The best way to kick off a hearty holiday dinner is with a fantastic selection of appetizers. If you’re hosting this year’s Christmas party, you must arm yourself with a table full of appetizer options.
Some classic appetizers are the cheese board, canapé, finger sandwiches, snack bites, crab cakes, and more. But if you’re tired of putting out the same things every holiday, these Christmas appetizer recipes will help you switch things up in time for Christmas eve.
These Christmas appetizers are easy yet full of incredible flavor. They’re a surefire way to excite guests for the main courses.
1. Merry Little Christmas Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are the perfect party food. They’re tasty and easy, but this simple recipe can elevate them for the Christmas holidays.
Each of these Merry Little Christmas Deviled Eggs looks gorgeous and festive. They taste as good as they look: eggy, creamy, and spicy. The red stuff that looks like holly berries isn’t poisonous – they’re pink peppercorns.
Besides the peppercorns, you’ll need spicy brown mustard (sub with yellow or Dijon), sour cream (or mayo), parsley leaves (for garnishing), and eggs. Use a piping bag to recreate the swirls. If there are no pink peppercorns, use red bell pepper.
2. Pigs in a Blanket Wreath
Pigs in a blanket are another perfect party appetizer. But instead of piling them in a bowl, you can make a Christmas wreath out of these tasty treats. The end product is an adorable holiday app your guests can’t resist.
To make this holiday appetizer, you’ll need crescent rolls, mini hot dogs, Dijon mustard, egg wash, poppy seeds, rosemary sprigs, and ketchup. Assemble as you would a pig in a blanket, then arrange them all into a wreath.
As the pigs bake, they form a solid and golden wreath. Surround with rosemary sprigs for an elegant touch. Serve with ketchup.
3. Mashed Potato Cheese Balls
Mashed potatoes and cheese are an underrated yet fantastic combination. You can explore this duo by making yummy cheese balls. The recipe is simple, and the balls are fun to eat, especially with the cheese pull.
You’ll need potatoes (recommended Yukon gold), cream, salt, cheese (preferably mozzarella), flour, eggs, panko bread crumbs, and oil. Every cheese ball has a cube of cheese inside, which gets all gooey after deep-frying these treats.
For flavor, you can toss the balls in garlic or onion powder. You can also add green onions or bacon. Serve these crispy and fluffy balls with ketchup.
4. Caramelized Onion Dip
Dips are popular delectable treats at any holiday party. You can choose different flavors and match them to other appetizers, like chips. Some popular dips are cheese dip and hummus.
For this entry, we’re going for something new. You’ll use caramelized onions to make one of the best holiday apps. The ingredients list includes yellow onions, salted butter, salt, sugar, white wine, sour cream, cream cheese, parsley, and soy sauce (or Worcestershire).
This creamy dip takes less than an hour to make. They significantly improve simple apps like bagels, tortillas, fresh veggies, and other festive finger foods.
5. Cranberry Brie Bites
Cranberry-flavored treats are abundant during the Christmas season. These sweet and tart fruits make their way into the Yuletide menu, from main courses to desserts. While they’re at it, you might as well turn them into the perfect appetizer!
The ingredients are flour, a crescent dough sheet, brie cheese, whole berry cranberry sauce, and fresh rosemary (optional). Assemble the treats according to directions, then bake.
The creamy brie and cranberry sauce melt flawlessly into the crescent roll dough as they bake. They make perfect tartlets, which you can top with nuts instead of rosemary. Serve and eat while warm!
6. Spinach Dip Christmas Tree
A spinach artichoke dip is a fantastic treat and appetizer by itself. But you can take it to a new level by transforming it into a Christmas tree. Yes, an edible and delicious Christmas tree pastry with creamy spinach and artichoke filling.
To make this holiday treat, you’ll need puff pastry, frozen spinach, cream cheese, artichoke hearts, garlic, jalapeno, mozzarella, parmesan, salt, and pepper. You must also have an egg wash to achieve that golden brown finish.
These treats are less messy than eating appetizers with a spinach artichoke dip. Moreover, there’s a bonus set of spinach artichoke roll-ups.
7. Smoky Bacon Wraps
Smoky bacon wraps are such a popular appetizer and finger food. The concept is simple – sausages wrapped in bacon – but its simplicity makes it phenomenal. I mean, who doesn’t want bacon?
These wraps are such a fan favorite that as soon as the guests arrive, they’re as good as gone. So, make as much as possible if you’re preparing this recipe for your holiday party.
They’re easy to prepare. There are only three ingredients: bacon, mini-smoked sausage links, and brown sugar. Assemble the wraps, lay them on a baking sheet, and bake until the bacon is crispy and caramelized.
8. Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Offer your early bird guests these healthy and creamy blue cheese-stuffed mushrooms while waiting for the main course. They’re easy to make and quite addicting. You might even turn this into a holiday staple.
You’ll use large brown mushrooms for this recipe. Other ingredients are butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, white wine, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, cream cheese, blue cheese, salt, and pepper. Prepare parsley for garnishing.
When cleaning the mushrooms, do so carefully, so the heads and stems are intact. Don’t throw away the stems; include them in the creamy and decadent filling to intensify the mushroom flavors.
9. Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
Most of the appetizers so far involve complex flavors that hardly attract kids. Thus, I include a recipe inspired by the favorite sandwich flavor of many children – ham and cheese.
These ham and cheese pinwheels are delicious and fun. They look attractive to kids and adults, so they’ll munch on them while waiting for the main meal. However, they still look sophisticated enough for the holiday table.
To make these pinwheels, you’ll need pizza dough, ham, swiss cheese, butter, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, poppy seeds, parsley, and cooking spray. If there’s no pizza dough, use crescent roll sheets.
10. Smoked Salmon Appetizer with Cucumber and Lemon Dill Cream Cheese
If you’re looking for fancy and gluten free holiday apps, this recipe fits the bill. Despite their sophisticated look and flavor, these smoked salmon appetizers are easy to make.
You’ll need mini cucumbers, cold smoked salmon, dill, fresh cracked pepper, and lemon dill cream cheese. The last component you’ll make from scratch. For that mixture, you’ll need cream cheese, Greek yogurt, lemon zest and juice, fresh dill, garlic cloves, and sea salt.
Once the cream cheese mixture is ready, lay down mini cucumber slices on a plate. Top those with salmon before piping the cream cheese mix on top.
10 Simple Christmas Appetizer Recipes
Give your holiday dinner an amazing start with these Christmas appetizer recipes!
Ingredients
Merry Little Christmas Deviled Eggs
Pigs in a Blanket Wreath
Mashed Potato Cheese Balls
Caramelized Onion Dip
Cranberry Brie Bites
Spinach Dip Christmas Tree
Smoky Bacon Wraps
Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
Smoked Salmon Appetizer with Cucumber and Lemon Dill Cream Cheese
Directions
- Select your favorite recipe.
- Organize all the required ingredients.
- Prep a Christmas appetizer in 30 minutes or less!