These Meatballs Are My Favorite Football Season Snack.

Basketball can be exciting. Hockey is bananas. Even in baseball I can get behind. But football? Football is not for me. That doesn’t mean I haven’t tried: I’ve looked into the rules, researched the fandom, and even looked into Carrie’s role in all of this , and the most I can say is that at least the snacks are good.

Yes, the only thing I’ve ever liked about football is the snack culture surrounding it. Do I really think I might hate football? But my boyfriend loves it, and the only way to keep my family from falling apart during game season is to make awesome snacks that keep me from complaining so loudly that I’m ruining his fun.

Simply tearing open a bag of crisps won’t do the trick, but football snacks shouldn’t be confused with fine dining either. For me, the whole point of a halftime snack is that it’s like a little treat. (Sorry, crudités.) It also needs to be portable and easily reproducible, because it’s not an appetizer unless you have a full plate.

Today I have a particularly fun football appetizer: meatballs.

Meatballs make a great football snack

I can appreciate filling a coffee table with sliders and sauce, so I tried to come up with something that would easily fit in with the grabbing and munching crowd. Meatballs are great: you can make a big batch, they’re salty, and you’ll eat them in one or two bites. But wouldn’t they be better if they were stuffed?

Without a doubt, yes—not only are they better, but they’re also pretty easy to put together, especially if you choose store-bought ones (I used packaged turkey meatballs for the recipe below). This gets the hard part done—cooking the meatballs—and the store-bought variety has a more uniform texture. While this is usually a reason you would n’t buy them, in this case it’s an advantage since you want some structural integrity.

I used refrigerated meatballs, but you can use frozen ones. Just make sure they are completely defrosted in advance. Place the meatballs on a plate or baking sheet and cut a hole in the middle as if you were carving a pumpkin. Your goal is to make a tiny meatball cup. (Save the centers for another use, like Italian wedding soup, or chop them up for incredible stuffed mushrooms .)

The resulting meatball cavity can be filled with almost anything, but I lean toward cheeses, spinach dip, or cream cheese mixed with all the bagel seasonings. This time I used the back of a teaspoon to add the Boursin garlic and small herbs and topped it with a pinch of grated mozzarella. (Here’s a simple spinach and artichoke dip you can make with leftover boursin.)

The meatballs are already fully cooked, so you just need to heat them up and melt the cheese. You can either use the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400°F or place them in a regular oven at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes if you are making a large batch. You don’t want the filling to burn your mouth, so don’t overdo it; They will be ready when they smell aromatic and all the cheese filling has melted. Of course, there’s no shame in testing it out to make sure it’s warm enough.

Let me warn you, I called them meatball “shots” for a reason. Depending on what you stuffed them with, the filling tends to burst at the top when you bite it in half. I suggest eating them on a plate or enjoying them in one bite. If you love football snacks too, you will be immediately impressed.

Meatballs require just three ingredients and are easy to make while looking back and watching the flags get thrown every now and then. They also travel well if you’re viewing them at a friend’s house: assemble them at home, pack them tightly in a container to prevent them from rolling around, and keep them warm at the owner’s home.

Recipe for shots with meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 package prepared meatballs, chilled to temperature

• 1 package soft Boursin cheese

• ¼ cup grated mozzarella cheese

1. Place the meatballs on a plate or baking sheet and cut out the centers to create a “bowl” of meatballs. Place the boursin into the cavity with the back of a small spoon. Top each meatball with a pinch of grated mozzarella cheese.

2. Place meatballs in air fryer at 400°F for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

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