The best Christmas appetizers are easy, bite-size and festive: a warm baked Brie, a creamy hot dip, meatballs and stuffed mushrooms, plus a few red and green bites like pinwheels or a caprese wreath that look like Christmas on the platter. Below are 25 easy Christmas appetizers for a holiday party or Christmas Eve: festive Christmas-themed bites, cheese and dips, hot party appetizers, elegant seafood and steak bites, and make-ahead and no-cook ideas, plus how many appetizers to make per guest.
Festive Christmas-Themed Appetizers
These appetizers look like Christmas: wreaths, trees and red and green colors. They are fun to put together, and guests love to photograph them.
1. Christmas Pinwheels
Spinach lavash spread with cream cheese and pesto, then rolled up with shredded carrots, a quick red cabbage slaw and yellow bell pepper, makes colorful pinwheels that look like holiday ornaments. Roll them ahead, chill and slice just before the party.
Recipe: Christmas Pinwheel Appetizer
2. Caprese Christmas Wreath
Thread mini mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil leaves onto short skewers and arrange them in a ring on a round platter. Tuck rosemary sprigs in between so it looks like a wreath, and drizzle with balsamic glaze just before serving.
3. Christmas Tree Veggie Platter
Arrange broccoli florets in the shape of a Christmas tree, then decorate it with cherry tomatoes and bits of red bell pepper as ornaments, a few celery sticks as the trunk and a star cut from yellow bell pepper on top. Serve with ranch dip or hummus for a fresh, light appetizer.
4. Cranberry Brie Bites
Press small squares of puff pastry (or use mini phyllo shells) into a mini muffin tin, add a cube of Brie and a spoonful of cranberry sauce, and bake at 375°F until the pastry is golden and the cheese melts, about 15 minutes. Store-bought phyllo shells are already baked, so they need only 5 to 8 minutes, just until the cheese melts. Top with chopped pecans or a tiny sprig of rosemary.
5. Muhammara Cucumber Bites with Pomegranate
Strips of lavash spread with muhammara, a roasted red pepper and walnut dip, are topped with thin cucumber ribbons, pomegranate seeds and fresh mint, dill and cilantro. The red and green colors are perfect for Christmas, and the bites are light enough to serve before a big dinner.
Baked Brie, Dips and Cheese Appetizers
Warm cheese and creamy dips are the heart of a Christmas party spread. Set them out with crackers, baguette slices and vegetables and let guests help themselves.
6. Honey Walnut Baked Brie
A wheel of Brie topped with chopped walnuts and a drizzle of honey bakes at 350°F until soft and gooey inside. It’s one of the easiest Christmas appetizers you can make, and it disappears fast. Serve it warm with crackers and sliced bread.
Recipe: Honey Walnut Baked Brie
7. Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Chopped artichoke hearts and spinach are mixed with mayonnaise, Parmesan and Monterey Jack, then baked until hot and bubbly. Serve this party classic with tortilla chips, crackers or toasted baguette slices.
Recipe: Spinach and Artichoke Dip
8. Christmas Charcuterie Board
A charcuterie board feeds a crowd with no cooking at all. Combine two or three kinds of cured meat, such as salami and prosciutto, with a hard cheese, a soft cheese and a blue cheese, then fill in the gaps with crackers, grapes, dried cranberries, nuts and olives. A few rosemary sprigs make it look festive.
9. Pimento Cheese Spread with Jalapeño
Mix softened cream cheese with sharp cheddar, chopped pimentos, green onions and finely chopped jalapeño for a quick spread with a little kick. The red pimentos and green onions give it Christmas colors. Serve it with crackers or celery sticks.
10. Goat Cheese Mousse Crostini
Goat cheese whipped with cream, fresh rosemary and lemon zest is spread on toasted baguette slices and drizzled with a sweet balsamic and red wine reduction. These elegant crostini taste like they came from a restaurant, but you can make the mousse and the sauce earlier in the day.
Recipe: Goat Cheese Mousse Crostini
Hot Christmas Party Appetizers
Warm bites are always welcome at a winter party. Most of these bake in 15 to 25 minutes, so you can pop them in the oven as guests arrive.
11. Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs
Put a 2-pound bag of frozen fully cooked meatballs in the slow cooker with a 14-ounce can of jellied cranberry sauce and a 12-ounce bottle of chili sauce. Stir and cook on low for about 4 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours, stirring once or twice, until the meatballs are heated through to 165°F. The sweet and tangy glaze tastes like the holidays, and the slow cooker keeps the meatballs warm through the party. Serve with toothpicks.
12. Cheese-Stuffed Chorizo Meatballs
Ground pork and chorizo meatballs hide a cube of white cheddar inside and bake in just 15 minutes. Serve them on skewers with chili sauce for dipping; a little festive ribbon on each skewer makes them party-ready.
Recipe: Cheese Stuffed Chorizo Meatballs
13. Italian Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms
Cremini mushroom caps are filled with Italian sausage, cream cheese, Parmesan, shallot and crunchy panko, then baked at 375°F until golden. They are hearty enough that guests who skip dinner still go home happy.
