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Prepare all of your guests’ appetites by serving any of these Thanksgiving appetizers before the big dinner! There are so many options in this collection including dips, veggies, meats, and more!
More Collections: Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas, Thanksgiving Side Dishes, Thanksgiving Desserts
We Love Appetizers!
You might wonder if you even need to do appetizers or a big breakfast on Thanksgiving, seeing as the main meal takes a lot of work!
We love a good appetizer spread as guests arrive:
- Good time for munchies. If you tend to sleep in, then it’s likely you’ll be ready for some appetizers.
- Keep it light. No appetizer or brunch should be too heavy.
- All day long. They can be served throughout the day as people gather to cook in the kitchen or take breaks from football out in the yard.
Serving Thanksgiving Appetizers
Now that you’ve planned it’s time to prep and serve your appetizers on Turkey Day!
Keeping the right temperature. Whether you make them ahead of time or have set them out to be eaten, it’s important to keep certain dishes at the right temperature.
- Have two coolers, one for hot dishes and one for cold dishes.
- Use crock pots or chafing dishes to keep the food warm.
- Keep food cold by using a tray of ice placed under bowls and platters.
- Use fruits and vegetables that are in season.
planning Tips
Planning your Thanksgiving menu can start weeks before the actual event and these tips should help!
- Choose appetizers that are easy to make, as well as ones that can be made ahead of time.
- Serving. Divide the appetizers onto several plates or tiers, and have them placed in various areas around the room.
- How to choose appetizers. Balance the dishes by offering a mixture of hot and cold, protein and vegetables, light and heavy.
- Since these Thanksgiving appetizer recipes will be served before a large meal, plan for each person to have 3-4 appetizers.
- 3 appetizer dishes: <10 guests
- 5 appetizer dishes: 10-20 guests
- 7 appetizer dishes: 20-40 guests
Best Thanksgiving Appetizers
We love to include a few tasty appetizers to munch on before the main Thanksgiving feast. We’ve rounded up some of our best and classic, sweet and savory apps.
1 Turkey Veggie Tray
2 Spinach Puffs Recipe
3 Deviled Eggs Recipe
4 Cranberry Brie Bites Recipe
5 Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe
6 Bacon Wrapped Smokies Recipes
7 Dill Veggie Dip
8 Burrata Board Recipe
9 Baked Brie in Puff Pastry
10 How to Make a Charcuterie Board
Easy Thanksgiving Appetizers
Take some stress out of the day by including a few easy appetizers. Whether they can be made ahead of time, or whipped up in a flash, there are plenty of easy options to choose from!
11 Spinach Dip Bites Recipe
12 Cranberry Salsa Recipe
13 Grape Jelly Meatball Recipe
Recipe Video
Get the recipe14 Crock Pot Artichoke Dip Recipe
15 Brie Phyllo Tarts Recipe
16 Pull Apart Bread Recipe
17 Cream Cheese Sausage Balls Recipe
18 Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Recipe
19 Brie and Pear Tarts Recipe
20 Crockpot Meatballs Recipe
21 Bacon Wrapped Dates Recipe
22 Easy Bruschetta Recipe
Healthy Thanksgiving Appetizers
It’s nice to include a few healthy options in your appetizer spread. These tasty choices utilize veggies, and are on the lighter side!
23 Veggie Cups Appetizer
24 Homemade Hummus Recipe
25 Caprese Kabobs Recipe
26 Bruschetta Recipe
Recipe Video
27 Fruit Kabobs
28 Cheese Ball Bites Recipe
29 Veggie Tray
30 Veggie Tortilla Roll Ups Recipe
Cold Thanksgiving Appetizers
We love to have appetizers out and ready when guests arrive, so they have something to graze on before dinner.
Many of these cold appetizers can be made ahead of time. They can be served with veggies or crackers (that can even be part of a Charcuterie Board).
31 Knorr Spinach Dip
32 Caesar Salad Cups Recipe
33 Apple Brickle Dip Recipe
34 Pumpkin Pie Dip Recipe
35 Easy Fruit Dip
36 Nutella Dip Recipe
37 Cream Cheese Green Chili Dip Recipe
38 Yogurt Fruit Dip Recipe
39 Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe
40 Caramel Apple Dip Recipe
41 Pineapple Cheese Balls
42 Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball Recipe
Perfect For Grazing
We know that everyone likes to graze on food and snacks while they what for the main meal.
Our go-to appetizer on Thanksgiving day is a Thanksgiving charcuterie board.
What’s great about them is you can easily customize them based on your favorite food and flavors. We love to include:
- Fruit: grapes, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, dried fruit
- Vegetables: Red peppers, broccoli, celery, carrots
- Meats + Cheese cubes (including goat cheese and other cheese for meats and crackers.
- Extras: Candy Corn, Pumpkin seeds, fresh herbs and more!
Here is the recipe:
30+ Thanksgiving Appetizers – Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board
Equipment
- Large Wooden Serving Board
Ingredients
- 2 small cups dip, I like Ranch and Veggie Dip
- 15 slices deli pepperoni
- 8 slices Prosciutto
- 9 slices deli salami
- 1/4 cup Colby jack cheese cubes
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese cubes
- handful blueberries
- 1-2 cups grapes
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup dried fruit
- ½ cup nuts
- ½ cup candy corn
- 2 cups round crackers, such as Ritz, Toasteds, Multigrain
- 1 cup seasoned crisp crackers
- Have serving prongs or toothpicks near the tray
- mini pumpkins, for decor
Instructions
- Place the small bowls of dip on opposite sides of the board.
- Fold, or roll the deli meats. Place the pepperoni along one side of the tray. Put the salami along a different side and the prosciutto on a third side.
- Add the different cheese cubes on opposite sides of each other.
- Place the different types of crackers around the board.
- Finally, fill in any empty spots with the nuts, produce, candy, and mini pumpkins.
- Be sure to place out serving prongs, toothpicks and small plates near the tray.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A Great Meal Starts with Snacks!
Nothing gets the excitement of a holiday meal like Thanksgiving started better than a tasty appetizer and we’re sure you’ll find the perfect ones for your get-together on this list!
More Collections: Healthy Appetizers, Easy Appetizers, Appetizer Dips
I made your Turkey veggie tray last year & it was a huge hit!! I’m making it again this year & we love your spinach artichoke dip!!
Charcuterie boards seem to be popular this year, I love all the item ideas you used on your board.
This is such a great collection of appetizers! The caprese kabobs and pull apart bread are some of my go-to’s! Can’t wait to try the cheese ball bites – they are so fun and easy to serve!
Thank you for the great recipes, my family will love them. Happy holidays 🤩
These appetizers look and taste amazing! They look so fancy! Making them this Thanksgiving!
What a beautiful charcuterie board!! Those are always a hit with my family. They love gathering around & munching on all the delicious snacks.
Thanks a lot for this amazing and super easy to make thanksgiving appetizers recipes! It’s really tasty and very flavorful! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
I have 7 siblings and calculating food is always a challenge when are families all get together for the holidays. I really love the tips here about, not just what to make, but how much to bring.
These are the perfect start to any Thanksgiving meal and there so darn cute!
I am so hungry looking at all these recipes! They are sure to keep my guests happy until dinner!