Yahoo Lifestyle 22 Winter Appetizer Recipes for a Warm Welcome
From acorn squash saltimbocca to French onion baked brie, these are the starters that will impress this season.
When it's cold out, I want something filling and — ideally — warm. Whether it's a gooey batch of fondue (or another hot dip), or a crispy and salty batch of sausage-stuffed fried olives (or another hot appetizer), these recipes can serve as hors d'oeuvres for entertaining or as a first course in a delicious wintertime meal. Try these and more of our favorite winter recipes to nourish you through the end of the season.
Baked Goat Cheese with Herbs
Chris Simpson / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Saba, a tart grape juice syrup, is drizzled over creamy goat cheese, olive oil, and fresh herbs then baked until bubbly. This recipe, from 2007 F&W Best New Chef Gavin Kaysen of Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis, was inspired by winters he spent in Switzerland.
Winter Squash-and-Shallot Tart
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas
This versatile tart can be sliced up for party guests or served as a starter for a sumptuous winter meal. Fresh, peppery arugula tops a rich filling of sweet butternut squash, savory shallots, gooey Gruyère and Fontina cheese, and bright lemon zest.
French Onion Baked Brie
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Amelia Rampe
This gooey melted baked Brie evokes the taste of French onion soup. A whole wheel of Brie is topped with caramelized onions in sherry and Worcestershire sauce, then encased in puff pastry and baked.
Mushroom Flatbread with White Miso
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
Anna Theoktisto's easy and impressive appetizer recipe tops store-bought flatbread with a miso-cream sauce, oven-roasted mushrooms, and fresh arugula. It's ready in under an hour.
Kabocha Squash Fritters with Yuzu-Garlic Dipping Sauce
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
These cheesy squash fritters are inspired by korokke, Japan's take on croquettes. These can be made with steamed kabocha squash or, in a pinch, canned pumpkin puree. Pungent garlic, bright yuzu juice, and rich Kewpie mayo combine in an irresistible dipping sauce.
Duck Liver Pâté with Blackberry Conserva
This silky duck liver pâté is rich enough to ward off the cold. And paired with a tart blackberry conserva, it will put spring in mind.
Acorn Squash Saltimbocca
Acorn squash is at its best in winter, and its sweet and buttery flesh shines when it's fresh out of the oven. Here, it gets the saltimbocca treatment: squash wedges wrapped in prosciutto and sage leaves and roasted until crispy, then drizzled with sage-infused brown butter.
Sausage-Stuffed Fried Olives
The subtle salt and tang of these stuffed Castelvetrano olives pair beautifully with the rich, fatty flavor of breaded and fried Italian sausage. Serve hot with a cold martini.
Carrots en Croûte
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Carrots roasted with honey and curry powder are then wrapped in flaky puff pastry in this delicious and impressive appetizer. Make with 5- to 6-inch-long carrots for the best results.
Spiced Carrots with Whipped Feta
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Emily Neighbors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Chef Cheetie Kumar serves this dish of whipped feta and caramelized carrots at Ajja, her restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina. The toasted cumin, coriander, and Urfa pepper add heat while grated carrots slowly cooked in ghee, heavy cream, and orange zest bring sweetness to the tangy and light whipped feta.
Banana Leaf-Wrapped Lamb Shank Tamales with Morita Chile Salsa
DYLAN + JENI
Food writer Paola Briseño González loves to serve these banana leaf–wrapped tamales, filled with tomatillo-braised lamb, at her holiday parties. A bright cilantro-onion relish pops against the rich slow-cooked lamb and smoky morita chiles.
Hot-Smoked Trout with Pickled Cipollini Onions
Cedric Angeles
Onions three ways garnishes this warm roast trout appetizer from New York City restaurant Gramercy Tavern: pickled and beet-stained cipollini onion slices, a sherry-flavored onion puree, and a sweet-and-sour onion marmalade. The trout is smoked over a cup of applewood chips that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes.
Smoked Sausage Wreath
Assemble frozen puff pastry, smoked sausage, and crispy fried herbs (bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary) into a festive wreath that's sure to be a showstopper at any party this winter. A layer of sweet and tart lingonberry is also spread inside the pastry, a bright counterbalance for the smoky sausage.
Classic Cheese Ball with Spiced Pecans
Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Kay Clarke
It's an icon. A star. A sphere of spreadable, spiced cheese. This classic cheese ball recipe — made of cream and Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, and other spices — calls for a final rolling in maple syrup and smoked paprika–toasted pecans.
Fromage Fort
Huge Galdones / Food Styling by Christina Zerkis
This recipe from Jacques Pépin is not just a delicious (and easy) appetizer but also a great way to use leftover cheese. It's delicious at room temperature as a spread, but it's particularly warming on a cold winter day when smeared on slices of bread and broiled.
Acorn Squash Fondue
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
“There is hardly anything better than hot cheese,” says 2023 F&W Best New Chef Amanda Shulman, chef-owner of Her Place in Philadelphia, and that is even more true when it's cold out. Here, a hollowed-out acorn squash is baked until tender and used as an edible vessel for a gooey mix of Comté and Gruyère cheese, heavy cream, garlic, and a splash of cherry brandy.
Perkedel Jagung (Indonesian Corn Fritters)
Chef and cookbook author Lara Lee's Perkedel Jagung, or corn fritters, are seasoned with zingy ginger, fragrant makrut lime leaves, shallots, scallions, and garlic, and deep fried to crispy goodness. They are especially delicious served alongside Lee's Tomato Sambal.
Ricotta and Roasted Grape Crostini
Fredrika Stjärne
For a wintry appetizer worthy of its own photoshoot, designer and blogger Athena Calderone has a recipe for crostini that balances the freshness of ricotta cheese with the deep sweetness of roasted grapes.
Quick Buckwheat Blini
Fredrika Stjärne
Food writer Anya von Bremzen got this recipe for making a big batch of little blini from her mother. The tender mini pancakes get their nutty flavor from buckwheat flour.
Winter Galette
Top Chef judge and former F&W editor Gail Simmons uses paper-thin slices of whatever vegetables are on hand — potatoes, carrots, celery root, acorn squash — and layers them inside a versatile and easy-to-prepare dough with fresh ricotta, herbs, and lemon zest.
Pan-Fried Oysters with Creamy Radish and Cucumber Salad
John Kernick
In this recipe, 1999 F&W Best New Chef Paul Kahan served deep-fried panko-coated oysters alongside a creamy cucumber and radish salad flavored with herby dill and mustard seeds.
Brandade de Morue au Gratin (Whipped Salt Cod Gratin)
Con Poulos
Whip salt cod and potatoes with milk, olive oil, and garlic until they achieve a deliciously silky texture. This simple, winning dish is made even more satisfying when topped with cheese and browned in an oven until warm and golden.
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