Red Zone Eats: Football Cupcakes That Score Big (Easy Tutorial!)
Are you ready to score a touchdown at your next game day party? Whether you’re a rookie baker or a cupcake MVP, this tutorial will help you blitz the competition with football-themed treats that are sure to be a crowd-pleaser. We’ll show you how to decorate cupcakes to look like footballs nestled in the grass and even create stadiums packed with sprinkle “fans”—no Hail Marys required! All you need are premade cupcakes, colored buttercream frosting, and a few sprinkles to tackle these delicious designs. So grab your piping bags and get ready to go for the extra point—these cupcakes are a guaranteed win!
Why these football cupcakes are so great:
- SUPER easy – but everyone will think you’re a cupcake decorating wiz!
- Double, triple, or quadruple the recipe for a crowd.
- Perfect for Football Sunday, tailgating parties, birthdays, potlucks, or your Super Bowl party!
Football Cupcakes Decorating Tutorial
Yield: 6 football themed cupcakes
Equipment:
- Mixing Bowls
- Piping Bags
- Grass Tip – Tip #233
- Round Tip – Tip #6
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 cupcakes of any flavor
- 2 cups buttercream frosting
- Brown and green food dye
- Rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Directions
Start by placing about ¼ cup of the white buttercream frosting into a piping bag and set aside.
Split the remainder of the frosting into two bowls, with ⅓ in one bowl and ⅔ in the other
Dye ⅔ of the frosting green for the grassy football field
Dye the other ⅓ of the frosting brown for the footballs.
Place the grass tip in the piping bag and cut to fit snugly.
Do this with the round tip as well.
Fill the grass tip bag with the green frosting and the round tip with the brown frosting.
For half of the cupcakes there will be one design and the other half another.
Take the brown piping bag and pipe a relatively large football shape in the middle of the cupcake.
Fill the football in with the frosting.
Then make a layer of grass surrounding the football by squeezing the piping tip on the cupcake and lifting quickly.
Repeat this all over the top of the cupcake until you’ve filled all the space outside of where the football is and no cake is showing.
Cut a small hole in the piping bag with the white buttercream and add a white line on each end of the football.
Pipe a slightly curved line in the middle of the football with 2-3 stitches to replicate the look of a real football.
Repeat this for the next 2 cupcakes.
For the second design, take the white buttercream piping bag and create a stadium with a rhombus shaped layer of frosting.
Dip the cupcake into the rainbow sprinkles to act as the crowd in the stadium.
Add a thick white line outside of the dipped sprinkle rhombus, to look like the edges of a stadium wall.
Once that is done, use the grass tip to create the grassy football field, filling the rest of the white space
Show off your masterpieces and enjoy!
Notes:
- Make sure your cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting.
- You want a pipeable consistency for frosting, not too thick, but not runny.
FAQ
Can I use store-bought cupcakes for this tutorial, or do I need to bake my own?
Absolutely! Store-bought cupcakes work perfectly for this tutorial—just focus on the fun part: decorating! If you’d like to use a cake mix, feel free to use your favorite! Or if you’d like to create cupcakes from scratch, here are a couple of ideas:
Funfetti Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting
What kind of frosting and food coloring do I need to create the football and grass designs?
You’ll need buttercream frosting and gel food coloring in green, brown, and white. These colors will help you pipe realistic-looking grass and footballs. Feel free to use your favorite premade white buttercream frosting, or you can use the one from this post (leave the sprinkles out of the frosting): Funfetti Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Which piping bag tips do I need to decorate these cupcakes?
The Grass: Tip #233
The Footballs and Stadiums: Round Tip – Tip #6
Can I decorate these cupcakes ahead of time, and how should I store them?
Yes! You can decorate the cupcakes a day in advance. Just store them in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them fresh and game-ready.
