13 Simple Holiday Appetizers your Guests won’t Stop Talking About

We are hosting our annual cocktail party this weekend so I am scouring my recipe archives in preparation. The holiday season is busy enough without spending hours folding tiny pastry puffs. I like appetizers that look sophisticated, taste incredible, but require minimal effort. Whether you’re hosting a formal cocktail hour or a casual gift exchange, these simple starters use clever shortcuts and bold flavors to ensure your guests are asking for the recipe before the main course even hits the table. Let’s chat about 13 simple holiday appetizers your guests won’t stop talking about.

Crudite Platters

I like to serve a mixture of grilled and parbroiled vegetables. I prepare the parbroiled veggies early in the day and place in the refrigerator. You can also grill the veggies, cool them and then bring to room temperature. We have a warming drawer so I usually have Steve grill them before the guests arrive and keep them warm in the warming drawer.

This platter has a mixture of grilled eggplant and brussel sprouts with parbroiled mini carrots and green beans from Trader Joes. This time I served it with the chipotle dip (below) but I have also served them with Ina’s carmelized onion dip[ (which can also be made in advance)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Chipotle Aioli

This is a family favorite. I have heard this a thousand times (I don’t like brussel sprouts but these are good!). The Chipotle Aioli can be thrown together in minutes, and you can substiture your favorite dip if you don’t like chipotle.

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5 from 4 votes

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Chipotle Aioli

Ingredients

• 1 lb brussel sprouts get a mix of green & purple if possible
• 2 T citrus-flavored olive oil or EVO
• sea salt and cracked black pepper

Chipotle Aioli

• 1/4 c greek yogurt
• 1/4 c mayonnaise
• 1 garlic clove
• 1-2 tsp adobo sauce
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• smoked sea salt & cracked pepper to taste

• 1 green onion (green top only) finely sliced

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.Wash and trim ends of Brussels sprouts.Slice each Brussels sprout in half .Place Brussels on a sheet pan. Drizzle with oil, dash with salt and pepper and toss to coat.Roast in oven for 15 minutes or until slightly browned, While the Brussels are roasting, combine the aioli ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside in refrigerator until ready to serve.When Brussels are roasted to perfection, remove from oven and transfer to serving dish. Serve with Chipotle Aioli topped with green onions.

  
  
  

Notes

You can use all mayonaise if you aren’t worried about calories.  I prefer to use 1/2 greek yogurt for a healthier option.  You can also use regular EVO but the blood orange olive oil takes the edge off the brussel sprouts

Roasted Baby Bell Peppers & Tomatoes over Buratta

I have made this recipe with or without the pistachios. I sometimes serve it with crostini, if I don’t have a baguette in the freezer I substitute flatbread crackers.

This recipe is adapted from Half Baked Harvest’s recipe here.

Roasted Cauliflower Chick Pea & Fresh Cucumber Appetizer

Here is another appetizer that can be thrown together in a flash, and served with fresh pita triangles.

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Roasted Cauliflower Chick Pea & Fresh Cucumber Appetizer

Servings 8

Author Cindy Hattersley

Ingredients

• 8 oz greek yogurt
• 2 T zatar seasoning
• 1/2 tsp citrus salt
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tsp lemon olive oil

Roasted Vegetables

• 2 heads cauliflower divided into small flowerettes
• 2 cans chick peas
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• zatar, pepper, citrus salt to taste
• 1 loaf pita bread cut into triangles
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh topped parsley
• 1 japanese cucumber chopped

Instructions

• Combine first five ingredients together for yogurt sauce. Toss pita with 1 T olive oil in bowl. Toss chick peas cauliflower, garlic, zatar, salt and olive oil together in a bowl. Preheat oven to 425. Spread vegetables on foil lined baking sheet. Roast cauliflower, chickpeas garlic and olive oil for 30 minutes or until slightly crispy. Allow to cool. While veggies are cooling, toss pita with 2 tsp. olive oil in bowl. Spread pita triangles on foil lined baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes. Spead yogurt sauce on platter add cooled vegetables. Top with chopped cucumber and chopped parsley. Serve with toasted pita triangles

Crostini or Bruschetta Based Appetizers

These appetizers always get snapped up. They are easy to prepare but unfortunately have to be assembled right before guests arrive. You can use almost any kind of soft cheese as a base, goat cheese, mascarpone, brie, even creme fraiche or mayo based aoli. Use your imagination by using whatever is fresh in your garden (which isn’t much this time of year).

