37 Easy Appetizers for Less Stressing, More Snacking
You don’t want hangry dinner party guests milling about while you’re putting the finishing touches on a meal. These easy appetizer recipes—most can be prepared in 15 minutes or less—are the ticket to stress-free hosting. (“Alexa, play ‘Smooth Operator’ by Sade.”) You want to feed your people something, just not finicky party food that takes away from the main event. These snacks have gotta be delicious. They've gotta be pretty. They've gotta be easy. So from crowd-pleasing dip recipes to finger foods that rely on store-bought shortcuts, let these easy appetizers make your next party, game day, or holiday a breeze.
Alex Lau1/37Roasted Cherry Tomato Caprese
This easy appetizer is as simple as one, two, three: Roast cherry tomatoes with thyme and garlic, arrange them on a platter with torn pieces of mozzarella, and serve the dish with bread on the side.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne, Prop Styling by Carla Gonzalez-Hart2/37Classic Pigs in a Blanket
Photo by Alex Lau3/37Figs With Bacon and Chile
Who knew that bacon and figs, with a bit of help from maple syrup and red wine vinegar, could make such an impressive but simple appetizer? Well, now you do.
Photo by Heidi's Bridge, styling by Anna Billingskog4/37French Onion Dip
This one’s a slow cooker. We’re not including it not because of anything having to do with quickness; while there’s no shortcut when it comes to caramelizing the onions, there are only two steps total to this easy appetizer recipe.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro5/37Boquerones With Green Olives and Orange
Fancy anchovies with olive oil, garlic, sherry vinegar, and orange zest is a well-trod last-minute entertaining move—and for good reason. Simply serve the mixture with a crusty baguette.
Photo by Alex Lau6/37BA’s Best Shrimp Cocktail
Skip making your own cocktail sauce; do yourself a favor and buy it. Then, all you have to worry about is perfectly poaching the shrimp.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman7/37Spinach Artichoke Dip
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski8/37The Only Salsa You Need
Any recipe that relies on a food processor for its main cooking method—just fill and pulse—is an easy one, in our minds. Serve this Platonic-ideal salsa as an appetizer today; if there are leftovers, thats the only sign you need to make tacos or quesadillas for yourself tomorrow.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro10/37Marinated Mozzarella and Peppadew Peppers
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro11/37Za’atar Fire Crackers
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.13/37Tomato Salad With Jalapeño Ranch
Make this punchy homemade ranch dressing (fresh herbs, chile, MSG) in bulk and keep a batch on hand to layer under tomatoes for a summer-friendly side dish, drizzle over grilled meat skewers, or slather onto roasted veggies.
Alex Lau14/37Herbed Baked Brie
No time for queso? Well, the nineties are back, and a show-stopping wheel of baked brie is here to do the easy appetizer job for you. Skip the cranberry mostarda and add a dollop of whatever store-bought jam looks good to you.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro15/37Old Bay Chips With Lemon Mayo
Powdered sugar may seem like an odd ingredient for a savory appetizer recipe, but adding a little helps balance the saltiness of the Old Bay seasoning.
Photographs by Mamadi Doumbouya, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Shannon Maldonado17/37Creamy Shrimp on Crackers
Photograph by Jarren Vink19/37Buffalo Wing Popcorn
Frank’s Red Hot sauce, let us count the ways... This sweet-and-spicy caramel corn packs the flavor of hot chicken wings into popcorn by leaning on one of our favorite hot sauces of all time.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, styling by Judy Mancini20/37Crispy Cheese Twists
Forget crescent rolls. Pinwheels are too much work. Store-bought puff pastry is the true MVP of party appetizers, and it has no higher calling than these crispy, buttery cheese straws.
Photo by Alex Lau22/37BA's Best Guacamole
You’ll never hear us turn down freshly made guacamole with crispy, crunchy tortilla chips. This easy guacamole recipe is a classic best made in a Mexican mortar and pestle called a molcajete, but a bowl and a potato masher or fork also work fine.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski23/37Lemon-Pepper Salami Bites
You could make meatball sliders. You could also do a semi-homemade last-minute thing, warming up leftover BBQ pulled pork and cobbling together some kind of Texas-influenced crostini. But you should go the easier route: Put salami, Marcona almonds, olive oil, and lemon zest in a bowl—that’s it! (But don’t get us wrong, we’d never say no to a slider.)
24/37Classic Hummus
This is a no-fail hummus recipe, one of our favorite quick appetizers. Whiz canned chickpeas in a food processor with the good stuff: tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and spices. Serve with pita chips, sweet potato chips, or sliced veggies to keep it gluten-free. Boom.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne, Prop Styling by Gerri K. Williams26/37Pistachio-Sesame Cheese Ball
Boursin cheese is a great time-saving move—it’s already well-seasoned and packed with flavor. All you need to worry about is zhuzhing the exterior; pistachio and sesame seeds add plenty of nuttiness and texture.
Photo by Chelsie Craig27/37Spicy Cheddar Cheese Spread
This cheesy dip is made for our Pretzel Bites, but you can also serve it as a cheese dip with store-bought pretzels, baked lil’ smokies sausages, your favorite kind of crackers, or a platter of crudités.
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Cyd McDowell. Prop Styling by Paige Hicks29/37Air Fryer Chile-Honey-Glazed Fries
One of our readers who shall not be named (look at the comments) thinks that tater tots aren’t suitable for adults. We’re all entitled to our opinions, but for what it’s worth, this recipe also works with frozen fries.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca31/37Tangy Tomato-Chile Popcorn
Once you have tangy tomato powder—made from dehydrated and pulverized tomatoes—in your arsenal, you’ll never run out of ways to use it. One of them should definitely be this umami-forward popcorn seasoning.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski35/37Mortadella Moments
We apologize to the antipasto classicists, but this bite-size, fatty, pickle-y delight might have just taken bruschetta’s place in our list of go-to crostini-esque appetizers.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, styling by Judy Mancini37/37Anchovy and Sardine Toasts With Chile Butter
This easy appetizer recipe was developed for all the oily fish lovers—and hey, that love will serve you. Both umami-rich anchovies and sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart health.