34 Best Appetizer Recipes For Every Party

If you’re catering for a party, then the most important thing you will need to consider is what food you are going to serve your guests.

It doesn’t matter if you’re catering a sit-down party with a handful of friends or a larger celebration with a guest list of hundreds, you will need to make sure your guests are all well-fed.

Appetizers can often make or break a meal. They offer more alternatives than larger main courses and when served as finger food, your guests will be able to sample more dishes.

You’ll need to take into account the dietary needs of your guests and ensure that there is something for everyone.

That’s why we’ve created this list of the 34 best appetizer recipes for every party. We’ve picked a variety of recipes that are sure to please everyone.

1. Bacon Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Our first recipe is for a different take on a pinwheel. Often, these are made with bread or tortillas, but this recipe instead uses crescent rolls to give them a little more substance.

The filling is made from bacon, cream cheese, and onion and once you’ve loaded your dough, simply roll it up and cut into slices before baking.

2. Bacon Ranch Crockpot Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are a common appetizer and this recipe makes use of a crock pot so you can prepare the dish early and leave it to cook for four to five hours while you prepare other appetizers.

The mushrooms are stuffed with bacon and cream cheese seasoned with Worcestershire sauce and ranch dressing mix.

3. Baked Feta Bites

Feta is a common ingredient in appetizers and we love including it in our appetizers. The base of these bites is crescent dough that is cut into smaller squares and placed in a muffin tin.

Each square is then filled with red pepper, feta, thyme, and shallots. The bites will be cooked in around 15 to 17 minutes and the flavors combine beautifully.

4. Beef Wellington Fried Wontons

When you think of possible fillings for wontons, beef wellington is probably not on your list. However, the combination of beef wellington and wonton wrappers works remarkably well to make a unique starter.

You will need to cook some beef and add garlic, shallot, mushrooms, and a splash of wine to make the delicious filling.

5. Big Mac Sliders

Sliders make for a great appetizer and they can be customized to suit your exact tastes. A large plate of sliders will always be a hit at any party and these Big Mac-style sliders will be no different.

The recipe starts by using lean ground beef mixed with salt, pepper, and minced onion to make the patties. The sliders are layered with beef, cheese, homemade sauce, onions, and pickles to give the Bic Mac flavor.

6. Black-Eyed Pea Bruschetta

Bruschetta is a great base for a variety of appetizers and we love this black-eyed pea recipe because it’s unique and looks amazing. The different toppings and colors make this appetizer a must.

The black-eyed peas, collard greens, bacon, and bell peppers create a beautiful topping full of different flavors that you guests are sure to love.

7. Brie, Asparagus, And Prosciutto Bundles

These bundles are very easy to make and are sure to be a hit with your guests. Puff pastry provides the bundle part of the appetizer and you can use frozen puff pastry or make your own if you have the time and the skills.

Inside each bundle is brie, prosciutto, and asparagus and the bundles should be baked for around 15 minutes or until the brie has melted.

8. Buffalo Chicken Celery Sticks

This is the first of a couple of recipes that use buffalo chicken in the ingredients. Buffalo chicken is a very popular ingredient for appetizers so you can be sure that it will be a hit with your guests.

You can serve the celery sticks warm or chilled, giving you a choice of when to prepare them. They’re easy to make and assemble as you simply need to add your buffalo sauce and chicken to the top of a celery stick.

9. Buffalo Chicken Roll Ups

Our next buffalo chicken recipe swaps healthy celery sticks for crescent rolls. The recipe calls for store bought buffalo wing sauce to be used but you can make your own if you have another recipe.

The crescent rolls are stuffed with a mix of chicken, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and shredded cheese to make a deliciously cheesy roll up.

10. Cheese Log

Logs are a great appetizer and although they’ve fallen out of fashion in recent years, they can add a unique flavor to your appetizer menu. They can also be made a couple of days before your party, saving on prep time on the day.

All you need to do is mix all of the ingredients together with a food processor and then work the mixture into a log shape. Press some pecans and chives into the exterior of the log for the finishing touches.

