Cheeky footy finals snacks, that aren’t just pies and sausage rolls

When you’ve catered for as many footy finals as we have, you’d be forgiven nodding with a little ho-hum when we’re looking at a platter of mini pies and sausage rolls once again.

We thought it was time to shake things up, minus the effort.

So you can have a tasty mouthful while you cheer your team on, without the predictability of the same-old-same-old. 

Here are some of my favourite and fun viral snacks right now that are worth swapping the usual suspects for.

From crisps, to hot chips, then garlic bread and churros… these are our fave snacks reinvented. 

Creamy crisps

We’ve all seen the trend for dressing up your chips as cheese platters or nacho bases - we’ve had great fun at Today Show trying this trend in the past.

But now we’re here for the next evolution of this trick, and that’s creamy crisps.

Rather than a dipping sauce served with your crisps — think salsa or French onion — this time a decadent and creamy sauce is mixed right through the chips and served up.

It's delicious and just comes down to what kind of sauce you want to serve. 

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp chilli flakes, or to taste
• salt
• ½ cup thickened cream
• 2 Tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 x party pack of your favourite crisps

Method: 

• Heat a large frypan over medium heat and melt the butter until frothy. Add the garlic, oregano, chilli flakes and salt and stir through to just toast the spices and soften the garlic. 
• Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cream until combined and warmed through. 
• Add your crisps to a large bowl, pour over the spiced cream and toss to combine and coat evenly, scattering the coriander to garnish. Serve immediately  

Note: you can prepare the sauce ahead of time and just warm it gently right before pouring over to serve, so you don’t miss any of the game. 

DIY KFC chip salt

We all love some hot chips while the game’s on, but it’s not just about the sauces for dipping.

The trick is to jazz it all up with your own fast-food style chippy salt to take it to the next level.

This version is made with ingredients you probably have in the pantry… just make enough to sprinkle on every single time. 

Ingredients: 

• Oven chips, cooked as per the packet
• 6 Tbsp salt
• 1 Tbsp Smokey paprika
• 4 Tbsp vegetable stock powder
• 2 Tbsp garlic salt
• 2 Tbsp onion powder

Method: 

• Cook your chips as per the packet instructions.
• Meanwhile mix all the spices together in a glass, airtight jar.
• Sprinkle on the hot chips to serve and keep the rest in an airtight container until next time. 

Garlic bread buttery bites

We all love some garlic bread, but sometimes the ratios of butter to bread are a little off. We like it all over and this trick is perfect fun that covers all the surfaces with garlicky butter. 

Ingredients for the balls:

• 1 cup greek yoghurt
• 1 cup self raising flour
• 50g butter, melted or olive oil

Ingredients for the butter:

• 50g butter 
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 1 Tbsp parmesan crumbs or finely shaved parmesan

Method: 

• Mix together the Greek yoghurt and self raising flour to make a dough that is slightly sticky, but workable — add a little more flour if necessary, but you want it wetter rather than dry. 
• Break the dough into small balls about the size of a large marble and roll int the melted butter or olive oil and place in the basket of an airfryer, making sure they don’t touch. 
• Airfry (or bake) at 180C for 10 or so minutes, shaking occasionally to brown all over. 
• Meanwhile, in a small frypan warm together the butter, garlic and parsley gently to make a melted garlic butter, but do not brown it. 
• Once the balls are puffy and golden, tip them into a bowl and pour over the garlic butter, tossing to coat and serve warm.  

Note: you can always make the balls and butter ahead of time and warm them briefly before serving. 

And, you can swap the garlic butter for any version you like, from chilli Smokey paprika butter to sweeter cinnamon sugar and butter for a doughnut vibe. 

Churros gnocchi bites

These cheeky little air fried bites go from a savoury dinner to a sweet snack just by rethinking how they are served. It’s fun, it’s easy, it’s delicious.  

Ingredients:

• 1 x packet of fresh (not dried) gnocchi
• 50g butter, cut into small pieces
• ½ Tbsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Chocolate sauce or melted chocolate, to serve

Method: 

• Melt the butter and toss it with the gnocchi in a bowl until coated all over, then add the cinnamon and sugar and toss to coat as well.
• Spray your airfryer basket with a little oil and tip the gnocchi in. Then air fry at 200C for 15minutes, shaking them every couple of minutes to brown evenly. 
• Meanwhile, mix some more cinnamon sugar for extra dusting and either melt some dark chocolate for dipping or get your chocolate sauce ready. 
• Serve the gnocchi hot and crispy, with extra cinnamon sugar dusting and chocolate dipping sauce on the side. 

Jane de Graaff is Today’s kitchen expert as well as a food writer, recipe developer and content creator for fun family recipes of all kinds.

Find all Jane’s food adventures, tricks and tips on Instagramand TikTok.