Football shaped spinach dip breadsticks for the big game!

In today’s post: Football shaped breadsticks stuffed with spinach dip is the perfect game day snack!

Confession: I don’t really like football. I mean, it’s not awful, and going to a game now and again can actually be pretty fun, but football games are SO LONG! Seriously. They need a 90 minute time limit or something. Anyway, I figure if I’m going to sit down and watch a really long game, I might as well have some really good snacks to go with it.

Last year, after my Christmas Tree Spinach Dip Breadsticks surprised me by becoming the most viewed post on my site (by about 10x!), a couple of readers messaged me to ask how to make a similar snack in the shape of a football. You all know you’re genuises, right? I can’t think of a better occasion to make breadsticks stuffed with spinach dip than game day!

And since the Big Game is coming up (you know the one I mean!) I decided to give it a shot.

These football spinach dip breadsticks are the perfect game day party food because you can serve them tear and share style – just let everyone pull off a piece or two, no plates or utensils required (although a napkin will come in handy).

Football Spinach Dip Breadsticks Recipe

How to make Football Spinach Dip Breadsticks

Watch this video to see how to make these (written instructions follow):

Step 1. Prep the spinach dip and set aside. You can try using spinach dip from the store, but I cannot guarantee the results – this dip is made to be very thick so that it won’t leak out from the breadsticks while baking.

Step 2. Download and print the football template. Click here to download, and print the template at 100% or full size. Cut out two copies of the template and tape them together to make a football shape.

Step 2. Prep the dough. The recipe calls for 1 tube of refrigerated thin crust pizza dough. Unroll the dough from the top of a piece of parchment paper or a cookie sheet liner that has been well floured (don’t use wax paper – it will stick!). Fold down the two top corners, and then use a rolling pin to gently roll out the dough as you see below. It should be approximately 11 inches tall and 18 inches wide across the bottom. Remember to handle and roll the dough as gently as possible, sprinkling it with flour as needed.

Step 3. Cut the football shapes. Once the dough is rolled out, use the football template to cut two football shapes, as shown below. Discard the excess dough.

Step 4. Assemble. Gently spread the spinach dip on one of the football shaped pieces of dough, spreading all the way to the edges (1st photo below). Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Then fold over the parchment paper to lay the other piece of dough on top. Use a pizza cutter to slice from the center to the edges 11 times to create “breadsticks” (2nd photo below). Don’t slice all the way across the football; slicing from the center out leaves a small section in the middle connected. Finally, pick up each breadstick and twist it (3rd photo below).

Step 5. Bake. Bake the breadsticks at 400 degrees for 22 minutes until quite golden brown.

Step 6. Prep the string cheese. You’ll need 3 pieces of string cheese to create the laces and stripes on the football. Slice (or pull apart) 1 cheese stick in quarters lengthwise. Slice 2 of the string cheeses in half lengthwise. Then continue to cut the cheese sticks until you have the pieces you see in the photo below:

Note: The cheese sticks that were sliced in half will be used to create the laces on the football. The cheese sticks that were sliced in quarters will be used to create the stripes on each side. The quartered pieces will be wedge shaped; peel away the inner corner of each piece so you are left with a fairly flat strip of cheese.

Step 7. Decorate. When the breadsticks come out of the oven, brush them with a little melted butter and then place the string cheese on the breadsticks as you see below. Place cheese while the breadsticks are very hot so it will melt just enough to stay in place. Trim any excess cheese.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Questions? Please visit the Christmas Tree Breadsticks post and read the section at the end where I answer the most common questions for this type of recipe. Thanks so much, and happy game day!