Super Bowl Menu

Your Friends Need These

From the Super Bowl menu to the decorations, it’s all about the big game.  One of our girlfriends refers to the rest of us as her “boys” because we love everything football. While she will probably only be interested in the half-time show, the commercials, and the food, most of us are rooting for the Bengals. There are two main reasons a bunch of Florida women cheers on the Bengals. One, the QB Joe Burrow, played for LSU, an SEC conference team. Since we are all UF alumni, we must cheer on an SEC player. And the other big reason is their roster includes several former UF Gator players, including standout rookie kicker Evan McPherson, CB Vernon Hargreaves III, and OT Fred Johnson.

While not hosting this year, I will bring some of my favorite plant-based foods for a delicious and healthy-ish Super Bowl menu.

Super Bowl Recipes

Here are my top Super Bowl menu suggestions.

Sliders

Ahi tuna sliders – The original recipe came from Chew Out Loud, and I have made it many times. It is one of my favorite burger recipes. My adaptations were swapping out the lean ground beef for ahi tuna. You can dice the tuna, which I do, or grind it in a food processor. I also use Tamari instead of gluten-free soy sauce. I also use organic cane sugar and Gourmet Garden ginger paste.

I wish I could tell you that I substitute the mayo for the sriracha mayo, but I don’t. You could substitute with avocado oil mayo (sadly allergic to avocados) or greek yogurt, but I don’t. For the cabbage coleslaw mix, I typically buy the Asian mix at the grocery store but don’t add the dressing, wonton noodles, or almonds. I love Ciabatta rolls and will scoop out the extra dough, which creates a vessel for the burger but sometimes if I try to be extra careful, I will also use butter lettuce. I will make these into sliders for my super bowl get-together instead of full size.

Salmon burger sliders – I have a subscription to NYT Cooking which is only $40 per year, but you can find this recipe by Mark Bittman on other websites.  While at the Farmer’s Market, the booth I buy my fresh seafood from had some scraps of cubed salmon. It was perfect for my salmon burgers. Put ¼ of it in the food processor with the mustard, and then add in the shallots and remaining salmon. I try not to grind it up too finely. You then add in the bread crumbs (day-old bread is perfect if you prefer to make your own), capers, and salt and pepper, shape them into sliders (you can also do this ahead of time, and refrigerate the burgers until you are ready to cook them.

You can serve this with lettuce, tomato, and red onion toppings. I ate mine on butter lettuce, but you can put out slider buns or, again, use a Ciabatta roll or a nice, fresh crusty french bread.

Appetizers

Ahi Tuna Poke Wonton Nachos – I have made these for dinner, but these can also be served as a side dish. They are a little labor intensive but worth every single minute of time spent. For the ahi tuna, I typically will buy the 7 oz. wild sashimi tuna steak from The Fresh Market. I try to buy them when they are on sale for $4.99 and ask for the frozen ones so I can stock up.

Instead of using canola oil, I will typically use grapeseed oil. Cooking olive oil, or you could even use coconut oil – all oils that are suitable for high-heat cooking. Olive oils are generally better for lower smoke points, but a cooking one has worked well for me in the past. This recipe uses a spicy mayo mixture: mayo, lime juice (fresh when possible), and Cholula.  To save time, you can do some meal prep the day before or hours earlier by dicing up the tuna, cucumbers, and scallions ahead of time.

Salsa and Chips– I make my own salsa, dicing up tomatoes, jalapenos, red onion, garlic, and chopped cilantro. For a large amount, I would use 4 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped, 2 small red onions finely chopped, 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro, 2 jalapenos, halved lengthwise, seeded, and chopped (you can half this or omit entirely if spice is not your thing). Our favorite chips to use are Siete tortilla chips.

Of course, I will include vegan cashew queso. It takes 5 minutes to make.

Side Dishes

Charcuterie – who doesn’t love a good charcuterie board? Mine will be plant-based with veggies, eggplant chips, hummus, and a cheese dip made with macadamia nuts, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, parsley & chives.

Fresh fruit salad – who doesn’t love some fresh fruit, and so many are in season right now (living in Florida, we get great fresh fruit year-round)?

Did Someone Say Chocolate?

Homemade Vegan Twix Bars – My daughter and I just made this healthier version, and they were AMAZING. I am not big on chocolate or candy.  But give me dark chocolate and sea salt and throw in some caramel and… well, you got me at dark chocolate and sea salt. The only adjustment we made to this recipe from Rachaelsgoodeats is we used 1 cup of almond flour because we did not have coconut flour. I highly recommend making these bars that are also GF, Dairy-free, and refined sugar-free.

If you’re cooking, grab your favorite team’s accessories from tumblers and can coolers to bbq sets.

What is your go-to Super Bowl menu? I love seeing healthier takes on Super Bowl recipes.

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