Every game day spread I’ve ever put out has come down to the same question: what are people going to dip into? Wings and sliders get eaten, but the dips are what guests hover over, and they’re the first thing to run out. These are the five easy game day dips I make more than any others, and all five have been updated this fall with new photos, tested times and the questions readers kept asking.
Four of them are hot dips that cook in the air fryer, which means the oven stays free for everything else and each one is bubbling in 15 to 35 minutes. The fifth is a cold New England bean dip that takes 10 minutes and no cooking at all, so you can stir it together while the first hot dip is in the basket. Between them you get a vegetarian option, a low-carb option, a seafood dip and two cheesy classics, and every one of them works with the same bowl of chips and plate of celery.
1. Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Dip
This is the dip for the table that has a vegetarian, a low-carb eater and a wing fanatic all sitting at it. Cauliflower florets get tossed in buffalo sauce and roasted in the air fryer until the edges crisp, then folded into cream cheese, sour cream and sharp cheddar and air-fried again until the top is golden and bubbling. It tastes like buffalo chicken dip without the chicken, and nobody has ever asked where the chicken went.
Time: 35 minutes · Serves: 16 · Carbs: about 3g per serving · Dippers: celery, tortilla chips, crackers
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Dip
2. Air Fryer Mississippi Sin Dip
Mississippi sin dip is usually baked inside a hollowed-out loaf of French bread for close to an hour. Mine skips the bread bowl and bakes in a ramekin in the air fryer instead, which gets you the same cream cheese, sour cream, sharp cheddar and crispy bacon in about 15 minutes, with a golden top the oven version never quite manages. Without the bread it is naturally low carb, and it reheats in the air fryer without losing that crust.
Time: about 15 minutes in the air fryer · Dippers: tortilla chips, pita chips, celery and carrots
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Mississippi Sin Dip
3. Air Fryer Cheesy Hot Crab Dip
If there is one dip that disappears before the game even starts, it is this one. A full pound of lump crab meat goes into whipped cream cheese with sharp cheddar and Old Bay, Maryland style, and the whole thing is hot and bubbling in 20 minutes. The post walks through which grade of crab to buy and how to tell when the center is hot, which matters more with a fridge-cold dip than most recipes admit.
Time: 20 minutes · Serves: 8 · Dippers: crackers, pita chips, sliced baguette, bell pepper strips
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Cheesy Hot Crab Dip
4. Air Fryer Elote Dip (Mexican Corn Dip)
All the flavor of Mexican street corn in a bowl you can scoop with a chip: sweet corn, roasted chiles, creamy cheese, crumbly Cotija and a shower of cilantro. It cooks at 330°F for 5 to 8 minutes, so it is the fastest hot dip on this list and the one I make when people show up early. It also works at room temperature, which makes it a good candidate for the far end of the table.
Time: 18 minutes · Serves: 8 · Dippers: tortilla chips, Fritos, cucumber rounds
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Elote Dip
5. New England Bean Dip (No-Cook)
Every table needs one dip that does not need the air fryer, and this is mine. If you grew up north of Boston you know it as the cold kidney bean dip that came out with crackers before dinner at the Century House. Kidney beans get mashed with mayonnaise, diced onion, sweet relish and a kick of horseradish, then chilled for 30 minutes. It takes 10 minutes to stir together, tastes better the next day, and gives your guests something to eat while the hot dips are still in the basket.
Time: 10 minutes plus 30 minutes to chill · Serves: 6 · Dippers: Ritz or butter crackers, celery
Get the recipe: New England Bean Dip
Serve with
These Easy Air Fryer BBQ Potato Chips are thin, crispy, and packed with smoky, tangy barbecue flavor. Perfect for a quick snack or side, they’re healthier than store-bought chips and ready in minutes.
What Dish Fits in an Air Fryer?
The question I get most about hot air fryer dips is not about ingredients; it is what to cook them in. All four hot dips above fit a 7-inch round cake pan, a 6-inch cast iron skillet or a 1-quart ceramic baker, and those fit most 5- to 6-quart basket air fryers with room for air to move. Leave at least ½ inch of clearance on each side, and keep the dish under 2½ inches tall so the top does not brown before the center heats through.
If you have a smaller 3- to 4-quart air fryer, split any of the dips between two 1-cup ramekins and cook them one at a time. If you have an oven-style air fryer with racks, an 8×8-inch pan works and the cook times stay about the same. One dish is enough for all four; wash it between batches and keep the finished dips warm as described below.
How to Serve a Dip Spread on Game Day
Pick three, not five. For a group of 8 to 12 people, three dips is plenty: one cheesy, one seafood or vegetable, one cold. Five is for a big party or a potluck table.
Stagger the air fryer. Put the bean dip in the fridge first thing. Then run the hot dips in order of how well they hold: crab dip and sin dip go in first because they stay good on a warming tray, buffalo cauliflower dip next, and the elote dip last because it is the fastest and tastes fine at room temperature.
Keep them hot. A slow cooker on Warm, a small chafing dish or a cast iron skillet set on a trivet will hold a hot dip for an hour. If you cooked in cast iron, it keeps its own heat for 20 minutes.
One dipper board for everything. Tortilla chips, butter crackers, pita chips, celery, carrot sticks and bell pepper strips cover all five dips. Add sliced baguette for the crab and sin dips if you want something heartier, and keep the celery and peppers on the low-carb side of the table.
Make-ahead. Every one of these dips can be assembled the day before. Refrigerate the hot dips in their baking dish, covered, and add 2 to 3 minutes to the air fryer time when cooking from cold.
Game Day Dip FAQs
Can I make these dips in the oven instead? Yes. All four hot dips bake at 375°F in an 8×8-inch or 1-quart dish for 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbling at the edges. Each recipe post has its own oven timing.
Which of these dips are low carb? The buffalo cauliflower dip, Mississippi sin dip and crab dip are all low carb on their own; serve them with celery, pepper strips or pork rinds instead of chips. The elote dip and bean dip are built on corn and beans, so they are not.
Which dips can I make the day before? All five. The bean dip is better the next day. Assemble the hot dips in their dish, cover and refrigerate, then air fry from cold and add 2 to 3 minutes.
How do I keep hot dips warm during the game? Transfer them to a slow cooker set to Warm, or leave them in a cast iron skillet on a trivet. Stir every 20 minutes so the edges do not dry out. If a dip sits more than an hour, put it back in the air fryer at 350°F for 3 to 4 minutes.
How much dip do I need per person? Plan on about ½ cup of dip per person across the whole table. Three dips at 2 to 4 cups each covers 12 to 15 people with chips and veggies alongside.
Can I freeze leftover dip? The bean dip freezes for up to 3 months. I do not recommend freezing the four hot dips; cream cheese and sour cream separate when thawed and the texture turns grainy.
