#appetizer
22 viral recipes tagged #appetizer.
-
Bruschetta — Italian Grilled Bread with Tomato
Italy's perfect antipasto: thick slices of country bread grilled until charred, rubbed with a raw garlic clove, drizzled with good olive oil, and — in the classic version — heaped with diced ripe tomato and basil. It began as a way to taste new olive oil on toasted bread; the magic is in great bread, great oil and great tomatoes, and almost no cooking.
italianveganappetizer -
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Buffalo chicken dip is the warm, creamy, tangy-spicy crowd-pleaser that always disappears first at a party. Shredded chicken is folded into a rich base of cream cheese, ranch, and sharp cheddar, spiked with cayenne pepper sauce, and baked until the edges bubble and the top turns molten and golden. Softening the cream cheese and beating it smooth before anything else is the trick that keeps the dip velvety instead of oily or grainy.
appetizeramericangame-day -
Pimento Cheese
Pimento cheese is the South's beloved "caviar" — a lush, tangy spread of hand-grated sharp cheddar bound with mayonnaise, a little cream cheese, and sweet jarred pimentos. Grating the cheese yourself gives it a craggy, meltable texture that pre-shredded bags simply can't match, while a splash of hot sauce and Dijon keeps every bite bright instead of heavy. It comes together in about ten minutes, chills briefly, and is ready to scoop, spread, or melt.
appetizersouthernno-cook -
Jalapeño Poppers
These jalapeño poppers are fresh chiles halved and stuffed with a garlicky, sharp-cheddar cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked until the peppers soften and the bacon turns deep and crisp. Every bite is molten, smoky, and mildly spicy inside a crackly bacon shell. Baking on a wire rack lets the fat render away so the bacon crisps evenly instead of steaming, while the oven's heat mellows the raw bite of the jalapeños.
appetizeramericanspicy -
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried green tomatoes are a Southern classic: thick slices of tart, unripe tomato wrapped in a seasoned buttermilk wash and a crunchy cornmeal crust, then shallow-fried until deep golden. The contrast is the whole point, a shatteringly crisp shell giving way to a juicy, still-firm, pleasantly sour interior. Salting the slices first and using a real cornmeal-and-panko coat is what keeps them crisp instead of soggy.
southernappetizerfried -
Fresh Tomato Salsa
This is a bright, chunky raw salsa, pico de gallo's saucier cousin, built entirely from ripe tomatoes, white onion, fresh chile, cilantro, and lime. Chopping everything by hand keeps the texture crisp and the tomatoes juicy rather than pulpy, while a short rest lets the salt draw the juices together so every bite tastes seasoned all the way through. No cooking and no blender, and it comes together in about half an hour.
mexicanside-dishno-cook -
Ham and Cheese Sliders
Soft Hawaiian rolls piled with layers of deli ham and melty Swiss, brushed with a buttery Dijon-poppy seed glaze and baked until the tops turn glossy and golden. The contrast is the whole point: sweet pillowy bread, salty ham, gooey cheese, and a savory-tangy crust on top. Baking the whole slab connected keeps every slider juicy inside while the glaze caramelizes across the surface, so you pull apart a dozen sandwiches that taste like they took far more effort than they did.
americanappetizerparty-food -
Sausage Balls
Sausage balls are bite-sized savory rounds of raw breakfast sausage, sharp cheddar, and baking mix that bake up golden and craggy outside while staying tender and juicy inside. A little cream cheese and milk keep them from turning dry and dense, which is the classic complaint with this three-ingredient party snack. They come together in one bowl, freeze beautifully, and disappear fast at brunch and game-day spreads.
appetizeramericanparty-food -
Lemon Pepper Wings
Crackly, oven-baked chicken wings tossed in a glossy lemon-pepper butter that hits sharp, buttery, and peppery all at once. A light coat of aluminum-free baking powder dries out the skin and blisters it crisp in the oven, so you get fried-wing crunch with none of the deep-fry mess. Fresh lemon zest stirred in off the heat keeps the citrus bright instead of bitter.
americanappetizerchicken -
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
These party-perfect sweet and sour meatballs are tender, oven-baked beef balls simmered in a glossy pineapple sauce that balances tangy vinegar against brown-sugar sweetness. Baking instead of frying keeps them juicy with a lightly caramelized crust and no greasy splatter, while a quick cornstarch slurry gives the sauce a clingy, spoon-coating shine. Studded with sweet bell peppers and pineapple chunks, they work as a crowd-pleasing appetizer or an easy weeknight dinner over rice.
appetizeramericanparty-food -
Shrimp Cocktail
Shrimp cocktail is the ultimate make-ahead appetizer: plump, sweet shrimp gently poached in a seasoned broth, then shocked in an ice bath so they snap with a cold, firm bite. Poaching instead of hard-boiling keeps the shrimp tender rather than rubbery, and chilling them thoroughly locks in a clean, briny flavor that plays against a bright, horseradish-spiked cocktail sauce. It comes together in about an hour and looks far more impressive than the effort it takes.
