28 Simple Summer Appetizers And Snacks

Summer means picnics, barbecues, and lots of fun. But what happens when you run out of food at these outdoor gatherings? If you don’t bring enough snacks along, you might wind up feeling hungry throughout the day.

There are plenty of delicious foods that go well with summer activities. Whether you’re having a barbecue or going camping, you can pack some tasty treats for everyone to enjoy.

Here are 28 quick and easy snack ideas that won’t take much time to prepare. They’re great for parties, picnics, and other outdoor events.

1. Avocado Salsa

In case you haven’t heard, avocado salsa is a thing now. It’s basically just diced avocados tossed in some spices and served over chips or rice bowls. We’re sure it tastes good, but it doesn’t sound like something you’d want to make for dinner.

If you’re looking to spice up your usual guacamole recipe, try adding half a teaspoon of salt per cup of diced avocado. This will bring down the overall sodium count without losing too much flavor.

2. Cucumber And Shrimp Canapés

The ultimate party food. These shrimp and cucumber canapés are easy enough to make and perfect for entertaining guests. They’re also great finger foods for kids.

The shrimp and cucumber canapés are delicious and easy to make. They’re perfect for entertaining or serving guests at home. You’ll love how fast and simple it takes to prepare them.

3. Mini Hot Dog And Mango-Pineapple Salsa

The best thing about hot dogs is the toppings, especially when you’re having fun with them. This recipe combines some of our favorite things into one delicious slider. We love how it tastes like summer, and we hope you do too.

The best way to make hot dogs taste better is to add toppings. This recipe uses pineapple salsa to give the hot dog flavor without adding calories.

4. Watermelon Cups

The Watermelon Cup is a simple way to give out free drinks at parties. You just cut off the bottom of a watermelon, fill it up with ice, add some fruit juice and garnish with a slice of lime.

This summery drink is refreshing, easy to make, and fun to serve. A watermelon cup is a simple way to make a delicious treat without baking.

This recipe requires no special equipment, just some bowls, measuring cups, and ingredients you probably already have around the house.

Fill up the watermelon cavity with ice cubes and fill it with sweetened condensed milk. Put the lid on and let set in the fridge overnight. Serve chilled.

5. Loaded Hummus Dip

This recipe takes hummus one step further by adding layers of flavor and texture. Serve it with pita chips or veggies for dipping. This recipe makes enough hummus dip for four people.

You can use it as a snack or appetizer. It tastes great cold or warm. Serve with pita bread or crackers.

6. Asparagus Bruschetta

Bruschetta is one of those things you either love or hate. But did you know that there are some delicious variations out there? This recipe combines the flavors of bruschetta and Parmesan cheese into a savory dish that’s perfect for entertaining.

This recipe is perfect for springtime because it uses seasonal ingredients like asparagus and strawberries. This bruschetta is easy to make, and you don’t even need a special pan to cook it in.

7. Cheese And Zucchini Roulades

We thought it would be appropriate to make some zucchini roulade recipes for next summer. These are easy to make and delicious. We used our favorite feta cheese and pesto sauce. You could use regular cream cheese and basil pesto, too.

The Zucchini & Cheese Roulade recipe is perfect for those who are looking for something light and healthy to serve during lunchtime or dinner parties. This dish uses zucchini as the main ingredient, making it suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

8. Blue Cheese Chunky Dip

This recipe is easy to make, tastes great, and it doesn’t take much time. All you’ll need are some ingredients that are already in your kitchen cabinet.

You don’t even need to go out to buy anything else. This dip is perfect to serve with crackers and veggies. The Chunky Blue Cheese Dip recipe takes just minutes to make and tastes great served warm or cold.

9. Cilantro Tomato Bruschetta

This recipe uses cilantro and tomatoes, both of which are great complements to savory foods like meatballs and chicken wings. They also add some zing to salads and sandwiches.

This recipe is perfect for parties because it requires very little prep work and tastes great no matter what you serve it with. It’s a versatile appetizer that works well with everything from grilled meats to pasta salads.

You can use whatever type of bread you like; we prefer ciabatta rolls. If you want to make it ahead, just keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

10. Garden Seafood Cocktail

The dish includes a shrimp cocktail served over ice topped with a homemade tartar sauce, lemon wedge, and a side salad. A seafood cocktail recipe perfect for springtime.

This dish includes shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, crab meat, and lobster meat. There are many ways to serve seafood cocktails. But there is one way that makes it special — serving it in a garden.

