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When I’m hosting, appetizers are always my secret weapon—they’re easy to prep ahead, look beautiful, and keep guests happy while you pour the drinks! I’ve rounded up over 60 of my favorite party appetizers to make sure your next gathering is effortless and delicious
The Best Easy Party Appetizers
You’ll find every type of appetizer you can think of, from dips and finger foods to cheesy goodness and beyond! So get ready to wow your guests with some amazing eats!
Dips and Spreads
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Pin ItFruit Dip
This is truly the best yogurt fruit dip to dip in your favorite fruit in. It’s perfect for a fruit platter too.
Easy Queso Blanco Dip
The most flavorful, easy queso Blanco dip ever! It’s perfect for dipping tortilla chips in. This is made with American white cheese, whole milk, diced chilies, and green onion.
Goat Cheese Dip
If you love the rich flavor of goat cheese, then this is your dip! A whipped goat cheese served with fresh, crisp veggies and crackers is the ultimate party appetizer. It’s an easy recipe to make!
Creamy Yogurt Dip
A creamy dip made with tahini! We made this dip for a party and it was a huge hit! It goes perfectly served with soft pita bread or pita chips.
Blue Cheese Dip
If you’re looking for delicious blue cheese dip to go with chicken wings, this is the best! Another super easy party dip to make that’s so flavorful and made with just 3 ingredients! It doesn’t get easier than that!
Hummus Appetizer
You can make your own homemade hummus, which tastes nothing like store-bought! Creamy, delicious hummus is a perfect appetizer.
Best Beet Dip
Not only does this dip have a vibrant color, but it’s also so incredibly flavorful! Made with greek yogurt, beets, and garlic. It’s a great dip for crackers and pita!
The Best Whipped Ricotta Dip
A fluffy, creamy dip that only uses 3 ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to make!
Guacamole
There is nothing better than a good guac! Always a crowd favorite and perfect for fiestas!
Spicy Bean Dip
We love a good bean dip, especially one with a little kick. Serve this with corn chips for an easy appetizer.
Spinach Artichoke Dip
A creamy, cheesy dip that is typically made with spinach, artichokes, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. It is often served with chips, crackers, or bread for dipping.
French Onion Dip
There is nothing more flavorful than French onion dip. We love it served with potato chips!
Seven Layer Dip
A popular dip that’s made with 7 ingredients such as black beans, party mole, sour cream, and more. This dip is often served at a super bowl party or game day.
Hot Crab Dip
If you love seafood, try making this Cranberry dip with lump crab meat, cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and garlic.
Homemade Caramel Dip
This dip is sweeter, but it still works as a great appetizer when paired with fresh apples and fruit.
Easy Finger Foods
Finger foods are another great option for easy party appetizers because they’re easy to eat and don’t require any utensils.
Mini Meatballs
Don’t underestimate a mini meatball appetizer! Not only are they great if you’re just serving apps at a party but they will fill each guest up. But they are also incredibly flavorful and easy to make!
Truffle Potato Chips and Prosciutto
This is a unique party appetizer that will wow your guests! It’s super simple to make using potato chips, truffle oil, and prosciutto!
Ham and Cheese Sliders
One of our most popular party appetizers is our ham and cheese sliders. These will go very fast at your party so make a few batches! They’re savory with ham and cheese and baked on a Hawaiian roll.
Mini Lobster Rolls
These mini lobster rolls are a delightful play on the New England classic! It’s an easy lobster recipe that’s the perfect party food. Quick to whip up and they look great, no to mention taste delicious.
Salmon Skewers
Our salmon skewers are not only a healthy appetizer for a party but they are so easy to make! They only take about 6 minutes to bake in the oven and are so well served with our cilantro sauce.
Stuffed Mushrooms
Baby Bella mushrooms are perfect for stuffing with breadcrumbs, cheese and herbs! They’re flavorful and easy to make.
Antipasto Skewers
Truly a very easy appetizer that is made by adding fresh mozzarella balls, olives, cherry tomatoes, salami, and fresh herbs onto a skewer. We make them as one of our Christmas appetizers each year.
Also, check out our holiday appetizer platter for kids too.
Jalapeño Poppers
If you haven’t had a jalapeño popper, you’re missing out! One of our favorite appetizers on this list and they are so easy to make. It’s jalapeño pepper, stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon. They’re baked until golden brown and delicious! Great for game-day parties!
