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45+ Best Thanksgiving Appetizers For Easy Holiday Meal-Starters

sebrani alhachmi

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It’s easy to get caught up in planning the Thanksgiving dinner and your dessert spread, so here’s your friendly reminder to not forget the appetizers. Because a pre-dinner nibble or two of something tasty is always a good idea (especially when partnered with a Thanksgiving cocktail!). As for what to make, I’m a firm believer that Thanksgiving appetizers should look and taste totally impressive, but be shockingly easy to pull off. If that sounds like a lot to ask, I assure you it’s totally doable and we’ve got some great easy appetizer ideas to prove it.

From creamy dips to fast and fancy puff pastry bites to Ina’s epic spiced nuts, we’re sharing more than 45 easy Thanksgiving apps to kick off your holiday meal.

Dips and Spreads

Serve any of these creamy dips with crackers, crostini, pita chips, or an assortment of veggies.

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Caramelized Onion Dip

This big-batch dip is the perfect way to put a bag of onions to work. Serve with chips, veggies, or toasted bread.

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Slow Cooker Spinach-Artichoke Dip

What sets this dip apart from other versions is the addition of lemon zest at the end. It helps to cut through all the richness of the dairy and give it a bit of fresh zing.

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Creamy Mushroom Dip

Calling all mushroom lovers! Don’t be surprised if this dip reminds you of cream of mushroom soup, in the best way possible.

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Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Hummus

If you’re ever in need of a fast dish for a holiday party or potluck that can really impress folks, this will do it every time.

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Beet Hummus

A creamy, pink-hued hummus made with steamed beets in the food processor.

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Appetizers with Cheese

When in doubt, remember that you can never go wrong with an appetizer starring cheese. A cheese plate is always nice, but use this holiday to up the ante with creamy Brie wrapped in a puff pastry blanket, irresistible whipped feta, or marinated mozzarella.

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Stuffed Jalapeños

The best thing about this cheesy, spicy appetizer, is how it’s equally as good at room temperature as it is piping hot out of the oven.

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Baked Brie in Puff Pastry

Learn how to wrap brie in puff pastry with the toppings of your choice for an easy app to serve all holiday season.

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Dorie Greenspan’s Ricotta Spoonable

Creamy ricotta mixed with lots of herbs and lemon is the fast and fancy app to keep in your back pocket through the holiday season and beyond.

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Classic Cheeseball

Everyone loves this retro appetizer. Here’s how to master the art of the cheese ball and make it your very own.

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Lemon-Garlic Whipped Feta with Pesto

Serve this extra-creamy dip with pita chips, crostini, or vegetable crudité. It’s guaranteed to make a feta believer out of anyone.

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Small Nibbles

If you’re worried about loading up on too many apps and ruining your appetite for the main event, stick with one or two small bites, like spiced nuts, marinated olives, smoked salmon, or deviled eggs.

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Little Smokies

Let the slow cooker do the heavy lifting in this easy and crowd-pleasing cocktail appetizer classic.

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Cheddar Olives

When cheese and briny olives come together, you know you’ve got a hit on your hands.

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Make-Ahead Gougères

The secret to being the hostess with the mostest? Gougères in your freezer.

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Beet-Pickled Deviled Eggs

The humble and classy appetizer gets sassed up when plunged into a jar of beets, vinegar, brown sugar, and pink peppercorns.

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Herb-Marinated Mushrooms

For this low-maintenance marinated mushroom appetizer, we packed in tons of flavor, but kept the ingredient list nice and short.

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Bacon-Wrapped Dates

The combination of salty, crispy bacon with sugar-sweet dates and creamy cheese in the middle is absolutely irresistible.

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Thanksgiving Deviled Eggs

A recipe for deviled eggs flavored with sage and shallots and topped with bacon, perfect as an appetizer for Thanksgiving.

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Puff Pastry Appetizers

Do yourself a favor and stash a box of puff pastry in your freezer. We love it all year round, but especially at holiday time because it’s the starting point for an array of fast and fancy appetizers.

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Puff Pastry Cheese Straws

These crispy, flaky, cheesy twists require just two ingredients and a few minutes of your time, and best of all they deliver big time.

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Smoky Puff Pastry Stars

A sprinkle of smoked paprika makes these flaky bites extra special. Don’t have any? Garlic powder, grated Parmesan, or even just salt and pepper makes an excellent stand it.

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Wild Mushroom Tart

This fast and fancy app boasts ultra-flaky puff pastry blanketed with layers of nutty Gruyère and a medley of wild mushrooms.

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Cranberry Brie Bites

This easy appetizer promises buttery puff pastry, creamy Brie, sweet-tart cranberry sauce, and toasted walnuts in every bite.

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Flaky Garlic Bread Pinwheels

These roll-ups are really just garlic bread in pinwheel form, and that’s exactly what makes them perfect.

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Pesto and Goat Cheese Tarte Soleil

This pull-apart tart, stuffed with garlicky pesto and creamy goat cheese, looks fancy, but is secretly a breeze to pull off.

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Hot Crab Puffs

Good things happen when you partner warm crab dip with buttery, flaky puff pastry.

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Warm Appetizers

It’s holiday time, so go ahead and cook up a warm and savory two-bite nibble to enjoy before dinnertime. Both stuffed mushrooms and meatballs can be prepped ahead of time, then baked the day of.

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Stuffed Mushrooms

Easy, cheesy stuffed mushrooms are the perfect pre-dinner bite.

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Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts

These sweet, savory, smoky, and spicy texture bombs will be a retro and delightful appetizer people will love to snack on before the big dinner.

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Sausage Balls

This retro appetizer is made with Bisquick, sausage, and cheese and is a hearty snack or starter.

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Bacon-Wrapped Brussels Sprouts

Add smoky bacon and a creamy blue cheese dip on the side, and everyone’s favorite side dish quickly becomes everyone’s favorite appetizer.

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Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Meatballs

Add a slow cooker full of glossy, sweet-and-savory meatballs to your appetizer spread, and it’s all but guaranteed they’ll be gone in seconds.

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Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

Some party appetizers seem to disappear more quickly than others. Take bacon-wrapped shrimp, for example: If it’s on the table, it’s almost guaranteed that it’ll be the first to go.

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