10 Homemade Snacks You Should Smuggle Into the Ballpark

Popcorn is a classic ballpark snack, and when you bring it from home you have the chance to add your own delicious twist. Pop up a bag before a game and mix in a powdered food package to amp up the flavor—we suggest McCormick Sloppy Joes Seasoning Mix for a savory treat and Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix for something a little sweeter. Check out our ranking of powered foods as popcorn toppings here.

Pretzels are simpler to make than you may think. There’s no crazy overnight bread rising, no advanced degree required. If you can follow the directions on a packet of instant yeast, you can make your own pretzels and revel in the attendant praise of your fellow spectators. The hardest part is perfecting the twisted shape, and if you start making these as part of your game day routine now, by the All Star break you’ll be nailing it. Get the full recipe here. 

If you’d rather rely on the store bought stuff to feed your ballpark pretzel craving, there’s still a way to add a little oomph. Make yourself not just chocolate-covered pretzels, not even just chocolate and peanut butter-covered pretzels, but chocolate and peanut butter and butterscotch-covered pretzels. Embrace the holy trinity of baking and thank us later. Get the full recipe here.

If you take a bite of slider while your favorite player is sliding into a base, congratulations, you’re part of the team now! You helped make that happen. These little guys are the perfect size for packing for a day at the baseball stadium, so long as you’re okay with chowing down on some not exactly piping hot little burgers with all the fixins (and let’s be honest—how often are White Castle sliders pipin’ hot?). You can experiment here, too, either doing your best to replicate White Castle’s signature patties or turning a schnitzel into a bite-sized sandwich. Get the full recipes here and here.

Plain peanut butter sandwiches may have been your little league go-to, but you’re a grown up now. When you’re on the sidelines you deserve to have some bananas and bacon in the mix, Elvis style. Go ahead and grill that up, too, because you can use the stove whenever you want. This will make a perfect bite during the seventh-inning stretch to keep your energy up. Get the full recipe here.

It’s important to keep something on hand to mindlessly munch on when those nail-biter moments arise. Instead of relying on boring old Chex Mix, you can make sure a few simple substitutions for a spiced up snack. Just replace bagel chips with tostadas, nuts with pepitas, and pretzels with crushed Doritos Dinamita chile-lime chips—and heck, throw in some chicharrones for good measure. Get the full recipe here. 

Simply put, Taffy Grapes are green grapes dipped in white candy coating (aka almond bark) and rolled in crushed peanuts. But somehow, through the transformational magic of our palates (or our brains?), the three-ingredient combo is a dead ringer—taste-wise anyway—for a taffy apple. Toss a handful of these in a sandwich baggie and it’s a perfect portable treat for when you’re craving something tart and sweet out in the bleachers. Get the full recipe here.

It’s not really baseball until you’re chowing down on some peanuts (it’s right there in the lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”). If you don’t want to worry about whether you’re supposed to bite into the peanut shell or not, then just mix them into a brittle. And this recipe couldn’t be easier to make—you can do all the cooking in your microwave. If you freeze a batch it will last up to two months, so you can stock up for future games. Get the full recipe here.

A bag of potato chips isn’t the easiest to maneuver when you’re weaving through crowds in the stands—by the time you get to your seat you’re left with a bag of crushed crumbs. But if you bake them into a sturdy cookie, you can have your chips and eat them, too. These have a better taste and constitution if you let them sit for a few days, so prepare this snack in advance. For a tidier snack, simply ditch the powdered sugar. Get the full recipe here.

You didn’t think we’d forget hot dogs, did you? While it might be tricky to bring a Chicago-style dog in your pocket without severely compromising either the food itself or the inside of that pocket, take some inspiration from this air fried sausage-ppang recipe and bake your hot dog into something that’s a little easier to package. Top with ketchup packets at the park, then experience the snap of a sausage while hearing the crack of a bat. Get the full recipe here.