Food and Recipes Entertaining Ideas & Tips 25 Elegant Appetizers To Start Your Next Dinner Party By Southern Living Editors Updated on July 22, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke We love a good appetizer board, but there are some occasions when we want something a bit more elegant than Beer Cheese Fondue and Spinach-Artichoke Dip. A dinner party is a chance to let your culinary creativity come out, but sometimes the task of devising a full menu can seem quite daunting. Us at Southern Living are here to help. We've gathered some of our most sophisticated appetizer recipes that are sure to impress your guests. We have seasonal options, like our Spicy Strawberry-Goat Cheese Crostini, and everlasting staples, like our Bloody Mary Poached Shrimp. For your holiday party, be sure to try the Slow-Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs. If you're crunched for time, our Stuffed Endive with Herbed Goat Cheese comes together in just 15 minutes. Our Baked Oysters with Bacon, Greens, and Parmesan over-the-top in the best way. With any of these amazing appetizer recipes, you'll be crowned top hostess. 01 of 25 Green Tomato Stacks with Herb Oil and Crispy Capers Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Green Tomato Stacks with Herb Oil and Crispy Capers This plated dish reimagines the green tomato as something to be served fresh, not fried. 02 of 25 Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Pick up your cherry tomatoes at the farmer's market and celebrate fresh, seasonal produce with these tomato crostini. 03 of 25 Crab Cake Bites with Old Bay Mayo, Chives, and Lemon Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Crab Cake Bites with Old Bay Mayo, Chives, and Lemon This recipe for Crab Cake Bites comes from Adam Evans, chef at award-winning Birmingham restaurant Automatic Seafood and Oysters. 04 of 25 Oven-Roasted Oysters with Mushrooms and Watercress Peter Frank Edwards; Prop Styling and Floral Design: Sara York Grimshaw Recipe: Oven-Roasted Oysters with Mushrooms and Watercress You love your oysters raw, but have you ever tried them roasted? Consider this recipe your new party trick. 05 of 25 Chopped Chicken Livers on Toast Peter Frank Edwards; Prop Styling and Floral Design: Sara York Grimshaw Recipe: Chopped Chicken Livers on Toast You might be afraid to try chopped chicken livers, but trust us on this one. Once you try this recipe, you'll be a convert. 06 of 25 Spicy Strawberry-Goat Cheese Crostini Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Spicy Strawberry-Goat Cheese Crostini These crostini will blow all the other appetizers out of the water at any summer soiree. 07 of 25 Green Tomato Gazpacho Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist Christine Keely Recipe: Green Tomato Gazpacho Instead of regular red tomatoes, we're using green ones in this Southern soup. 08 of 25 Spicy Sweet Potato Crostini Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Spicy Sweet Potato Crostini These Spicy Sweet Potato Crostini make a wonderful gluten-free party appetizer. 09 of 25 Cranberry Brie Bites Southern Living Recipe: Cranberry Brie Bites Send a plate of these Cranberry Brie Bites around the room during cocktail hour and it's sure to turn up empty after the first turn. 10 of 25 Mushroom-Stuffed Phyllo Cups Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Mushroom-Stuffed Phyllo Cups This vegetarian appetizer option makes use of gourmet mushrooms instead of meat. 11 of 25 Stuffed Endive with Herbed Goat Cheese Laurey W. Glenn Recipe: Stuffed Endive with Herbed Goat Cheese These veggie-centric boats of cheese are light and supremely elegant starters. 12 of 25 Creamy Spinach-Ricotta Crostini Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Creamy Spinach-Ricotta Crostini Spinach gets blended right in with the ricotta to give it a lovely green hue. 13 of 25 Slow-Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Ali Ramee; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland Recipe: Slow-Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs Making these meatballs ahead and freezing them is a great way to save time during the holiday months. 14 of 25 Bacon-Cheese Gougères Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Bacon-Cheese Gougères Choux pastry forms the base of these classic French cheese puffs. 15 of 25 Shrimp on Seasoned Crackers with Pepper Jelly and Cream Cheese Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Shrimp on Seasoned Crackers with Pepper Jelly and Cream Cheese Pepper jelly and cream cheese are already a match made in heaven, but throw shrimp into the mix for a decadent upgrade. 16 of 25 Fig Flatbread Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele Recipe: Fig Flatbread Set this shareable appetizer down in the center of the table. 17 of 25 Chilled Cucumber Soup Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Chilled Cucumber Soup If it's hot out, start the meal off with something cold, like this Chilled Cucumber Soup. 18 of 25 Roasted Fennel-and-Prosciutto Flatbread Hector Sanchez Recipe: Roasted Fennel-and-Prosciutto Flatbread Fennel and prosciutto are the unexpected combination at the heart of this simple appetizer. 19 of 25 Bloody Mary Poached Shrimp Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Bloody Mary Poached Shrimp Forget the shrimp cocktail and make this Bloody Mary Poached Shrimp instead. 20 of 25 Smoked-Fish Dip Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Smoked-Fish Dip This Smoked-Fish Dip is a welcome upgrade for that packet of ranch mix. 21 of 25 Warm Cheese Box Bites Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Warm Cheese Box Bites Just because it's elegant doesn't mean it can't provide comfort. These Warm Cheese Box Bites are proof of just that. 22 of 25 Mini Shrimp Rolls Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Mini Shrimp Rolls These Mini Shrimp Rolls are a great way to start off an al fresco party. 23 of 25 Marinated Feta With Cherry Tomatoes Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Marinated Feta With Cherry Tomatoes Serve this marinated cheese and tomato mixture with buttered, toasted crostini. 24 of 25 Chilled Radish-and-Avocado Soup Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Chilled Radish-and-Avocado Soup Radishes and avocados come together to make this supremely light starter. 25 of 25 Baked Oysters with Bacon, Greens, and Parmesan Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Baked Oysters with Bacon, Greens, and Parmesan For an extra-elegant presentation, serve these oysters on a bed of rock salt. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit