Christmas Appetizer Recipes: The Best Holiday Starters & Snacks! (2024)

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These Christmas appetizer recipes are perfect for serving a crowd during the holidays and are guaranteed to be a hit! Anything from this list of tasty finger foods, snacks, and dips will make a great addition to your Christmas party spread. Set them out and watch them quickly disappear!

Best Holiday Appetizers

There's nothing better than some tasty appetizers to kick off an unforgettable Christmas dinner or holiday party! An appetizer spread stages the room so people have a place to mingle and graze.

Whether you are looking for some easy starters, classic chip dips, or something new entirely, there's a wide variety of choices on this list. Take a look and see which Christmas appetizer recipes you'd like to try this year!

Christmas Appetizer Recipes: The Best Holiday Starters & Snacks! (1)

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Best Holiday Appetizers
Christmas Party Appetizers
1. Ranch Cheese Ball
2. Sour Cream Chip Dip
3. Buffalo Chicken Dip
4. French Onion Dip
5. Pinwheel Sandwiches
6. Sausage Cream Cheese Dip
7. Crab Stuffed Shrimp
9. Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
10. Air Fryer Pigs In A Blanket
11. Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs
12. Deviled Ham
13. Rotel Dip
15. Charcuterie Board
16. Bisquick Cream Cheese Balls
17. Deviled Eggs
😋 More Tasty Appetizers
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Best Christmas Appetizer Recipes: Ranch Cheese Ball (+More Tasty Snack Ideas!)
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Christmas Party Appetizers

Sure, you can choose one of the recipes on this list. Or, you can pick a few and set up an epic Christmas appetizer spread!

Be sure to check out my complete guide to hosting the Christmas holiday, whether it's your first time hosting the family meal or your 50th!

1. Ranch Cheese Ball

This is no plane Jane cheese ball, it's loaded with crispy bacon, chives, and a ton of ranch flavor! The optional pecan crust adds a delightful crunch that will keep your guests coming back.

Ranch Cheese Ball

This ranch cheese ball is a tasty party dip perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, or any other party or get-together. It's loaded with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, chives, and lots of ranch seasoning. Once you try it, this ranch cheese ball will be your new go-to party appetizer.

Check out this recipe

2. Sour Cream Chip Dip

This smooth and creamy sour cream dip only requires 5 ingredients to make! It's totally delicious with potato chips or veggie sticks.

Sour Cream Chip Dip

Sour cream chip dip is an incredibly easy and delicious appetizer to bring to your next tailgate, potluck, or family get-together! This homemade dip combines a full 16-ounce container of sour cream with simple herbs and spices (no dill). Serve it with your favorite chips or sliced veggies and you've got yourself a crowd-pleasing appetizer dip!

Check out this recipe

3. Buffalo Chicken Dip

If you are a fan of hot wings then you will love this buffalo chicken dip! You can use your favorite hot pepper or buffalo sauce so it's exactly like you like it.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip

This slow cooker buffalo ranch chicken dip is a rich and creamy appetizer with all the flavor you expect from your favorite hot wings! This dip is made with chunks of canned chicken, cream cheese, ranch, buffalo sauce (or hot pepper sauce), and lots of cheddar cheese, so this dip is both easy and affordable! It's the perfect thing to bring to your next tailgate, potluck, or holiday party.

Check out this recipe

4. French Onion Dip

French onion dip is a classic chip dip that everyone knows and loves. You can whip it up in about 5 minutes flat so you can keep people happy while you work on more complicated recipes.

French Onion Dip

This delicious homemade French Onion Dip requires only sour cream, dried minced onion, and seasoning to make this flavorful appetizer dip! No worries if you don't have French onion soup mix on hand! You can make this completely from scratch version and still have a delicious dip for chips, crackers, bread, and veggies!

Check out this recipe

5. Pinwheel Sandwiches

These finger sandwiches are incredibly easy to make and so versatile! I've included recipes for my 4 favorite variations: Club sandwich pinwheels, Italian Pinwheels, tuna salad pinwheels, and taco pinwheels!

Pinwheel Sandwiches

Pinwheel sandwiches are an easy-to-make, delicious choice for lunches, snacks, or appetizers. Perfect for holidays, game days, and everyday meals, these make-ahead sandwiches, rolled in tortillas or bread, are loved by all.

Check out this recipe

6. Sausage Cream Cheese Dip

Sausage cream cheese dip is savory and satisfying with just 3 ingredients! All you need is some cream cheese, pork sausage, and canned Rotel tomatoes.

Sausage Cream Cheese Dip

Sausage cream cheese dip is a flavorful and easy-to-make appetizer dip that will be the talk of your next party or game day get-together! This 3-ingredient dip combines hearty pork sausage, cream cheese, and RoTel diced tomatoes with green chiles. Serve with chips or veggie sticks and you have yourself a delicious party appetizer to share with a crowd!

