Throwing a pool party and need some snack ideas? You’ve come to the right place. I’m going to share 17+ of my favorite easy finger food for a pool party that all of your guests will love. There’s something for everyone on this list – kids, adults, meat-lovers and everyone in between.
17+ Easy Finger Food Ideas for a Pool Party That Will Impress Your Guests
1. BLT Cups with Lemon Herb Mayo
An easy, delicious appetizer made with just a few ingredients. Flaky phyllo shells filled with tasty bacon, arugula and cherry tomatoes. Top with a homemade lemon herb mayo sauce and fresh herbs. The whole thing comes together in just a few minutes, and you can even prepare these a little ahead of time to save time.
2. Smoked Salmon Tortilla Roll-Ups
Delicious and quick roll-ups that your guests will devour. Spread herbed cream cheese on top of a tortilla, add a layer of smoked salmon, roll up, slice and eat. It really is that simple to make this recipe. These are a great option if you want something a little more filling than a typical finger-food appetizer.
3. Loaded Tater Tot Cups
These tots are the perfect easy finger food for a pool party. They’re extra-crispy, savory and delicious. You’ll need a muffin pan for this recipe. Use the tots to create cups in the muffin tray and stuff them with all of your favorite loaded potato toppings: bacon, cheese and sour cream. Top with chives and you’re ready to serve these delightful tots.
4. Antipasto Squares
These Italian-inspired antipasto squares are just the thing your guests need to refuel after a day at the pool. Layer deli meats like salami, capicola and pepperoni with cheeses like Colby jack, provolone and Parmesan in between sheets of crescent dough.
Bake your squares and serve with cold drinks.
Related: 21+ Delicious Pool Party Appetizers to Keep Everyone Cool and Happy
5. Glazed Kielbasa Bites
Slices of juicy kielbasa bites topped with fresh pineapple, all threaded on a toothpick for easy eating. These bites are glazed with a sauce of teriyaki, sweet chili and honey and then baked to perfection. They’re the perfect start to your pool party or half-time snack.
6. Boat Bites
These simple sandwich bites are great for pool parties, and this is probably the easiest finger food on this list to make.
Make sure that you use Hawaiian dinner rolls. They add a hint of sweetness that makes these sandwiches so special. You can fill your sandwiches with whatever you want, but salami and rotisserie chicken are great choices. Add lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard, mayo and slices of your favorite cheese.
7. Fruit and Cheese Kabobs
A tasty, simple finger food that’s refreshing and a delight for the tastebuds. You can get as creative as you want when building your kabobs, but this recipe calls for blackberries, grapes, strawberries, mint and cheese. A mix of white cheddar and Colby jack is perfect for these kabobs.
Feel free to swap out any of these fruits or other ingredients for whatever you prefer. I sometimes use basil instead of mint or raspberries instead of grapes. Just make sure that the ingredients you choose are substantial enough to stay on the skewer.
8. Cheddar Bacon Ranch Stuffed Celery Sticks
Here’s a super easy finger food for a pool party. Fresh and crunchy celery sticks stuffed with a cream cheese mixture that has cheddar cheese, bacon, ranch seasoning and scallions. Just clean and slice your celery sticks, add the stuffing to the center and enjoy. Your guests will devour these in no time.
9. Fast and Fun Mini Tacos
Who doesn’t love tacos? These mini ones are bite-sized and perfect for a pool party treat. They’re made from small corn or flour tortillas and are stuffed with your preferred meat (beef, chicken or pork) and cheese.
I like to set out a little toppings bar for these. You can add guac, pico di gallo, avocado slices – whatever you want – to your little toppings bar, and guests can serve themselves.
If you want a vegetarian option, you can stuff your tacos with refried beans or ground tofu. Taco seasoning will help give them tons of flavor and a little spice.
10. Falafel Bites with Techina Pipettes
These little bites look so fancy, but they’re actually simple and easy to make. I recommend using store-bought falafel. For this recipe, you’ll stuff mini pitas with a fresh, homemade salad, the falafel and salad greens. Add a pipette filled with techina to each one and serve.
What I love about this recipe is that you can make it a day ahead of time if you want. And they’ll pair well with any other finger foods you serve at your party.
