I love appetizers, dips, and snacky food. I live for parties where I don’t have to sit down to dinner and can just graze on appetizers. Variety is the spice of life, and making a meal out of apps is the best kind of ‘dinner party’.
Here are 25 favorite appetizers, dips, and snacks that are party favorites. Many are 5 minute recipes, made in one-bowl, and are stirred together easily.
The last thing you need before a party is a complicated or fussy recipe. No way. Not when you have eyeliner to get on straight and strappy shoes to fasten.
1. Baked Triple Cheese and Salsa Tortilla Chip Dip – Three kinds of cheese in this dip that’s like amped up nachos meets Mexican-inspired lasagna
2. Creamy Baked Double Cheese and Onion Dip (gluten-free) – One of my favorite dips and I used to think I hated onions. Stir it together in one bowl in minutes and bake for cheesy comfort food
3. Macaroni and Cheese Baked Cheese Balls – A perfect use for the leftover macaroni that gets cold and stiff in your refrigerator. Bread it, bake it, devour it
4. Loaded Baked Tater Tot Dip – Favorite baked potato fixings baked together in a dip
5. Baked Brie with Stovetop Hot Pepper Jelly poured over the top
6. Corn and Double Cheese Dip (vegan, GF, fat free, serve warm or cold) – A five-minute dip to toss together and full of texture from the corn and peppers, or if you have extra time, bake it
7. Double Melted Cheese and Red Pepper Dip (GF) – aka Queso Dip or Ro-Tel Dip – Comes together in five minutes in the microwave. Creamy, cheesy, with just a bit of heat
8. Spinach Artichoke and Roasted Red Pepper Cheesy Squares – Like spinach and artichoke dip, in portable, hand-held form
9. Lightened Up Spinach and Artichoke Dip (Fat-Free, Vegan, Gluten-Free) – A lighter twist on the original with zero compromise on taste. Can be served chilled or baked
10. Cheater’s Guacamole (vegan, GF) – Nothing to dice, mince, or chop in this easy two-minute guac
11. Avocado, Cream Cheese, and Salsa-Stuffed Puff Pastries – Soft avocado and cream cheese with a touch of salsa baked into flaky puff pastry. One of my most popular recipes on Pinterest
12. Roasted Grapes and Balsamic Reduction with Cheese and Crackers – Homemade balsamic reduction in about 10 minutes, not hours, like with most recipes. Great recipe for grapes that have gotten a little soft and are past their prime crunchiness
13. Sweet with Heat Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts – Make candied nuts like you get at the mall in 30 minutes at home. Homemade & DIY always tastes better
14. Rosemary Chipotle Roasted Almonds (vegan, GF) – Rosemary adds a great winter-inspired flavor to the slightly spicy almonds
15. Fruit Seed and Nut Crackers – The homemade version of the fancy crackers that are ridiculously expensive. Make your own instead
16. Parmesan Ranch Snack Mix (no-bake) – A savory snack mix that’s ready in 5 minutes
17. Peanut Butter Nutella Pretzel and Peanut Snack Mix – PB, Nutella, salty-and-sweet, ready in 5 minutes
18. Cinnamon Sugar Chocolate Pretzels (no-bake, vegan, GF) – Ready in 5 minutes in the micro, salty-and-sweet, and so good
19. White Chocolate Buttery Waffles Snack Mix – Buttery waffles are tossed in with cereal, popcorn, white chocolate, and sprinkles
20. White Chocolate Vanilla Peanut Butter Puppy Chow (GF) – Like the classically addictive version, but with white chocolate rather than milk or dark, and just as addictive
21. Vanilla Cake Batter and White Chocolate Chip Caramel Corn – Cake batter-flavored caramel corn with white chocolate is one of my favorite versions of caramel corn
22. No-Bake Vanilla Cake Batter Chocolate Truffles – A huge Pinterest hit, year after year. People go nuts for these easy cake-batter flavored truffles
23. White Chocolate-Dipped Oreo Cookie Balls (no-bake) – The classic, easy holiday Oreo ball recipe. This version is coated with white chocolate and dusted with sprinkles
24. Chocolate-Covered 7-Minute Microwave Caramels – Better than candy shop caramels, no thermometer required, and I’ll never make stovetop caramels again when I can make them mindlessly in the micro
25. Old-Fashioned Butter Mints (no-bake, GF) – After all that food, you need some mints for breath control. Just like the mints your grandma may have kept in her candy jar or you get in restaurants
What are you making or doing for New Years Eve? Celebrating?
