40 Recipes For Your Kentucky Derby Watch Party

While April showers may bring May flowers, the month of May also brings one of the premier horse racing events. You may be tempted to spend your first Saturday in May enjoying the warm weather but come Saturday afternoon, many will be gathering around their TVs. Having started in 1875, the annual Run for the Roses, aka the Kentucky Derby, has been held on the first Saturday in May every year since 1946. 

Unlike the Super Bowl, the Derby is less of a wings and pizza kind of occasion, as there's something a little more "dressy" about it. Perhaps it's the fancy hats worn by so many in attendance or maybe it's all the close-ups of dressed-to-the-nines billionaires in the Winner's Circle. Still, it's a TV watch party, so we don't want to cook a formal multi-course meal here. 

What's more, the race is held in Louisville, Kentucky, a more or less Southern state that's nonetheless just a few miles from being a Midwestern one. For these reasons, we've tried to include a mix of recipes that honor the unique location and nature of the occasion.

While the Kentucky Derby is best known for its signature drink, it also does have a signature food of sorts, that being Derby pie. Derby pie is basically one big chocolate chip cookie baked into a pie shell, and yes, it's just as delicious as it sounds (even more so, tbh). While this recipe calls for the addition of a few tablespoons of bourbon, this ingredient is actually not original to Derby pie so you can leave it out with no fear of being inauthentic.

Recipe: Easy Derby Pie

If there's one dish that people in the other 49 states associate with Kentucky, it would probably be fried chicken. After all, Kentucky Fried Chicken was what KFC once stood for before the chain decided to become a stand-alone acronym. In truth, the fried chicken itself isn't particularly state-specific, but it's nevertheless delicious and makes for great party food no matter the occasion. Yes, you'll need some lead time to prepare this dish, but it need not be cooked at the last minute. Instead, you can keep the chicken warm in an oven on low heat. Alternatively, you can also serve it cold since fried chicken tastes great at any temperature.

Recipe: Easy Copycat KFC Chicken

Homemade biscuits go great with fried chicken, but another thing we love to do with them is to split them open and fill them with fried country ham. (Believe it or not, the ham slices sold at Dollar Tree are actually pretty amazing, not to mention super-cheap.) This biscuit recipe couldn't be much easier, since, as the name implies, you will only need three ingredients: butter, buttermilk (regular milk works just as well), and self-rising flour. If you don't have this last-named ingredient, you can always do a DIY version by adding salt and baking powder to all-purpose flour. In that case, you'd technically have 5-ingredient biscuits, but it's a minor quibble.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Biscuits

One classic Southern (or maybe not-so-Southern dish) is pimento cheese, something that actually originated in New York before making its way down through the mid-Atlantic region (where it picked up the addition of Philadelphia cream cheese) and on into the South. Whatever its provenance, this tangy, cheesy, spread goes great with crackers and can also be used to fill finger sandwiches for a slightly more elegant presentation. While this recipe calls for pickle juice, you can replace this non-standard ingredient with hot sauce, instead, for a slightly spicier, less pickle-y version. Distilled white vinegar or lemon juice will work, as well.

Recipe: Southern Pimento Cheese

To make pulled pork in approved pitmaster style, you may need to start with a whole pig and smoke it for an entire day. If you'd prefer something a bit less labor-intensive, though, you can try this super-easy three-ingredient version, instead. It starts with a pork tenderloin, some onion soup mix, and a carton of beef broth. These are tossed into a crockpot, then the pot does its thing for a few hours. All you need to do then is to shred the tasty, tender pork and serve it atop slider buns or biscuits for a great party entree.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

You know those kicked-up cake recipes that start with a boxed mix? Well, this is the cornbread equivalent. Stir a can of creamed corn into two boxes of mix, add some sour cream, eggs, and butter, then bake up an extra-moist batch of the side dish that goes perfectly with all things barbecue. The great thing about cornbread as a party food is that it tastes just as good at room temperature as it does when it's fresh out of the oven.

Recipe: Easy Cornbread

Kentucky Derby Day, 2023, will go down in the history books no matter who wins or loses the race due to the fact that its date just happens to coincide with a once (or at most twice) in a lifetime event: the coronation of a new British monarch. In honor of this occasion, we suggest making finger sandwiches filled with coronation chicken. This curried chicken recipe was created to honor the last coronation when King Charles' mother ascended the throne back in 1953.   

Recipe: Quick And Easy Coronation Chicken Sandwiches

Tomato bruschettas make for an elegant, yet simple, finger food. They can also be pretty economical since you can concoct them out of a loaf of French or Italian bread that's starting to get a little stale. The toppings, too, need not be particularly pricey since all you'll need is fresh tomatoes of some sort plus cheese, garlic, and chopped onions. Fresh basil is nice if you can get it, but it won't be a deal-breaker if you can't since bruschetta is a pretty adaptable dish.

Recipe: Classic Tomato Bruschetta

This dessert is a perfect hybrid of South meets Midwest as pecan pie is a Southern classic, while bar cookies are a Midwestern staple. What we love about these bars is the fact that they are actually much easier than pie, since there's no need to roll the crust. All you do is push the dough into a baking pan, then cover it with a filling made from pecans, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Okay, there are a few more steps and ingredients involved, but these pecan pie bars still make for a great dessert that you can throw together in little more than half an hour. Go ahead and prepare them a day or two in advance if you wish, since they taste wonderful at room temperature or even right out of the refrigerator.

