As March Madness draws nigh, you’ve probably paid a lot of attention to your brackets, but what about your game day menus? Ordering pizza is always a fine choice, and whipping up a plate of nachos takes no time at all, but if you want to get a bit more creative—say, for a weekend viewing party—one option is to take inspiration from basketball fever and embrace spherical foods.
That’s right, an all-ball menu! (Deepest apologies if that phrase triggers traumatic memories of hearing Koko the gorilla’s All Ball the kitten story in grade school. You’re not alone.)
When it comes to basketball-shaped foods, nature provides some suitably round ingredients—brussels sprouts, sort of; baby new potatoes; globe grapes—but it may be easier to take matters into your own hands. You can make anything into a meatball, so that covers the main course, should you desire a full meal. But here are some ideas for party-perfect spherical snacks that are good for pretty much any occasion, NCAA related or not. However, fair warning: there happens to be a lot of cheese in this lineup, both literally and figuratively.
Five Heart Home
A regular size cheese ball (or a huge cheese ball, for that matter) is just as appropriate, but there’s always something more fun about smaller versions of things, and food is no exception. You can take these in any flavor direction you like, from ranch to blue cheese-pecan to Doritos-covered, but a combination of bacon, jalapeños, and pimento cheese is a definite slam dunk. In any case, use pretzel rods to impale them and you have a handy holder that’s also edible. Get the recipe.
Foodie Crush
If you prefer your cheese warm and gooey, make fried mac and cheese orbs. Again, they’re adaptable; jazz ’em up with salsa verde, chopped chiles, blue cheese and Red Hot, or whatever you like. Just provide plenty of toothpicks for preventing any loose ball party fouls. Get the recipe.
Sriracha Sausage Cheddar Balls
Unsophisticook
Bisquick, cheese, and sausage combine to form hearty little bites reminiscent of boudin balls, perfect for dipping in all sorts of sauce, from homemade ranch to extra Sriracha. If you worry about your floors, just tell people no traveling with the (sausage) ball. Get the recipe.
Chowhound
You can always skip the cheese in these if you prefer, or swap it out for something else like chopped sun-dried tomatoes or olives, but either way, hummus provides a perfect assist. Get our Feta Stuffed Falafel recipe.
Recipe Tin Eats
If you’d like to sneak in a few more veggies with your cheese, these broccoli-packed cheddar balls are a perfect choice. Expect people to post up next to these, thanks in no small part to the accompanying lemon yogurt sauce. Get the recipe.
Roti and Rice
If you want a break from the cheese entirely, try these. (They tick off the vegan and gluten-free boxes too.) You can apply the same principle to regular mashed potatoes, but for March Madness shindigs, the natural orange color of sweet potatoes obviously makes these crisp-chewy wok-fried snacks a top seed pick. Get the recipe.
Meatballs in Enchilada Sauce (Albondigas)
Platings and Pairings
Just because meatballs are an obvious choice doesn’t mean they’re not a fantastic one. You can craft all kinds of meatballs with a basic formula, but these enchilada-sauced examples are great for snacking on or folding into tacos for a fuller meal. They’ll be messy, so assemble plenty of napkins—or hire a guy to mop the sauce off your floor in between plays bites. Get the recipe.
Boozy Bloody Mary Tomato Bombs
Family Fresh Meals
Perfect for those weekend morning games! While really great grape tomatoes aren’t quite in season yet, once you marinate anything in a spicy vodka mixture—and add a lemon-pepper-celery dipping salt to boot—it’s going to taste good. (You could try mixing these with our marinated bocconcini too, for something a bit more substantial.) Get the recipe.
Healthy Nibbles and Bits
Another natural pick for early games, vodka-macerated melon balls also roll with the dessert options. Stick with cantaloupe alone if you’re committed to the vaguely orange food color scheme. Get the recipe.
Gluten Free on a Shoestring
There are at least a Sweet 16 of spherical desserts to choose from—all manner of truffles, popcorn balls, basketball cake balls, buckeyes (especially fitting if you’re pulling for Ohio State)—but Brazilian brigadeiros are incredibly simple to make, and take well to rolling in sprinkles, so if you can find some orange nonpareils, you’re all set up for an easy win! Get the recipe.
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