Jalapeños (mild or hot)
• Place a jalapeño on a date, wrap in bacon, and put on cooling rack on foil lined pan

Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Shrimp

Another bacon wrapped classic is Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Shrimp. Furthermore, it’s a simple recipe with something for just about everyone. Plus, the pineapple might even make you think you’re actually in Miami for the Super Bowl.

• Bacon (cut in half)
• Raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• Pineapple tidbits
• Place a pineapple tidbit (or two) into the curve of a shrimp, wrap in bacon, and place on cooling rack on foil lined pan

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnut Jalapeño Shrimp

Honestly, bacon wrapped water chestnut jalapeño shrimp might be my new favorite. Although it sounds like the weirdest mixture of things, the taste is out of this world. Not only do you have juicy shrimp and yummy bacon, but the water chestnuts have an amazing crunch and the jalapeños give them a great kick. In fact, this recipe usually calls for some kind of sweetener (honey or something? I can’t recall). However, we skipped that step to make it low carb and thought they turned out even better.

• Bacon (cut in half)
• Raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• Water chestnuts (sliced)
• Jalapeños
• Place a water chestnut and a jalapeño in the curve of a shrimp, wrap in bacon, and place on cooling rack on foil lined pan

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Last but not least – the easiest appetizer of all… Bacon wrapped asparagus. This is one of those great recipes where the directions are in the title. First, take a piece of bacon. Second, wrap it around a piece of asparagus. Third, bake it. And voila! You’re a chef.

• Bacon (cut in half)
• Asparagus
• Wrap bacon around asparagus and put on cooling rack on foil lined pan

Of course no matter how you celebrate, what food you make, or how big of a fan you are, the most important thing about the Super Bowl is spending time with your friends and family. Even if you’re just there for the commercials, the food, and the halftime show. Oh, yeah… And of course a Chiefs win!

XOXO,
Tiffany

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