35 Seafood Appetizers That Go Way Beyond Shrimp Cocktail
These are the best apps in the sea.
Need a quick last-minute appetizer or just trying to up your dinner party hosting game? Serving up one (or a few) of these favorite seafood appetizers is easily the most effortless (yet still super-fancy!) way to do it. No, we're not just talking shrimp cocktail either, although our recipe is pretty killer. All 35 of these recipes are beyond-simple (like cornbread-stuffed mussels, crab rangoon, and bacon-wrapped scallops), and they'll blow any humdrum pigs in a blanket out of the water, to prove that these apps are the best in the sea (all puns very much intended).
Serving seafood as an hors d'oeuvre is one of our favorite pro tips when it comes to making party fare. Shrimp, scallops, and shellfish like clams all have very quick cook times, making them perfect for when you need a last-minute appetizer ASAP. Your guests will never know you were on a time crunch when they dig into appetizers like harissa clams, shrimp toast, and our Italian-style bagna cauda dip. Even if you like to be a bit ahead of the game, seafood also works great when prepping any make-ahead appetizers, especially our recipes for slow-cooker crab dip and California sushi bites. Better yet, seafood might be the easiest protein to cook of them all, so it's ideal for beginners and pros alike!
Hungry for more? Round out your spread with more of our top recipes for bite-sized party appetizers, the perfect white wines to go with your bites, as well as all our favorite weeknight seafood recipes that'll make a top-notch main event.
Crab Cake Bites
Turn the classic seafood dish into the cutest bite-sized app with these crab cake bites. Ready in a little over 30 minutes, these bites are the easiest way to add the fancy factor to your party, whether you're planning your Christmas dinner or New Year's bash.
Get the Crab Cake Bites recipe.
Smoked Trout Spread
This easy-to-make appetizer is a guaranteed hit at any holiday party. Creamy, smoky, and bright, it's delicious piled onto toasted bread, crackers, or crisp endive leaves.
Get the Smoked Trout Spread recipe.
Bacon-Wrapped Scallops
Bacon-wrapped scallops are one of those dishes that wow guests but secretly are so easy to make (only 5 ingredients!). For best results, use big sea scallops and thin-cut, conventional bacon, but feel free to swap out the herbs for whatever you like.
Get the Bacon-Wrapped Scallops recipe.
Crispy Fried Calamari
Fried calamari doesn't have to be reserved for beachfront restaurants. It's easy to make at home and comes out extra-crispy and crunchy. A squeeze of lemon juice and fresh marinara, and you're ready to go. After you master this, give fish and chips a go!
Get the Crispy Fried Calamari recipe.
Crab Rangoon
Crab rangoon is a bit of a sleeper hit in the world of Chinese-American appetizers. They're basically little pockets of cheesy crab dip wrapped up in a crispy wonton shell. These taste great when dipped into a sweet and tangy duck sauce, but if you can’t find it in your grocery store, or don’t have any spare packets laying around, we provided a quick recipe that's just as good.
Get the Crab Rangoon recipe.
Baked Salmon Sushi Cups
Making sushi at home can be intimidating, what with making sushi rice, rolling it up just right, and dealing with raw fish. With these baked salmon sushi cups, you can skip all that but still get all the flavors of your favorite roll.
Get the Baked Salmon Sushi Cups recipe.
Roasted Shrimp Cocktail With Lemon-Horseradish Aioli
For this clever app, we opt for roasting instead of the traditional poaching method to give this old-school appetizer even more flavor. The shrimp are paired with a horseradish-forward sauce to create a perfect winter-season appetizer. Serve the shrimp cocktail warm or chilled to suit your snacking occasion.
Get the Roasted Shrimp Cocktail With Lemon-Horseradish Aioli recipe.
Smoked Salmon Dip
Lox lovers—this smoked salmon dip is about to be your new go-to party dip. Smoked salmon, spicy horseradish, bright lemon, and finely chopped dill all get mixed into a cream cheese and Greek yogurt base for the creamiest savory dip imaginable.
