Skip to Content

70 New Year's Eve Appetizers To Keep The Party Going Even After The Ball Drops

This year, we're 100% celebrating these apps.

By
chocolate chip cookie dough ball rolled in sprinkles served with pretzels and nilla wafers
PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: TAYLOR ANN SPENCER

How you choose to spend New Year's Eve often shows how the next year will be, right? So, to be on the safe side, be sure to start the year on the right (i.e. the most delicious) foot by serving up these easy dips, skewers, and bite-sized appetizers to help you ring in 2025! No matter if you're partying solo (or planning a major rager), the food you serve should be well worth celebrating. Round out your spread with plenty of favorite classic New Year's party recipes, add some food for good luck, and finish with a snack-able dessert (we're pretty partial to our funetti dip). As long as you don't run out of bubbly, you'll be sure to be partying well after the ball drops!

Not going to lie, New Year's Eve might be our favorite food holiday of the entire year. And why is that? Personally, we'll take any opportunity to make a meal out of all of our favorite snacks and appetizers. And when you can stack your plate with the likes of fondue bites, bacon-wrapped scallops, and caramelized onion dip, we're going to be making a couple rounds to the snack table. The best part of making a dinner of bite-sized finger foods? It keeps your other hand free for the Champagne cocktails. 😉

If you're looking for more New Year's party ideas, you've got to try our festive New Year's Eve cocktails and easy make-ahead appetizer recipes. And for New Year's Day, set yourself up with some over-the top Bloody Marys and a breakfast casserole so all you have to think about is what a great year it's going to be.

1

Air Fryer Cacio E Pepe Arancini

crispy air fried risotto stuffed with melty mozzarella cheese and topped with pecorino romano and black pepper
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

Dishes that can transform humble leftovers into a mind-blowing appetizer will always have a place in our hearts, and this cacio e pepe arancini is no different. These air-fried bites turn yesterday’s risotto into today’s crispy, cheesy, peppery snack. Whether you choose to dunk them in marinara or garlicky basil pesto, you’ll keep coming back for “just one more.”

Get the Air Fryer Cacio E Pepe Arancini recipe.

2

Sour Patch Grapes

red, yellow, and green colored sour patch green grapes on a light pink background
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

Eating 12 grapes as midnight is supposed to bring good luck, so why not make it extra fun! This magical recipe transforms green grapes into a sweet-and-sour snack that tastes suspiciously like Sour Patch Kids.

Get the Sour Patch Grapes recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
3

Cheese Ball Bites

cheese ball bites with pretzel sticks
PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: TAYLOR ANN SPENCER

These easy bites are perfect for any holiday celebration. We love their little pretzel handles, but feel free to leave them out or even make one huge cheeseball instead!

Get the Loaded Cheese Ball Bites recipe.

4

Pizza Rolls

pizza rolls topped with chopped basil and parmesan
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

What if you could have homemade pizza, but in a bite-sized roll form? Sign us up! These pizza rolls are the best of both worlds: all the flavor you love of pizza but made into a handheld snack.

Get the Pizza Rolls recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
5

Confetti Cookie Dough Ball

chocolate chip cookie dough ball rolled in sprinkles served with pretzels and nilla wafers
PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: TAYLOR ANN SPENCER

Drop this confetti cookie dough ball on the table this New Year's Eve, and watch it disappear before the clock strikes midnight. All you need to do to create this edible cookie dough masterpiece is to create a cream cheese-chocolate chip cookie dough mixture, then roll it in the sprinkles of your choice. Switch up the sprinkles for your desired holiday, and you've got a showstopping, easy dessert idea to use all year long.

Get the Confetti Cookie Dough Ball recipe.

6

Cheesy Scalloped Potato & Ham Stacks

layers of russet potatoes soaked in fresh thyme, seasoned half and half, and parmesan layered thinly sliced ham and topped each with melty cheddar cheese
PHOTO: LINDA PUGLIESE; FOOD STYLING: SAM SENEVIRATNE

Fans of our viral potato au gratin stacks, gather 'round! These cheesy scalloped potato and ham stacks are bound to be your next go-to app. They're just like the OG, but to make them their own thing, we added thinly sliced ham and topped each stack with melty cheddar cheese.

Get the Cheesy Scalloped Potato & Ham Stacks recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
7

Buffalo Chicken Dip

buffalo chicken dip in a skillet beside carrots, celery, and tortilla chips
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

This instant classic remains a favorite of dip lovers everywhere. It's so quick and easy to make. (This recipe only takes 10 minutes to throw together, though if you want to make it even EASIER, you can choose to make it in your slow cooker.)

