25 Festive Finger Food Recipes for Your Next Party

By

Food & Wine Editors

Updated on July 15, 2023

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Gin-Spiked Sour Cream — Photo: Photo by Dan Perez / Food Styling and Prop Styling by Nurit Kariv

Finger foods aren't just appetizers, they're appetizers you can eat while standing up, chatting, and — most importantly — holding a glass of wine. It's a small but important difference at a cocktail party, which you can appreciate if you've ever had to awkwardly shove an entire slider into your mouth while trying not to spill your drink. Because finger foods are served at parties, they should be festive and fun. — Carrie Mullins

01 of 25

Caviar Waffle Bites

Caviar Waffle Bites — Greg DuPree

Instead of serving blini alongside a tin of caviar, make these handheld snacks. Waffles are cut into strips, and the pockets are filled with caviar, crème fraîche, and snipped chives to form the perfect pop-in-your-mouth morsel.

02 of 25

Onion Jam and Goat Cheese Rugelach

Onion Jam and Goat Cheese Rugelach — Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis

Rugelach are typically layered with jam and chopped nuts and topped with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, but the dough makes a surprisingly compatible home for savory fillings. These are spread with a thick homemade onion jam flavored with balsamic vinegar, sumac, and coriander. Serve them as an hors d'oeuvre with a glass of sparkling wine.

03 of 25

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops — Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

These two-bite quintessential cocktail party scallops are easy to prepare and ready in just half an hour. The bacon adds nice smoky flavor, but you can also make this recipe with prosciutto or pancetta. Scale the recipe up as needed.

04 of 25

Shakshuka Deviled Eggs

Shakshuka Deviled Eggs — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Shakshuka meets deviled eggs in this colorful snack. Instead of poaching eggs in a tomato-based sauce, you'll spoon a garlicky, slightly spicy tomato jam flavored with harissa and smoked paprika on top of deviled eggs. The yolks are pureed with mayo and plain yogurt for a creamy, perfectly balanced filling with a little bit of tang.

05 of 25

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Pickles and Gin-Spiked Sour Cream

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Gin-Spiked Sour Cream — Photo by Dan Perez / Food Styling and Prop Styling by Nurit Kariv

These extra-crispy potatoes are boiled and then smashed and baked on a sheet pan. Dollops of gin-spiked sour cream; sprinkles of salmon roe, chives, dill, and parsley; and quick-pickled turnip, beet, and cauliflower make these colorful bites a blast to eat.

06 of 25

Gougères with Smoked Salmon, Caviar, and Prosciutto

Smoked Salmon and Caviar Gougeres — Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman

These cheesy puffs look fancy but come together in minutes to make any snack feel like an occasion. We topped half of ours with slivers of prosciutto and smoked salmon and half with dollops of caviar and crème fraîche, but any toppings will do. Or, simply eat them plain — they shine on their own.

07 of 25

Cheesy Sausage Cocktail Toasts

Jennifer Causey

For these tasty toasts, cookbook author Andrea Slonecker borrows from the nostalgic flavors of her childhood and swaps creamy mascarpone and robust Taleggio for the Velveeta in her grandmother's original version. "The topping can be made a few days ahead, and it's as straightforward as browning some Italian sausage and melting in the cheeses," she writes.

08 of 25

Tomato Bruschetta

Tomato Bruschetta — Matt Taylor-Gross

Just about any summer cocktail party can use a platter of bruschetta. This appetizer comes together in just minutes, making it easy on the host. It’s a great way to show off tomatoes when they're ripe and in season, whether they came from your garden, the farmers market, or the grocery store.

09 of 25

Two-Bite Parmesan Biscuits

Two-Bite Parmesan Biscuits — Caitlin Bensel

These biscuits are baked on a bed of grated Parmesan cheese, resulting in a crispy, cheesy crust around the bottom of each biscuit. Perfect on their own, try them drizzled with a bit of honey, or improvise by tossing a few handfuls of fresh thyme or chives into the dough to take them over the top.

10 of 25

Green Peppercorn-Marinated Feta

Green Peppercorn Marinated Feta — Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Marinating cubed feta is a low-effort move with big-flavor results. Pair it with crackers and fruit to anchor your cheese board. Feta's slightly airy texture makes it perfect for soaking up bold flavors such as these briny, piquant peppercorns. For the best results, look for feta in brine; drain off the brine before marinating.

