Appetizers

Small, flavorful dishes designed to awaken the appetite and set the tone for a meal. From crisp finger foods and savory dips to elegant canapés, appetizers deliver big flavor in small bites perfect for sharing or starting a multi-course feast.

Mustard, Kale and Cheddar Pull-Apart Bread

By Anna Theoktisto

These mustardy monkey bread rolls boast lots of cheddar cheese and garlic, making them ideal with soup or pasta.

3 hr 5 min

Cheesy Beef Pockets

By Iram Mansoor

Savory, melty beef and cheese folded into crispy baked tortilla pockets — great for a quick dinner or party snack. Spiced ground beef with bell pepper and optional Serrano gives these pockets a bold, comforting flavor.

50 min

Stone Fruit Caprese

By Ali Slagle

A standout caprese starts with great fruit. You need ripe tomatoes to weep juices, which then mingle with grassy olive oil and milky cheese to make your dressing. Basil adds freshness, black pepper and flakes of sea salt add crunch, and that’s it, a perfect combination. But if the stone fruit options are looking better than the tomatoes at the market, you can use them instead. They’re similar in flavor to tomatoes, but need cajoling to relinquish their juices. By letting sliced fruit macerate with salt, sugar and lemon juice, their fruitiness becomes more electric and their juices pool on the plate. Start with fruit you can smell and pair it with equally quality ingredients. Caprese is more about shopping than cooking.

20 min

Black and Tan Chocolate Popcorn

By Andrea Nguyen

This Black and Tan Chocolate Popcorn recipe by Andrea Nguyen is a two-toned sweet snack with caramelized white chocolate and bittersweet dark.

1 hr 45 min

Garlic Confit Recipe

This delicious garlic confit recipe is versatile, and easy-to-make, plus you can eat it on just about anything.

40 min

Cauliflower Salad with Yogurt Sauce and Pomegranate

By Reem Kassis

Get the recipe for this best-ever Cauliflower Salad with Yogurt Sauce and Pomegranate on Food & Wine.

35 min

Herby Feta and Yogurt Dip With Sumac

By Yossy Arefi

This tangy and creamy dip is the perfect appetizer for a warm summer evening outside, and it makes a nice condiment for grilled meats and veggies, too. Fresh green herbs brighten up the salty feta, and sumac gives it another layer of flavor and a gorgeous pop of color. Choose a feta in brine over vacuum-packed, if you’ve got the option. Feta varies a lot in salt content, so you won’t see a measured amount of salt here; just taste the dip and add a bit if you think it needs it.

5 min

Shrimp Dumplings With Saffron Shallot Sauce

By Korsha Wilson

Aushak and mantoo (or mantu), dumplings found in Afghan cuisine, are often filled with soft cooked leeks and onion or ground beef, but this shrimp-filled iteration is the product of the chef Shamim Popal’s journey from Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates and, eventually, Washington, D.C. After opening a French creperie in 2003, Mrs. Popal decided to share dishes inspired by her upbringing in Afghanistan at Lapis, a restaurant in the city’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. A filling, yet light appetizer, these are meant to be prepared by and for a group, which makes light work and speaks to Mrs. Popal’s own memories of making aushak in Kabul with family.

1 hr 30 min

Honey Butter Potato Chip Tower With Crispy Salami

By Jessie YuChen

Turn potato chips into a fancy snack. This salami and potato chip tower, inspired by Korean honey butter chips, is fun finger food for holiday entertaining.

Crab and Artichoke Dip

By Melissa Knific

Briny crab and artichokes, paired with creamy cheeses, sour cream and mayonnaise, set the groundwork for this American coastal favorite with regional variations. On the East Coast, this dip is sometimes referred to as Maryland crab dip, as it uses blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay and Old Bay seasoning; in the Pacific Northwest, Dungeness crab and artichokes are essential to the mix. This version pulls inspiration from both, and you can use whatever variety is available to you at your local market. You don't need to use lump crab. Instead, look for less expensive options, which have small pieces of crab that distribute more evenly in the creamy base. The cheese pull — that long, gooey string that extends as a result of cheese being pulled apart — is the telltale sign that a dip has reached peak richness. Here, fontina achieves maximum cheesiness and doesn’t overpower the other flavors. Serve with crostini, pita or a sleeve of saltines.

