Easy Appetizers for Summer Parties

Cara Mangini spoons these luscious tomatoes over crostini that she's smeared with goat cheese or ricotta, then tops each with extra basil. You can also fold them into pasta or cooked grains like farro, or serve them as a side dish with bread to mop up the juices. The recipe comes from The Vegetable Butcher cookbook.

Marinated Garlicky Tomatoes 

This hearty dip is a crazy-simple appetizer but also can be the heart of a light supper, served with an assortment of vegetables, cheese, crackers, sliced meat and fruit. The recipe comes from the cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking.

Garlic and Herb White Bean Dip

Switching a few ingredients in our 10-minute limeade drink opens new options. Go for Original Limeade, So Strawberry, Blue Lagoon, Pomegranate or the nonalcoholic Designated Driver.

If you love nachos with your margaritas, bite into our Nachos Grande--loaded with cheese, beans, and a variety of other toppings.

Five-Way Margarita

Nachos Grande

Our recipe actually makes two different kinds of tortilla spirals—one flavored with curry powder, the other with garlic and herbs.

Stuffed Party Pinwheels

These six-ingredient bite-size appetizers taste best warm, so assemble them in advance and pop them in the oven when guests arrive.

Zucchini-Tomato Cups with Blue Cheese

White dips don't have to be humdrum. In this recipe from The Vegetable Butcher cookbook, Cara Mangini sautes grated carrot, pine nuts and garlic in olive oil, then stirs the mixture into Greek yogurt.

Turkish Carrot Yogurt Dip  

This simple tapa is served as a bar snack throughout Spain. The quantities are deliberately vague—this is a recipe you can (and should) improvise. Make it with ripe local tomatoes and the nicest olive oil you can afford for the best flavor.

Tomato Bread recipe

Pantry ingredients turn ordinary Monterey jack into a deli-style party snack that tastes even better when you make it ahead. You can prep it three days in advance.

Marinated Cheese Cubes

All our favorite Italian flavors—garlic, tomato, basil and cheese—meet in this crunchy appetizer. The recipe is from Mama Carolla's Old Italian Restaurant in Indianapolis.

Mama Carolla's Bruschetta

A hint of curry and some chutney elevate these deviled eggs to spectacular. Spoon the filling into a sandwich-size clear plastic bag and snip a corner for easy piping.

Devilishly Good Deviled Eggs

"Tartine" is just fancy for "open-face sandwich." And this one's a delight, with a smear of lemon-pepper goat cheese, thinly sliced turkey and a confettilike tumble of peaches, plums and basil. Pair them with a lettuce salad for a light lunch. Or, to serve as an appetizer, slice them crosswise into strips.

Smoked Turkey Tartine with Stone Fruit Salsa

Make this thick and chunky salsa with fresh tomatoes from your garden. Add more jalapeno peppers if you prefer more heat.

Best Salsa

This is a dead-simple way to jazz up an ordinary jar of kalamata olives. If possible, give yourself time to chill the olives for two nights for maximum flavor.

Rosemary-Orange Marinated Olives recipe

We raided both the fruit bowl and the liquor cabinet for this sparkling make-ahead party drink, marrying citrus and stone fruits with brandy, orange liqueur and rosé wine. (You can use either a sweet wine, such as White Zinfandel, or a more dry variety, like a French or Spanish import.)

Rosy Stone Fruit Sangria

A garnish of pomegranate seeds and mint gives spark to this refreshing dip; it'’s a healthy choice you'’ll be glad to have in your recipe box year-round. Serve with pita chips, crisp breadsticks or vegetables.

Cucumber-Feta Dip

This iconic three-ingredient Spanish appetizer is an addictive finger food that's just salty and porky enough to go great with drinks.

Ham-Wrapped Asparagus recipe

You aren't misreading the recipe: This classic Spanish appetizer delivers a lusty punch of roughly one garlic clove for every three shrimp! Serve with a crusty baguette for mopping up the luscious sauce.

Garlic Shrimp recipe

This fizzy pink drink is a kid-friendly, real-fruit alternative to bottled pop. For an adults-only version, add two tablespoons of rum, tequila or citrus-infused vodka to each serving or 1 to 1 1/4 cups to the batch.

Sparkling Berry Lemonade

Fresh herbs season this ridiculously simple spread from BelGioioso Cheese in Wisconsin. It keeps well in the fridge and is delicious with cherry tomatoes or other vegetable dippers, as well as crackers or baguette slices.

Ricotta and Parmesan Spread

Most people think of gazpacho as a cold tomato soup, but the name comes from an Arabic word meaning “soaked bread.” Aim to prep it a day ahead, so it’s well-chilled and the flavors have time to mingle. Serve as shooters or in bowls.

