Let’s be honest – those last few days before the holidays are crazy busy. If you’re hosting a party or holiday dinner, the last thing you want is to worry about serving hot appetizers to your guests. Save the stress and your sanity with these cold Christmas appetizers. Make them ahead of time to enjoy a stress-free party without leaving your guests hungry.
21 Cold Christmas Appetizers You Can Make Ahead
1. Hot Honey and Cranberry Goat Cheese Balls
This recipe is so simple, but it’s the perfect light appetizer to serve before a big meal. Start with a log of goat cheese. Mix it with cream cheese, pistachios, cranberries and honey. Transfer it to a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll the cheese back into a log shape.
Chill for 20 minutes and then slice the log into bite-sized disks. Roll each one into a ball and then roll each ball into a mixture of pistachios and dried cranberries. Add two pretzel sticks to each one and drizzle some hot honey on top.
Pop back into the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
2. Cold Parmesan Artichoke Dip
Your guests will love this dip, and it tastes even better when it’s made a few days ahead of time. Just mix diced artichoke hearts with Parmesan cheese, sour cream, fresh chives and lemon zest.
Chill until you’re ready to serve, and then garnish with some extra chives and lemon zest (optional).
I like to serve these with toasted mini naan bread bites.
3. Salami Roses
This appetizer will look gorgeous on your serving board, and you can easily make them a day or two ahead of time.
This Pin shows you how to properly roll your salami slices to make roses (it’s super easy). Just thread them onto a cocktail skewer with a fresh basil leaf and mozzarella pearl on each side.
You can also use pepperoni or a mix of salami and pepperoni if you want your presentation to be more colorful.
4. Smoked Salmon Bites
Here’s a fancy cold appetizer that’s easy to make ahead and will really impress your guests. You’ll top thick slices of cucumber with a delicious cream cheese spread and finish with bite-sized pieces of smoked salmon, dill sprigs and capers.
For the spread, you’ll use a hand mixer to blend softened cream cheese with mayo, lemon juice, chopped fresh dill, green onions and spices together.
Related: 25 Last‑minute Christmas Appetizers to Save Your Sanity
5. Olive Cheese Skewers
Cold Christmas appetizers don’t get much simpler than this recipe. A little prep work and assembly, and you’re ready to chill your appetizer until your guests arrive.
Start by marinating olives and cubed cheese (I find that cheddar and Gouda work best) in Italian or Greek dressing. Then, assemble your skewers. Add a cube of cheese, then an olive and finish with a dried cranberry.
Feel free to use festive skewers to make this appetizer even more special.
6. Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Bonbons
These bonbons are so quick and easy to make, but your guests will love them. Mix creamy goat cheese and cream cheese together with prosciutto, fresh thyme and orange zest.
Use a spoon to scoop out each ball and roll it into crushed pistachios.
Thread them onto skewers with a green olive and another bite-sized slice of prosciutto.
Sit each skewer upright on a tray, and chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
7. Beet Salad on a Stick
Want to serve something healthy as an appetizer? This beet salad on a stick will hit the spot. Tiny pickled beets, fresh baby spinach leaves, goat cheese and chopped walnuts pair so well together.
But the best part is the orange and balsamic dressing that you’ll drizzle on top.
I recommend assembling your skewers and preparing the dressing ahead of time. But wait until just before you serve these to drizzle on the dressing.
8. Creamy Prosciutto Crackers
All it takes is a few minutes to make this savory appetizer, which pairs Ritz crackers with a cream cheese spread, rolled prosciutto slice, honey and fresh basil.
The spread is a blend of whipped cream cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.
Grab your crackers and add a small dab of cream cheese. Top with a rolled-up slice of prosciutto. Drizzle on some honey and sprinkle on some freshly chopped basil.
9. BLT & Mozzarella Stackers
This is one of my favorite cold Christmas appetizers because it’s so easy to make and the bright red and green colors make it so festive.
Slice up Campari tomatoes and use a round cutter to cut your fresh mozzarella into little slices. The tomatoes and mozzarella should be about the same width.
Then, stack on a small slice of lettuce and a few bits of bacon. Add another slice of mozzarella and another slice of tomato. Insert a small skewer and add a fresh basil leaf to finish things off.
An appetizer like this will easily last for a few days.
10. Bacon Stuffed Celery
These stuffed celery boats are loaded with flavor. And that’s because they’re filled with a creamy, bacon-y spread that features fresh herbs, spices and a dash of hot sauce.
This recipe is super simple to make. Just slice your celery stalks into thirds and fill with the cream cheese spread.