I plan to be at home, awake at my desk and editing blog posts or photos about the stroke of midnight, same as I am every other night. I drink champagne multiple times per week, but usually not until I’m done editing. I’ll probably just start a little earlier.
Thank you for your loyalty, support, friendship, and being awesome. Averie Cooks couldn’t exist without you! Happy 2014!
how are the pretzels with the chocolate and sprinkles vegan and gluten free? Is there a certain type of pretzel you get?
Some of these dips are going to make an appearance at our super bowl party.
Yay! LMK what you try!
I love appetizers. I could very easily just fill myself up on all of this goodness without missing a main course! Love the look of the baked dips in particular. I’m not sure why I’ve never baked a dip before… the cheesy goodness looks absolutely drool-worthy! Thanks for giving us such an easy and accessible round-up. I’m not hosting NY’s next week but I’ll be going to a friend’s place for dinner. I know what I’ll be bringing… that baked salsa dip goodness! xx
If you try the salsa dip, LMK!
These appetizers all look so tempting! I am loving the avocado stuffed puff pastry, yum!
LOVE the list! You always have creative things!
thanks, Kira!
Our taste in cheesy apps could not be more similar! I love every last recipe listed, especially the ones with tons of cheese and or avocado! I have an app coming up that I know you would LOVE!! Unfortunately, it has some meat, but you could swap it with something amazing and then you would be all over it! LOL!
I will be doing the very some thing as you on New Years. Well, minus the champagne!
I think you should break out the champs anyway :) And your apps always look amazing. I don’t really ‘concentrate’ on apps or savory food but this is just sort of a mishmash of what I’ve accumulated over the years. Maybe I should do more savory stuff in 2014. Who knows!
This is quite the drool worthy list, Averie! I’ll take one of each, please. :)
Thanks for always sharing such delicious and well thought-out recipes with us. I’ve come to love so many of them on your blog this year. Wishing you a hugely successful 2014!
Lisa Frank :)
What a lovely comment, Lisa! Thanks for being a loyal reader and trying my recipes and I hope you have a wonderful, awesome, and hugely successful 2014 as well!
This is such an impressive lineup – from savory to sweet, meal-like to apps, to just snacks. And everything is SO SO SO !! Midwestern!
Thanks, Katie! Some of these recipes span back a few years so it’s nice to see the collection of more savory recipes I’ve built over time, even though my usual posts have sweets outweighing savory 9 to 1. And yes, super Midwestern. Lots of cheese recipes, easy, one bowl, comfort food :)
Averie, I love them all! I’ve been eyeing those macaroni and cheese balls ever since you made that collage for Pinterest! I know Jason would seriously die over these!
It’s funny that I made those on a whim when I had some old (gloppy) leftover mac n cheese that was days old in the fridge and I just decided to go for it. Not my usual sweets/desserts but they’ve always been very popular and gives me hope about some savory recipes here and there :)
Savory! I had to check the url. I hope you have a happy new year my friend. XOGREG
Right back at you, Greg!! :) xo
I’m a HUGE fan of apps! I’d like to start with dipping my face into the Cheese and Salsa Tortilla Chip Dip – that sounds damn good!!
We have gone out and done something nearly every year we’ve been married, so I’m looking forward to a quiet night in with a movie. I’ll probably be asleep by 10:30 so New Year’s won’t be much different than any other night for me either! Might have to make some homemade Bailey’s and the Parmesan ranch snack mix for him!
homemade Bailey’s and the Parmesan ranch snack mix sound like a great way to spend the night! I’d add a little champagne too for a total hodgepodge effect :) I hope you guys have a nice night in. What a change after all those years going out!