The holidays are the busiest time of year! There are countless Christmas parties, dinners, family gatherings, and potlucks. While the festivities are exciting it can be exhausting especially if you’re the one hosting. To help alleviate some of the work we have found some of the best appetizer recipes you can make for your next Christmas party!
With the vegan diet and dairy allergies on the rise, many are opting for plant-based options! You’ll be happy to know all of these appetizers are dairy-free and vegan-friendly! However, they’re so tasty that even if your guests don’t follow a plant-based diet they’ll love them too! Enjoy the holiday season stress-free and with a belly that is full and satisfied.
Add a dash of festive color to your food table with these pinwheels! Sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil and spinach create a bold red and green color and offer this appetizer loads of flavor!
To create this appetizer you’ll need flour tortillas, fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, vegan cream cheese, and a few seasonings. This is a simple no-bake recipe that will only take you 15 minutes to put together.
https://minimalistbaker.com/sun-dried-tomato-and-basil-pinwheels/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: MINIMALIST BAKER
Charcuterie boards are all the rage right now. They look stunning on the table and they offer an assortment of different foods!
Unfortunately, often many charcuterie boards are filled with different types of meats and cheeses which are clearly not vegan-friendly. Fortunately, this recipes proves how you can create a vegan version effortlessly and still end up with a lovely display. They’ve included step-by-step instructions on how to assemble the board as well as a few delicious dip recipes.
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/how-to-make-a-vegan-snack-board/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: IT DOESN’T TASTE LIKE CHICKEN
Chips and dip are one of my favorite appetizers! When I made the switch to a plant-based diet it was fairly daunting not knowing if I would enjoy some of my childhood favorites. However, this recipe is a prime example of how many classics can easily be transformed to be vegan-friendly!
This 7 layer dip has lovely colors of red and green, perfect for the holidays! This dip begins with a refried bean layer, followed by vegan sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. Top the dish off with freshly chopped veggies and serve with your favorite taco chips!
https://www.hotforfoodblog.com/recipes/2016/2/2/the-best-vegan-7-layer-dip PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: HOT FOR FOOD
Bruschetta is great for summer BBQ’s but they make excellent appetizers too! This dish is light, fresh and extremely delicious.
You’ll want to start by cutting a French baguette sliced into 1/2 inch slices. The bruschetta topping is made from diced red onion, tomatoes, olive oil, and a few seasonings. While the topping marinates in the fridge you can whip up the lovely balsamic glaze on the stove top. Last but not least, once the bread has toasted in the oven you’ll top it off with the fresh ingredients and drizzle the balsamic glaze on top.
https://www.aheadofthyme.com/2016/09/easy-tomato-bruschetta-with-balsamic-glaze/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: AHEAD OF THYME
Pastries make delectable appetizers. These spinach puffs are so tasty everyone will devour them quickly!
The creamy spinach filling is made from cashews, spinach and a few seasonings such as dill and garlic. To assemble, you’ll place puff pastry sheets inside a muffin tin. This will help you create the perfect single-sized portions. Then add in the creamy spinach filling and bake in the oven.
https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-spinach-puffs/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: CONNOISSEURUS VEG
Hot finger foods are some of the best kinds of food we look forward to at holiday parties! An excellent alternative to chicken wings is cauliflower wings! This recipe is a great example of how you can transform a simple vegetable into an appetizer everyone is going to love.
You’ll coat the cauliflower florets in a simple batter followed by rolling them in panko breadcrumbs. Once cooked in the oven, the outer layer will be nice and crispy. Then, you can decide if you want to serve the delicious sesame sauce on the side or smother it over the cauliflower wings.
https://jessicainthekitchen.com/sticky-sesame-cauliflower-wings/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: JESSICA IN THE KITCHEN
Bring a restaurant-favorite home to your Christmas party with this recipe! Spinach artichoke dip gets a delicious vegan makeover and the best part, non-plant-based dieters won’t even notice!
The creamy base comes from blended cashews. You need to soak them in water overnight to ensure they get nice and soft. To whip the dip together you’ll need to use a high-speed blender or food processor and combine the cashews with soy milk and a few seasonings. When those ingredients have reached a creamy consistency you’ll mix it in a bowl with the cooked spinach and chopped artichokes and serve with your favorite chips, crackers or veggies.
https://healthynibblesandbits.com/spicy-vegan-spinach-artichoke-dip/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: HEALTHY NIBBLES AND BITS
Like bruschetta, crostinis are another excellent appetizer. It’s essentially the same idea but with different toppings.
