21 Canapé Recipes that Will Impress Your Guests (2024)

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Who doesn't love little party food? Here are some fancy canapé recipes that will definitely impress your party guests. We love a little pass-around appetizer tray. These recipes feature easy-to-eat party food - many of them are one or two-bite nibbles.

If you're hosting a fancy co*cktail party, wedding shower, holiday party, or Oscars party - you'll want to serve substantial food that looks good, tastes great and is easy to eat.

This list doesn't include things like dips or anything that would require using a full plate. None of these canapés are cumbersome to eat.

These hors d'oeuvres can all be plated or they can be served pass-around style on trays. And, we're only sharing the chicest of recipes - no old-school shrimp co*cktail here!

Watermelon Radish Bites

These watermelon radish bites with spicy tuna are a great little appetizer. They're perfect for a canapés party or whenever you need a small, hand-held appetizer.

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Crispy Mushroom Caps with Cream Cheese and Lox

These crunchy, delicious little mushroom caps are super easy to pull off.

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Fruit and Cheese Kabobs

These delightful fruit and cheese kabobs are an easy appetizer or snack. Serve them with a small bowl of honey or some whipped cream for an elevated small bite.

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Burrata Tarts

Burrata Tarts are crazy scrumptious and are quick and easy puff pastry appetizers! Burrata cheese with four different complementary flavors to showcase fresh seasonal produce and gooey decadent Burrata cheese.

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Gorgonzola Grapes

The gorgonzola grapes are rich and pack a surprisingly juicy little punch.Little appetizer bites are little bits of yum. I know you’ll love these horsd'oeuvres.

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Devilled Eggs with Caviar

Devilled eggs with caviar make a fine luxury appetizer or party nibble. This recipe is easy to make and the caviar adds a burst of visual excitement and an extra pop of texture and flavor to this classic dish.

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Cranberry Orange Brie Tarts

These Cranberry Orange Brie Tarts are the perfect appetizer for the holidays and are kicked up a bit with a pinch of cayenne pepper. The sweet, spicy, orange filling is nestled in a crunchy phyllo shell with creamy brie cheese.

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Cheddar Cups with Avocado Feta Mousse

These Cheddar Cups with Avocado Feta Mousse are the best ever party appetizer. The cheese cups require one ingredient and the entire appetizer is so easy to put together!

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Radish Puff Appetizer

These mini puff pastry tarts with goat's cheese, radishes, and microgreens are delicious, peppery, and delightfully rich.

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Dark Chocolate Figs with Gorgonzola Cheese

Whether these Dark Chocolate Figs with Gorgonzola Cheese are served as an appetizer or dessert, your guests will fall in love. The ingredients are simple, but they all work so well together.

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Hemp Avocado Deviled Eggs

A unique twist on the classic party favorite, these Hemp & Avocado Deviled Eggs are a high protein, Keto-friendly, mayo-free, wholesome snack.

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Gruyere and Bacon Potato Bites

Bacon and cheese, crispy and potato - these little appetizer bites will fly off the plate. Gruyere cheese is mild, a little salty. It’s versatile and doesn’t compete or overpower the other flavors in your dish.

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Cranberry Horseradish Brie Bites

Gluten-free crackers are topped with creamy brie cheese, zesty and sweet cranberry horseradish, crumbled pecans, a little thyme, and lemon zest.

Best of all, they take just a few minutes to make, so you won’t miss any time with your guests.

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Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

When done right, Bacon Wrapped Shrimp are one of the easiest, most delicious appetizers you can make.

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Potato & Cheese Croquettes

Potato & cheese croquettes with fresh tomato sauce and basil oil. A delicious appetizer or multiply for a simple yet impressive vegetarian starter.

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Spinach and Feta Puffs

These spinach puffs pack a salty little feta punch - they make a perfect appetizer! They are a delicious little bite and perfect for a party.

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Prosciutto Melon Skewers

Light, refreshing prosciutto melon skewers are elevated in extra flavor from pesto, balsamic glaze, and mozzarella – it’s the perfect healthy appetizer!

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Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms topped with an Italian seasoned bread crumb! These are totally the perfect appetizer, game day food, barbecue food, easy snack.

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Easy Spanokopita Bites

Traditional Greek flavors of the classic phyllo, spinach, and feta pie in a portable hand-held cup. Easy Spanokopita Bites come together so quickly with the help of ready-made phyllo cups, and taste like you worked on them all day.

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Prosciutto Pears with Arugula Salad

The perfect no-cook appetizer for your next holiday party or get-together, these healthy Whole30Prosciutto Pears with Arugula Saladare deliciously sweet and savory – plus they’re Paleo & Gluten-Free!

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Smoked Salmon Tartare

Smoked Salmon Tartare: an elegant appetizer that everyone loves, in ten minutes.

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Roasted Grape Crostinis

Roasted grapes have a wonderful sweet flavor! Paired with homemade ricotta on a crostini, they a delicious little bite.

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Yield: Makes 8 to 10 bites

Delicious Canapé Recipes - Watermelon Radish Bites

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These delicious canapés are great at any party! Try our watermelon radish, tuna, and mayo bites for a crisp, flavorful app.

Prep Time10 minutes

Total Time10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 watermelon radish
  • 1 can tuna, drained
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • pinch of paprika
  • 2 tablespoons microgreens

Instructions

  1. Slice the watermelon radish into ⅛ inch rounds.
  2. Combine the tuna, mayonnaise, and salt in a small bowl and stir till combined.
  3. Add a dollop of the tuna to each of the radish slices. Then sprinkle on a dash of paprika over each tuna and radish bite. Top with microgreens.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 59Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 283mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 5g

What's the difference between canapés and appetizers?