appetizeramericanseafood -
Spinach Dip
This is the classic cold, creamy spinach dip that anchors every party spread: cool sour cream and mayonnaise loosened with lemon, studded with crisp water chestnuts and sliced scallions, and thickened by well-squeezed spinach. A no-cook mix that just needs a couple of hours in the fridge, it turns silky and savory as it rests, and scooped from a hollowed sourdough loaf it disappears fast. Squeezing the spinach truly dry is the whole trick that keeps it thick instead of soupy.
appetizeramericanno-cook -
Spinach Artichoke Dip
This baked spinach artichoke dip is the bubbling, golden-topped crowd-pleaser you know from restaurant menus, made with a tangy cream cheese base, briny artichokes, and plenty of melty mozzarella and Parmesan. Squeezing the spinach bone-dry and softening the cream cheese first are what keep it thick, scoopable, and never watery. A splash of lemon juice cuts the richness so you keep going back for one more chip.
appetizeramericanparty-food -
Corn Fritters
Golden, lacy-edged corn fritters that shatter at the crust and stay creamy-sweet in the middle. Blitzing a third of the kernels releases their starchy milk, which binds the batter so you need less flour — the fritters taste like corn, not pancake. A quick shallow fry in a hot skillet gives you crackly edges without deep-frying.
appetizeramericansummer -
Lumpia (Filipino Spring Rolls)
Lumpia are the slim, shatter-crisp fried spring rolls that anchor every Filipino party table, filled here in the classic Shanghai style with garlicky ground pork, carrot, and green onion. Rolling them thin and tight — no wider than your thumb — is the secret: the raw pork filling cooks through in the same few minutes it takes the wrapper to blister deep golden, so you get juicy meat inside a wrapper that audibly crackles.
filipinoappetizerdeep-fried -
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
This is coctel de camarones the way Mexican mariscos stands serve it: plump poached shrimp, crunchy cucumber and onion, and creamy avocado swimming in a chilled, spicy-sweet tomato-lime broth you drink with a spoon. A gentle off-heat poach keeps the shrimp snappy instead of rubbery, and a short rest in the fridge lets the Clamato, ketchup, lime, and hot sauce meld into something far greater than the sum of its parts.
mexicanappetizerseafood -
Veggie Pizza
This cold veggie pizza is the potluck classic done right: a buttery crescent-roll crust baked until golden, slathered with a fluffy ranch-spiked cream cheese layer, and topped with a confetti of crisp raw vegetables. Every square eats crunchy, creamy, and cool all at once. Cooling the crust completely and patting the vegetables dry are the two moves that keep the base snappy instead of soggy.
appetizeramericanvegetarian -
White Queso Dip
This is the silky white queso you get at a Tex-Mex restaurant: white American cheese melted with evaporated milk, green chiles, and a quick sauté of onion, jalapeño, and garlic. The evaporated milk is the trick — its concentrated milk proteins keep the cheese emulsified and pourable instead of clumpy or greasy. It comes together in one saucepan in about 25 minutes and stays scoopable as it sits.
mexicanappetizerparty-food -
Cheese Fondue
A classic Swiss cheese fondue: nutty Gruyère and mellow Emmentaler melted into dry white wine until glossy, stretchy, and just barely boozy, ready for spearing with cubes of crusty bread. Tossing the grated cheese with cornstarch and adding it a handful at a time over gentle heat keeps the emulsion silky instead of greasy or stringy, while a splash of lemon juice and kirsch sharpens all that richness.
swissappetizercheese -
Mexican Corn Dip
This hot Mexican corn dip takes its cues from esquites: sweet corn charred hard in a skillet, then folded into a tangy cream cheese and sour cream base with jalapeño, green chiles, and melty Monterey Jack. Charring the kernels first is the move that matters — those browned, toasty edges keep the dip from tasting like plain creamed corn. It bakes until bubbling at the edges, then gets showered with cotija, lime, and cilantro so every scoop lands creamy, smoky, and bright.
appetizermexicanparty-food -
Blooming Onion
A whole sweet onion is cut into petals, double-dredged in paprika-spiked seasoned flour, and deep-fried until it fans open into a crackly golden flower. Each petal pulls away shatteringly crisp outside and silky-sweet inside, ready to drag through a creamy horseradish dipping sauce. An ice-water soak opens the petals, and the flour-egg-flour coating pressed deep between the layers is what keeps every bite crunchy instead of soggy.
appetizeramericandeep-fried -
Chicken Empanadas
Golden, flaky hand pies stuffed with shredded chicken simmered in a smoky chipotle-tomato sauce with melty Monterey Jack. The butter-and-vinegar dough bakes up crisp and tender without frying, and simmering the filling until it is thick and almost dry keeps every seam sealed. They are the rare party appetizer that tastes just as good reheated the next day.
mexicanappetizerbaked