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
Click here to download the recipe card you see below.
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 refrigeratedĀ 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!
Time limit on football? AMEN! Though if I had to choose between football and golf, I’d have to pick football š. Yummy looking snack.
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Looks fab and so so yummy. what kind (brand) of pizza crust would you recommend? Will def try this for the weekend.
Just below the recipe card you posted,
“HOW TO MAKE FOOTBALL SPINACH DIP BREADSTICKS
Watch this video to see how to make these (written instructions follow):” But there’s no video to watch. Is It posted somewhere else? Also, would love some kind of sweet filling that would go with the pizza dough instead of the spinach. We have fixed the Christmas Tree Spinach breadsticks about 3 times and they are a hit each time.
Hi Beth! If the video isn’t showing up for you it may be because you have an ad blocker on your browser. If you allow ads to show for my site, the video should appear. If that’s not working, you can also find it on my facebook page @itsalwaysautumn
Glad you’ve enjoyed the Christmas tree breadsticks! For a sweet filling I think you could pretty easily turn these into cinnamon breadsticks by brushing the bottom layer of dough with melted butter and then generously sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar. Or try it with nutella for the filling! Thanks for visiting.
Can I make it a day ahead and then cook it game day?
This looks great! Can you use tubes of croissant dough instead?
huge hit at my superbowl party yesterday! I made another one too with pizza sauce, mozza cheese, pepperoni. Both were delish. Next time I’ll try a sweet version as well! Thanks for the recipe š