Classic Gazpacho recipe

The toppings for Banh Mi, a popular Vietnamese sandwich, give bruschetta an update with cucumber, sliced ham and soy sauce.

Banh Mi Bruschetta

The almond-pepper sauce on these two-bite open-face sandwiches is delicious in its own right, especially as a sauce for grilled bread or vegetables. 

Steak and Romesco Toasts recipe

Better at room temperature than warm, these carrots are perfect for summer entertaining—a make-ahead dish full of earthiness, creaminess and crunch. 

Roasted Carrots with Lemon-Cumin Aioli recipe

Sangria is usually made with red wine, but white just says summer, doesn't it? Choose an affordable light and dry variety, such as Spanish Albariño, Portuguese Vinho Verde or Sauvignon Blanc. 

Watermelon-Lime Sangria recipe

If you’ve never tried Swiss chard (a dark leafy green similar to kale and spinach), this pretty appetizer makes a good introduction. Garlic, red onion, currants, vinegar and honey balance its earthiness. The recipe comes from Urban Roots Farm in Springfield, Missouri.

Sauteed Swiss Chard and Pine Nut Bruschetta

These chips are a fresh and healthy alternative to traditional potato chips. Serve with Caramelized Onion Dip, if you like.

Fresh Vegetable Chips

This spread can be made ahead and stored in the fridge up to 3 days. For a flavorful dipper, brush pita wedges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and thyme before toasting in oven.

Feta, Honey and Date Spread

This five-ingredient recipe comes from the bacon pros at Nueske’s meats in Wisconsin.

Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms

We've seen a lot of dips through the years, but we've never forgotten this one -- juicy veggies, tangy olive tapenade and feta piled on a thick layer of hummus. We like to make it ahead and serve it with warm toasted pita wedges. 

Mediterranean Eight-Layer Dip

Kettle chips offer a terrific shortcut to the usual slow-poached potatoes in our version of Spain’s famous egg dish. Tasty both warm and at room temperature, the tortilla can be cut into small pieces for an appetizer or into wedges for a light meal with salad and bread.

Egg and Potato Tortilla recipe

Using Darjeeling tea imparts floral notes beyond what you find in ordinary black tea, which makes it a more interesting base for this refreshing, honey-laced drink. Keep the punch virgin, or add a tablespoon of vodka, gin or bourbon to each glass.

Honeyed Lemonade Tea Punch

This beautiful and unusual recipe makes one small cheese ball, but easily doubles or triples to make multiple for a party. The recipe comes from Indiana-based Annie Marshall of the blog Everyday Annie.

Parmesan-Crusted Goat Cheese with Basil Oil

Jarred roasted peppers hold a bright and zesty filling of tuna, mayonnaise, capers and lemon juice in this Spanish-style appetizer. (The tuna salad is great on its own, too!).

Tuna-Stuffed Peppers recipe

This boozy appetizer warms right on the grill, making it perfect for casual backyard parties. The recipe comes from America's Best BBQ Homestyle, a cookbook featuring recipes from 'cue masters across the country.

Bourbon Brie

We made most of our savory sandwiches on mini party bread, found in the cracker aisle. You can also trim crusts and cut shapes from thin sandwich bread.

Left to right, starting on top row:

1 Brie, strawberries, basil
2 Mayonnaise, hard-boiled egg, chives, bacon
3/4 Pimento cheese, green olives/Hummus, roasted red sweet pepper, mint
5 Boursin cheese, cucumber, lemon zest
6 Cream cheese, smoked salmon, red onion, capers
7 Apples, mixed blue cheese and cream cheese, pecans
8 Mixed cream cheese and horseradish, roast beef, cherry tomatoes
9 Butter, radish, cracked black pepper
10 Pound cake, lemon curd, raspberries

Trade bruschetta's traditional tomato for sunny sweet corn in this quick recipe from the cookbook Sweet Corn Spectacular (www.mhspress.org).

Sweet Corn Bruschetta

Fresh herbs, tomatoes and avocados create a refreshing salsa. Serve with pita or tortilla chips.

Avocado-Feta Salsa

So simple! Slice raw zucchini and spread with semisoft cheese that comes flavored with garlic and herb. Sprinkle with chopped olives and snipped chives.

Coat pork loin strips with a simple apple juice-Dijon mustard glaze, then serve skewers with tangy homemade fruit chutney.

Mustard-Glazed Pork Skewers

This salsa does double duty as a tortilla dip or a meat topper. Serve with a slotted spoon over grilled pork, smoked bratwursts or sausages, grilled chicken or salmon.

Black Bean Salsa

Garden flavor infuses this refreshing make-ahead white wine cocktail.

Cucumber White Sangria

This easy appetizer pizza features shredded Gouda and caramelized onions. The recipe comes from Gouda maker Oakvale Farmstead Cheese in London, Ohio.

Gouda and Red Onion Pizza