30 Summer Hors d'Oeuvres for a Crowd
In the summer, we like our appetizers light and fresh — think delicately fried fritto mistos, cool ceviches, and irresistible dips. In this summer recipe roundup, we've included seasonal dishes that feature juicy tomatoes (hello, honey-tomato bruschetta) as well as a few grilled recipes, like grilled shrimp cocktail and halloumi-vegetable skewers, to make the most of warm weather. Here are more summer hors d'oeuvres we love.
Grilled Vegetable Bruschetta
What could be more summery than grilled peppers and squash heaped on toasted country bread that's slathered with fresh basil pesto? This versatile recipe works as a first course or even a whole meal.
Mini Wedge Salads with Anchovy Dressing
These mini wedges are coated in a creamy, anchovy-packed dressing and dredged in crunchy panko, making them easy to eat with your hands. Alternatively, you can serve the dressing and breadcrumbs alongside the lettuce wedges, for easy dipping.
Mango and Halloumi Fritto Misto
Seafood and vegetables are often the star of fritto misto. In this version, F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple swaps in ripe but firm mangoes and sturdy halloumi cheese, showcasing their incredible versatility. A batter of fizzy club soda, flour, and cornstarch forms a crust that is light but dippable.
Chile-Coconut Watermelon Crudo
This sweet, spicy, and punchy upgrade to classic slabs of salted watermelon is the palate-pleasing appetizer your cookout guests deserve. Fresh coconut water is much sweeter and has a greater depth of flavor than bottled versions, so crack open a coconut if you can.
Grilled Squash Ribbons and Prosciutto with Mint Dressing
Grilling zucchini and summer squash ribbons on skewers is terrific because the edges become wonderfully charred and crisp, while the insides stay tender and juicy.
Grilled Shrimp Cocktail with Fresh Tomato Cocktail Sauce
Give shrimp cocktail a seasonal, smoky upgrade with this ideal recipe for summer dinner parties and cookouts. The shrimp are marinated in a bright, lemon-garlic mixture that gets a kick from crushed red pepper. Make sure to pat dry after peeling and deveining them, so they don't water down the marinade; this also helps the shrimp achieve a nice char when grilled.
Scallop Ceviche with Aguachile
Aguachile (chile water) is a vibrant sauce made with fresh chiles, herbs, and cucumbers that’s fantastic on any type of fish or shellfish. Chef David Goody serves aguachile with thinly sliced scallops that have been just cured in fresh lime juice.
Parmesan Tuiles with Heirloom Tomato Salad
Chopped red, green, and orange tomatoes are tossed with olive oil and herbs, then served on Parmesan tuiles. The result: a supremely colorful, incredibly easy hors d'oeuvre.
Zucchini and Pepper Gratin with Herbs and Cheese
Switzerland has been making Sbrinz — a hard, aged cow's-milk cheese — for centuries. Chef Daniel Humm uses the pleasantly salty Sbrinz to top a gratin made with a ratatouille-like mix of sautéed zucchini strips, bell peppers, and tomato. Parmigiano-Reggiano, another hard, aged cow's milk cheese, is a fine substitute.
Vaghareli Corn Flautas with Chutney Crema
The corn in this recipe gets a punch of flavor by being sautéed in oil that has had spices bloomed in it. The spiced kernels are combined with mild cheese, rolled up in tortillas, and deep-fried. Serve the flautas piled high with colorful garnishes alongside a ginger-lime avocado crema for a vibrant summer entertaining staple.
Roast Beef Summer Rolls
Vietnamese summer rolls are often filled with shrimp, but former F&W editor Grace Parisi makes hers with roast beef from the deli.
Perkedel Jagung (Indonesian Corn Fritters)
Chef Lara Lee's Perkedel Jagung are all about the sweet, tender corn. Packed with fresh or frozen kernels and layers of flavor from fresh ginger and shallots, fragrant Makrut lime leaves, and floral ground coriander and cumin, these fried treats are delicious served with a balancing spicy tomato sambal.
Shrimp and Feta-Stuffed Zucchini
Chef Ana Sortun tops stuffed zucchini with a tangy sauce of feta, olive oil, and Hungarian peppers (spicy wax chiles). To make it even easier, top the roasted zucchini with a little feta, then broil briefly.
Halloumi and Vegetable Skewers with Pomegranate-Tahini Sauce
Pomegranate molasses is the secret ingredient in this simple marinade. Its punchy, sweet, earthy notes add long-cooked depth of flavor to cheese and vegetable skewers in just 30 minutes of marination, with pleasantly bitter tahini rounding things out. The pomegranate-tahini marinade goes the extra mile as a final drizzle for the skewers. Thinned with fresh orange juice, it supplies the perfect, sweet-savory finish to the dish.