Check out this recipe

7. Crab Stuffed Shrimp

Seafood lovers will enjoy these delectable crab-stuffed shrimp. The juicy shrimp are filled with an irresistible mixture of sweet crab, cream cheese, Parmesan, mayo, and Panko breadcrumbs.

Crab Stuffed Shrimp

Crab stuffed shrimp is the perfect double dose of seafood dish to impress at any occasion and is ready in only minutes! The shrimp will turn out elegantly with a crunchy breadcrumb topping and savory, flavorful stuffing making this the first thing gone at a party! This simple-to-make crab stuffed shrimp will truly make you shine like a professional chef!

Check out this recipe

8. Air Fryer Frozen Mac & Cheese Bites

Mac and cheese bites made in the air fryer are perfectly melted on the inside and crispy on the outside! No one will know they aren't homemade (just throw away the evidence).

Air Fryer Frozen Mac and Cheese Bites

Air fryer frozen mac and cheese bites are the ultimate easy comfort food that you will want to make over and over again! They make a fabulous snack, appetizer, or an easy quick lunch if you are in a hurry. These bite-sized balls of mac and cheese are a kid favorite that adults will love just as much!

Check out this recipe

9. Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Cream cheese stuffed mushrooms are delectable bite-sized appetizers that everyone will enjoy! The mushrooms are juicy and tender while the filling is creamy and cheesy. They are downright addicting!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

My quick and easy cream cheese stuffed mushrooms are the perfect bite-sized appetizers for any dinner, celebration, party, or get-together! These incredible hors d'oeuvres are stuffed with cream cheese and Parmesan filling seasoned to perfection - you can't eat just one!

Check out this recipe

10. Air Fryer Pigs In A Blanket

Bust out your air fryer for these addicting Little Smokies pigs in a blanket! They only take 2 ingredients and 20 minutes to make, which is great since you will likely want to make a second batch.

Air Fryer Pigs In A Blanket

This 20-minute air fryer pigs in a blanket recipe combines savory Little Smokies sausages and buttery crescent rolls to make an easy snack! The air fryer is the fastest way to make this classic appetizer that is perfect for potlucks, barbecues, and parties!

Check out this recipe

11. Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs

To make this hands-off appetizer all you have to do is combine frozen meatballs, ketchup, grape jelly, and seasoning in your crockpot. It may sound weird, but the jelly and ketchup cook down into a sweet, sticky sauce that is finger-licking good!

Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs

Crockpot grape jelly meatballs combine homemade or freezer meatballs, grape jelly, ketchup, and seasoning! They're a perfect appetizer for any potluck, dinner party, or game day! These easy, delicious, and tender meatballs will be the hit of any family dinner, too!

Check out this recipe

12. Deviled Ham

Deviled ham is a savory cracker spread or chip dip that you can even use to make sliders or finger sandwiches! There's no cooking required just combine the ingredients and chill until you're ready to eat!

Deviled Ham

13. Rotel Dip

Rotel dip is basically an easy-to-make queso con carne made with ground beef, Velveeta cheese, and canned Rotel tomatoes with chilis. Serve it with some tortilla chips and watch it disappear!

Cheesy Rotel Dip

Rotel dip blends hearty taco-seasoned ground beef, creamy Velveeta cheese, and Rotel tomatoes with chiles! It combines to make an amazing game day dip to satisfy your queso cravings! All you need is a bag of tortilla chips!

Check out this recipe

14. Cheese & Bacon Turnovers

Cheese & bacon turnovers are made by filling buttery puff pastry with, you guessed it, cheese and bacon! It's an irresistible flavor combination that no one can deny!

Cheese and Bacon Turnovers

These cheese and bacon turnovers are a delicious treat that combines all of the best of our favorite comfort food flavors! They feature rich, buttery puff pastry wrapped around crispy bacon and melted cheeses! Nothing more is needed as every great flavor we love is wrapped in tender, flaky puff pastry and ready to be enjoyed!

Check out this recipe

15. Charcuterie Board

Charcuterie boards are the ultimate finger food! You can customize it with your favorite meats, cheeses, and crackers or with some options that suit the holiday.

Cranberry cheddar or cranberry mustard are always great additions around Christmastime!

Charcuterie Board

A charcuterie board is an impressive but super-easy way to feed a crowd when entertaining for holidays or any reason! It doesn't matter if you're an avid cook, a great-looking appetizer tray like this amazing assortment of meats and cheeses is surprisingly easy to assemble! Add fruit, nuts, vegetables, dips, mustard spreads, pepper jelly, marmalade, honey, pickles, olives, and more to make a charcuterie board that everyone will love!