The best part about this cocktail is that it’s served in a garden bowl. So, you’re enjoying the beauty of nature while indulging in some tasty seafood.

11. Mini Fruit Pizzas

These mini pizzas are great for parties because they don’t take long to bake. They’re perfect for kids’ birthdays since they look like pizza slices. Plus, you can customize them however you want.

You could even add some sprinkles or chocolate chips to make it extra fun. We are suckers for pizza. And what kid wouldn’t like a slice of pizza topped with fruit?

This recipe is super simple and fast to whip up. Plus, it takes advantage of those cute mini muffin tins that are perfect for small batches.

12. Watermelon Popsicles

Watermelon popsicles are one of our favorite summer treats. They’re refreshing and easy to make, and everyone loves them. But there’s something about freezing them that makes them even better.

These popsicles are extra cool because they’re made with seedless watermelon, which is naturally low in sugar and frozen without added sweeteners. Just squeeze some lime juice over the melon and freeze.

If you want to add another layer of sweetness, try adding honey or agave nectar, though both contain fructose, which isn’t great for blood sugar levels.

13. Fruit Salad With Peach Filling

This fruit salad is one of our favorite recipes because we love the colors and flavors. It’s bright and citrus, and the pie filling adds a creamy texture. Plus, there is no added sugar or fat. What’s not to love?

In a medium pot over high heat, combine the peaches, raspberries, blueberries, and pineapple juice. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low.

Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the berries start to pop open. Remove from heat and stir in the agave nectar. Let cool completely. Serve chilled.

This fruit salad recipe uses peach pie filling for its rich color, amazing flavor, added sweetness, and built-in “dressing.” Because there are no eggs, this dish is gluten-free and vegan.

14. Alabama Fire Crackers

These are just like regular firecrackers, except they’re better because they’re spicy! They’re great to serve during the 4th of July holiday. They make a fun addition to any party food spread.

If you’re looking for something different to serve during game-day parties, try making some firecracker snacks. These are great because they don’t require much prep work, and they’re super easy to make.

All you really need is some crackers, seasoning, and a few ingredients you probably already have lying around the house.

15. Rainbow Kebabs

You’ll never believe how easy it is to whip up these rainbow fruit kabobs. They look beautiful and taste even better. Plus, there’s no food coloring required. Just grab some colorful fruits and chop ’em up into bite-size pieces.

Then just toss everything onto skewers and grill away. These rainbow fruit kabobs are perfect for summer entertaining. They look beautiful and taste even better.

16. Blueberry Muffins

Blueberries are one of those fruits that we just never seem to run out of. And because they are so good for you — full of fiber, antioxidants, vitamin C, folate, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and copper — it’s no wonder why people love to eat them.

But what do you do with all those extra blueberries you pick up at the store? Well, today’s recipe is perfect for those times when you find yourself with a bunch of overabundant berries.

These blueberry muffins are moist, tender, and bursting with flavor. And since there’s no flour involved, they’re gluten-free. So next time you want some delicious treats, make sure to grab some blueberries and try these out.

17. Veggie Cups

This recipe makes about 12 cups. This is enough for 4 people, but you could easily double the batch for 8. You’ll want to start early because they do tend to disappear quickly.

You can use whatever veggies you’d like in these, but we prefer to keep things simple. For us, that means sliced red pepper, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and sweet potato chips.

18. Rainbow Pinwheels

These are basically mini rainbow pinwheels filled with a creamy mixture of veggies and spices. They’re great served warm or cold, straight out of the oven or fridge. Plus, they’re pretty healthy too!

If you’re looking for something different to make for dinner tonight, check out these delicious rainbow veggie pinwheel bites.

They are filled with veggies, fruit, nuts, and seeds — and topped with creamy avocado dressing. And because it’s such a healthy recipe, there’s no reason not to eat them for breakfast too!

19. Frozen Yogurt Berries Bark

Frozen yogurt bark is one of our favorite things to eat during the hot summer months. This recipe takes frozen yogurt and transforms it into something even better — a delicious treat that tastes like dessert, but isn’t actually full of calories.

This recipe uses low-calorie frozen yogurt because that’s what we prefer, but regular frozen yogurt works perfectly well, too.

You’ll find that the texture of the final product is much thicker than traditional ice cream, so you might want to scoop it out with a spoon rather than eating it straight off the pan.

20. Healthy Frozen Candy Grapes

If you’re looking for a healthy treat without sacrificing flavor, check out this recipe for sour candy frozen grapes.

