40 Irish Appetizers That'll Show Up Your Corned Beef Dinner
Let the shenanigans begin.
Even though St. Patrick's Day often gets a bad rap as a pub-crawling, drinking holiday, we're here to tell you that it's actually the perfect reason to throw a party at home. We're all about celebrating with everything from beer (green, perhaps?) to cocktails for the Irish holiday, just don’t forget about snacks to go along with it! With all those fun drinks, your party guests are going to need something to soak up all the alcohol (trust us). Instead of just putting out chips and dip (or heaven forbid, nothing at all), take inspiration from our list of 40 Irish appetizers.
The best thing about a holiday party is having a theme to work with. When it comes to food, St. Patrick’s Day is all about the corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage, so we’re transforming our favorite apps using those ingredients. Love nachos? Replace tortilla chips with potatoes and top with corned beef, and you’ve got yourself some St. Patrick’s Day nachos. What about dumplings? Make the wrappers out of your fave brassica, like in our cabbage dumplings. Egg rolls? We love stuffing them with everything from cheesecake to Buffalo chicken, and this holiday’s no different. Filled with corned beef and Russian dressing, our Reuben egg rolls are the the perfect handheld ode to the beloved sandwich. Love dip? Us too. We highly recommend a cheesy one, with a little corned beef or beer added in. Our pub beer cheese, our baked Reuben dip, or our pretzel ring beer cheese dip perfectly fit the bill—make them with Guinness to truly keep with the Irish theme. If all else fails, make homemade guacamole. Lucky for you, it’s everyone’s favorite green dip.
Having more of a sit-down meal than a kegger this year? Check out our best Irish foods and side dishes you’re sure to love too.
Shamrockuterie Board
This decked-out board is loaded with corned beef, Irish cheddar, kettle-cooked potato chips, hard pretzels, rainbow bagel chips, and fresh veggies, all surrounded by baby gherkin pickles, grainy mustard, sauerkraut, and dip-stuffed bell peppers. To keep this unfussy, the rainbow bagel chips are totally optional (but they are also very cute, and Leprechaun-friendly).
Get the Shamrockuterie Board recipe.
Corned Beef & Cabbage Cheese Quesadillas
Enjoy the St. Paddy's fave meal anytime with this handheld snack version! These quesadillas feature Swiss cheese, corned beef, and cabbage wrapped up in flour tortillas. Sauerkraut and stone-ground mustard are also taking center stage in a creamy dipping sauce to serve alongside the quesadillas. Taste buds, get ready!
Leprechaun Bait
We went with Lucky Charms and green M&M's for added St. Paddy's Day flair, but like any party mix, this is completely customizable! Feel free to get creative with this mix, but whatever you do, don't forget the green. ☘️
Get the Leprechaun Bait recipe.
St. Patrick's Day Nachos
These take everything you love about nachos and make them perfect for celebrating St. Patrick's Day by adding corned beef and using crispy roasted potatoes instead of tortilla chips. 😍
Get the St. Patrick's Day Nachos recipe.
Irish Potato Candy
If you’re not from the Philadelphia area, you might be thinking, I don’t want potato in my candy! Don’t worry, this confection only looks like cute little potatoes, and actually contains no spuds at all. Imagine the texture of a chocolate truffle but with cream cheese, coconut, and vanilla instead. The outside is coated in ground cinnamon, giving it an uncanny likeness to the real thing, and becoming a true treat.
Get the Irish Potato Candy recipe.
Pull-Apart Shamrock
We're all about making our own luck, and what better way to do that this St. Patrick's Day than with your own (delicious) shamrock? This pull-apart appetizer uses pizza dough and mozzarella sticks to create a shamrock-shaped appetizer that will get any party started (alongside plenty of green beer, of course). The best part? It comes together in under an hour with simple ingredients, so you can get yourself out of the kitchen and to the bars in record-breaking time.
Get the Pull-Apart Shamrock recipe.
Boxty
Can’t decide between a crispy latke and a pile of creamy mashed potatoes? Make boxty. Crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the center, these Irish potato pancakes give you the best of both iconic potato dishes in a single bite.
Get the Boxty recipe.
