The start of the new year is near and the best New Year’s appetizer recipes are right here! Need a variety of finger foods for your New Year’s Eve fete? We’ve got you covered. Looking for a few easy appetizers to serve your New Year’s Day dinner guests? Stop searching and start cooking. The following appetizers are just what the party ordered.
Hot crab dip
This hot crab dip, from Alexandra at Alexandra Cooks, is so sumptuously satisfying, your New Year’s guests may just skip dinner and eat dip instead. Sure, hot crab dip is old-fashioned, but it also screams celebration with every creamy, cheesy, crabby bite. If you’ve never made crab dip before, this quick-to-the-table appetizer recipe will instantly make you a pro. All you have to do is make a well-seasoned cheese sauce with butter, half and half, cream cheese, cheddar, shallots and spices. Add the crab meat and fresh parsley, then spread the dip in a casserole dish. Cover with shards of butter-sautéed bread and bake until the dip is bubbling hot and the topping is golden brown. Serve the dip with toast points and crackers and watch it disappear.
Roasted grape and balsamic crostini
A surprising and sophisticated New Year’s appetizer, these roasted grape and balsamic crostini, from Meghan at Cake ‘n Knife, are an unforgettable finger food that will forever change the way you like to eat your grapes. Perfect for any festive winter gathering, this uniquely topped crostini feature toasted French baguette slices topped with a slather of whole milk ricotta, roasted grapes (be warned: these are addictive) and an intensely flavored balsamic vinegar reduction. Each eager nibble delightfully overwhelms your mouth with a welcome medley of sweet and savory flavors partnered with crunchy and creamy textures.
Spicy tuna and avocado cucumber sushi bites
Give your New Year’s Day guests a head start on their resolutions to eat healthier by serving these spicy tuna and avocado cucumber sushi bites from Closet Cooking. This vibrant and healthy appetizer comes together in minutes but lingers on the tongue with its fresh and spicy flavors. To make the bites, you simply top cucumber slices with finely diced sushi-grade ahi tuna and bits of avocado. The tuna gets its bold flavor from a mix of soy sauce, mirin, Sriracha and sesame. You can serve the sushi bites plain or dress them up with your choice of sauces, chopped nuts, seeds, toasted bread crumbs or a pinch of red pepper.
Grilled prosciutto, fresh mozzarella garlic toast with fresh basil
Need a scrumptious New Year’s Day appetizer that fits the bill for easy entertaining? Make this grilled prosciutto, fresh mozzarella garlic toast with fresh basil, an elegant yet near-effortless finger food, from Jenny Steffens at Everyday Occasions. You slice the bread and cheese, then let the grill or broiler do the work for you. To prepare, brush baguette slices with olive oil, then toast and rub with garlic. Top with thin slices of prosciutto and mozzarella cheese and toast for a couple of minutes just to melt the cheese. Scatter the toasts with salt, pepper and fresh basil, then promptly serve. Each step takes only a minute or two, which means you can prep this appetizer right before you’re ready to serve or at a moment’s notice for unexpected guests.
Charred corn and bacon guacamole
This charred corn and bacon guacamole recipe, from Amanda at Fake Ginger, takes guac to obsessive new heights. Best of all, if you already have leftover grilled or roasted corn, it takes mere minutes to mash up. Your New Year’s Day guests will fight over the chips to be the first person to get to scoop up a big bite of mashed avocado, charred corn, bacon, red onion, jalapeño and fresh cilantro. We suggest you make an extra large bowl of this rabble-rousing dip just to keep the peace. Be sure to serve the guac with lots of chips — otherwise, your guests will be hungrily scooping it up with their fingers.
Baked goat cheese dip
Goat cheese may be an acquired taste, but this baked goat cheese dip, from Aysegul Sanford of Foolproof Living, will be loved by all. Your New Year’s Day guests will swoon at first bite when the warm, creamy goat cheese melts in their mouth. To make the dip, you combine goat cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper and olive oil in a food processor and whiz until combined. Transfer the cheesy mixture to a baking dish and bake until the dip is hot and bubbling. Serve immediately with a generous drizzle of honey and your choice of crackers, veggies and fruit.
Bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese
These bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese, from Elizabeth at Frugal Mom Eh!, will quickly disappear and have your New Year’s Day guests begging for more. It’s a good thing you make them with only three ingredients and not much time in the oven. You slice each fresh date down the middle and stuff it with goat cheese, then wrap it with half a slice of bacon. Bake the prepared dates until the bacon is intoxicatingly fragrant and browned, then serve with toothpicks for easy picking. Wrapping dates with bacon is an ingenious way to keep the melty goat cheese tucked inside the fruit while it bakes and while your family and friends gobble them up.
Spinach dip
You can’t have a New Year’s gathering without a bowl of this scrumptious spinach dip from Kathleen at Gonna Want Seconds. Your family and friends will want seconds and even thirds after they get a mouthful of this vegetable-studded dip. The secret ingredient that makes this spinach dip better than any dip you’ve ever served is a packet of Knorr vegetable recipe mix. The mix is a medley of vegetables — including dried carrots, onions, tomatoes, celery root and more — that gives the dip a lovely crunch and a boost in nutrition. Sour cream and mayonnaise give the dip its traditional creamy texture and indulgent taste. Serve your spinach dip in a bread bowl to make it even more deliciously appealing.
Scallops with minted pea sauce
An elegant and healthy appetizer, these scallops with minted pea sauce, from Lauren Keating at Healthy Delicious, will give your New Year’s Day meal an upscale flair. Mint and ginger give the pea sauce a burst of freshness that impeccably complements the succulent seared scallops. You make the pea sauce from scratch with dried peas that are cooked until soft, then pureed with sautéed garlic and shallots, mint leaves, grates of ginger root, and chicken broth. To prepare the scallops, you dust them with flour and sear them in a hot dry skillet until they are golden brown. When your guests are clamoring for appetizers, ladle the warm pea sauce in a serving plate and top with a couple of scallops.
3-ingredient pork flautas
Still looking for the perfect appetizer to start off your New Year’s Day meal? Stop your pondering and make these three-ingredient pork flautas from Kate Ramos at Hola Jalapeño. Three ingredients! All you need is corn tortillas, leftover pork and vegetable oil. The garnishes — try salsa, sour cream, guac, shredded lettuce and cheese — are up to you. Roll the pork up in warmed tortillas and fry in the oil until crispy and golden brown. Set a platter of these flautas down and your family and friends will be hollering “delicioso!” until this Mexican finger food is all gone. Once you see how easily this New Year’s appetizer comes together, you’ll be frying them up anytime you have leftover pork and tortillas in the house.
Chimichurri meatballs
Joanna Cismaru at Jo Cooks calls her chimichurri meatballs an epic party food, and you will agree. Impressive in taste and presentation, these bite-sized eats are actually quite easy to make. The meatballs are a simple mixture of ground pork and beef, bread crumbs, onions and garlic — nothing complicated here. Then you fry the meatballs in oil until golden and cooked through. The chimichurri sauce is a tasty blend of fresh herbs, olive oil, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk it together and pour it over and under the meatballs. Garnish the whole dish with crumbled feta and serve. The crumbled feta really rocks this dish. These meatballs will be the most mouthwateringly memorable New Year’s appetizer you’ve ever made.
Mini crab cakes
These mini crab cakes, from Cathy at Lemon Tree Dwelling, are a sophisticated yet simple New Year’s Day appetizer that flaunt all of the finesse and flavors of a crab cake but in a bite-sized treat. Loaded with lump crab meat, red pepper, onion and cilantro, they are deliciously irresistible. Partner them up with the homemade garlic aioli and they become downright addictive. You make the mini crab cakes by mixing the ingredients together and forming the mixture into tablespoon-sized cakes, then frying them in oil until golden. The garlic aioli — a blend of mayo, garlic, cilantro and lemon juice — comes together after a quick whiz in the food processor. This appetizer is easy, elegant and one you’ll want to make again and again.
