Hosting a cocktail party? You’ll need to serve more than just drinks. I have 20+ bite-sized cocktail party food ideas that will impress your guests and leave them feeling full and satisfied.
20+ Bite-Sized Cocktail Party Food Ideas Everyone Will Love
1. Polenta-Olive Tapenade Bites
Crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle, these little bites are delicious and topped with a punchy olive tapenade.
For this dish, use quick-cooking polenta to save time. Cut the polenta into squares and top with the tapenade and roasted cherry tomatoes.
The recipe calls for vegan olive tapenade, but you can use whatever tapenade you like.
2. Bruschetta Bar
A bruschetta bar is the perfect addition to any cocktail party. Everyone can build their own bite-sized appetizer. Just supply the toasted baguette slices and toppings, which can include:
- Ricotta
- Mascarpone cheese
- Prosciutto
- Dates
- Fresh herbs
- Honey
- Dried fruit
- Crushed nuts
- Freshly sliced tomatoes
- Olive tapenade
Get as creative as you want with the toppings.
Related: Top 21+ Charcuterie Skewer Ideas for Irresistible Party Appetizers
3. Sweet Potato Gratin Canapes
Canapes are one of the classic cocktail party food ideas, and this recipe stands out for its simplicity.
You’ll mix thinly sliced sweet potatoes in a cream mixture and then layer them neatly. Bake and then compress in the fridge for an hour. Slice into squares and top with creme fraiche (use a piping bag for this). Sprinkle some smoked paprika and serve.
These fancy bite-sized appetizers won’t last long at your table.
4. Roasted Stuffed Dates
Cheesy, savory and easy to make. These dates are the perfect sweet and savory appetizer for your party.
Just slice Medjool dates in half, add goat cheese and top with a tasty nut mixture featuring walnuts, rosemary, orange zest, cinnamon and sea salt.
We like to add a little hot honey once the dates are done baking.
5. Pear & Brie Cheese Salad Skewers
Salad skewers are a fun, bite-sized appetizer to serve, and this variation pairs two delicious ingredients: pears and brie cheese.
Sandwich arugula leaves between the pear and cheese on skewers and top with balsamic glaze. You can add some walnuts, too, if you want some extra crunch.
Not a fan of brie? You can use other cheeses, like blue cheese, camembert or cheddar.
6. Blue Cheese Steak Bites with Raspberry Balsamic Sauce
Delicious bites of perfectly-cooked steak on top of crusty baguette slices with blue cheese, balsamic vinegar and sweet fresh raspberries.
The balsamic vinegar and raspberries simmer together to create a tasty sauce.
You’ll smear the melted blue cheese on top of the steak slice and then drizzle the raspberry sauce on top.
Finish with a toothpick to keep the whole thing together for guests.
7. Cranberry and Brie Filo Pastries
These filo pastries have such a fun presentation – they look like Christmas crackers. But you’ll love the filling of cranberries and brie even more than the cute wrapper.
The best part? These bite-sized appetizers are so easy to make. Cut store-bought filo pastry into squares and add the filling ingredients.
Follow Nish Kitchen’s directions to carefully roll up each square and create the cracker shape.
See the full tutorial here:
8. Clementine and Serrano Skewers
Unique cocktail party food ideas like this are my favorite. This recipe is so creative and delicious. You’ll wrap Serrano ham (or prosciutto) around wedges of Clementines and skewer with a toothpick.
Then, drizzle with a homemade honey lime dressing.
Serve on a platter with slices of cherry tomatoes and more dressing drizzled on top.
9. Avocado-Pesto BLT Bites
These BLT bites are divine. Slices of crispy bacon act as the shell for the avocado filling, arugula leaf and cherry tomato. A carefully placed toothpick holds each little bite together.
If you have vegetarians attending, you can serve some with vegan bacon instead.
The avocado filling is a tasty mix of mashed avocado, cream cheese and basil pesto.
10. Bourbon-Glazed Salmon Appetizer
An elegant appetizer to add to your cocktail party. Each serving is drizzled with a tasty glaze that’s sweet and a little spicy.
The great thing about this dish is that it’s incredibly easy to make.
Start by cutting the salmon filets into cubes and cooking on high heat for 4-5 minutes. Flip and grill for a few minutes more.
Then, drizzle with the bourbon glaze before transferring to a serving platter.
The glaze is a mix of olive oil, garlic, onion, brown sugar, beef broth, soy sauce, bourbon, red wine vinegar and tabasco sauce.
Garnish with sliced green onions and add a toothpick for easy eating.
11. Caviar Waffle Sticks
This upscale appetizer will turn heads at your party. Belgian waffles have perfect little pockets to house spoonfuls of caviar and creme fraiche with chives.