Get the Smoked Salmon Dip recipe.
Air Fryer Crab Cakes
Crab cakes are the best because you get all the deliciousness of crab without all of the tedious, messy work of pulling meat from the shells. Since you're already skipping that mess, go even further and skip the pan-fry too. These are the ideal dish to cook in the air fryer, because you can get that perfect crispy texture without oil-logged cakes.
Get the Air Fryer Crab Cakes recipe.
Crab Cake Egg Rolls
These two-bite beauties combine the decadence of a crab cake, and the crisp-chewy texture of your favorite take-out side all into one platter-friendly package. Fresh jumbo lump crab gets tossed with scallions, panko, a little bit of mayo, and Old Bay seasoning, then snuggly wrapped in a wonton wrapper before taking a dunk in hot oil until golden brown.
Get the Crab Cake Egg Rolls recipe.
Cornbread-Stuffed Mussels
Tender, stuffed mushrooms, packed to the gills with flavorful bread crumbs, are a staple hors d'oeuvres. But these mussels will make you rethink if mushrooms are the only things that should be stuffed.
Get the Cornbread-Stuffed Mussels recipe.
Spicy Ahi Tuna Nachos
Some folks love California rolls, some love unagi, but more often than not, we settle on spicy tuna as the best sushi of all. That perfect combination of creamy mayo, spicy sriracha, and tender tuna makes for the ideal base not just for sushi, but for all types of dishes. Enter spicy tuna nachos.
Get the Spicy Ahi Tuna Nachos recipe.
Easy Shrimp Toast
Thought to have been created in China about a century ago, shrimp toast combines traditional Chinese shrimp paste with Western white bread to create one of the earliest fusion foods. Today it's a popular item on dim sum menus and as an appetizer throughout the US, UK, Australia, Japan, and parts of Southeast Asia.
Get the Easy Shrimp Toast recipe.
Air Fryer Miso-Glazed Scallops
A riff on Nobu’s famous miso-glazed cod, these scallops are our new date night go-to. There’s something about them that feels kinda fancy, but they’re so easy to make (and so hard to screw up) that they're the perfect thing to serve when we’re in the mood to impress.
Bang Bang Shrimp
These shrimp are bangin'! The pairing of crunchy shrimp and creamy, spicy-sweet sauce is ridiculously delicious, and no matter how often we make it, it never gets old.
Get the Bang Bang Shrimp recipe.
Crab Cakes
Crab cakes are an appetizer staple at fancy seafood restaurants, but they're actually surprisingly easy to make at home! Ready in 30 minutes, this is the perfect easy appetizer to serve up when you want to feel transported to a seaside escape.
Get the Crab Cakes recipe.
Grilled Oysters
Grilling not only makes oysters easier to shuck and serve—the heat loosens the shell, meaning you just need to gently pop off the lid—it also heightens their briny flavor and imparts a subtly smoky char.
Get the Grilled Oysters recipe.
Shrimp Cocktail
Shrimp cocktail is a classic, and it couldn't be easier. We've updated this party standby with a zesty homemade sauce that packs a flavorful punch thanks to ketchup, chili sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. The secret ingredient? A small amount of celery salt ties it all together.
Get the Shrimp Cocktail recipe.
Lobster-Shrimp Cakes
This recipe was adapted from the new 20th anniversary edition of Patti's cookbook, LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About. You can make smaller patties to serve as an appetizer or side, or form larger portions for a more substantial dinner.
Get the Lobster-Shrimp Cakes recipe.
Bagna Cauda
Looking for a fancy last-minute appetizer? Look no further than bagna cauda, an Italian dip that comes together in just 20 minutes with only 6 ingredients (including what you pair it with for dipping). It’s a buttery sauce made from lots of garlic and anchovies (stick with us) that somehow work together to create a dip that’s a little pungent, a little sweet, and will keep you coming back for more.
Get the Bagna Cauda recipe.
