Appetizers set the mood for any party, whether it's a holiday party, birthday party, baby shower, or elegant dinner party. Browse our favorite vegetarian appetizer recipes and find the perfect way to welcome your guests.

Kale is sauteed with garlic and lemon juice, and heaped on top of toasted baguette slices in this rustic appetizer. Use a vegetable peeler to create the thin curls of Parmesan cheese that top the crostini.

This delectable dip blends roasted red peppers, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar. Paprika and cumin add smoky back notes.

The flavor of garlic becomes soft and rich when it's roasted. The garlic is pureed with chickpeas, lemon juice, and sparing amounts of tahini and olive oil to create a lightened-up but flavorful version of hummus.

Goat cheese seasoned with garlic, parsley, and hot pepper is stuffed into button mushroom caps, topped with fresh breadcrumbs, and baked until lightly browned. This easy appetizer recipe can be customized to your liking with shallots, chopped olives, or toasted nuts.

Two favorite party dips unite in this creamy recipe. Three cups of cilantro leaves give the dip its vivid green color.

A classic French pastry gets the savory treatment with Parmesan, cheddar, and your choice of fresh herbs. Form them by folding up a sheet of puff pastry and then cutting it into thin slices.

French green lentils, cremini mushrooms, shallots, and sherry make a rich and savory vegetarian spread. Toasted hazelnuts and chopped hard-cooked egg whites give the pate a varied texture.

The classic Sicilian dish combining eggplant, tomatoes, raisins, pine nuts, and vinegar gets added depth from unsweetened cocoa powder. Serve the caponata on crostini or enjoy it as a pasta sauce or sandwich spread.

Marinated artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, and parsley are easy ingredients to keep on hand to make this easy appetizer anytime. Serve the crostini at room temperature or broil them for a few minutes so the cheese melts.

Simmer canned chickpeas in a compelling combination of cinnamon, allspice, sugar, and salt. Frying them in vegetable oil makes them addictively crisp.

These little bites pack a punch! Green olives are stuffed with blue cheese, coated in breadcrumbs, and fried to a golden crisp.

Spinach, feta cheese, and sweet golden raisins fill a light and flaky phyllo dough crust. Serve this pie in small slices as an appetizer or in larger wedges for a vegetarian main dish.

Sliced tomatoes, onion, oregano, feta cheese, and oil-cured black olives are tucked into a rich, buttery dough to make these savory little pies. Keep the pies in the muffin tin you bake them in for easy transport to a picnic or potluck.

Mango chutney adds a sweet bite to this cream cheese and cheddar cheese ball. Roll it in chopped toasted pecans or any other nuts you like.

Nori and tangy sushi rice are rolled around julienned carrot, red bell pepper, celery, and scallion to make this colorful vegetarian sushi. Whisk together soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and wasabi paste to make a dipping sauce.

Light mayonnaise lends creaminess to these deviled eggs, while Dijon mustard, white-wine vinegar, minced shallot, and a dash of hot sauce add zing. Sprinkle each egg with paprika for a traditional touch.

In this interpretation of the favorite party dip, white wine and fontina cheese blend with canned artichoke hearts and fresh parsley. Dial up the flavor even more by using marinated artichoke hearts.

Bright-green edamame (young soybeans) are pureed with carrot, ginger, sesame oil, scallion, and Sriracha sauce to make the filling for these vegetarian dumplings. Serve the steamed dumplings with a flavorful dipping sauce made of soy sauce, rice-wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and julienned ginger.

These easy cheese-straw appetizers are made with frozen puff pastry and grated Parmesan cheese. In addition to cheese, you can vary the flavorings with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, or cayenne pepper. The baked and cooled straws will keep at room temperature up to one week.

This flavorful dip is made with sweet sauteed Vidalia onions and lightened up with reduced-fat versions of cream cheese and sour cream. Serve this popular party appetizer with an assortment of colorful vegetable chips.

Capers and minced red onion liven up cannellini beans in this easy appetizer. If you like, add garlic or fresh herbs to the mixture as well.

Roasted butternut or turban squash combines with smoky chipotle chiles, cream cheese, and Parmesan for a delicious party dip. For a decorative presentation, serve this appetizer in a hollowed-out winter squash.

Mushrooms, spinach, caramelized onion, and flecks of goat cheese top store-bought puff pastry to make this savory vegetarian tart. You may use any variety of mushrooms you like, including cremini, shiitake, and portobello, or a mixture of wild mushrooms.

Roll up red bell pepper, beets, carrot, daikon, cucumber, and radish sprouts in delicate rice-paper wrappers and serve with a tangy ginger-soy dipping sauce. These can be prepared a few hours in advance, or you can let your guests have fun making their own spring rolls.

Bake wonton wrappers in mini muffin tins to make the crisp, edible cups for this appetizer. Blend cream cheese with mango chutney and Dijon mustard to make the filling.

Roasted piquillo peppers, sweeter and spicier than bell peppers, are available in jars. Stuff the peppers with a mixture of goat cheese with chopped mint, scallions, and lemon juice.

Frozen puff pastry is the secret to these easy, elegant Gruyere and mushroom tartlets. Bake them in jumbo muffin tins to give them their shape.

This tart's topping of tender sauteed leeks flecked with thyme, Nicoise olives, and Parmesan and Pave d'Affinois cheeses makes a beautiful presentation. Using store-bought puff pastry is a great time-saver. If you can't find Pave d'Affinois, use another soft-ripened cheese, such as Camembert.

Roast a whole eggplant until the flesh is soft and custardy, then blend with creme fraiche (or sour cream) and lemon juice. This three-ingredient dip takes only five minutes of active preparation time -- the oven does the rest of the work.

Lemon zest, lemon juice, and thyme add fresh flavor to a creamy combination of light mayonnaise and reduced-fat sour cream. Serve this dip with whole-wheat crackers and vegetables such as endive, carrot sticks, and broccoli and cauliflower florets.

Marinate thin ribbons of raw zucchini in lemon juice and zest before piling them on little toasts with Parmesan curls. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the zucchini and the cheese.

Pan-sear and then roast fennel bulbs to make them tender and caramelized before pureeing with Parmesan cheese. Serve the baked dip with toasted rustic bread.

Peppadew peppers add a sweet-and-spicy note to this dip. Hot smoked paprika gives it delicious depth.

This easy, sophisticated dip is a simple combination of cream cheese, blue cheese, and toasted walnuts. It can be made up to a week in advance.

The classic Italian combination of tomatoes, fresh basil, and olive oil make a crowd-pleasing topping for toasted baguette slices. Punch up the flavor by adding crushed garlic if you like.