It’s just after 5 p.m. Eastern Time — approximately an hour and a half before one of the biggest sporting events of the year — and your fire alarm is sounding. You frantically open every window in your apartment and then sprint to your oven to try and salvage the massive batch of spicy buffalo wings you’ve been perfecting all afternoon. They’re burnt to a crisp and your 20-some guests are due to arrive at any minute.
Now imagine if you had just pre-ordered wings from your go-to restaurant on Grubhub instead?
Whether it’s your first time hosting a party during the biggest game day of the year or you’ve done it so many times you’ve lost count, there’s no denying cooking for 20-plus guests — on top of cleaning, entertaining, grocery shopping, and all the other tasks involved with hosting — can get stressful. So to hopefully ease some football party hosting woes, we’re breaking down some surprisingly hard football party recipes to make, and why ordering delivery for the big game can help save you time, money, and effort.
Homemade Versus Restaurant-Grade Wings
Wings are a football party classic, but making them from scratch is not so easy a task (especially for those new to preparing wings at home). Whether you’re oven-baking, air-frying, or going all-in and deep-frying, this isn’t the recipe to try out for the first time on game day — you can risk recreating the aforementioned scenario above. Plus, if you’re hosting a bash on the larger side, making batches on batches of baked honey BBQ wings almost isn’t worth the struggle. Cater a ginormous serving of wings from KFC through Grubhub’s catering feature instead, to keep the party going and happily fed.
From January 14 through February 2, get free delivery when you order from KFC on Grubhub.
Home-Oven Versus Brick-Oven Delivery Pizza
Making just one homemade pizza (dough and all) is not for the faint of heart. Making more than one pizza to cater to everyone on your guest list? For most, that’ll be a surefire way to a football party meltdown. Yes, making a pizza from scratch for your closest friends is a great token of appreciation and the ultimate humblebrag — but unless you’ve made one before and have the time to prep the dough (and ideally the sauce) at least a day before, we suggest getting some pies delivered. No one will judge you for pre-ordering a pizza (in fact, it might be appreciated). A solid option? The wood-fired pizzas from Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
Order on Grubhub from January 27 through February 2 and get free delivery.
Apartment-Batch Versus Restaurant-Batch Sliders
You would think making bite-sized burgers would be an easy undertaking, but again, the bigger and bigger the guest list, the harder and harder the recipe is to make. And if your friends are the types to eat five sliders in five minutes flat, then get ready to be cooking all day. Plus, there’s the annoying grocery haul this recipe usually requires (pray your number of slider buns matches the number of patties you’re making!) along with the slew of toppings. This is another recipe we’d happily get delivered and leave for the micro-burger experts at a restaurant like Umami Burger.
Get free delivery when you order from Umami Burger on Grubhub from January 27 through February 2. Order minimum is $15 to redeem this offer.
Pinterest-Inspired Versus Catered-In Nachos
OK, we’ll admit upfront nachos are not the hardest of recipes — they can be made in a microwave oven in mere minutes if you’re desperate. But loaded party nachos that are not a soggy, topping-filled mess require some skill. And depending on your guest list and your ambitions, that ingredient list can get longer and more complicated, along with the cook time. To avoid the headache, just go ahead and hit that delivery button. Fast food favorite Taco Bell has Nacho Party Packs that are perfect for game day.
Get $3 off Taco Bell orders on Grubhub from January 30 through February 2, plus free delivery as well on February 2. Order minimum is $15 to redeem these offers.
Home-style versus restaurant-style subs and sandwiches
Meatball subs, sloppy Joes, grilled Cuban sandwiches: You’d think the sandwich would be a nice and easy option for game day, but you can’t just go with a simple ham and cheese recipe. If you want your homemade subs to impress, you’ll likely need a more complicated, ingredient-heavy recipe. So to save on time — and the chaos that’ll likely ensue when making dozens on dozens of sandwiches in one kitchen — get some subs delivered from your go-to spot on Grubhub instead. A classic BLT (plus a side order of mac and cheese) from Panera Bread will always please a party guest.
Get free delivery, plus $3 off, when you order on Grubhub from January 20 through February 2.