Reuben Egg Rolls
These Reuben-inspired egg rolls are the holy grail of St. Patrick's Day appetizers. Deep frying can be intimidating, but trust us—it’s definitely worth it here.
Get the Reuben Egg Rolls recipe.
Roasted Shallot & Garlic Caesar Dip
We love riffing off Caesar salad, especially like our fried chicken Caesar sandwich, and now we have a dip to look forward to, one that’s filled with roasted shallots and garlic. Watch out, spinach-artichoke dip—this is the appetizer no one will see coming.
Get the Roasted Shallot & Garlic Caesar Dip recipe.
Shepherd's Pie Potato Skins
Nothing says fun like a favorite food mash-up, and we’re so obsessed with our new and improved shepherd’s pie recipe that we had to turn it into a potato skin. The saucy, red-wine spiked ground beef and vegetable mixture gets loaded into hollowed-out russet potatoes, topped with Parmesan mashed potatoes, and baked until all of the flavors mingle and meld.
Get the Shepherd's Pie Potato Skins recipe.
Irish Brown Bread
This quick bread (meaning no yeast or rise) has a dense yet tender interior that’s as good for dipping into a creamy winter soup as it is for turning into a corned beef sandwich. Whatever you do, don't forget the Irish butter!
Get the Irish Brown Bread recipe.
Reuben Nachos
Not feeling a Reuben sandwich or need to serve all the best ingredients from it—corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing—to a crowd? It's time to break out the bagel chips!
Get the Reuben Nachos recipe.
Pretzel Ring Beer Cheese Dip
This recipe takes classic beer cheese up a notch by surrounding it in a ring of the staple pairing: pretzeled biscuits. The creamy dip and the pretzel ring bake together, making this two-in-one party party snack almost too easy to make and share.
Get the Pretzel Ring Beer Cheese Dip recipe.
Whipped Feta Roasted Potatoes
Think about when something creamy hits your mouth at the same time as something crispy—YUM! This recipe is the perfect example of that satisfying texture combo: Hot, crispy potatoes are spooned onto a billowy cloud of whipped feta, then showered with lemon zest and fresh herbs. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Get the Whipped Feta Roasted Potatoes recipe.
Alfredo Asparagus Bundles
Whether or not you love asparagus, you’re going to swoon over these little bundles wrapped in puff pastry and filled with Alfredo sauce. They're a great anytime app, but the pop of springy green is particularly lovely for St. Patrick's Day.
Get the Alfredo Asparagus Bundles recipe.
Cabbage Wrap Brats
Though we’re all for a good slider or flatbread, oftentimes it’s actually just the tasty fillings we’re after. That’s why we’ve taken tons of our favorite classics—like Philly cheesesteaks, Buffalo chicken wraps, and shrimp tacos—and turned them into lettuce wraps using everything from collards to romaine. Next up, these simple cabbage wrapped beer brats.
Get the Cabbage Wrap Brats recipe.
Pub Beer Cheese
This recipe couldn't be more party-friendly. It whips up in minutes, and you only have to dirty one bowl. This is wonderful with big hard or soft pretzels (homemade, maybe?), but truly anything goes.
Get the Pub Beer Cheese recipe.
Parmesan Asparagus Fries
With St. Patrick's Day comes spring, and that means fresh produce like asparagus. Here, we coated the stalks in a cheesy Parmesan and panko mixture before baking, resulting in extra-crispy, golden-brown fries perfect for dipping in your favorite creamy, savory sauce (may we suggest Russian dressing?).
Get the Parmesan Asparagus Fries recipe.
Reuben Pickle Bites
These little bites ditch the bread for a low-carb appetizer worth making over and over again. Store-bought Russian dressing works in a pinch, but we're big fans of the homemade version.
Get the Reuben Pickle Bites recipe.
Potato Gratin Stacks
Potatoes au gratin are one of the most satisfying sides, so we decided to turn it into a crowd-pleasing bite-sized app too. No casserole dish needed here—a muffin tin, Russet potatoes, two types of cheese, heavy cream, and staple seasonings are all you need to create these cheesy stacks.
Get the Potato Gratin Stacks recipe.