Recipe: Quick Easy Pecan Pie Bars

With another nod and wink to Louisville's near-Midwestern status, we present a classic church basement potluck dish: the strawberry pretzel salad, a mysterious mashup that proves that Midwesterners were way ahead of the sweet and salty trend. If you're not familiar with this entirely un-salad-like salad, it consists of a crushed pretzel crust topped with a cheesecake-like layer and finished off with strawberries embedded in Jell-O. Try it, you'll like it, and so will your party guests.

Recipe: Easy Strawberry Pretzel Salad

We all know how to devil an egg, but how do you devil ham? Instead of mashing it, you need to chop it up fine, then mix those chunks with mayonnaise and various seasonings to make a creamy sandwich spread. Here we're stirring in chopped celery, onions, and pickles, as well — pick any or all of these add-ins for some extra crunch. Once you have your deviled ham, use it to make finger sandwiches for your Derby Day spread. This salad goes especially well with Hawaiian-style bread rolls since their slight sweetness pairs perfectly with pork products.

Recipe: Quick Deviled Ham Salad

These tea cakes are a kind of fat, puffy cookie with an almost cake-like texture, thanks to a somewhat unusual ingredient: mayonnaise. If your first thought was "Yuck!!," we assure you that you won't taste the condiment at all once the cookies are baked. The mayonnaise is basically just an unusual way to add a little more egg and oil to the cookie dough, without, you know, using an extra egg and some oil. One fun thing about making these tea cakes is that you can then have all the fun of telling your party guests, "Bet you'll never guess what's in these cookies!" 9 out of 10 times, they probably won't.

Recipe: Southern Tea Cakes

While some may associate cinnamon-roasted pecans with fall or winter holidays, we always think of them as more of a spring/summertime thing since there's always a vendor selling them at many outdoor events. The smell is downright irresistible, as is the taste. Be sure to make several batches for your party guests, as these spiced nuts are sure to disappear as quickly as you can set them out. Should you run out of pecans, try making this recipe with almonds or walnuts instead, as those substitutions are also delicious and nutritious.

Recipe: Easy Cinnamon Glazed Pecans

Mini sandwiches always make great party fare, and these ham and cheese sliders are no exception. This recipe calls for deli-sliced honey roast ham with Swiss cheese, but feel free to swap out the former for smoked ham if you prefer, while you can replace the latter with cheddar. For a condiment, any kind of mustard will do. You may want to make two platters of these sandwiches, though — one for super pickle fans (this recipe as given is pretty pickle-heavy) and another for those who aren't quite so partial to pickles.

Recipe: Ham And Cheese Sliders

These itty-bitty chicken pot pies are fairly similar to the ones served up by KFC, which is a pretty tenuous connection to the Bluegrass State, but we're going with it anyway because mini personal-sized savory pies make a great party entree. These pies are cute but not too messy, and the store-bought puff pastry, canned soup, and rotisserie chicken we're using mean that they don't take much time to put together. Assemble the pot pies in advance, then just pop them in the oven about 20 minutes before you plan to serve them.

Recipe: Copycat KFC Chicken Pot Pies

While these tiny fruit tarts make for a gorgeous dessert, they're ridiculously easy to make with a package of phyllo pastry cups. Once you've sourced these shells, all you need to do is fill them with instant pudding, then plop a few berries or other sliced fruits on top. Here we're going with lemon pudding topped with kiwi and berries, but vanilla pudding with peaches would also be lovely, as would pistachio or coconut pudding with pineapple and/or shredded coconut. Chocolate pudding, too, would be perfect with just about any topping.

Recipe: Mini Fruit Tarts

Chick-Fil-A may offer Chick-N-Minis as a breakfast item, but they also make a perfect snack or appetizer. While fried chicken biscuits may be pretty time-consuming to make from scratch, our copycat version takes a few shortcuts since both the rolls and the nuggets are frozen. Besides heating up these two items and inserting the latter into the former, all you'll need to do is to mix some honey and butter and spread it over the tops of the rolls.

Recipe: Copycat Chick-Fil-A Chick-N-Minis

Besides horse racing, Kentucky is also pretty well known for its bourbon, which is probably why the Derby's signature drink is bourbon-based. If you're not into juleps, though, you can still salute the unofficial state booze by using it to flavor these crunchy-sweet pecan pralines. These candies are the perfect make-ahead dessert since you can prepare them well in advance of race day. If any of the candies crumble, that's no problem, since they can always be repurposed as a topping for other desserts like cakes, cookies, or ice cream.

Recipe: Bourbon Pecan Pralines

The best thing about lemony desserts, besides their tangy-sweet taste, is a sunny yellow color that's perfect for any spring or summer occasion. These lemon tarts are not too tricky to make as they start with a store-bought pie crust. If you don't have dedicated tart molds, feel free to use mini foil pie pans or a muffin pan instead. For an even easier version, you could even swap out the homemade lemon cream filling for lemon curd, as well. While you could top the tarts with candied lemon peel for a monochromatic look, you could also opt for blueberries, raspberries, or both.

Recipe: Lemon Tarts

When the race is over, all the fat cats in the winner's circle will be celebrating with a little bit of bubbly. You and your party guests can join in the celebration in a far sweeter (and cheaper) way with a slice of pink champagne cake. This vintage cake recipe first became popular back in the '60s and still proves to be a popular choice even now. Even if you make it with the cheapest sparkling wine you can find, it'll still taste absolutely delicious. For an even cheaper (and more brightly-colored) alternative, you can even swap the wine for strawberry soda.

Recipe: Classic Pink Champagne Cake