Related: 25+ Quick & Tasty Appetizer Skewers Perfect for Parties
11. Watermelon Radish Bites
Canapes are one of the finger foods that I seem to always overlook, although they’re delish and quite perfect for a pool day. You can add these for any party and they only require a small number of ingredients: tuna, microgreens, watermelon radish, Sriracha and mayonnaise.
You’ll also need a few spices, such as paprika and salt.
Small watermelons work best because you can cut them into the small disks necessary to assemble these bites. A tuna spread goes on top with microgreens that complete the flavor. I do recommend that you either bring these out to serve when everyone is ready to eat or to, at the least, place them in the shade so that the tuna doesn’t spoil.
12. Caprese Cups
Small caprese cups are an easy finger food for a pool party and they’re quite refreshing. Six ingredients are all you need for this recipe, and the main will be your phyllo cups. For the filling, you’ll add cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
Basil and a handful of spices can also be added and will add to the flavor, but it’s more a preference than a requirement.
I recommend serving on a wooden serving tray, like this Acacia wood serving tray, but you can use any tray you have on hand, too.
13. Italian Antipasto Skewers
Italian-inspired skewers are almost an entire meal on a stick, and they’re very easy to put together. What you will need is a lot of ingredients, such as:
- Mozzarella
- Tomatoes
- Olives
- Tortellini
- Salami
- Fresh basil
You’ll drizzle Italian dressing on top of each skewer and enjoy. If you have the opportunity to buy fresh tortellini, it will make these taste even better. I like to sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top of these, but that’s completely up to you, as the recipe doesn’t call for it.
14. Honey and Mustard Cocktail Sausages
Sometimes, the easiest recipes taste the best. Honey and mustard slathered on top of the pork cocktail sausages with a pinch of sea salt make these sausages one of the go-to options at any pool party.
Since the coating is a tad sticky, I do recommend placing a side of toothpicks on the side or spearing them individually first.
And total time to make these sausages is about 35 minutes, so do allow yourself some time to make these.
15. Cucumber Toasties
Refreshing and simple to assemble, these toasties have a creamy Italian spread, dill and sliced cucumbers on top of the toast. Salted Yum walks you through this easy assembly process, and you’ll learn how to make an Italian spread from:
- Cream cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Italian salad dressing mix
Garnish with dill weed and that’s it. You’ll need to bake the French bread baguettes in the broiler on high on a sheet pan, but that’s the extent of the cooking you’ll need to do.
16. Apricot Almond Delights
Dried apricots are such a great option for a pool party, but I feel like it’s often underappreciated. You’ll need 20 dried apricots that act as your “base” before you top them with goat cheese, almonds, thyme and honey drizzle on top.
And since there’s no cooking involved, it will take you all of 10 minutes to make this dish.
17. Nectarine Bruschetta
If you’re looking for something a little different but that has a big taste, this easy finger food for a pool party is the right choice for you. Two-Bit Tart teaches you how to assemble these bruschetta made of:
- Baguette slices (toasted)
- Roasted hazelnuts or pistachios
- Nectarines
- Honey
- Balsamic vinegar
- Lemon zest
- Basil leaves
- Salt and pepper
- Whole milk ricotta
Related: 25 Summer Appetizer Ideas Perfect for Kicking Off Parties, BBQs, & More
18. Cucumber Smoked Salmon Bites
Salmon chunks on top of cucumber slices offer a refreshing taste for this year’s pool party. You’ll start by cutting your salmon income chunks and slicing your cucumber into ½” thick slices. Cream cheese will sit on top of the cucumber, along with black pepper and chives for added flavor.
Lemon zest, lemon juice and spring onion will add flavor to the salmon and offer small, healthy bites that everyone will enjoy.
19. Rosemary Pineapple Mozzarella Bites
Small, delicious and simple. You can easily make twenty of these delectable bites and all they take are six simple ingredients. Olive oil, rosemary branches, pineapple, mozzarella balls and chili flakes are all you need.
The chili flakes add a nice contrast in flavor but don’t go overboard, as you want the flavor to be subtle.
One item you will need is cocktail sticks to hold everything together.