50 min

Classic Filipino Puto

By filipinofoodlove

Fluffy, slightly sweet steamed rice cakes that make the perfect bite-sized snack or dessert. This easy shortcut uses common pantry ingredients (no overnight fermentation) and steams up tender puto you can top with shredded cheese.

30 min

French Onion Baked Brie

By Chandra Ram

The flavors of French onion soup meet gooey melted Brie in a buttery puff pastry crust in this irresistible appetizer.

1 hr 20 min

Feta-Ranch Wedge Salad

By Alexa Weibel

A towering wedge salad is fun to look at, but the height and shape make it impractical for a couple reasons: Toppings tumble right off and dressings can’t permeate it properly. This recipe fixes all that by calling for thinly sliced wedges that are stacked on their sides. The toppings stay put, and the dressing can work its way into all the little nooks and crannies. This salad looks impressive, it tastes delicious and it’s actually quite no-fuss: You can make the dressing days ahead of time, and swap in whatever herbs, spices, seasonings you have and crave. The only tricky aspect is emulsifying your feta. The key is time: Scrape the sides as needed and keep blending. With some coaxing, it always gets there.

30 min

Big Mac Tacos

By Iram Mansoor

Crispy mini tacos filled with seasoned ground beef, cheddar, lettuce, pickles and a tangy Big Mac–style sauce. Fast, fun handhelds that combine classic burger flavors in taco form—perfect for parties or a weeknight twist.

55 min

Cold Tofu Salad With Tomatoes and Peaches

By Hana Asbrink

Sweet, savory and refreshing for summer’s hottest days, this is the salad to make when tomatoes and peaches are at their prime, on the verge of bursting. Inspired by Italian caprese salad and Japanese hiyayakko, it features juicy, ripe wedges of peaches and tomatoes seasoned with flaky salt, which draws out their juices to mingle with soy-balsamic dressing and creamy silken tofu. Top the salad with a shower of fragrant basil and mint, a nod to the shiso that often accompanies hiyayakko, and a few cranks of black pepper. Be sure to spoon the umami-rich dressing (the best part!) over the tomatoes, peaches and tofu so that it pools at the bottom of the serving platter. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.

20 min

Bacon Jalapeño Mozzarella Poppers

By Rey | kingcooks

Crispy, smoky bacon wrapped around spicy jalapeños stuffed with gooey mozzarella — a crunchy, cheesy appetizer perfect for game day or any get-together. Golden-breaded and fried (or baked), these poppers deliver heat, melty cheese and irresistible crunch.

35 min

Focaccia di Recco

By GIC Kitchen

This Ligurian flatbread recipe is a prime example of how important focaccia is to the region. Stringy stracchino cheese is sandwiched between two layers of bread dough and baked in a roaring hot oven, resulting in an indulgent snack that's perfect for any time of day.

30 min

Grana Padano crisps with thyme and pink pepper

By Valeria Necchio

These cheese crisps are perfect for serving with a few drinks before a dinner with friends. Incredibly simple and quick to make, they showcase the incredible flavour of Grana Padano – simply double (or triple) the recipe if you're feeding a crowd.

15 min

French Onion Baked Brie

By Melissa Clark

Instead of being covered in pastry, this baked Brie recipe lets the runny, tangy cheese take center stage, happily oozing into a baking dish along with a caramelized onion topping, which gives the whole thing French onion soup vibes. You can make the onions a few days ahead of time. Then just spread them onto a round of Brie or Camembert and pop it into the oven before serving with crostini or crackers. Like all melty cheese dishes, this is best served warm while the cheese is at its softest and most delightfully gooey.

45 min

Crispy Beef Cones

By Iram Mansoor

Savory ground beef and peppers tucked into oven-baked tortilla cones, topped with gooey mozzarella. Crunchy, handheld, and perfect for game day or parties—serve warm with a sprinkle of parsley.

45 min

Classic Caprese Salad

By Melissa Clark

This classic summer dish doesn’t get any simpler or more delicious. Use different-colored heirloom tomatoes for the prettiest salad, and buffalo milk mozzarella for the best tasting one.