11. Cheese Quesadillas

Quesadillas are a versatile dish that can be a main course as well, but these smaller quesadillas make a delicious and filling appetizer.

The tortillas used in this recipe are the smaller four-inch street tortillas that are then cut in half to make bite-sized servings. For your filling, you can use any grated cheese or even mix a couple of cheeses to get a mix of flavors.

12. Cheesy Bacon Stuffed Mini Peppers

Stuffed peppers are always a popular appetizer so why not add some to your party? This recipe uses smaller sweet peppers that are halved and stuffed.

You will need to remove the seeds and membranes from the peppers before they’re stuffed. The stuffing itself is made from cream cheese, green onions, and bacon and seasoned with garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.

13. Cheesy Chicken And Broccoli Ring

Let your guests get hands on with this pull apart dough ring. The dough used in the ring is pizza dough and you can either make your own or use store bought dough to save on time.

The filling of the ring is made from broccoli florets, shredded cheese, and chicken breast. Make sure you follow the instructions on how to arrange and cut the dough to ensure that your ring is formed correctly.

14. Chickpea Bruschetta With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This is our second recipe that is made from bruschetta. Make sure you choose a high quality and delicious rustic bread as the key to making a great bruschetta appetizer is to have the right bread.

You will need to smash the chickpeas and mix them with parsley, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, and seasoning and then add the mixture to your baked bread.

15. Cowboy Caviar

Dips are always a great idea for appetizers and they can be used with a wide variety of other food items, such as chips, vegetables, or as a topping. This cowboy caviar is colorful and chunky while remaining very easy to make.

It does include a lot of ingredients but you only need to mix them together. The combination of black beans, tomatoes, jalapeno, corn, and avocado adds a beautiful mix of colors.

16. Cranberry Pecan Goat Cheese Truffles

Although this appetizer would taste great all year round, the addition of cranberry makes it ideal for any parties during the holiday season.

These cheese balls use both goat cheese and cream cheese for flavor and the texture they provide. Your guests are sure to taste those holiday flavors as the truffles include not only cranberry, but also cinnamon and pecans. 

17. Crock Pot Sweet Kielbasa

Crock pots can help make your party prep so much easier as you can prepare in advance and leave the dishes to slowly cook as you continue other prep.

This recipe is also simple to make as it only needs five ingredients, which are kielbasa, apple sauce, brown sugar, yellow mustard, and minced garlic. You can use beef, polska, or turkey kielbasa as they will all work.

18. Deviled Eggs Benedict

Deviled eggs are a staple appetizer and are commonly served at a wide variety of parties as a finger food.

This recipe takes the humble deviled eggs and elevates them to something a little more unique by adding some characteristics of eggs benedict and an English muffin crouton.

The key to these eggs is the hollandaise sauce and the recipe gives you easy to follow instructions to make your own.

19. Easy Taco Salad Cups

Everyone loves tacos and this appetizer takes the idea of a taco and turns it into a small and delicious appetizer that is sure to impress.

Instead of using tortilla shells, the recipe uses wonton wrappers that are placed in muffin tins to make the cups. The filling of the cups is then added and is what you’d expect from a delicious taco.

20. Fruit And Cheese Board

Fruit boards and cheese boards make for great appetizers and always look stunning as part of a party spread. They’re infinitely customizable as well as you can swap in or out any ingredients you choose.

We love this fruit and cheese board for its mix of ingredients, such as mango, brie, figs, and kiwi fruit.

21. Grilled Elote Flatbread

Elote is a traditional Mexican dish and it also makes for a great appetizer that your guests are sure to love.

Like traditional elote, this is made with corn and mayonnaise and has a variety of seasonings to give it that extra flavor and spice. It’s served on top of a bed of pizza dough, which can be store bought or made from scratch.

22. Homemade Pizza Rolls

We’ve included several recipes so far that have made use of pizza dough but none that can actually be classed as pizzas.