To make this recipe easy you can use store-bought hummus but your favorite homemade hummus would work great too! First, you’ll want to toast the baguette slices in the oven. While you wait for the bread you’ll want to caramelize the onions in a frying pan with balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Lastly, assemble the crostinis with a generous scoop of hummus topped with caramelized onions. You could even garnish with a dashing sprig of rosemary!
http://wallflowerkitchen.com/hummus-caramelised-onion-crositini/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: WALLFLOWER KITCHEN
Pretzel bites are savory, salty and oh so delicious! Unfortunately, many restaurant-made soft pretzels aren’t vegan-friendly. This is often due to the egg wash. However, this recipe proves that you can skip the egg wash and still end up with a delicious bite.
To make the pretzel bites you’ll need pre-made pizza dough, water, baking soda, and salt. First, you’ll want to bring the water and baking soda to a rolling boil. Then place the pretzel balls into the water and wait until they float to the top. You’ll then place them on a baking sheet, sprinkle coarse salt on top, and bake until they’ve reached a lovely golden color. While they bake in the oven you can whip up the spicy maple mustard dip recipe that will complete this appetizer.
https://www.hotforfoodblog.com/recipes/2016/8/23/vegan-pretzel-bites PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: HOT FOR FOOD
Blow everyone away with this buffalo cauliflower dip. It’s dairy-free and protein packed and will impress every non-vegan who tries it!
To create this dip, you’ll need to chop the cauliflower and mix with a buffalo hot sauce. Place them in the oven and bake until crispy. While the cauliflower cooks in the oven you can get started on the sauce. The creamy sauce is made from cashews, cashew milk, buffalo hot sauce, white beans, potatoes, and just a few other ingredients. It may be a 2-step process but the pay off will be well worth it!
https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/baked-vegan-buffalo-cauliflower-dip/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: VEGGIES DON’T BITE
This recipe is much like the sticky sesame cauliflower wings but instead has a buffalo sauce. These vegan wings are tender on the inside and crispy and spicy on the outside!
You’ll need to dip the cauliflower florets in a milk and flour mixture and then bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. While they bake in the oven whip together to the delicious buffalo sauce. Then combine the florets with the sauce and bake for an additional 30 minutes! This appetizer will surely be a crowd favorite.
http://rachlmansfield.com/crispy-baked-buffalo-cauliflower-wings/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: RACH L MANSFIELD
This cranberry cheeseball appetizer is stunning and delicious! The colors alone would be a lovely addition to the holiday food table.
The vegan cheeseball is made from cashews, nutritional yeast, white miso paste, and a few seasonings. You’ll use a food processor to help blend all the ingredients into a smooth mixture. Then you’ll roll up the cheese mixture into a ball using plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a couple hours. Lastly, press cranberries to the outside of the ball and serve with your favorite crackers or bread.
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/cranberry-thyme-vegan-cheese-ball/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: IT DOESN’T TASTE LIKE CHICKEN
I made this chickpea shwarma dip for a family dinner once and it was hit! To my amazement, it was gobbled up within minutes!
The base of this dip starts with hummus. To make this recipe easy you can use store-bought. Before assembling the dip, you’ll need to roast the shwarma baked chickpeas which are so tasty you’ll be tempted to eat them on their own. While they roast in the oven you’ll need to whip up the 4-ingredient garlic dill sauce. Then assemble the dish and serve with crackers or your favorite vegan-friendly pita or naan bread!
https://minimalistbaker.com/chickpea-shawarma-dip/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: MINIMALIST BAKER
Mozzarella sticks are a crowd favorite. Although, you’ll be delighted to know these don’t contain an ounce of dairy and are most definitely vegan-friendly!
Instead of cheese, you’ll use hearts of palm. This may sound obscure but when fried the hearts of palm get stringy and mimic melted string cheese! The ingredients list is short and simple and you’ll have these ready to cook in just 15 minutes!
https://veganhuggs.com/vegan-mozzarella-sticks/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: VEGAN HUGGS
This tofu ricotta recipe is unreal, you have to try it! Achieving the right flavor is one of the tricky aspects about creating vegan cheese but this recipe is so dang good you’ll be putting it on everything!
This tofu ricotta is made from tofu, lemon juice, basil, nutritional yeast, garlic, olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. You merely have to blend all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. For your holiday appetizer, you can serve this with a side of crackers or you could even make delicious veggies pizzas using this cheese too! The options are endless.
https://createmindfully.com/tofu-ricotta/ PHOTOS AND RECIPE HERE: CREATE MINDFULLY