15 min

Spiraled Spanakopita With Feta

By Brian Levy

The first thing you’ll notice about this savory Greek pie — called striftí spanakotyrópita in its homeland — is its alluring spiraled form. But the shape serves a purpose beyond aesthetics: It amplifies the irresistible contrast between the crunch of the crust and the tenderness of the filling by increasing the surface area of the flaky, golden, olive-oil-varnished phyllo that encases the herbaceous greens. A handful of dried currants balances the salty cheese, and fresh parsley helps bring it all to life. If you’re lucky enough to have a Greek grocery nearby, look for frozen “country-style” phyllo, which is thicker and more tender than the paper-thin variety found in most supermarkets, making it closer to the handmade dough preferred by Greek cooks.

10 hr 15 min

Mushroom Queso Fundido

By Christina Morales

Sizzling and gooey, queso fundido topped with chorizo is a staple on Mexican restaurant menus across the country. But the dish likely stems from home cooks along North Mexico and South Texas. Depending on where you go, different cheeses like Monterey Jack, Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheeses are used. Bricia Lopez, an author of “Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling (Abrams, 2023)” and “Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico” (Abrams Books, 2019), and an owner at Guelaguetza, in Los Angeles, was inspired by the salsa de queso and quesillo she grew up eating at her family’s restaurant to create her version of queso fundido, which uses the Oaxaca cheese to create a great cheese pull. She also tops it with mushrooms and epazote (see Tip), a fresh herb she grew up eating with cheese.

1 hr

Tzatziki

By Kay Chun

Tzatziki is a popular Greek sauce traditionally served with souvlaki and pita bread, but it’s super versatile in its potential: It’s a great snacking dip with crudités and chips, as well as a bright and tangy sauce to drizzle on grain bowls or serve alongside roasted chicken or salmon. Most commonly finished with dill, tzatziki is sometimes made — and equally delicious — with other fresh herbs, like mint or oregano. It can be made a few hours ahead and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

10 min

Arayes (Meat-Stuffed Pitas)

By Ben Chelin

Crispy, juicy Middle Eastern pita sandwiches stuffed with a spiced ground beef mixture and served with a bright garlic-tahini sauce. Crunchy outside, flavorful meat inside — perfect for dinner or a shareable appetizer.

40 min

Crab Cakes

By Lidey Heuck

Flavored with Old Bay seasoning, mustard and a splash of Worcestershire sauce, these classic Maryland-style crab cakes are heavy on the crab, with just enough bread crumbs and mayonnaise to hold everything together. Serve with homemade tartar sauce, lemon wedges and a green salad for a special lunch, dinner or appetizer any time of the year. For an hors d’oeuvre-sized portion, form smaller cakes (about 3 tablespoons of batter each) and pan-fry as directed. The batter can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.

1 hr

Spicy Chicken Bacon Bites

By Jordan Isom

Bacon-wrapped, jalapeño-studded chicken bites cooked in the air fryer for a crispy, spicy snack. Seasoned with a savory chicken rub and finished with your favorite BBQ rub — serve hot with ranch for dipping.

42 min

Costa Rican Enyucados

By Food Network Kitchen

These croquettes stuffed with cheese are the quintessential accompaniment to a Costa Rican breakfast, lunch or coffee hour. Boiled yucca is mashed and stuffed with mozzarella, then fried to golden perfection.

Caesar’s Caesar Salad

By Pati Jinich

The Caesar salad on the menu today at Caesar’s in Tijuana, Mexico, is but a distant cousin of the original version first served there 100 years ago. It is believed to have included a whole coddled egg, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, and did not include anchovies. But Javier Plascencia and his family, who have been running Caesar’s for more than a decade, consider this iteration the best one yet. Romaine lettuce is coated in a creamy, intensely pungent dressing seasoned with anchovies, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and freshly squeezed lime juice. Garlicky, baked baguette croutons provide serious crunch. A few rules elevate a good Caesar salad to a great one: The leaves must be whole, crisp and cold; croutons must be sliced, not diced; and Parmesan must be applied generously.

