Vegetarian Appetizers For Entertaining
What’s New: This collection was recently refreshed with new additions and updates.
At holidays, cocktail parties, and dinner parties, vegetarian appetizers are a must if you want vegetarian guests to feel welcome and not like an afterthought.
Here you’ll find easy vegetarian make-ahead appetizers for entertaining, including quick finger foods, healthier options, classic crowd-pleasers, and a few more creative ideas. Plus some helpful hosting tips, serving tips, and last-minute ideas to make hosting easier..
What to expect
This collection is organized to make entertaining easier. You’ll find vegetarian appetizers grouped by style and level of effort – from quick finger foods and puff pastry bites to dips, wraps, and mini soup starters.
You’ll also find practical hosting help, including how many appetizers to serve, creative serving ideas, last-minute store-bought options, and tips for mixing vegetarian and non-vegetarian appetizers when needed.
Puff Pastry Appetizers
I absolutely LOVE puff pastry. It’s crispy, flaky, buttery and so easy to work with these days when you buy frozen pre-rolled sheets. Just unfold and use. It makes anything taste great. And the recipes below are all easy finger foods.
Tomato Tart with Puff Pastry
Puff Pastry Cheese Twists
Knishes with Root Vegetable Mash (In Puff Pastry)
Super Easy Potato Knishes Recipe
Beet Appetizer With Goat Cheese On Puff Pastry
Easy & Quick Appetizers
Quick and easy speaks to me big time. As long as the appetizers are delicious and pretty on the plate. All these vegetarian appetizers take between 10-20 minutes to make, some with great shortcuts. So no excuses.
Stuffed Mini Peppers With Goat Cheese
Caprese Appetizers (on mini skewers)
Dukkah (a Unique Appetizer in 10 Minutes)
Endive Appetizer With Ricotta and Gems
Baked Brie and Preserves (Easy Appetizer Recipe)
Herb Popcorn (3-Min Savory Snack or Appetizer)
Crostini and Flavorful Dips
Crostini are simple little toasts (in Italian). They make great finger foods and the toppings are endless. We have two crostini recipes here, but if you scrounge around in your fridge, you can probably create your own.
Dips are equally as popular and can be made well ahead of serving time. If you have a favorite store-bought dip, go for it. Just find something fun to dip with.
Avocado Appetizers on Crostini With Pizzazz
Knorr Spinach Dip (In a Bread Bowl)
Roasted Garlic Appetizer (For Garlic Lovers)
Pesto Crostini With Peaches and Ricotta
Eggplant Dip (Asian-Inspired)
Cheese and Olive Appetizers (Baked, 10 Minutes)
Appetizers in Wraps
I’m using the term ‘wrap’ loosely here. Fun options and all dairy-free. With a little practice, the pretty and popular vegetable rice paper rolls are much easier to make than you might think. Serve the peanut tofu appetizer with toothpicks are on endive. The dumpling wraps use frozen dumplings.
Rice Paper Rolls (With A Twist)
Tofu With Peanut Sauce
Easy Lettuce Wraps Recipe with Dumplings
Mini Soup Tasters
I often serve soups as hot appetizers when people are gathering instead of at the table. Mini espresso cups or shot glasses are perfect vessels. I put them out on a tray with a coffee thermos filled with soup (nothing chunky, any kind that can be sipped). You can, of course, serve the mini cups with a spoon and some homemade croutons.
Spiced Butternut Squash Soup (Thai-Inspired)
Easy Gazpacho Recipe (smooth or chunky)
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Easy Tomato Soup with Canned Tomatoes
Number of Appetizers Needed Per Person
Catering experts suggest:
- For a dinner party: 6 per person
- For a cocktail party (no dinner): 8-12 per person
A rule of thumb for how many different types of appetizers needed:
- 3 types for 8-10 guests
- 4-5 types for 14-16 guests
Creative Ways To Serve Appetizers
This is the fun part. Here are a few ideas.
The table spread: Choose appetizers with contrasting colors and shapes. If you serve them buffet style on a table, vary the heights of the dishes using cake stands, glasses or mason jars. For the holidays, I buy some sparkly stars or shapes at the dollar store to sprinkle over the tablecloth. Festive!
Interesting serving dishes: Look around the house and think outside the box. Cake stands, goblets, jars, framed mirrors, artwork covered with glass, short vases and vintage plates are all good choices. I love to serve soups or freshly squeezed juice in mini espresso cups or shot glasses.
Fun food vessels (beyond crackers): Get creative by using food as the vehicle for a topping. Some great examples are cucumber rounds, mini phyllo cups (I buy these), thin square cheese slices, apple or pear slices and cooked sweet potato rounds. Or how about putting a dip in a hollowed-out pineapple or melon half?
Last-minute Appetizer Ideas (store-bought)
If most of your energy has gone into planning dinner and appetizers feel like an afterthought, don’t worry. With a few simple, store-bought shortcuts, you can still put out appetizers that look intentional – and are always popular. I use many of these.
- Juice shots: Fresh orange juice or apple cider served in small glasses or shot cups (plastic ones from the dollar store work perfectly).
- Spiced nuts: Make your own or buy them ready-made from a bulk food store.
- Veggie cups with hummus: Pipe store-bought hummus into small cups (a zip-top bag with the corner snipped works well) and stand in veggie sticks like carrots, peppers, or cucumber.
- Fresh fruit: Grapes, melon, or mango slices — simple, refreshing, and always welcome.
- Dumplings with dipping sauce: Boil frozen dumplings, drain well, and toss with a couple of drops of oil to prevent sticking. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and serve with toothpicks and dipping sauces (soy, peanut, or chili sauce). A foolproof crowd-pleaser.
- Cheese board: Add grapes, olives, or nuts for an easy, no-cook option.
- Guacamole with pita chips: Store-bought is perfectly fine here.
- Store-bought dips: Serve with celery sticks, crackers, or sliced vegetables.
- Warm brie with jam or honey: Cut the top rind off a wheel of brie, spread with fig or raspberry jam (or honey), and microwave for 60–90 seconds until soft. Serve with crackers – always a hit.
Hosting Tips For Entertaining
If you’re hosting for the holidays, we have a few tips to help you reduce the stress of preparing so you can enjoy your guests.
Non-vegetarian Appetizers (Optional)
Here are a few meat and seafood-based appetizer ideas in case you want to vary your spread.
- smoked salmon canapes on cucumber
- peach and prosciutto appetizers
- shrimp cocktail recipe (with homemade cocktail sauce)
- peanut butter chicken recipe (to serve on toothpicks as an appetizer)
- saucy baked chicken meatballs
- sous vide beef crostini with horseradish aioli
- roasted shrimp with gremolata dressing