Thankfully, this recipe takes the idea of a pizza and turns it into a delicious appetizer that is easy to make and serve to your guests.

Again, you can use store bought pizza dough or make your own and it is then layered with toppings in the same way a traditional pizza would be. Roll your pizza, cut it into slices, and then bake.

23. Hormel Chili Dip

If the cowboy caviar dip we included earlier had too many ingredients for your liking, then this hormel chili dip is a great contrast.

You’ll only need three ingredients and about five minutes to make this deliciously creamy dip that tastes great with nachos or chips.

24. Italian Cheese Pull Apart Bread

Pull apart bread is the perfect appetizer to serve at small parties and it encourages your guests to get talking as they share the dish.

It’s made with buttermilk biscuit dough that is cooked in a mix of melted butter, Italian seasoning, garlic, and cheese. When cooked the cheese will melt to make this bread so delicious and fun to pull apart.

25. Maple Bacon Crackers

Although these may look like they’re just cuts of bacon, they are a little more involved than that!

The base of the appetizer is a butter cracker which is then layered with a slice of bacon and a generous amount of brown sugar and a little cayenne and black pepper. You don’t need to fully wrap the cracker in bacon, just place it on top.

26. Million Dollar Tortilla Roll Ups

The light colors of the ingredients used for the filling of these roll ups make them look ideal for summer parties.

They’re simply tortillas that are filled with a mixture made from mayonnaise, cheese, bacon bites, almonds, and green onions. When filled, roll the tortilla and cut it into slices.

27. Cranberry Brie Bites

Bitesize appetizers are always amazing for parties. Just look at these three-ingredient cranberry brie puffs! They combine flaky pastry with the creaminess of brie and sharp cranberries.

These are excellent appetizers for the holiday period, but they can also be enjoyed throughout the year. Plus, they only take 30 minutes to make!

28. Queso Fundido Bites

This appetizer sees fillo cups filled with queso fundido. This is a cheesy sauce made with chorizo sausage and a variety of spices, which in this case is jalapeno.

The recipe calls for both mozzarella and Monterey Jack to make the perfect cheesy sauce.

29. Roasted Garlic Cocktail Pups

Simple but delicious, these garlic cocktail pups are certain to make their mark. Simply fill squares of puff pastry with roasted garlic and small weenies before folding over the pastry to make a neat bundle. Cook for 20 minutes.

30. Sausage Rolls

Sausage rolls can look more complicated to make than they are. For the filling, you will need to mix together pork sausages, breadcrumbs, and an egg with a variety of seasonings.

Line the center of some puff pastry with your filling and fold the pastry together, pinching the sides to ensure it remains together.

31. Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Meatballs

This is another recipe that takes advantage of a slow cooker. The meatballs are made from ground beef, crackers, minced onion, eggs, milk, and seasonings.

The recipe also gives you instructions for a delicious buffalo sauce made with hot sauce and honey.

32. Vegan Buffalo Quinoa Bites And Vegan Ranch Dip

Our last three recipes are all vegan, making them ideal for any vegan guests. The first is a simple recipe for some quinoa bites that uses vegan buffalo sauce, garlic and shallots.

These match perfectly with the vegan dip also included in the recipe.

33. Vegan Nashville Hot Cauliflower Bites

These are simply cauliflower florets coated in batter and a vegan hot chickin sauce. The sauce is especially delicious and is made from cayenne, sweet paprika, and hot sauce.

34. Vegan Summer Rolls With Dipping Sauce

Our final recipe is for some summer rolls that look as beautiful as they taste. The thin wrappers allow the colors of the fillings to shine through and the recipe gives you the option of making either a mango or peanut sauce for dipping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s look at some answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about party appetizers.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we introduced the 34 best appetizers for every party. We chose a variety of appetizers so no matter what the tastes of your guests are, there’s sure to be something for everyone.

Many of the appetizers are quick to prepare and take minimal cooking time, making them quick and easy to make.

We hope that you enjoy these appetizers as much as we did.