1 hr 40 min

Lumpia Shanghai

By KRIZIA

Crispy Filipino-style spring rolls filled with seasoned ground pork and finely chopped vegetables — perfect as a party finger food or snack. Golden, crunchy outside with a savory, juicy filling that pairs beautifully with sweet chili or spiced vinegar.

45 min

Kimchijeon (Kimchi Pancake)

By Samin Nosrat

At Pyeong Chang Tofu House in Oakland, Calif., Young S. Kim’s golden kimchijeon are a revelation. Tart with pungent kimchi, the pancakes are both satisfyingly chewy and shatteringly crisp. At the Tofu House, where Mrs. Kim turns 1,400 pounds of Napa cabbage into kimchi each month, her homemade kimchi is the secret to her kimchijeon’s unsurpassed flavor. Use the most flavorful traditionally prepared kimchi you can find — it’ll make all the difference in this simple recipe. This version, adapted from Mrs. Kim’s original recipe, comes together quickly: Just combine kimchi and its juice with a few dry ingredients into a simple batter, then fry it in a cast-iron skillet into a mouth-watering pancake. Serve it to a crowd as an appetizer, or eat it on its own as a filling meal.

15 min

Tangy Tzatziki

By Eric Kim

Inspired by the tzatziki served at Sto Kastro, a Greek restaurant in Germersheim, Germany, this thicker, fluffier iteration of the sauce lets the pairing of cucumber and yogurt shine. The main technique here is to really squeeze the liquid out of both the cucumbers and the yogurt, which results in tzatziki that’s both creamy and almost fluffy. A second trick, from the cookbook author Suzy Karadsheh, is to use distilled white vinegar instead of lemon juice. The vinegar’s straightforward acidity delivers the best of the cucumber and yogurt. This cool, creamy mix tastes fantastic when spread on warm pita bread and crackers or used as a dip for chips and fresh crunchy vegetables.

15 min

Cheesy Pork Embutido

By Jason

Filipino-style pork embutido loaded with smoked Gouda and wrapped around hot dogs and hard‑boiled eggs. Savory, slightly smoky, and great sliced for sandwiches or served with banana ketchup. Perfect for gatherings or an easy comfort‑food dinner.

1 hr 25 min

Burmese Chickpea Tofu with Spicy Dipping Sauce

By Burma Superstar, Oakland, CA

This chickpea flour “tofu” contains no soy but delivers a creamy-firm texture similar to tofu and is easy to pull off at home.

Crispy Beef Tacos

By Iram Mansoor

Crispy mini flour tacos filled with seasoned ground beef, fresh pico de gallo and a creamy taco sauce. Quick to assemble and perfect for a casual dinner or party snack.

35 min

Crispy Chicken Nuggets with Cane's Sauce

By Iram Mansoor

Crispy, crunchy homemade chicken nuggets made from minced chicken, double-battered and fried until golden, served with a tangy Raising Cane’s–style dipping sauce. Sparkling water in the batter gives extra lightness and crunch; the sauce is quick to mix and benefits from chilling to meld flavors.

1 hr 35 min

Grana Padano cauliflower florets with parsley dip

By Valeria Necchio

This dish of crisp, cheesy cauliflower florets is a fantastic dish to serve either as a starter or as part of an antipasti platter.

40 min

Double-Tomato Focaccia

By Inés Anguiano

This no-knead tomato focaccia bread gets a one-two flavor punch from a brick-red smear of zhuzhed-up paste dimpled with blistered cherry tomatoes.

Egg & Avocado Salad

By Lalada.

A creamy, high-protein egg and avocado salad that's brightened with shallot and lemon—ready in minutes. Spoon onto cucumber rounds for a fresh, low-carb breakfast, snack, or light lunch.

20 min

Lemon Pepper Wings

By Inés Anguiano

Crispy baked wings get tossed in a punchy sauce of black pepper, lemon, and butter for a homemade take on the Atlanta classic.

Peach, Cucumber and Mozzarella Salad With Gochujang Vinaigrette

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

The theory that opposites attract is confirmed in this unlikely pairing of peach and gochujang. The sweet and spicy notes of gochujang dance with the fresh fruitiness of peach, enhancing its sweetness and elevating its floral notes. Crunchy, juicy cucumbers and creamy mozzarella provide a welcome counterpoint to the boldness of the vinaigrette. Keep this game-changing salad dressing in your back pocket for any time you are looking to liven up a dish; it would work well drizzled over grilled or roasted veggies or even pan-fried tofu. The peaches can be swapped for any summer stone fruit; try nectarines, plums or apricots. If you’d like to add some greens, opt for baby spinach or arugula.

