These Casual Appetizer Recipes Will Get Any Party Started

Casual hosting means setting out one easy dish that your guests can dig into rather than assembling individual snack-size bites. Case in point: A pound of shrimp, tossed in a quick marinade and then slowly baked to perfection while you greet guests and pour drinks.

There's no bigger crowd pleaser in the world of pre-dinner snacks than sour cream and onion dip. Tasty as it is, its richness can fill you up quickly, diminishing your appetite before you even get to dinner. Try this smart update on the classic: Replace the sour cream with strained yogurt, and bulk it up with fresh corn cut straight from the cob. The result is a fresher, lighter, super seasonal appetizer guaranteed to draw a whole new crowd without weighing them down.

Here's a fresh take on the baked brie appetizer popularized in the 1980s (by Martha herself). Rather than baking a wheel of rich, creamy cheese in puff pastry or topping it with caramel and pecans, try baking it in a bed of roasted cherry tomatoes and herbs.

Deviled eggs are such a casual party standard that there are whole plates and platters designed to hold them. But let's face it: Eating one at a party can be a little awkward, especially when you're holding a drink with the other hand. Here, we've done deviled eggs one better with an easy makeover. All the classic components are there—mayo, mustard, dill, and ground paprika—in one easier to manage but just as tasty bite.

One way to keep things casual and fun when you're hosting a few friends is to offer an appetizer that lets everyone have a hand in preparing it. This elevated seafood shack plate provides one such opportunity for group assembly. Put someone in charge of poaching the shrimp, another on mixing the batter, and a few others on the frying station. When it's time to eat the crisp, crunchy, salty, sweet snacks, there's no need to assign roles. These fritters are sure to please everyone in equal measure.

Loaded baked potatoes, but make it chips and dip. The winning combination of tastes in the topping—cheese, bacon, scallions, sour cream—is here, but potato chips stand in for the baked spuds. It's a party-friendly riff on a game day classic.

It's one thing to buy a bunch of olives at the store and dump them from the package straight into a serving bowl. Anyone can do that. But in less than ten minutes, you can dress up that same batch of olives with a few flavor boosters, including capers, garlic, anchovies, and fresh thyme. The result is a cocktail hour snack that tastes like you went to a little bit of trouble, but not too much.

A store-bought flatbread gets you more than halfway to a tasty, versatile, easy-to-serve appetizer. The topping for this one takes its flavor cues from Alsace, a region in France. The only time-consuming part is caramelizing the onions, which you can do ahead of time if you wish. Spread those onions and some ham and two cheeses onto the flatbread base, bake for less than 15 minutes—et voilà—your starter is served.

Consider this a mashup of seven-layer dip and Greek salad. All the great flavors of the latter are included—tomatoes, cukes, olives, and herbs—and served over a creamy base of white bean yogurt puree. Pita chips replace the corn chips, and the whole appetizing platter comes together in a matter of minutes.

Marinated peppers are often served on a big platter of Italian antipasto, where they can get lost in the shuffle of cheeses, cured meats, and olives. But there's no reason not to let them shine all on their own as a casual vegetarian appetizer, served with little more than crostini or breadsticks. These are flavored with fresh mint and sesame seeds, a nice twist on the usual basil and garlic.

There's something liberating—for guests and host alike—about setting out all the fixings for a favorite appetizer and then letting everyone customize them as they like. Such is the case with this Relish Tray 2.0, laden with quick pickled shrimp and a few crunchy, savory, fresh-tasting accompaniments. Keep it in mind for big holiday dinners or any time you want to keep things cozy and super casual.

Don't wait until Oktoberfest to try this deeply delicious, decadent dip that brings to mind beer halls and Bavarian cheer. Serve it with pretzel rods (or other shapes), crunchy celery stalks, and more beer.

Prosciutto and melon is one flavor combination that delivers more than the sum of its parts, a match made in salty-sweet heaven. Its coolness is also a big part of the appeal. But if you're already grilling dinner, consider wrapping melon wedges in prosciutto and threading them onto skewers. Just a minute or two on the grill and you have a whole new taste sensation. Salty, sweet, smoky, sublime!

In its most classic form, guacamole is made from avocado, chiles, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. The formula is simple, but takes well to variations of all sorts. Lots of versions include tomatoes, too. Martha's version, served with plantain chips in place of fried corn tortillas, features hard-cooked eggs. It makes a deeply flavorful start to dinner or, depending on appetites, a hearty dinner itself.

Ranch dressing, but make it a dip. And make it Mediterranean. Here, we take the epitome of casual comfort food itself—ranch—and update it with a few new ingredients, including fresh parsley, artichoke hearts, anchovies, and thick, strained yogurt.