I recommend using a hand mixer to really blend the filling together. I also like to sprinkle on some more bacon and shredded cheddar cheese just before serving.
11. Potato Salad Bites
These potato salad bites won’t last long at your table, and they look so elegant, too. To make them, you’ll hollow out boiled mini red potatoes and stuff them with a delicious potato salad.
The salad is a classic mix of potatoes, mustard, mayo, dill pickles, pickle juice, hard-boiled eggs, paprika and chopped parsley.
You can make these up to two days ahead of time.
12. Cucumber Hummus Bites
Simple, delicious and so easy to prepare ahead of time. These hummus bites are nothing more than freshly sliced cucumbers topped with a dollop of hummus, a slice of cherry tomato, a few crumbles of feta and some fresh parsley.
You can make your own hummus if you’re feeling adventurous, or grab your favorite variety from the grocery store.
13. Cucumber Salmon Rolls
Refreshing and flavorful, these salmon rolls will be a hit at your party or dinner. You’ll need a mandoline or vegetable peeler to get those perfectly thin slices of cucumber.
Once you’ve sliced your cucumbers, pat them dry and top with a layer of cream cheese. Sprinkle on some everything bagel seasoning, add thinly sliced smoked salmon, and carefully roll up each strip into bite-sized pieces.
Chill until you’re ready to serve them.
Related: 25 Mini Christmas Appetizers for Easy Serving
14. Easy Marinated Cheese
This appetizer is always a favorite at our holiday parties because it’s bursting with flavor and has the one thing everyone loves: cheese.
You can use slices of whatever cheese you love. Colby Jack and cheddar cheese are classic choices. For the marinade, you’ll need diced pimentos (do not drain them), white vinegar, olive oil, green onions and spices.
Serve with crackers or bagel chips.
15. Roast Beef Appetizer
If you’re looking for cold Christmas appetizers that are quick and easy to prepare, you’ll love this recipe.
Essentially, these are mini open-faced roast beef sandwiches on a stick. You can use any type of bread you want for this recipe. Crispy baguettes are always a good choice.
On top of your bread slice, you’ll add a slice of roast beef, a spoonful of creamy horseradish sauce and a whole gherkin pickle.
Insert a cocktail toothpick into the appetizer to hold it all together.
16. Cheese Crostini
This delicious and simple recipe teaches you how to make homemade pimiento cheese. Just mix whipped cream cheese with freshly grated cheddar cheese, mayo, finely chopped pimiento, hot sauce, garlic, cayenne and bacon.
You can easily prepare this a few days in advance and wait until just before serving to spread the cheese on slices of crusty baguette.
17. Whipped Feta Crostini with Hot Honey
Here’s another delicious crostini recipe that you can prepare ahead of time and serve cold. To make it, you’ll top slices of crusty bread with whipped feta, a layer of hot honey, fresh sprigs of rosemary and chopped pecans.
The whipped feta is just a blend of crumbled feta cheese, cream cheese and cottage cheese. Use a food processor to get that creamy consistency that makes it easy to spread.
18. Reuben Bites
These open-face mini Reuben sandwiches feature tasty spreadable Swiss cheese, stone-ground mustard, corned beef slices and sauerkraut.
Use cocktail rye bread for the base of your mini bites.
19. Bruschetta Dip
This dip features two delicious layers: a cheese base and bruschetta.
To make the bruschetta, you’ll marinate diced Roma tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, garlic and basil.
The cheese base is a blend of feta cheese, cream cheese, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
Top the cheese base with the bruschetta and garnish with more fresh basil, red pepper flakes and some Parmesan cheese.
We like to serve this with bruschettini.
Related: 21 Christmas Rice Krispie Treats Kids Can Help Make
20. Stuffed Snap Peas
Here’s a refreshing appetizer that your guests won’t be expecting. But the bright green color of the snap pea pods is so festive, and the filling is delicious. It’s a mix of ricotta cheese, cream cheese, lemon juice and spices.
You can use snow or snap peas for this recipe.
The most tedious part is slicing open the pods. Once you’ve done that, all that’s left is to use a piping bag to pipe in the creamy filling.
21. Pepper Jelly Cream Cheese Dip
This is one of the easiest cold Christmas appetizers on this list. You need just three ingredients: softened chive and onion cream cheese, hot pepper jelly and fresh rosemary.
Spread the cream cheese on a platter or shallow bowl. Pour the pepper jelly on top and spread it over the cream cheese. Garnish with minced rosemary and refrigerate until you’re ready to eat.
We like to serve this with a mix of crackers and fresh vegetables.
