Tapas Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated December 04, 2019
Popular throughout Spain, tapas are festive and delicious appetizers and snacks. Traditional tapas include mixed olives, fried baby squid, meatballs and chorizo. One of our favorite tapas is bacon-wrapped dates, which take just a few minutes and ingredients to prepare. Spanish cookbook author Penelope Casas takes this appetizer to the next level by stuffing spicy chorizo into sticky-sweet dates, and then wrapping them in bacon. These one-bite tapas are perfectly sweet and smoky, and are delicious any time of year. Whether you're craving briny seafood or crispy potatoes, these are our best tapas recipes.
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Pan con Tomate with Garrotxa Cheese

Credit: © Con Poulos
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Garrotxa is a semi-firm Catalan goat cheese that's delicately flavored and perfect for grating over crunchy, garlicky, tomato-rubbed toast.

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Stuffed Fried Sardines

Credit: © Marcus Nilsson
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The traditional Galician preparation is to simply grill the freshly caught sardines over hot coals. Instead, Janet Mendel fills the tender fish with a sweet-salty ham-and-raisin stuffing and fries them to make a crunchy starter that loves a crisp Albariño. For a light meal, serve these sardines with a mesclun salad and fresh lemon juice.

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Potato-and-Mozzarella Croquettes

Credit: FREDRIKA STJÄRNE
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These light and cheesy fried potato croquettes are breaded twice: They’re dredged in bread crumbs, dipped in beaten eggs seasoned with mustard and garlic, then dredged in bread crumbs once more. The payoff is a supercrisp, flavorful crust for the filling of soft mashed potato and melted cheese.

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Garlicky Shrimp with Olive Oil

Credit: © Quentin Bacon
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At La Casa del Abuelo, a tiny taberna in Madrid, gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic) are cooked in individual earthenware cazuelitas and served with plenty of bread to dip into the garlicky oil once the shrimp have been eaten. This dish can also be prepared in a skillet.

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Open-Faced Crab Empanadas

Credit: © Akiko Ida & Pierre Javelle
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José Andrés says: "I love America! Without a doubt, one of my favorite American ingredients is blue crabs, a true delicacy! And a great value, I think." This recipe is his twist on the traditional Basque txangurro (crab simmered with tomato), crossed with a Galician empanada (a savory pie). "Part of my efforts to build a bridge between America and Spain," he explains.

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Chicken Croquettes

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Chorizo-Filled Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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This timeless tapa from Spanish cookbook author Penelope Casas has everything going for it—it's sweet, smoky and savory, all in one bite.

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Flat Breads with Shrimp and Romesco Sauce

Credit: © Quentin Bacon
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Chef Sergi Millet cooks homey, regional food like romesco sauce, a slightly smoky puree of roasted red peppers, garlic and almonds. The versatile sauce is often served with fish or vegetables, but here Millet spreads it on rounds of soft homemade flat bread and tops it with sautéed shrimp.

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Fingerling Papas Bravas with Smoky Aioli

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The lemony aioli gets its deep flavor from smoked paprika.

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Cauliflower Fritters

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To create these wonderful tapas, José Andrés makes a batter with crunchy nubs of chopped cauliflower florets, fries spoonfuls in a skillet and then tops the fritters with yogurt sauce and a dollop of caviar.

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Lamb Meatballs with Mint

Credit: © Quentin Bacon
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The bar at Seville's Enrique Becerra restaurant serves a standout tapa, Albóndigas de Cordero a la Hierbabuena, meatballs made with the classic combination of lamb and mint.

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Chorizo Poached in Red Wine

Credit: © Cedric Angeles
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Jim German and his wife, Claire Johnston, make wonderfully simple snacks to accompany his cocktails. A favorite at their restaurant is this smoky Spanish sausage with garlic, cooked gently in red wine until it's plump and juicy.

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Fried Peppers with Prosciutto

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Spanish cooks traditionally fry sweet-hot Padrón peppers and toss them with salt. Adding prosciutto and mint makes the peppers extraordinary.

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Pincho Ribs with Sherry Glaze

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These ribs are named after Spanish snacks known as pinchos. Jason McCullar rubs them with a smoked-paprika spice blend, then lacquers them with a sherry-spiked glaze. For an ideal cocktail snack, look for riblets, a half portion of baby back ribs; they're especially meaty. Or ask your butcher to split your rib racks crosswise.

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Lamb Skewers with Salsa Verde

Credit: © Kana Okada
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Chef Way Seamus Mullen marinates leg-of-lamb pieces in a mix of more than 10 ingredients (including saffron and Spanish paprika), many of which he also uses to make the accompanying salsa verde.

Easy Way Save a step and marinate the lamb in a bit of the salsa verde.

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Pan-Fried Tuna Croquettes

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Make these tuna croquettes at your next dinner party.

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Crispy Wonton Pea and Ricotta Ravioli

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Perfect for any tapas party, these crispy fried wonton pea and ricotta ravioli are always popular.

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Saucy Clams and Shrimp with Wild Mushrooms

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One of the specialties of Seville's Modesto restaurant is Almejas Negras al Marqués de Villalúa, a wonderful, saucy clam dish cooked in Marqués de Villalúa, a wine from the neighboring province of Huelva. If you can't find this wine, substitute any dry, fruity white.

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Shrimp and Chorizo Flatbreads

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Chef Way Jose Garces prepares fresh coca dough, a Spanish dough similar to pizza dough, for the flatbreads. He also cooks dried garbanzos for the bean puree that's spread on top.

Easy Way Store-bought pitas take the place of coca dough, topped with good-quality prepared hummus, fresh shrimp and spicy slices of chorizo.

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