Marinated Olives
These are the best-marinated olives! They’re warmed in a skillet with olive oil, lemon zest, and chili pepper. They’re perfect to serve with a cheese board.
Seasoned Popcorn
Popcorn will always be the easiest appetizer ever! Everyone loves snacking on popcorn and it’s great for movie nights, Oscar parties, and more. To elevate it, add spices, herbs, and seasonings to it.
Pigs in a Blanket
A classic mini hot dog appetizer made with small hot dogs and crescent rolls. They are often served with dijon mustard and are the perfect finger food!
Crockpot Honey Garlic Little Smokies
Super flavorful mini hot sausages that are cooked with honey and garlic in a slow cooker! The slow cooker keeps these warm and you can serve them right before guests arrive.
Oysters on The Half Shell
Serve oysters as an elegant party appetizer. They can be made a few different ways and served with a yummy sauce and lemon juice.
We also love pairing oysters and other seafood appetizers with Champagne.
Grilled Butter Oysters
If you want to add more flavor and take oysters up a notch, then these grilled oysters are for you! They are grilled with a garlic butter sauce and are so flavorful!!
Bacon-Wrapped Dates
This is an easy, three-ingredient appetizer made with bacon, dates and goat cheese. It’s so flavorful and easy to make, they’re always a hit!
Mozzarella Sticks
Thee take a little more time, but they’re still pretty easy to make. They are also super flavorful and creamy with a crunch texture. Serve them with marinara.
Potato Skins
These are the best when they’re topped with cheese, sour cream, and bacon! We especially love them served with ranch.
Fish N Chips
This is a fun take on real fish n chips! We made these for our Oscar party and it was such a hit. It’s fresh cod, dipped in a quick homemade batter, and then pan-fried. Then we add it to a chip with a dollop of tartar sauce!
Shrimp Cocktail
Boiled or steamed shrimp is served with a special cocktail sauce consisting of horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup!
Smoked Salmon Appetizer Bites
Similar to little tea sandwiches these are bite-sized savory app made with smoked salmon. You can also make this with tuna fish too.
Prosciutto Wrapped Avocado Appetizers
These are as delicious as they look! A different take on jalapeño poppers, for this easy appetizer you just need avocado and prosciutto!
You can also wrap prosciutto over cantaloupe too for an easy and delicious party app.
Mini Ahi Poke Bowls
We are huge fans of poke! Fresh ahi marinated in delicious soy sauce and oils. You’ll be surprised that it’s an incredibly easy appetizer to make and serve! Find the full recipe in the recipe card below.
Cheesy Goodness
Everyone loves a cheesy appetizer! These recipes could not be easier. They are savory and super flavorful.
Cheese Boards
Make a wonderful cheese board for your party. It’s an easy appetizer to make and you can customize it to a theme or season. We’ve made cheese boards for Halloween and for Thanksgiving!
Creamy Baked Brie with Marinated Olives
This is one of our favorite appetizers! It’s rich and creamy and beyond easy to make. You can also wrap it in puff pastry for extra goodness. You can make it with marinated olives or baked brie with figs! This recipe is always a hit and perfect for a party.
Marinated Mozzarella
Creamy mozzarella cheese, marinated in herbs and spices red pepper, and garnished with olive oil. Serve it with olives, crackers, and charcuterie.
Goat Cheese, Walnuts and Honey Crostini
This is a very simple recipe to make using just a few ingredients. The creamy goat cheese pairs nicely with the nutty flavor of the walnuts. You can add apple or pear to this for even more flavor.
Baked Brie with Figs
This recipe is similar to our baked brie, but it’s made with fig jam and baked in refrigerated pie dough.
Chili Crunch Baked Feta
An irresistible cheese dish that is all tossed into one dish and baked. The chili crunch goes perfectly with the creamy, melted feta!
Cheese Balls
A classic cheese ball is one of our favorite party appetizers! It’s nostalgic but also very delicious. Serve it with some crispy garlic bread or crackers for a fun party app.
Parmesan Crisps
Parmesan crisps are perfect to serve with dips or eat on their own. They’re gluten-free and have a cheesy, nutty flavor.
Skillet Chili Nachos
The ultimate nachos, cooked in a cast iron skillet. This is a cheesy and delicious appetizer your guests will love.
Pear and Apple Chips
A an easy fall party appetizer are pear and apple chips. These are thinly sliced and then baked until crispy. They’re a great pairing with dips.