Check out this recipe

16. Bisquick Cream Cheese Balls

These snack-sized sausage and cream cheese balls are hard to resist! They are made with cheddar cheese, sausage, cream cheese, and fluffy Bisquick that is baked until golden-brown and delicious.

Bisquick Sausage Balls

Bisquick sausage balls are a delicious appetizer loaded with pork breakfast sausage, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and Bisquick! The easy-to-make snack-size cream cheese balls are golden crispy on the outside with a great cheesy flavor! Serve them at any party and watch them disappear!

Check out this recipe

17. Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are the appetizer that some people treat as a main course. I mean I know I could eat a handful of these guys, and that's being lenient.

This classic deviled egg recipe tastes just like you remember! You'll want to keep making them year after year.

Deviled Eggs

These deviled eggs are a classic, time-honored recipe that is supremely easy to make and quite simply the best ever! Some things just don't need improving, and these yummy deviled eggs are one of those things! Of course, you can always change them up with stir-ins or add-ons, but these eggs will be just like the ones from your childhood!

Check out this recipe

😋 More Tasty Appetizers

Crab Cakes - These delectable crab patties are easy to eat and hard to resist!
Roasted Boan Marrow - Treat yourself by starting your next meal with some rich and buttery roasted bone marrow.
Totchos - Loaded nachos but instead of chips you use tater tots!
Calamari - Tender squid rings and tentacles battered and fried until crispy and delicious!
Air Fryer Potato Chips - Homemade potato chips cooked until perfectly crispy in your air fryer.
Venison Meatballs - If you're a fan of venison, you'll love these juicy homemade meatballs!

Are you going to try any of these Christmas appetizer recipes this year? Come back and let me know how they turned out by commenting below!

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Best Christmas Appetizer Recipes: Ranch Cheese Ball (+More Tasty Snack Ideas!)

Author | Angela

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 373kcal

Prep 10 minutes minutes

Cooking 0 minutes minutes

Chill 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

▢ 16 oz cream cheese (at room temperature, 2 8-ounce bricks)
▢ 3 tablespoon sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
▢ 1 oz Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix packet (*see note)
▢ ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
▢ 2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)
▢ 1 cup mozzarella (shredded)
▢ 2 tablespoon freeze dried chives (plus 1 teaspoon more for pecan coating, if desired)
▢ 6 strips bacon (cooked and crumbled, reserve some for the optional pecan coating if desired)
▢ ¼ cup chopped pecans (optional, finely crushed)

Help Us Out!If you love a recipe, be sure to come back and share your ratings. This helps future users, and allows me to continue sharing free recipes! Angela

Instructions

Combine all ingredients (except the optional pecans, reserved bacon crumbles, and extra chives for the coating) in a large mixing bowl. Use a silicone spatula to mix until thoroughly combined, then pop it in the fridge to chill for 5-10 minutes before shaping.
Remove the cheese mixture from the mixing bowl and place it in a mound on top of a sheet of plastic wrap. Pull up two opposing sides of the plastic wrap and place them over the cheese mixture. Place your cupped hands over the plastic wrap and use them to form a round shape.
(optional) Place pecans, reserved bacon bits, and additional freeze-dried chives (I used 1 teaspoon) into a Ziploc storage bag (a heavy-duty freezer bags work best). Cover it with a kitchen towel and crush with a meat tenderizer mallet.
(optional) Pour the contents of the bag into a shallow rimmed dish and roll your ranch cheese ball in it to coat the outside with the crushed pecan mixture.
Transfer your cheese ball to a serving tray or platter with pita chips, crackers, vegetables, or bread.

Notes

16 ounces of cream cheese is the equivalent of 2 8-ounce blocks and a 1-ounce package of ranch seasoning (any brand) is about 3 tablespoons. 1 cup of shredded cheese (cheddar or mozzarella) is about 4 ounces.
Shredding your own cheese will yield the best flavor and is preferable to bagged shredded cheese.
I had no problem forming and serving my cheese ball right away. If you'd like to, you may chill it and let the flavors meld for 20-30 minutes before serving. Just lift the sides of the saran wrap up and over the cheese mixture so that they all meet in the middle above the mound, then twist them together so that the cheese is tightly bundled like a sack or pouch and place it in the fridge.
To make this cheese ball into finger-food, roll it into bite-sized balls and stick a toothpick or pretzel rod in them!
I used buttermilk flavored Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix, though any of the different flavors or varieties of dry ranch seasoning would be delicious.
You may make your cheese ball up to 2 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator until you need it.
To store: To keep your cheese ball fresh, always wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container before refrigerating it. It is best when enjoyed within a week.

Nutrition

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appetizers, best appetizer recipes for Christmas parties, cheese ball recipe, chip dips, Christmas appetizer recipes, holiday appetizers, party appetizers, ranch cheese ball

Course Appetizers, Dips

Cuisine American

Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com

Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!

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