11 of 25

Mini Wedge Salads with Anchovy Dressing

Mini Wedge Salads with Anchovy Dressing — Greg DuPree

These mini wedges are coated in a creamy, anchovy-packed dressing and dredged in crunchy panko, making them easy to eat with your hands.

12 of 25

Salty Black-and-White Sesame Cocktail Cookies

Salty Black-and-White Sesame Cocktail Cookies — © Quentin Bacon

"In these cookies, you start with a sweet dough and the sesame seeds push it over on the sweet-savory continuum," says baking expert Dorie Greenspan. Blending ground almonds with the flour emphasizes the nutty sesame flavor.

13 of 25

Oysters on the Half Shell with Rosé Mignonette

Oysters on the Half Shell with Rosé Mignonette. Photo © Michael Turek — © Michael Turek

Great oysters are delicious "naked," as Island Creek founder Skip Bennett says, but sometimes chef Jeremy Sewall dresses them up with a mignonette (vinegar sauce) like this one, made with sparkling rosé.

14 of 25

Hogs in a Blanket

Hogs in a Blanket — © Chris Court

This fun take on pigs in a blanket swaps spicy andouille sausage for the hot dogs, with sweet mustard chutney as a condiment.

15 of 25

Herb-Roasted Olives

Herb-Roasted Olives — © Edward Pond

These herb-roasted olives are an elegant, simple hors d'oeuvre that's easy to prepare and even easier to snack on. Serve them warm or at room temperature.

16 of 25

Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios

Popcorn with Sesame-Glazed Pistachios — © John Kernick

Mixing popcorn with glazed pistachios creates a sweet-salty snack that's fantastic with cocktails.

17 of 25

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms with Breadcrumbs

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms with Bread Crumbs — © Frances Janisch

For these texturally satisfying bites, creamy chèvre is stuffed into cremini mushrooms and topped with crispy herbed breadcrumbs. You can make these a day ahead and refrigerate them without the breadcrumbs, then sprinkle the topping on before serving.

18 of 25

Lamb Pizzettes

Lamb Pizzettes — © Kana Okada

This recipe is based on the Arabic lamejun, a thin piece of dough topped with minced meat, then baked. Here, ground lamb is flavored with cumin, mint, and pine nuts.

19 of 25

Herbed Chickpea Bruschetta

Herbed Chickpea Bruschetta — © John Kernick

The key to these delicious bruschetta from chef Nancy Silverton is lots of olive oil. After she bakes the chickpeas with a variety of flavorings — including onions, pancetta, and carrots — she purees them with a good amount of oil, spreads the puree on toasts, and drizzles with a little more oil.

20 of 25

Cauliflower Fritters

Cauliflower Fritters — © Akiko Ida & Pierre Javelle

To create these wonderful tapas, chef 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.

21 of 25

Pigs in a Blanket

Pigs in a Blanket with Black Pepper Pastry — © Abby Hocking

Chef 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.

22 of 25

Chorizo-Filled Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Chorizo-Filled Dates Wrapped in Bacon. — © Tina Rupp

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

23 of 25

Fried Citrus Peanuts

Fried Peanuts with Asian Flavors — © Lucy Schaeffer

To make these irresistible peanuts extra tangy, chef Chris Yeo soaks them in lime juice before frying and tossing them with tart shredded lime leaves.

24 of 25

Hush Puppies with Remoulade

Hush Puppies with Remoulade — © Squire Fox

Former F&W editor Emily Kaiser Thelin created these crispy hush puppies — cornmeal dumplings — by adapting a recipe from chef Susan McCreight Lindeborg. Emily serves them with a version of the creamy French sauce remoulade, which she spikes with Tabasco and a little ketchup.

25 of 25

Potato and Mozzarella Croquettes

Potato-and-Mozzarella Croquettes — FREDRIKA STJÄRNE

These light and cheesy fried potato croquettes are breaded twice: They’re dredged in breadcrumbs, dipped in beaten eggs seasoned with mustard and garlic, then dredged in breadcrumbs once more. The payoff is a super-crisp, flavorful crust for the filling of soft mashed potato and melted cheese. Scale the recipe up as needed.

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