Bacon-Wrapped Cherry Peppers
These genius hors d'oeuvres from 2005 F&W Best New Chef Colby Garrelts call for just three ingredients. The recipe can be made ahead of time, so it's great for parties.
Bollitos de Papa y Elote (Potato Elote Bites)
Crunchy, cheesy, and a little bit spicy, these potato elote bites are pastry chef Paola Velez's take on bollitos, one of her favorite snacks in the Dominican Republic. She makes a spiced corn filling based on elote, the classic Mexican street food, then wraps it up in spiced mashed potatoes and deep-fries it. Garnished with lime-flavored crema and fresh cilantro, the bites are as pretty as they are delicious.
Greek Salad Sandwiches
This is Greek salad perfection: Chef Michael Psilakis tops warm bread with garlicky red pepper tzatziki and a piquant combo of cucumbers, olives, peperoncini, tomatoes, radishes, greens, and feta. It's stellar with homemade ladopsomo bread and yogurt, but equally good with store-bought.
Honey Tomato Bruschetta with Ricotta
In this amazing appetizer, two types of honey serve two distinct purposes: Mellow, slightly spicy clover honey intensifies the sweetness of the tangy tomatoes as they slowly roast. After the bruschetta is assembled, a drizzle of robust buckwheat honey balances the creamy ricotta cheese.
Grilled Oysters with Chorizo Butter
No shucking necessary: Once the oysters open on the grill, simply top them with chef David Kinch's smoky, tangy butter.
Okra Tempura with Lime "Fonzu" Dipping Sauce
There are two surefire ways to keep okra's gooey quality in check: high-heat cooking and a dose of acid. This recipe for okra tempura with a zippy dipping sauce incorporates both. The sauce — inspired by ponzu — uses lime juice instead of harder-to-find yuzu and a shortcut of fish sauce instead of steeping in katsuobushi. Scoring the okra from the tip almost all the way to the stem before frying it provides more surface area for the tempura batter to cling to, for extra crunch, while leaving the okra substantial enough to stay tender on the inside.
Corn Husk–Grilled Goat Cheese with Corn Relish and Honey
Cookbook author and F&W Cooks contributor Andrea Slonecker calls this dish "the perfect pre-dinner snack on a summer evening." To serve, cut a slit in the top layer of the charred husks, top the goat cheese with a drizzle of honey and the corn relish, and enjoy with grilled crostini.
Caesar Salad Spears
Here, classic Caesar salad is transformed into a clever finger food. Chopped endives are tossed with a lemony dressing; the mixture is then spooned inside elegant endive spears and topped with cheese and crunchy mini croutons.
Achari Pimiento Cheese Spread
Chef Farhan Momin gave this Southern staple a makeover by incorporating his mother’s classic Indian pickling spices into the cheese mixture. Serve this with some crackers, between two slices of white bread or toasted naan.
Tuna-Avocado Ceviche with Salsa Macha
This ceviche is great on top of tostadas or eaten like poke as an appetizer. And the best part is that you can make the salsa ahead of time; just stir it together with the remaining ingredients right before you’re ready to eat.
Fried Zucchini Blossoms with Prosciutto and Mozzarella
In this recipe, delicate zucchini blossoms are stuffed with melty mozzarella and salty prosciutto before being lightly battered and fried into a crispy melt-in-your-mouth treat.
Grilled Vegetable Flatbread with Smoked Almond Muhammara
In addition to turning heads at your cookouts, this vegetarian wonder is packed with make-ahead options and smart shortcuts. Prepare the Smoked Almond Muhammara up to three days in advance and stash it in the fridge; skip a step and substitute jarred roasted peppers for the grilled bell peppers.
Mini Brioche Lobster Rolls
These rolls, a delightful play on the traditional lobster roll, are quite substantial, so one per person is plenty, especially if you're serving additional hors d'oeuvres. Cooked shrimp or lump crab is a fine alternative to lobster.
Stuffed Jalapeños
Perfect served with cold beers, these stuffed jalapeños are a great snack for your next get-together. Halved jalapeños are packed with a cheddar and cream cheese filling flavored with garlic, cilantro, and scallions.
Tahini-Tofu Dip with Chili Crunch
This creamy, smooth dip creates layers of flavor with a short ingredient list. Roasting the garlic mellows its sharpness — together with the tahini, it brings a subtly sweet and nutty taste to the dish. Tamari provides umami, and fresh lemon juice adds brightness and acidity.
Crostini with Grilled Sweet Onions and Blue Cheese
Chef Andrae Bopp wraps whole sweet Walla Walla onions in foil and tosses them into the coals of the campfire to roast and caramelize when he's out on a river. Here we've adapted his recipe for your home grill. Don't skip the zippy honey-vinegar drizzle — it coaxes out even more flavor from the sweet onions and balances the blue cheese.