Get the Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe.

8

Carbonara Deviled Eggs

carbonara deviled eggs topped with pecorino romano and crispy pancetta
PHOTO: LINDA PUGLIESE; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

If deviled eggs had a classy Italian cousin, she would be these carbonara deviled eggs. Loaded with cheese and topped with crispy pancetta bits, these carbonara deviled eggs are coming to rock whatever party they join.

Get the Carbonara Deviled Eggs recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
9

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

bacon wrapped scallops
Photographer: Lucy Schaeffer. Food Styling: Brooke Caison.

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.

10

Tiramisu Dip

tiramisu dip
RACHEL VANNI PHOTOGRAPHY LLC F/S/O RACHEL VANNI

What do you do when you’re craving tiramisu, but you don’t have the time or patience to chill it for hours? Enter tiramisu dip. It’s got all the right flavors—creamy mascarpone, rich espresso, and a generous dusting of cocoa powder—and it comes together in just 10 minutes.

Get the Tiramisu Dip recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
11

Mozzarella-Stuffed Pretzel Bites

pretzel bites topped with salt with mozzarella in the middle
PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

Mozzarella-Stuffed Pretzel BitesThese mozzarella-stuffed pretzel bites are the perfect after-school or holiday bite-sized appetizers. The best part is that they’re made with just three ingredients: store-bought pizza dough, mozzarella cheese sticks, and flaky salt.

Get the Mozzarella-Stuffed Pretzel Bites recipe.

12

Prosecco Grapes

grapes covered in a sugar mixture
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Give grapes a festive upgrade with New Year's appropriate Prosecco (though any sparkling wine will work). We went for green, but any type of grape you like is great for these.

Get the Prosecco Grapes recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
13

Spinach Dip Rolls

chopped spinach, marinated artichokes, and three types of cheese rolled into flaky puff pastry, topped with everything bagel seasoning, and baked until golden brown
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

Only doing passed apps, but really craving spinach artichoke dip? These rolls are the answer. To create this easy app, chopped spinach, marinated artichokes, and three types of cheese are rolled into flaky puff pastry, topped with everything bagel seasoning, and baked until golden brown.

Get the Spinach Dip Rolls recipe.

14

Best Guacamole

guacamole with diced red onion, cilantro, and with chips
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: FRANCESCA ZANI

We can all agree: it's not a party without Mexico’s most famous dip. We're obviously huge fans of a mix-in moment, but for this recipe, we prefer to keep it simple to really let the star of the show—avocados—shine.

Get the Best Guacamole recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
15

Baked Salmon Sushi Cups

baked salmon sushi cups sprinkled with sesame seeds
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

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.

16

French Onion Soup Bites

french onion soup bites in crescent dough
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: LENA ABRAHAM

French onion soup is already a bowl of perfection: fortifying broth, sweetly soft onions, a few chunks of bread, and a molten layer of cheese. These little bites prove that perfection can come in many forms.

Get the French Onion Soup Bites recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
17

Antipasto Squares

stacked sandwiches with layers of ham, pepperoni, cheese, and pepperoncinis between crescent dough
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

Antipasto salad gets even better when layered between flaky, buttery crescent rolls. Feel free to swap in and out your favorite ingredients, then serve these as an anytime app (or an easy packed lunch the next day!).

Get the Antipasto Squares recipe.

18

Reuben Pickle Bites

reuben pickle bites
Andrew bui

Here at Delish, we’re all about a good reuben sandwich. Creamy dressing, corned beef, Swiss cheese
 what’s not to love? In fact, the classic reuben flavors are so good, we’re constantly reinventing ways to get more of them, like our hot reuben dip and our reuben mac & cheese. Next up, these reuben pickle bites: They’re the perfect bite-size appetizer (and they come together SO fast).

Get the Reuben Pickle Bites recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
19

Pigs In A Blanket

pigs in a blanket with a mustard dippings sauce
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

There's something very classic about the crescent roll dough flavor, so we tend to gravitate toward it, but puff pastry or even biscuit dough should work here too.Get the Pigs In A Blanket recipe.

20

Antipasto Bites

antipasto skewers

Fresh tortellini make these the hearty bite-size appetizer of our dreams. Feel free to swap in and out your favorite ingredients (these are a great way to serve leftover holiday food odds and ends too!).

Get the Antipasto Bites recipe.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below