The main course gets way too much credit.
Sure, the glistening ham or the perfectly roasted turkey makes a grand entrance. But the real magic of a Christmas party happens hours earlier, when everyone’s crowded around the kitchen island, drink in one hand, and you’re shamelessly going back for your fourth (okay, sixth) bite of something cheesy, crispy, or wrapped in bacon.
Appetizers are the unsung heroes of the holidays. They keep hungry guests happy while the oven does its thing. They spark conversation. And they give you permission to eat dinner before dinner. That’s not gluttony. That’s tradition.
Over the years, I’ve tested, tweaked, burned, rescued, and devoured more holiday bites than I care to admit. Some were forgettable. Some were disasters (we don’t talk about The Great Cranberry Brie Explosion of 2019). But a handful became so legendary that my family now demands them every December, and I’m pretty sure a few friends only RSVP because of them.
So grab a cozy sweater and maybe a cookie for the road, because I’m spilling my five all-time favorite Christmas appetizers. They’re easy, crowd-pleasing, and guaranteed to disappear faster than you can say “who ate the last one?”
Let’s get snacking.
What Makes These Christmas Appetizers So Good?
They all look festive on the table, and most of these recipes can be started ahead so you’re not stuck cooking when guests arrive. Two are warm brie dishes, one is a pull-apart bread shaped like a tree, one needs no oven at all, and one is tiny ham biscuits you can bake ahead. Each recipe below has the full ingredient list and the video I cooked from.
Sugar and Nut Glazed Brie
Sugar and Nut Glazed Brie is a whole small wheel of brie that goes soft in the oven under a warm glaze of brown sugar, macadamia nuts and brandy. I picked it for that glossy brown sugar and nut topping on a whole wheel.
I mix the glaze ahead and let it sit in the fridge for at least a day and up to a week, so the nuts soak up the brandy. On the day, the brie needs about eight minutes in the oven in one ovenproof dish. The brie stays in its rind, and the rind works like a little bowl that holds the melted cheese, so it gets soft without running everywhere.
I serve the brie warm, soon after it comes out of the oven, with apple and pear slices tossed in lemon juice so they don’t turn brown. Pineapple goes well with it too, and dried cherries and pistachios make a good topping.
Ingredients
- Macadamia nuts
- Brown sugar
- Brandy
- 1 small wheel of Brie
- Apples
- Pears
- Fresh lemon juice
SaveCranberry Brie Bites
Cranberry Brie Bites are little puff pastry cups, each with a piece of melted brie, a spoon of homemade cranberry orange sauce and chopped pecans, with a tiny sprig of rosemary on top. I picked them because each one is a whole appetizer in a single bite.
The sauce cooks on the stove and cools first, and the pastry bakes in a mini muffin pan. One batch makes about 36. I fill them ahead and bake them when guests arrive, so they come out hot and puffed.
If you don’t have cranberries, fig jam or apricot jam works in place of the sauce, and pistachios work in place of the pecans.
Ingredients
- 12 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2 sheets puff pastry, slightly thawed
- 8 ounce brie cheese cut into 1 inch bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
- 1 handful of rosemary sprigs
- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
SaveChristmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread
Christmas Tree Pull-Apart Bread is soft pizza dough balls set out in the shape of a Christmas tree, baked until cheesy, then torn off piece by piece and dipped in marinara. It looks like a Christmas tree on the platter, and it starts with store-bought pizza dough, so it’s ready in under 30 minutes.
The cheesy part is cream cheese, mozzarella and basil pesto. Garlic butter and parsley go on top, with little bits of red bell pepper and mini pepperoni for ornaments. This bread is a good one to make if kids are coming, since they can help shape the tree.
Ingredients
- 1 can pizza dough
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 7 ounces basil pesto
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 minced garlic clove
- Fresh chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper
- Mini pepperoni
- Fresh rosemary sprigs
- Marinara sauce
SaveAntipasto Wreath
Antipasto Wreath is a cold platter of antipasto put on small skewers and laid in a ring so it looks like a Christmas wreath. Antipasto is the Italian start to a meal: cured meat, cheese, olives and pickled things. The wreath made my list because there’s no cooking at all, and it doubles as a table decoration.
About 30 skewers of baby mozzarella, basil, salami, olives and the rest go together in any order you like. I lay a ring of fresh rosemary on a 10 inch plate and set the skewers in a circle on top. Thirty skewers are too many for an 8 inch plate. If you don’t like an ingredient, swap it for one you do.
Tell guests to pull a skewer from the top instead of from underneath, or the whole ring slides apart.
Ingredients
- 30 wood skewers
- 30 baby mozzarella balls
- 30 basil leaves
- 10-15 cherry tomatoes
- 30 slices peppered salami (or regular salami)
- 10 whole artichoke hearts, halved
- 20 large green olives, pitted
- 30 large black olives or large kalamata olives
- 10 cherry peppers, halved
- Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish
SaveTiny Ham Biscuits
Tiny Ham Biscuits are mini Southern biscuits split and filled with salty country ham, a small finger food guests can eat in two bites. What sold me is the dough: just three things, self-rising flour, butter and milk. You can bake them ahead and fill them later.
The butter goes in cold and grated, and the dough gets worked a little more than usual and rolled thin so the little biscuits stand up. Once they cool, I split them with a fork and fill them with warm ham. One batch makes 24. They keep in the fridge a couple of days and warm up well covered in foil before the party.
If ham is not your thing, sausage or cheese works, or set out jams and honey and let guests fill their own. Making party food tiny really does make it feel more special.
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 5 Tbsp. butter, grated into flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- Biscuit cut ham slices
SaveChristmas Appetizers FAQ
Here is what I would want to know before making this spread.
Which Christmas Appetizers Can I Make Ahead?
I bake the ham biscuits a couple of days before and keep them in the fridge, then warm them covered in foil before guests come. The glaze for the brie can sit in the fridge for up to a week. The antipasto wreath needs no cooking, so I skewer it on the day, and the brie bites can be filled ahead and baked right when people arrive. With most of the work done early, I get to stay with guests instead of in the kitchen.
Which Christmas Appetizers Are Served Warm?
The glazed brie, the brie bites, the pull-apart tree and the ham biscuits are all served warm. I bring the brie to the table soon after it comes out, because it firms up as it cools. The antipasto wreath is served cold, so it balances the warm platters and needs no last-minute oven time.
How Many Christmas Appetizers Do I Need?
I don’t go by a per-person rule. I go by what the recipes make and how the table looks. Together these recipes make about 36 brie bites, 24 tiny biscuits and about 30 antipasto skewers, plus one brie wheel and one pull-apart tree. I always do a mix of warm and cold, and in my experience the familiar, easy bites go first, so I never skip the ham biscuits or the pull-apart tree.
With these recipes I get something warm and melty, something kids can pull apart, something cold that needs no oven, and something little and salty. Pick the recipe that fits your kitchen and start there.