You won’t miss the sugar, thanks to monk fruit, a natural sweetener derived from fruits native to Southeast Asia. These tasty treats are perfect for kids’ parties and Halloween celebrations.

21. Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Krispies are one of our favorite childhood memories. They’ve been around since 1938, and they’re still delicious today.

There’s no denying that they’re a kid’s favorite, but adults love them too. And now it seems like everyone wants to make their own version of Rice Krispie treats.

And while they come in many different flavors, they’re usually pretty simple: corn syrup, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, butter, eggs, baking powder, and rice Krispies. And yes, it’s true—they’re even better when dipped into milk.

22. Cookie Iced Lemon Granola Style Bars

These lemon bars are the best treat for summer snacking! Made with lemon-style cookies for an extremely buttery, rice cereal, and lemony flavor, for a chewy texture, oatmeal for a little bit of sweet crunch, and a lovely lemon-style glaze for the citrus goodness.

23. Pepper Poppers

The Pepper Poppers are a popular brand of popcorn balls that come in flavors like caramel, chocolate, strawberry, and blueberry.

They’re part of a larger category called “popcorn snacks,” which includes things like corn chips, kettle corn, and beef jerky. But unlike those other products, the popcorn balls are shaped into little pepper poppers.

And they’re pretty darn good. But you don’t necessarily need to eat them with dessert. You could even snack on one while watching TV or playing video games. Just make sure it’s a quiet night — no screaming kids around.

24. Shrimp And Fresh Avocado Nachos

This recipe makes it easy to enjoy nacho chips without having to make a mess. Just use store-bought tortilla chips, and you’re good to go.

You’ll love how versatile this dish is because you can easily customize it to suit your taste buds. Try adding different toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, etc.

25. Sweet Onion Cheese Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are one of those things you either love or hate. These little beauties are filled with creamy pimento cheese and topped off with sweet onion rings.

They’re perfect for picnics, potlucks, tailgating parties, and just about anything else you can dream up.

26. Fruit Salsa

This fruit salsa is perfect for summer — especially since there’s no cooking involved. Just chop up some fruits and toss ’em together with a little salt and pepper.

Then coat the whole thing in cinnamon sugar and bake it into crunchy cinnamon crisp bites. The cinnamon chips are flour Tortillas coated in cinnamon sugar. They’re perfect for dipping fruits like watermelon, peaches, plums, berries, or mangoes.

27. Key Lime Pie Bites

Energy bites are the perfect summer treat because they’re light, sugar-free, and packed full of healthy ingredients like nuts, seeds, and dried fruits.

These little treats are super portable and great for taking on vacation, hiking, camping trips, or just hanging out around the house. They’re also a cinch to make, and you can customize them to suit your mood.

Try adding some chopped-up chocolate chips or sprinkling crushed graham crackers over the top for extra crunch. You could even swap out the cashews for almonds for a nuttier flavor.

For this recipe, we used raw cashews, but you can use dry roasted or salted if you prefer. We like to keep our energy bites simple, so we skipped the spices and added a few drops of pure vanilla extract.

If you want to amp things up a bit, try adding cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, or pumpkin pie spice to taste.

28. Chipotle Guacamole

This recipe makes about 2 cups of guacamole. You’ll want to make sure you use ripe avocados, so look for signs like dark spots on the skin and give them a firm squeeze before slicing.

If you’re serving guacamole as part of a party spread, keep the slices small — you don’t want to end up with too much avocado.

Are any of the Traditional Greek Breads suitable for serving as appetizers or snacks during the summer?

Traditional greek breads are not only delicious, but they can also make excellent appetizers or snacks during the summer. Varieties like the round, crispy Lagana or the herb-infused Eliopsomo have a unique taste that perfectly complements a light summer meal. With their distinct flavors and textures, these traditional Greek breads are sure to satisfy your craving for a Mediterranean treat.

Can I Use Asparagus in Summer Appetizers and Snacks?

Looking for refreshing summer appetizers and snacks? Look no further! Try incorporating asparagus into your culinary creations. With easy asparagus appetizer recipes, you can add a unique twist to your warm-weather spread. Whether it’s grilled asparagus skewers or asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, these delightful treats will surely impress your guests and elevate your summer gatherings.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for something quick and easy to serve at an upcoming event, consider making one of these recipes.

Whether it’s a backyard barbecue, holiday party, or family gathering, you’ll have plenty of options when you choose from these delicious appetizer ideas!

Frequently Asked Questions