When you’re sitting on the couch, watching college hoops, these Basketball-Shaped Foods For March Madness are the perfect snacks. They’re all ball-shaped appetizer and dessert ideas.
For more March Madness snacks, check out our list of One-Bite Appetizers.
March is the best time for college basketball fans. And non-fans. If I had to guess, I would say as many non-fans fill out a March Madness bracket as fans. And since there are always Cinderella stories (hello NC State), no one is gonna have a perfect bracket.
That’s pretty much all you can count on during every March Madness basketball tournament: Busted brackets and tasty food.
And sure, you can make traditional snacks, but that’s boring. We are big fans of making fun foods. So, everything on this list is basketball shaped: meatballs, round tomato slices, circle-shaped cookies … you get the idea.
And all of these recipes are (dare I say?) a slam dunk (yeah, I said it).
This list is filled with round foods because they’re shaped like basketballs. But, don’t forget about dips. You can serve them in round bowls so they fit with the rest of your themed treats. Our favorite dip for game day is our Easy Cheesy Refried Beans Dip.
Basketball-Shaped Foods For March Madness
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As we add more round recipes to Drugstore Divas, we’ll be updating this list. So be sure to save it (pin it, bookmark it, etc.) and come back it before the basketball games next March.
Slow Cooker Sweet And Spicy Meatballs
An easy way to make appetizers for game time is letting the slow cooker do all the work. That way, you have time to clean and get ready for your party guests. So definitely make these Slow Cooker Sweet And Spicy Meatballs.
Just dump frozen meatballs (which look like basketballs) into a slow cooker with the other ingredients and set them to be ready by game time.
Cornbread Sausage Balls
These Cornbread Sausage Balls look like basketballs that could benefit from an air pump because they do look a little deflated. The sausage balls start out round, but they spread out a bit as the cook.
Everyone really likes them, though, so they’re one of our go-to party foods (and should be yours too, even if they’re a little flatter than a basketball).
Baked Fried Green Tomatoes
You have to hold these Baked Fried Green Tomatoes up in order for them to look like basketballs, but they definitely do.
These are a lot easier than traditional fried green tomatoes because they’re baked, not fried. So you can make them quick and get back to the game even quicker.
Jalapeño Jelly Meatballs
These Jalapeño Jelly Meatballs get their basketball shape from frozen meatballs. They get their flavor from a homemade jalapeño jelly.
These have a little bit of heat, which is perfect to eat when your favorite team is heating up.
Cheesy Garlic Dough Balls
Take dough, stuff it with cheese, and roll it into a basketball shape. That’s the basic recipe for these Cheesy Garlic Dough Balls.
They’re easily poppable and small enough that you can chew it quick enough to start yelling at the ref for blowing a call.
Slow Cooker BBQ Sausage Bites
Sausage, cut into rings, needs to be turned to see it as a round basketball, but the shape is still there. And the flavor is there in these Slow Cooker BBQ Sausage Bites too.
The best way to make these is in the slow cooker, which means you don’t have to spend any of game time at the stove.
Sweet And Spicy Jelly Meatballs
These Sweet And Spicy Jelly Meatballs, which look exactly like basketballs, are a stovetop version of our Slow Cooker Sweet And Spicy Meatballs.
So if you don’t own a slow cooker, you can still make these for your March Madness watch party.
Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Holes
If you want something sweet to cheer on your favorite team, these Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Holes are perfect.
You actually make the dough yourself and roll it into round basketballs. It’s not like some of the other doughnut recipes that use pre-made biscuit dough. They’re rolled in cinnamon sugar, but you could actually do orange candy melts and color seam lines with a black food coloring pen if you really wanted them to look like basketballs.
No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls
If some of these March Madness games run too late and you need a little burst of energy, these No Bake Chocolate Chip Walnut Energy Balls are a great way to get some. There’s flax seed in them, which gives you energy (so they say).
If you don’t need energy, these are just a delicious basketball-shaped treat.
Marshmallow Popcorn Balls
These Marshmallow Popcorn Balls are a large and tasty basketball-shaped dessert. Just be sure to make one for each person at your party.
No one is gonna wanna share.
Pinwheel Cookies
Don’t mind that these Pinwheel Cookies are made in Halloween colors. Instead, note that they’re round like a basketball. Also realize that instead of black and orange, you can make the pinwheels in your team’s colors.
Unless you’re rooting for Princeton University, which has orange and black as its team colors. Or you’re just rooting for generic basketball, since a basketball is orange and black.
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
Everyone loves Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. So if you want to serve a dessert that everyone will love — even if everyone doesn’t love the final score of the basketball game — these cookies are it.
Plus, they turn into rounds as they bake, which means they’re basketball shaped as is. You don’t need to use a round cookie cutter to get them that way, like you would with cut out cookies.
Purchase March Madness Food Online:
If you want some fun treats for your watch party, but you’re just not in the mood to make anything, you can order basketball treats, like the basketball cupcakes above, through Goldbelly.
If you don’t have time for an order to be shipped, you can also order from your local grocery store with Instacart.
More Game Day Recipes:
If you’re looking for more snacks to serve during your basketball party, our list of Recipes for Game Day have a ton of ideas.
Sure, that game day photo is football related, but trust me, you can serve these snacks during any big games.
Which of these Basketball-Shaped Foods For March Madness will you make for your watch parties this year?
chickenruby
Thursday 31st of March 2022
I love themed foods, especially for celebrations.
Helen Fern
Thursday 31st of March 2022
Thanks for sharing.
Richella J. Parham
Thursday 31st of March 2022
Just in time for the Final Four! We live halfway between Duke and Carolina, so this year's Final Four is a big deal around here.
Helen Fern
Tuesday 29th of March 2022
So many delicious choices!!