Recipe: Italian Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms
14. Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
Juicy shrimp wrapped in thin-cut bacon that’s brushed with honey and sprinkled with garlic powder make a salty-sweet bite nobody can resist. Par-baking the bacon first means it gets crispy before the shrimp overcooks.
Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Appetizers
15. Pigs in a Blanket
Kids and adults alike love pigs in a blanket. Wrap cocktail sausages in thin strips of refrigerated crescent roll dough and bake at 375°F for about 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Serve them with honey mustard and ketchup for dipping.
Elegant Christmas Eve Appetizers
For a dressier Christmas Eve, serve a few elegant bites with seafood, steak and fine cheese. They pair beautifully with Champagne or a festive cocktail.
16. Classic Shrimp Cocktail
Shrimp cocktail is a Christmas Eve classic that needs almost no cooking. Arrange chilled cooked shrimp around a bowl of cocktail sauce made from ketchup, prepared horseradish and a squeeze of lemon, and serve on a bed of ice to keep it cold.
17. Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms
Lump crabmeat mixed with cream cheese, Parmesan, Old Bay seasoning and buttery cracker crumbs fills cremini mushroom caps that bake until golden. They look fancy but are easy to make, which makes them perfect for a Christmas Eve seafood spread.
Recipe: Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
18. Smoked Salmon Pinwheels
Flour tortillas spread with cream cheese flavored with fresh dill and a little wasabi are layered with smoked salmon, rolled up and sliced. The dill cream cheese can be made ahead of time, so the pinwheels come together quickly before the party.
19. Filet Mignon Bites with Tomato Chutney
Small rounds of puff pastry are spread with tomato chutney and baked, then topped with slices of seared filet mignon, a little goat cheese and fresh dill. One filet makes about 18 bites, so this luxurious appetizer is more affordable than it looks.
Recipe: Filet Mignon Appetizers with Tomato Chutney
20. Gougères (French Cheese Puffs)
Gougères are bite-size French cheese puffs made from choux pastry and nutty Gruyère. They bake up crisp and golden outside and airy inside, and they taste wonderful with a glass of Champagne. You can pipe them ahead and freeze them unbaked, then bake them straight from the freezer for a few extra minutes.
Make-Ahead and No-Cook Christmas Appetizers
These appetizers can be made a day ahead or need no oven at all, which leaves your kitchen free for the main meal.
21. Olive and Thyme Cheese Ball
Cream cheese, shredded cheddar, black olives, thyme and onion powder are mixed, shaped into a ball and rolled in dried parsley, so the cheese ball looks green and festive. Wrap it and refrigerate until party time, then serve with crackers.
Recipe: Olive and Thyme Cheese Ball
22. Christmas Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are always a hit at a holiday party. Mash the yolks of hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise, a little Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, pipe the filling back into the whites and sprinkle with red paprika and green chives for Christmas colors. Cook the eggs and make the filling a day ahead, then fill them just before serving.
23. Prosciutto-Wrapped Pears
Wrap thin slices of prosciutto around wedges of ripe pear with a few leaves of arugula, then drizzle with balsamic glaze. These salty-sweet bites need no cooking at all. If you make them an hour or two ahead, brush the pear with a little lemon juice so it doesn’t turn brown.
24. Tomato Bruschetta
Chopped tomatoes tossed with basil, garlic, olive oil and white balsamic vinegar are spooned onto crisp toasts just before serving. In winter, cherry or grape tomatoes usually have more flavor than large tomatoes. The red and green topping looks festive on any appetizer table.
Recipe: Tomato Bruschetta
25. Spiced Candied Pecans
Toss pecan halves with a whisked egg white, sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne, then bake them at 250°F for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until dry and crisp. Set them out in small bowls for snacking, or pack them in jars as homemade Christmas gifts.
How Many Appetizers per Person?
If appetizers come before a sit-down Christmas dinner, plan about 4 to 6 bites per guest and serve only two or three kinds, so nobody fills up before the main course. If appetizers replace dinner, plan about 10 to 15 bites per guest for a two- to three-hour party, since guests eat the most in the first hour. For an appetizer-only party of 8 to 10 guests, offer four or five kinds; for 20 or more guests, offer six to eight.
Tips for Easy Christmas Party Appetizers
- Mix hot and cold. Pair one or two hot appetizers with several cold or room-temperature ones, so you are not juggling the oven all night.
- Make ahead. Cheese balls, dips, deviled egg filling, pinwheels and candied nuts can all be made a day before.
- Use your slow cooker. Meatballs and warm dips stay hot for hours on the low or warm setting.
- Add color. Cherry tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, cranberries, rosemary and basil make any platter look like Christmas.
- Keep cold food cold. Perishable appetizers such as deviled eggs, shrimp, dips and cheese platters shouldn’t sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Put out smaller platters, refill them from the fridge and serve shrimp cocktail on ice.
Whether you are hosting a big Christmas party or a cozy Christmas Eve at home, choose a few festive bites, one warm cheese or dip and something you can make ahead, and you will spend more time with your guests. What’s your favorite Christmas appetizer? Share it with us in the comments!
