22 Easy Make-Ahead Hors d'Oeuvres Recipes

Grant Cornett

The best hors d’oeuvres don’t require days of prep work and sweating away in a kitchen while your guests enjoy each other’s company. In fact, the greatest hors d’oeuvres recipes are ones you make ahead, pack away, and bring out just in time to plate and serve.

Make-ahead hors d’oeuvres not only help you plan, strategize, and work in advance, they let you really enjoy the event you’ve worked so hard to bring together. Here, we assembled our own easy hors d’oeuvres and appetizer recipes so you can pick and choose what fits your palate and preferences. We also offer up hors d’oeuvres ideas centered around very specific entertaining dilemmas, from no time to decorate to avoiding doing a lot of dishes. This list of delicious hors d’oeuvres offers a great variety of recipes so you can pick and choose exactly what you want and need.

Start Slideshow

1 of 13

Add a Surprising Twist to a Familiar Favorite

Con Poulos

Gooey grilled cheese is refreshed with a dollop of fruit chutney.

Get the recipe: Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches With Chutney

2 of 13

Update a Stalwart

Con Poulos

Crostini, a cocktail-party classic, gets an upgrade with fennel slaw.

Get the recipe: Prosciutto Crostini with Lemony Fennel Slaw

3 of 13

Skip Last-Minute Fussing

Con Poulos

Ridiculously addictive stuffed pockets can go from oven to serving platter, with no additional prep needed.

Get the recipe: Spiced Beef Empanadas With Lime Sour Cream

Keep these seasoned chicken strips warm in the oven until you’re ready to serve.

Get the recipe: Peanut Chicken Skewers With Chili Mayonnaise

4 of 13

Use Shortcut Ingredients

Con Poulos

A tasty nibble made with precooked shrimp proves that fancy hors d’oeuvres do not necessarily require fancy footwork.

Get the recipe: Mango Shrimp in Endive Leaves

Thick-cut potato chips make complex, flavorful bites fast.

Get the recipe: Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Crisps With Radicchio

And talk about convenient―apricots swathed in bacon can be assembled days in advance, then cooked straight from the freezer.

Get the recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Apricots With Sage

5 of 13

Minimize Dirty Pots and Pans

Con Poulos

This luscious, oozy treat, seasoned generously with fragrant garlic and thyme, is baked right in the box it came in.

Get the recipe: Baked Camembert With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

6 of 13

Make These If You’re Short on Time

Con Poulos

Opt for 10-minute nibbles, like Parmesan-spiked relish.

Get the recipe: Artichoke and Spinach Relish With Walnuts

This silky salmon spread is just as quick. Set it out with crackers and crudités and you’re done.

Get the recipe: Creamy Salmon Spread With Horseradish

7 of 13

Look Like a Pro

Con Poulos

Here, frozen puff pastry dough is spread with tangy crème fraîche and topped with a sweet and savory mix of onions and apples.

Get the recipe: Caramelized Onion Tarts With Apples

8 of 13

Pick Things That Get Better With Time

Beatriz da Costa

You can cook this nut mix up to a week in advance and keep it from-the-oven fresh in an airtight container stored at room temperature.

Get the recipe: Rosemary Pecans

Some spreads actually taste better when they’ve had a few days to sit and “meld.”

Get the recipe: Goat Cheese Spread

Mushrooms are little sponges and soak up all the great flavors of a marinade when made in advance for an easy hors d'oeuvres recipe.

Get the recipe: Marinated Mushrooms

9 of 13

Let the Oven Do the Work

Danny Kim

Aside from stirring in cheese, herbs, and a few other ingredients, the magic of this dip happens in the oven, when eggplant roasts to tender and silky.

Get the recipe: Creamy Eggplant and Feta Dip

Roasting garlic takes time, but it adds an intense sweetness to any basic creamy dip.

Get the recipe: Roasted Garlic and Scallion Dip

10 of 13

Let the Sauce Shine

Jonny Valiant

For an easy make-ahead hors d'oeuvres, thaw a few pounds of cooked peeled and deveined shrimp and partner the crowd-pleasing seafood bites with a stand-out cocktail sauce that can be made earlier in the day.

Get the recipe: Shrimp With Spiced Cocktail Sauce

11 of 13

Make Party Staples More Impressive

Greg DuPree

A quick roll in a combination of chopped nuts and dried fruit elevates a basic goat cheese to a special treat—and can be done two days in advance.

Get the recipe: Goat Cheese With Pistachios and Cranberries

Fruit and cheese trays can be cooked and assembled in advance—and on a skewer for a playful twist.

Get the recipe: Pluot and Cheese Skewers

12 of 13

Capitalize on Room-Temp Serving

Greg DuPree

Not everything needs to be served hot or cold to be delicious. Room-temp hors d’oeuvres that are baked in advance make the last-minute rush to assemble a non-factor.

Get the recipe: Eggplant, Feta, and Lemon Tart

13 of 13

Bake and Build Later

Grant Cornett

Make the savory buckwheat pancakes and cheese mixture a day in advance. Then all you have to do before serving is spread the cheese and drizzle with honey.

Get the recipe: Blini Bites With Blue Cheese and Honey

Toast baguette slices in advance and store. Slice cheese. Then top each bread round with the two high-power ingredients as guests arrive.

Get the recipe: Blue Cheese and Fig Crostini

Replay gallery

Account

More

22 Make-Ahead Hors d’Oeuvres for Stress-Free Entertaining

1 of 13

Add a Surprising Twist to a Familiar Favorite

1 of 13

2 of 13

Update a Stalwart

2 of 13

3 of 13

Skip Last-Minute Fussing

3 of 13

4 of 13

Use Shortcut Ingredients

4 of 13

5 of 13

Minimize Dirty Pots and Pans

5 of 13

6 of 13

Make These If You’re Short on Time

6 of 13

7 of 13

Look Like a Pro

7 of 13

8 of 13

Pick Things That Get Better With Time

8 of 13

9 of 13

Let the Oven Do the Work

9 of 13

10 of 13

Let the Sauce Shine

10 of 13

11 of 13

Make Party Staples More Impressive

11 of 13

12 of 13

Capitalize on Room-Temp Serving

12 of 13

13 of 13

Bake and Build Later

13 of 13

Share the Gallery

Up Next

Share the Gallery