Canapés
Canapés are small, bite-sized pieces of bread or crackers that are topped with various savory or sweet toppings. They make for an elegant and sophisticated appetizer option.
Easy Chip and Smoked Salmon Canapé
This is a fun appetizer idea! Using good quality chips (we used Food Should Taste Good), packaged smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, reddish, a little onion and capers just stack the ingredients onto a chip and viola!
Hard Boiled Egg Crostini
An easy-to-make crostini recipe with hard-boiled eggs, radish, and arugula! It’s the perfect brunch appetizer and festive for Easter or spring.
Pear, Walnut, and Ricotta Crostini
Juicy pears add so much flavor to his crostini. Drizzle with a little honey for some added sweetness.
Cranberry Brie Bites
These fluffy pastries are easy to make with crescent roll dough, brie, and cranberry sauce. You can use any jam when making this appetizer.
Smoked Salmon Canapés
bite-sized pieces of smoked salmon that are served on a cracker or bread.
Spicy Crunchy Tuna Tartare Canapés
Boards and Platters
Making easy appetizer boards is also a great way to feed a crowd. They’re easy to make as most of the ingredients are already made it’s just about assembling a board. Here are a few of our favorite boards:
Greek Mezze Platter
Our Easy Greek Mezze (Meze) Platter is perfect for a simple evening with friends! You don’t have to cook any of this and it’s all about artfully preparing a gorgeous platter with easy ingredients!
Southern Charcuterie Board
One of our favorite versions of cheese and charcuterie board is this southern-inspired board filled with three types of sausage, pickled vegetables, BBQ sauce, pimento cheese, and more!
Fruit and Cheese Platter
Cheese and fruit platters are a great way to wow your guests while feeding them some universally loved food items. They’re easy to assemble and look beautiful!
Easy Party Desserts
Check out all of my easy party desserts to go with these savory appetizers!
Appetizer Tips
When it comes to serving appetizers, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, you’ll want to make sure you have enough appetizers to feed your guests. A good rule of thumb is to have at least five or six different options for a small gathering, and eight to ten options for a larger party.
Second, you’ll want to think about how you will serve the appetizers. If you’re having a sit-down dinner, you can place the appetizers on a kitchen island or a separate table.
If you’re having a cocktail party, you can set up a buffet with all of the appetizers so guests can help themselves.
You’ll want to make sure you have enough napkins and plates for your guests.
Lastly, if you’re serving food outside, make sure you use food covers to keep bugs away.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many easy appetizers for a party, but some of the most popular options include dips and spreads, finger foods, cheese-based appetizers, and canapés. You can also assemble a cheese board for a really easy appetizer.
Some good cold appetizers for a party include hummus, guacamole, various dips and spreads, vegetable tempura, and crudité canapés.
An easy appetizer to bring to a party could be anything from store-bought hummus to homemade mini quiche. You can also make a quick cheese and fruit platter to bring as well. We also love pings in a blanket and jalapeño poppers or a seven-layer dip.
Some good low-carb appetizers include vegetable platters, meatballs, and salmon skewers. You can also serve low-carb crackers with easy dips too.
Some good vegetarian appetizers include vegetable tempura, crudité canapés, and various dips and spreads.
This really depends on the type of party you’re throwing and the time of day. If you’re having a cocktail party, you can plan on about six to eight appetizers per person. If you’re having a dinner party, you can plan on three to four appetizers per person. And if you’re having a buffet, you can plan on two to three appetizers per person.
Now that you have the best list of appetizer ideas, it’s time to make your own! Let us know which one of these you like the best in the comments below.
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Easy Party Appetizers Mini Poke Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 lb sushi-grade ahi tuna
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
- 1 tbsp back sesame seeds
- 2 large avocados , cubed
- 1/4 cup dry seaweed, 1 to 2 sheets
- 2 garlic cloves, roasted and chopped
Instructions
- Cut the tuna into small cubes with a sharp knife.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add tuna, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, seeds and dried seaweed and toss to combine.
- Let the tuna marinate in the refrigerator for a bit while you slice the avocado.
- In little bowls dive the tuna up.
- Add in a few pieces of avocado.
- Garnish with a few chips and green onions.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Simply delicious! We loved these mini poke bowls and I saved the collection to make more!
So many great ideas here! I’ve made a list of favorites and the hot crab dip is a favorite.
So many amazing appetizers! The mini poke bowls were super easy and a huge hit with the crowd! The perfect individual size and so delicious!