100+ of the best canapé recipes
From crisp parsnip rolls to mini mushroom wellingtons, these party canapés are the perfect start to any celebration.
Whatever you call them – canapés, appetisers, picky tea, or finger food – there's one thing we can all agree on: no coronation, street party, Christmas or New Year's celebration is quite complete without a selection of tasty morsels and Champagne to get the party started!
That's exactly why we've collected all of our favourite Good Housekeeping canapé recipes for every special occasion, as well as our top tips for serving, too.
How to serve canapés:
• Size: Make sure your canapés are easy for your guests to eat by serving in mouth-sized portions.
• Taste: Since it's only a mouthful, it needs to be full of flavour and well-seasoned. Many of our recipes are served with an accompanying dipping sauce for extra hosting points.
• Base: Make sure your canapé is on a sturdy base in order to make it easy for your guests to eat (serve messier canapés with cocktail sticks and ensure there's a good supply of napkins for your guests).
• Appearance: Canapés should be visually pleasing. A herb garnish, edible flower, or even a sprinkle of cracked black pepper goes a long way!
• Preparation: Aim to prepare the elements of your canapés in advance so that you can assemble them quickly and enjoy the company of your guests.
Celebrate in style with our crowd-pleasing canapé ideas. We have every occasion covered – from summer gatherings to Christmas parties – with plenty of tasty choices for vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians, and meat eaters, too.
It's time to get the champagne on ice, get a playlist sorted and plan the ultimate party menu...
Pea and Mint Fritters
We’ve used petits pois here as they’re smaller, more tender and have a lovely flavour. But you can use garden peas, if you prefer.
Recipe: Pea and Mint Fritters
Crispy gnocchi, olive and chorizo skewers
We're obsessed with crispy fried gnocchi so we decided to pop them onto a skewer with salty chorizo and briny olive for an addictive snack in every bite.
Hot honey halloumi fingers
These oven baked halloumi fingers are served with an addictive chilli-infused honey to drizzle on top. Perfect with a refreshing cocktail.
Recipe: Hot honey halloumi fingers
Ploughman’s Nibbles
An easy assembly job that can be adapted to use your favourite cheese and chutney.
Recipe: Ploughman’s Nibbles
Hoisin duck cucumber bites
These hoisin duck bites couldn't be easier to make, only needing five ingredients and 15 mins to put together but you wouldn't think it as they're incredibly delicious.
Recipe: Hoisin duck cucumber bites
Venison and Black Pudding Scotch Quail Eggs
These take a little patience, but are well worth it. You can buy cooked and peeled quail’s eggs if you want to cut out the first step. Venison mince is becoming more widely available, with larger Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Ocado stocking it.
Chicken Katsu Bites with Tangy Mayo Dip
These chicken bites get an extra flavour dimension from a Japanese seasoning called shichimi, which contains chilli, citrus and sesame. You could also use togarashi – also sold as Japanese 7 Spice. Both are available in Waitrose, Ocado, or online. If you can’t get them, use mild chilli powder instead.
Crispy Sushi Rice ‘Cakes’ with Seared Tuna
When preparing sushi, you would normally wash the rice multiple times to remove starch, however for these cakes you want to retain most of it, as it’s the ‘glue’ that binds them together.
Teriyaki Mushroom Maki Roll
Be sure to use teriyaki sauce (the thickened kind) here, rather than teriyaki marinade (both are sold in supermarkets). We used Blue Dragon.
Recipe: Teriyaki Mushroom Maki Roll
Chicken Shawarma Pastries
Full of flavour and easier than they look as we’ve used ready-rolled shortcrust pastry rather than making an authentic Levantine dough.
Recipe: Chicken Shawarma Pastries
Halloumi and Pistachio Baklava
These sweet and salty savoury baklava bites are sure to intrigue and wow.
Recipe: Halloumi and Pistachio Baklava
Baba Ghanoush with Za’atar Flatbreads
This super easy version of baba ghanoush is sure to become a favourite, especially when served with these impressive, but easy flatbreads.
Hot Smoked Salmon Rye Breads
Use plain or honey roast hot smoked salmon, or swap for hot smoked mackerel, if you like. If rye bread isn’t your thing, slices of seeded or sourdough bread would be just as nice.
Recipe: Hot Smoked Salmon Rye Breads
Rye and Danish Blue Cracker Bites
We’ve served our cracker bites with whipped Danish blue cheese and pear, but feel free swap out for your favourite fruit and cheese combination - apple and cream cheese, or goat’s cheese and grape would work well.
Pea and Ham Hock Croustades
If cooking for vegetarians, simply leave out the ham hock and replace with a little suitable goat’s cheese.
Recipe: Pea and Ham Hock Croustades
Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberry Sauce
If you can’t get hold of lingonberry jam (we used Felix Rarorda Lingon from Ocado), swap for cranberry sauce instead.
Pastrami Bagel Quarters
Quick to assemble and packed with flavour. If you don’t like Jarlsberg, you can use any sliced hard cheese.
Recipe: Pastrami Bagel Quarters
Potato croquettes with ham hock
This croquette recipe is a fuss free canapé. Leave out the ham if you want these to be vegetarian.
Recipe: Potato croquettes with ham hock
Green gazpacho
This zingy and refreshing chilled soup is a great entrée and can be made ahead to free up time on the day of serving.
Recipe: Green gazpacho
Quails Eggs with Asparagus & Hollandaise
These delicious and elegant quails egg morsels will be a huge hit at your next party.