20 min

Savory Feta Turnovers

By Nargisse Benkabbou

Inspired by the Greek tradition of frying a whole block of feta, these versatile flaky pastries offer a delightful blend of salty, tangy and sweet flavors. The creamy feta and zesty preserved lemon create a harmonious filling that's both comforting and indulgent. With just a handful of ingredients (including handy store-bought puff pastry), these turnovers are a quick and easy starter perfect for dinner parties or a casual weeknight gathering. They may also be enjoyed as a snack or on-the-go meal at room temperature. Store leftovers in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and reheat at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. And for a bite-sized treat, consider turning them into finger food appetizers by using smaller pastry sheets and dividing the filling accordingly.

40 min

Air-Fryer Gochujang Chicken Wings

By null

These wings are the reason so many people in the Two Sleevers Facebook group ran out to buy air fryers. Crispy, salty, sweet, and spicy with Korean chile paste—little bites of heaven! And, of course, super easy to make. If I were you, I’d inaugurate my air fryer with this super-simple recipe. Excerpted from EVERY DAY EASY AIR FRYER © 2018 by Urvashi Pitre. Photography © 2018 by Ghazalle Badiozamani. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Spanakopita

By Kay Chun

Spanakopita, the classic Greek savory pie, is elegant and impressive, yet easy to make. The star ingredient is spinach, and lots of it (two pounds to be exact). This pie tastes best when made with fresh spinach, though you could also use the same amount of frozen spinach — just be sure to thaw completely and squeeze out all the excess water before using. This recipe can be baked a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator overnight, then rewarmed at 400 degrees until heated through, about 15 minutes. Cut into small squares or triangles to serve as an appetizer, or for a more complete meal, serve larger squares of the pie alongside soup or salad.

2 hr

Pear and Radicchio Salad With Blue Cheese

By David Tanis

This is the quintessential salad for autumn and winter, stunningly colorful. For the best-tasting result, look for pears that are ripe but still firm. But if soft pears are all you have on hand — or can find, substitute crisp apples. The crunch here is key.

15 min

Sweet and Salty Puppy Chow Recipe (Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Mix)

By Leah Colins

This sweet-and-salty puppy chow recipe upgrades the classic with browned butter, miso, and cayenne for a crunchy, chocolatey snack that's wildly delicious.

45 min

Grilled Asparagus with Taramasalata

By Zoi Antonitsas

This best-ever taramasalata gets flavor from fresh herbs, garlic and lemon juice. Get the recipe on Food & Wine.

1 hr 30 min

Pa Amb Tomàquet (Catalan Tomato Bread)

By Steven Raichlen

In Barcelona, this tomato bread with garlic and olive oil is served all over the city. Steven Raichlen puts his mark on the classic dish by grilling the bread instead of merely toasting it, creating a bit of bitter char that offsets the tangy, sweet tomatoes. Get the recipe at Food & Wine.

15 min

Garlic Butter Steak Bites

By Yasmin Fahr

Inspired by bite-size steak tips — the highly snackable bar food that’s beloved in Boston and the greater New England area — these garlic butter steak bites follow a classic bistro flavor profile accented with a punch of soy sauce. They’re quick and clever: Cutting steak into small pieces creates more surface area to quickly soak up a marinade, and the morsels cook off in just minutes. Here, they are marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and olive oil, then finished in the pan with a swirl of butter, garlic and parsley. They are perfect for summer spreads alongside a hearty, lemony farro salad or a summery corn salad, plus some bread to swipe up the rich sauce. Serve with toothpicks for easy snacking, or small plates.

1 hr

Saganaki Halloumi (Cypriot Fried Halloumi)

By Christian Hernandez

This Saganaki Halloumi recipe showcases Halloumi fried in butter and served with caramelized nectarine, lemon yogurt, and spiced honey.

2 hr 45 min