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Vegan party appetizers that are sure to go over like gangbusters at your next gathering. There’s a mixture of stuff that can be made ahead of time, as well as warm appetizers to keep things interesting.
Last week we celebrated David’s birthday by having people over for drinks and vegan party appetizers.
When it came to food, we talked about the possibility of a waffle bar or build-your-own vegan nachos. However, for the ease of keeping things at their proper temperature as people arrived at varying times, we decided to simplify it by having mostly cold appetizers with a couple of hot items to be made fresh once things got going.
Vegan Party Appetizers Menu
Stuffed grape leaves (one of my favorite vegan Trader Joe’s products)
Garlic-stuffed olives
Homemade turnip pickles
Guacamole & chips
Sweet baby bell peppers stuffed with kalmata olive hummus
Holiday cheddar cheese ball & crackers
Roasted potato slices with vegan bacon & cashew cream
Seitan bacon-wrapped cashew cheese stuffed dates
Before the big day, I started the turnip pickles, and David made a trial run of the Holiday Cheddar Cheese Ball from Somer at Vedged Out since we’d never made it before. (It is fantastically good and was a huge hit with everyone at the party.)
Then the day before the party we picked up the remaining ingredients, plus a few pre-made things like stuffed grape leaves, garlic-stuffed olives, chips, and crackers.
Since we were the only vegans (or vegetarians for that matter) at the party, we wanted to have a variety of appetizers – some that were familiar, some that were new, and some that would be a fun twist on an old favorite.
On the day of the event, David made his signature salsa, and I made an easy batch of guacamole.
I repurposed my kalamata olive hummus recipe and used it as a filling for sweet baby bell peppers.
I just sliced off the tops (and saved them), hollowed out the inside of the peppers, and then used a piping bag to fill each one with pâté before repositioning the bell pepper tops.
Additionally, having the tops on each pepper kept the pâté inside fresh and moist.
Even though I would be making two appetizers while guests were at the party, I wanted to have everything ready, so that I would be able to mingle as much as possible and not be stuck in the kitchen.
I made the filling for the seitan bacon wrapped cashew cheese stuffed dates. Then I pitted the dates, stuffed them, and wrapped them with Upton’s Naturals seitan bacon held on with a toothpick, which guests were later able to use to retrieve their date from the platter. No forks necessary!
(I recommend choosing dates that are on the smaller side, as opposed to Medjool dates, so that the bacon easily wraps around them. Plus, the sweet/smoky/salty balance is a little better when the dates aren’t too big. Also FYI: if you want to fry the stuffed dates in advance, they are still really tasty served cold or at room temperature.)
Next, roasted potato slices with cashew cream and vegan bacon!
I chopped all of the toppings for my potato crostini. Then I sliced the potatoes and kept them in a water bath in the refrigerator to keep them fresh until they were ready to be dried, lightly oiled, and baked at the party.
I decided to use Phoney Baloney’s coconut bacon that night, but fried & roughly chopped seitan bacon would also be delicious choices.
Once lots of people had arrived and were talking and mingling, I headed to the kitchen to bake the sliced potatoes and shallow fry the stuffed dates. As the appetizers finished, I put them onto serving platters and enlisted David’s help in walking around and offering them to people.
The vegan party appetizers were plucked up in no time and were very well received, which always feels really good. (In fact, I completely ran out of the 40 stuffed dates that I made and had to make another batch for these pictures. More for me, darn it all…)
We had such a great time at the party. It was really fun getting to socialize, celebrate David’s birthday, and share some of our favorite foods with our friends.
Susan says
WELL AFTER READING THIS, I AM GOING TO MAKE THIS NEXT WEEKEND, IT SOUNDS AND LOOKS DELICIOUS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING AND CARING. YOU ARE AWESOME
Cadry says
Thanks, Susan! I hope you enjoy it!
cookeasyvegan says
Lots of good ideas here — I especially like the potato slices and stuffed peppers. We’re hosting a party next weekend, and although it will be a dinner, I’m thinking of having lots of small choices like grape leaves, felafels, roasted veggies, etc. We’ll have a couple of soups, too, and the only thing I’ll have to make at the last minute will be the felafels. I love pickled turnips, but I’d like to offer a warning. Never ever include pickled turnips on a snack platter for a high school drama club party. Nope, don’t do that. 😀
Cadry says
That sounds like a fun party! I always love lots of little nibbles & appetizers. They are my favorite part of a meal. I was really close to serving my Indian-spiced falafel for the gathering as well, but then decided that we had enough on our plates already. Next time!
Ha! You’ve got to tell me the story about this high school drama club party. I’m intrigued! I’m surprised that they weren’t a hit actually. My nieces and nephews have been (surprisingly) excited about them in the past when I’ve brought them along for the holidays. But then again, they tend to be more adventurous about trying new things (like stuffed grape leaves or vegan taco pizza) than one might expect.
Annie says
Can you please invite me to your next party??
Cadry says
You have an open invitation! Just buy your plane ticket to Iowa, and I’ll go grocery shopping. 🙂
acookinthemaking says
What an amazing menu–I want to come to a party at your house!
I totally hear you on the issue of serving things at the right temperature too…I found this out the hard way at our most recent Christmas party when I couldn’t keep one of the hot dishes hot! Room temperature apps for the win.
Cadry says
Absolutely! We don’t entertain nearly as often as we should, and so I have too many ideas for things I want to serve on the rare opportunity. However, for big gatherings like this, the evening is so much more enjoyable if I don’t have to babysit a hot dish all night long. Just one or two hot things to make and serve immediately is more my speed!
rika@vm says
Happy Belated Birthday to David! What an impressive bday party appetizer menu – all of the appetizers look and sound fantastic – love the loaded potato slices with cashew cream & coconut bacon, mmmm!
Cadry says
Thanks, Rika! I will pass on your birthday wishes! Whenever I make the loaded potato slices, I am reminded that I should make them more often. With a high speed blender, the whole affair only takes about 20 minutes to make!
flickingthevs says
I think my invite must have got lost in the post! Which is a shame, because I think I would have made short work of all those appetisers! I’m really taken by the look of the cheezball – was it easy to make?
Cadry says
Damn you, postal service! 😉 David said that the cheese ball was really easy to make. The only thing that takes time is waiting for the cashews to soak and then allowing the cheese time to set up. (Although, when it was first made and melty, I added it to a breakfast burrito. It was soooooo good. Highly recommended.)
Caitlin says
the food looks AND sounds amazing, cadry! i love all of the appetizers and the variety. the stuffed cashew cheese dates with bacon sounds like they were absolutely heavenly. and amazing job coordinating it all!
Cadry says
Thanks, Caitlin! I love appetizers, but it’s not often that I’m able to order them because they’re so rarely vegan at non-vegan restaurants. It was fun getting to have a whole array of them. Thanks for all the kind words!! 🙂
Susmitha - Veganosaurus says
What a fantastic spread! Belated Happy Birthday wishes to David. 🙂
Next year, I’m coming over to your party too. 😀
Cadry says
How awesome would that be, Susmitha? I would love that! 😀
Anonymous says
Yay! A vegan cheese ball recipe that doesn’t call for artificial cream cheese! I”m so hungry now.
Cadry says
You should definitely make it! You would really like it. Plus, with all of those cashews & coconut oil, it has all of those yummy calories a pregnant lady needs. 🙂
Lisa Galante says
I love experimenting being vegan and I love balancing to get proper nutrition. I’m amazed of the flavors and I’m open to create new ideas and I have never felt better.