For this recipe, you’ll need Surgeon caviar and rainbow trout roe. Slice your waffles into strips, and add your caviar and creme fraiche to the pockets of each slice.
If caviar is out of your budget, you can use imitation varieties instead or find another tasty food to replace it.
Related: Prosciutto Wrapped Pear Appetizers with Blue Cheese
12. Heirloom Tomato Caprese Frisco Cups
One of the simplest and tastiest cocktail party food ideas that your guests will love. You’ll create salty Parmesan bowls that you’ll fill with a fresh tomato salad with capers and red bell peppers.
You’ll need a silicone baking mat and a muffin tin to shape your cups. The rest of the recipe is easy!
13. Peach Bruschetta
Peach bruschetta is a delish treat, especially for cocktail parties during the warmer months of the year when guests want a refreshing treat to cool them off. Start by cutting your baguette into ½-inch slices and then brushing each side with olive oil before placing it in the oven on a sheet pan for 15 minutes.
Add your cream cheese and goat cheese into a bowl, heat in a microwave and then combine with a fork.
Spread your mix on the bruschetta and top with peach slices. Add your garnish and eat up.
14. Spicy Salmon Mini Tacos
While most of the ideas on this list are fast and easy to make, this one does take about an hour. These mini tacos offer the perfect balance of spice and Asian flair with:
- Mini taco shells made from tortillas
- Salmon filling made with salmon, spring onion, mayo, sriracha, sesame oil, sesame seeds and salt.
- Topping made with salmon roe, avocado, black sesame seeds and dried black beans.
15. Coconut Crab and Green Mango Salad
Five minutes of assembly never tasted so good. You’ll start by combining all of the ingredients for your coconut-lime dressing in a jar and then seasoning with black pepper. Once ready, you’ll combine your crab and dressing into a large bowl.
Allow the flavors to mix for five minutes before adding your remaining ingredients.
16. Goat Cheese and Blackberry Crostini
You can buy or make the crostini yourself if you prefer. Otherwise, this is a super-simple yet delish treat that has you adding the following in a saucepan:
- Blackberries
- Lemon juice
- Sugar
Cook for 10 minutes until the ingredients begin breaking down and then start smushing the blackberries as they heat up. Add remaining blackberries over time.
In a stand mixer, add your heavy whipping cream and goat cheese and whisk together for a minute or two. Top your crostini with your mix, blackberry and mint.
17. Creamy Feta and Fig Tarts
Creamy feta. Fig tarts. What’s not to love? You only need six ingredients for these bite-sized treats: feta, triple cream yogurt, honey, figs, pastry tarts and arugula microgreens. And then all you have to do is add your feta, yogurt and honey into a small food processor.
Pulse until the ingredients are creamy and smooth.
Place a dollop on your crostata tarts, add a fig and some microgreens on each.
18. Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Meatballs like these are a perfect addition to any cocktail party food ideas list. You’ll make 32 meatballs and a simple marinara sauce, too. You’ll start by combining all of your meatball ingredients in a large bowl with breadcrumbs and milk:
- Beef
- Egg
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- Chopped parsley
Combine well and then make 21 portions and flatten each out in your hand. Add a small piece of mozzarella in the middle before rolling into meatballs and chilling for 20-30 minutes. Prep your sauce at this time before cooking your meatballs in a skillet and baking them on a baking sheet.
19. Cantaloupe, Prosciutto & Goat Cheese Truffle Skewers
Skewers are always fast and simple to make, and this one is all about assembly. Grab your skewers and add the following (in this order):
- Prosciutto
- Sweet cantaloupe
- Goat cheese truffles
Your goat cheese truffles will be rolled in dried cranberries, parsley, cinnamon and pecans and mixed with cream cheese to help the ingredients “stick.” Drizzle some honey on top and enjoy.
20. One-Bite Shrimp Cocktail Tacos
Shrimp tacos are a delectable treat and one that you can make with medium shrimp, tortillas, cocktail sauce, cilantro, green onions and veggie juice. You’ll need a round cookie cutter for your tortillas so that you can make them bite-sized.
Related: 15 Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Appetizers That Don’t Taste Like Rice Cakes
21. Apricots with Basil-Cream Cheese and Almonds
Bite-sized treats like this are healthy, delicious and look amazing spread out on a table. You’ll need only a few minutes to assemble these, and they include:
- Soft cream cheese
- Milk
- Basil
- Dried apricots
- Almonds
- Honey
Mix the cream cheese, basil and milk together with a fork. Spread your mixture on your apricots and top with almonds. Drizzle some honey on top and serve. I do recommend making them a day ahead of time.
