30 Perfect Christmas Appetizers to Make This Holiday Season

Olives marinated in citrus juice, garlic, and spicy crushed red pepper become a sensational cocktail snack.

These simple skewers feature a glaze of maple syrup, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, and a little bit of grapeseed oil.

Mustard and white pepper amp up the heat in this homemade mayo, served as a dipping sauce for shrimp.

Impress your Christmas dinner guests with this herbed salmon tartare, which is really easy to make.

"Once finished, you can blanket it in smoked salmon and crème fraîche, or layer it with pastrami and whole grain mustard," Gail Simmons writes. "Or even simpler: enjoy it under a gently fried egg for breakfast. It doesn't get much cozier than that."

Bourekas are crisp, savory little parcels filled with anything from vegetables and cheese to ground meat. Inspired by his grandmother's recipe, Michael Solomonov's version is stuffed with sweet potato, Bulgarian feta, dill, and olives.

After a whirl in the food processor, brussels sprouts and tahini come together to form a creamy dip in this riff on baba ghanoush. Michael Solomonov serves it topped with more roasted brussels sprouts and hazelnuts, and with warm pita for dipping.

The tartness and texture of the blackberry conserva is a nice contrast to the rich, silky pâté. Spoon leftover blackberry conserva on pancakes, waffles, or ice cream.

Sweet and meaty sea scallops make the perfect skewer, great for dipping into this sweet-spicy sauce from chef Matt Jennings.

Athena Calderone's signature aesthetic comes through in this striking appetizer. Roasting the grapes concentrates and deepens their sweetness.

Cookbook author Nik Sharma's book Season weaves inspiration from his upbringing in Bombay with stories and experience from his adult life in the U.S. The result is a culinary memoir filled with craveable recipes like this one. Sharma notes that any mix of nuts will work for this recipe—just be sure to let them cool completely before serving or storing to ensure a crisp, not sticky, texture.

Jen Pelka loves serving Champagne with playful bite-size foods like pigs in a blanket. To take them up a notch, she brushes the puff pastry with a tasty mix of honey, mustard, and fresh black pepper before rolling up with the hot dogs and baking.

This dip is the perfect way to show off whatever fresh vegetables you can get your hands on.

This filling appetizer stars curry-and honey-roasted carrots wrapped in flaky puff pastry. For best results, look for carrots that are five to six inches in length. Pre-roasting carrots with curry and thyme balances their natural sweetness with rich, savory flavor, making them a satisfying stand-in for sausages.

A perfect cocktail snack, bacon-wrapped dates are chewy, crispy, sweet, savory, and smoky all at once. Plump and tender Medjool dates are stuffed with a mixture of blue cheese and cream cheese, and a toasted walnut stands in for the pit. Fresh goat cheese could easily be swapped for the blue cheese, and roasted salted almonds can replace the walnuts. For sweeter stuffed dates, drizzle them with honey before serving.

"The topping for these toasts can be made a few days ahead, and it's as straightforward as browning some Italian sausage and melting in the cheeses," Andrea Slonecker writes.

This classic fondue from chefs Bruce and Eric Bromberg includes Jarlsberg, Emmental, Gruyère, and Parmigiano, plus just the right amount of kirsch. It's creamy, gooey, and perfectly balanced.

Carla Hall makes her own crunchy crackers to serve with her cheese spread, a riff on a Southern classic.

Two high-impact ingredients—funky Stilton cheese and pickled sweet or spicy peppers—come together to form the ultimate one-bite snack. Pickled peppers, like spicy peperoncini and mild Peppadew, are packed with enough flavor to stand up against strong cheeses. You can use most blue cheeses here, including Gorgonzola and Roquefort.

For this snack, meaty bites of slow-roasted slab bacon are tossed with a homemade chile crisp that's studded with freshly toasted chunks of dried chiles, fresh ginger, and garlic. Native to Mexico, slender and spicy dried Japones chiles lend their heat to this quick and easy version of the popular Chinese condiment. For an even easier version, try this with your favorite store-bought version of chile crisp.

Filled with four kinds of cheese and plenty of tender artichoke hearts, this dip is creamy with a crisp, golden top. Be sure to drain the thawed frozen spinach well to avoid excess water, which can break the cheese sauce.

Rubbed with toasted ground spices then lacquered with a sweet and tangy glaze of maple syrup and a duo of vinegars, these meaty ribs have a deep flavor and an irresistibly crackly crust.

Buttery, mild Castelvetrano olives add just enough salt and tang to these fried sausage snacks that pair beautifully with a crisp martini or chilled glass of wine. Use a high quality Italian sausage for the best texture and flavor.

Inspired by merguez, a North African lamb sausage, these meatballs are loaded with cumin, garlic, and paprika for the ideal one-bite nosh. Harissa gives them a fiery heat that's tempered by the herby dip. You can also try preparing these make-ahead meatballs with ground beef or a plant-based meat alternative, such as Impossible.

Délice de Bourgogne, a triple-crème cheese that's even more luscious than brie, is topped with pan-roasted mushrooms and herbs in this elevated appetizer.

Layers of creamy egg salad, crisp red onion, herbed cream cheese, and salty, briney caviar come together in a beautiful molded dip that serves up an entire caviar platter in one dish.

This iconic Southern hors d'oeuvre is a classic for good reason—it's easy to put together, looks polished on a platter, and boasts an irresistible savory flavor. Be sure to take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes in advance so it has plenty of time to soften before mixing up the cheese ball.

This crunchy party appetizer from 2021 F&W Best New Chef Lucas Sin, of Junzi Kitchen and Nice Day in New York City, is inspired by classic Chinese shrimp toast. Here, Sin combines calamari and shrimp for the toast topper; a quick blitz in the food processor yields a tasty mixture that fries up perfectly crisp. Haw flakes, Chinese sweets made from the fruit of Chinese hawthorn, are a sweet and tangy snack usually served to guests with tea or as a treat for children; here, Sin uses them to flavor a dipping sauce for the toasts.

For his lumpiang sariwa recipe, 2021 F&W Best New Chef Carlo Lamagna of Portland, Oregon, skips the deep fryer and instead makes these tender spring rolls by wrapping delicate homemade coconut crêpes around lettuce leaves filled with fresh vegetables. Topped with a sauce of soy sauce simmered with brown sugar and star anise and sprinkled with crunchy chopped peanuts, these lumpiang sariwa make a nice appetizer or light meal.

These quickly stir-fried beef bites deliver all the savory luxury of a steakhouse-caliber steak, without the stress over cooking one at home. The buttery, velvety sauce coats every piece nicely, and the vermouth's herbal richness pairs perfectly with the savory Worcestershire. Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks, or enjoy over mashed potatoes or polenta.