Crostini with Smoked Salmon & Crostini with Sundried Tomatoes

To prepare the Smoked Salmon Crostini, spread crostini with creme fraiche and top with smoked salmon, capers and fresh dill. To prepare the sundried tomato crostini top with fresh mozarella sundried tomatoes and fresh basil.

Fig Mascarpone & Mint Bruschetta

The slightly sweet mascarpone cheese is a nice compliment to the fig jam. Spread mascarpone cheese on crostini, top with fig jam, prosciutto and mint.

Brie Based Simple Appetizers

Remember the predictable “cheese ball” appetizers from our childhoods? A dressed up wheel of brie appears to be an impressive appetizer that can be dressed up with any number of toppings.

Simple Brie Appetizer

This appetizer is so simple it needs no recipe. Remember the cream cheese covered with red pepper jelly from the past? This is an updated version. Grab a wheel of Brie and top it with your favorite jam (fig jam, tomato jam, hot bacon jam) add a bit of fresh greens for a garnish and you are ready to kick off the holidays without the stress.

Three Tomato Brie Appetizer

This is a simple appetizer that can be prepared in a flash with brie and pantry ingredients you already have on hand.

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5 from 8 votes

Three Tomato Brie Appetizer

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Cindy Hattersley

Ingredients

• 1 7 oz wheel of brie
• 1 T chopped fresh tomato
• 1 T chopped sundried tomato in olive oil
• 1 t capers
• 1 t chopped basil
• tomato jam to taste

Instructions

• Let brie warm to room temperature. Spread with tomato jam, Chop tomatoes & basil. Sprinkle tomatoes, basil and capers on top. Serve with crackers

Brie with Mushroom Conserva

Simple Dips

Smoked Trout Dip

This smoked trout dip is so simple it is embarassing. Even guest who think they don’t like fish love this one. My sister who was a gourmet cook often served this. You can also substiture smoked salmon, but I don’t think it is as good.

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5 from 4 votes

Smoked Trout Dip

Ingredients

• 8 oz smoked trout
• 3/4 c greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1 T mayonaise
• 2 T fresh dill
• salt & pepper to taste (I skip the salt)
• lemon juice to taste

Instructions

• Using a fork, mix trout, greek yogurt, mayonaise, and lemon juice, in a medium bowl until trout flakes into very small pieces. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired.

  Just before serving, garnish with dill.

  
  
  

Grilled Eggplant Appetizer

This recipe is a variation of Ina Garten’s Roasted Eggplant Spread that I have made for years. It actually tastes better if you make it a couple days ahead, it’s healthy, and any leftover spread is great on sandwiches. I like to serve it with fresh pita chips but you could even purchase them in a pinch to make it even simpler.

Whipped Lemon Feta Dip

This is another of my favorite appetizer rotations that you can serve at your next dinner party. You can serve pita chips and any number of vegetables alongside the whitpped feta.

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whipped lemon feta dip

Ingredients

• 8 oz feta
• 1/2 c greek yogurt
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil + more to serve
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 T parsley flakes

Instructions

• Place the feta, yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and red pepper. Pulse until not quite creamy. Transfer to a serving dish and top with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped parsley. Serve as a dip with crudites and pita chips.

The Always Popular Charcuterie Board

Vary your charcuterie board options with the seasons.

You might enjoy my posts, Trader Joe’s Ultimate Harvest Charcuterie Board (Simple & Fast), or Last Minute Cheese and Charcuterie Party with Ingredients from Costco, or this really old post Tips on Creating a Beautiful Cheese Baord in the Rough Luxe style for inspiration.

You might also find my post Host a Casual Cocktail Party for 30 with these Stylish Tips

Shop Cocktail Party Essentials

Shop Cocktail Party Pantry Items

Etu Home has many wonderful cutting board options including the beautful scalloped one i own. You can find them all here.

Ultimately, the best holiday memories aren’t made by spending the entire night stuck in the kitchen; they’re made around the table with the people you enjoy By choosing appetizers that prioritize bold flavors and beautiful presentation over complicated techniques, you can actually enjoy your own party. These 13 Simple Holiday Appetizers your Guests won’t Stop Talking About will prove that you don’t need a culinary degree to be the host of the season you just need a few smart recipes and a little holiday spirit. So, pour yourself a glass of wine set out your platters, and enjoy the season!