The difference between canapés (or hors d'oeuvres) is that appetizers are usually the first course of a meal and canapés are a small one or two-bite item that's often passed around on trays or served at a standing reception.

You can think of canapés more as finger food - you don't want to serve small bites that require large plates or is cumbersome to eat.

Canapés and hors d'oeuvres are largely the same, although you can think of an hors d'oeuvres of a slightly more substantial canapé. Hors d'oeuvres might have a dressing or an extra layer of sauce.

How many canapés should you have per person?

If you are hosting a standing co*cktail party or a reception where only canapés will be served, you'll want at least 8 to 10 savory items per person, and 2 to 3 sweet items per person. This is assuming no other food will be served.

If you're having a co*cktail hour and then a dinner party, you'll only need 2 to 4 items per person.

How to serve canapés?

Pass around canapés served by wait staff is obviously so elegant, but if you're just doing a smaller dinner party or hosting a shower, you can plate each item on a large serving tray.

Multi-tiered trays look great with one type of canapé per tier. We love this three-tier rectangle plate set - it looks very modern. If you want something a little more timeless, we recommend this three-tiered cake stand.

What are the best dishes for canapés?

If you want to have plates for your guests to use for their canapés, we recommend something small that can be held in one hand.

Typically someone will also be holding a drink, so it's ideally small enough that it can be set down easily on an end table as well. You could use a tapas plate or an appetizer plate for this.

What are your favorite canapé recipes? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

21 Canapé Recipes that Will Impress Your Guests (2024)

FAQs

What makes a successful canapé? ›

Balancing colour, flavour, and texture

These three elements are paramount to creating canapés that are memorable and look inviting. Texture is an important one to think about – a successful canapé is one that contrasts several different textures to create an enjoyable eating experience.

What should a canapé always have? ›

There are 4 distinctive elements of a canapé – the base, spread, a topping & a garnish. Canape base ingredients are usually bread, puff pastry or crackers, allowing a solid foundation for the rest of the canapé. Then there is spread followed by the topping.

What is the tip to making the best canapés? ›

Nine TIPS FOR CREATING THE PERFECT CANAPÉ
  • Think of a theme to inspire your canapé menu - try occasions like Thanksgiving or regional flavors such as Italian.
  • Think no bigger than bite-sized morsels for easy eating.
  • Although bites are small, pack them with flavor using spices, sauces and garnishes.

What is a gourmet canapé? ›

A canapé (French: [kanape]) is a type of starter, a small, prepared, and often decorative food, consisting of a small piece of bread (sometimes toasted) or cracker, wrapped or topped with some savoury food, held in the fingers and often eaten in one bite. Canapé Tray of canapés. Course. Hors d'Oeuvres.

When arranging canapés, what is the most important thing to remember? ›

If you're creating your own canapés, then the most important things to remember are taste, colour and texture. Obviously they have to taste good, but don't forget that each one has to look inviting as well.

How many canapés per person at a party? ›

We would normally recommend around 4-5 canapés per person for the first hour followed by 2-3 canapés per person for each subsequent hour. Therefore a private party at home where no other food is being served we would suggest a minimum 10 canapés per person for a standard 4 hour party.

How do you keep canapés from getting soggy? ›

A layer of butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese or sauce not only adds an extra burst of flavour to your canapé, it also acts as a barrier between a wet topping and a dry base – keeping sogginess at bay!

What are the 7 guidelines for assembling canapés? ›

The 7 basic guidelines for assembling canapés are:
  • Choose a base: Select a base such as crackers, bread, or puff pastry.
  • Spread the base: Add a spread like cream cheese, hummus, or butter.
  • Add protein: Top the spread with protein options like smoked salmon, ham, or chicken.
Dec 20, 2023

What is a canapé buffet? ›

A canapé buffet presents an impressive array of canapés arranged beautifully on serving platters or trays. This dining style allows guests to mingle freely while sampling different canapés at their own pace.

What food items are used to decorate canapés? ›

This document provides a list of food items that can be used to decorate canapés, including vegetables like radishes, tomatoes, olives, and asparagus; fish like smoked oysters, shrimp, tuna, and lobster; meats like ham, salami, roast beef, and chicken or turkey; and cheeses and hard cooked egg slices.

What is finger food canapés? ›

Canapés began as slices of toasted or fried bread with various toppings. Their name, literally 'sofa', was inspired from how the toppings "sat" on the bread as though it were a sofa. Over time, canapés became a word to describe all finger foods served at parties. Hors-d'oeuvres (1623) by Pieter Claesz.

What factors should be considered when making canapés? ›

The Big Three: “Taste, Colour, Texture.”

When we're creating canapés, the most important thing is that they must taste delicious, but there are a couple of other things we bear in mind. We try and make the colours as vibrant as possible.

What are the main components of canape? ›

Canapés traditionally consist of four main parts:
  • A base of a small piece of bread, pastry or crackers. ...
  • A flavorful spread such as butter, flavored cream cheese or mayonnaise. ...
  • A topping of meat, seafood, vegetable, fruit or whatever. ...
  • A garnish, usually something small, like tiny minced onions, herbs or caviar.
Sep 12, 2022

What are the guidelines in making a canapé? ›

Answer:
  • Each item should be small enough to be eaten in one or two bites.
  • Each item should be easily handled by the guest. ...
  • Strive for simple, attractive arrangements on the tray. ...
  • Ideally, each tray should hold only one food selection. ...
  • Avoid presenting hot and cold items on the same tray.
Oct 25, 2020

What adds moisture and flavor to the canapés? ›

Spread–placed on top of the base so the garnish sticks to it without falling off. Adds moisture and flavour to canapés. It holds the main body and provides a fat barrier which prevents the base from getting soggy.

References

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