Easy Thanksgiving Appetizers
Thanksgiving is upon us, and that means it’s time to put our cooking skills to good use. To make it easier on you for the big day, we are sharing our ideas for easy and delicious Thanksgiving appetizers.
A nice apple cranberry walnut salad is a great way to kick off any Thanksgiving dinner. It requires no cooking and very little prep work. Get a big bowl of lettuce and add chopped apples to the mix along with some chopped walnuts, feta cheese, and dried cranberries (craisins). You can make a homemade apple vinaigrette dressing with 1 cup of apple juice, 4 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp of honey, ¼ cup of vegetable oil, and some salt and pepper to taste.
Who doesn’t love bloomin’ onions? This recipe allows you to serve mini bloomin’ onions that are easy to fry and are perfectly bite sized. Buy a couple pounds of cipollinni (not pearl) onions then peel them, cut off the dirty end of each root and section them off by cutting ¾ of the way through on the root end but keep the tip in tact so the onions stay together. Press down on each onion so the sections spread out a bit. Mix up flour, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix eggs and buttermilk in a separate bowl and add the onions to them then thoroughly coat those onions in the flour mix. Heat a fryer to 350 degrees F and fry them in batches for about 4 minutes each.
Try this baked fig recipe for a satisfying appetizer that will be eaten up within seconds of serving it! Buy as many figs as you need then wash them and take off the stems. Make an X by cutting halfway through each fig then scoop some ricotta cheese in the middle. Spread your cut figs on a baking sheet. Sprinkle finely chopped walnuts and sage on top then drizzle each fig with honey. Add a pinch of salt and pepper at the end and put your figs under the broiler at 390 degrees F for 5 minutes.
Cheese balls are delicious and make it easy for guests to grab a snack before the main course. This cranberry orange cheese ball is sweet and brings a pop of color to your appetizer table. Soften up some plain cream cheese and stir it in a bowl until smooth. Add in craisins, a bit of orange zest, a splash of orange juice, and about ½ cup of powdered sugar. Set this cream cheese mix in the fridge for 10 minutes to get it to firm up so you can form a ball. Once you’ve formed the ball, set it on a tray and put it in the freezer for 10 more minutes. While you wait, combine the coating for the ball with chopped candied pecans, craisins, and some orange zest onto a tray. Roll the cheese ball to coat the outside and place it on a plate and cover with saran wrap to store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.
Last but not least, try these bacon wrapped sweet potato cups. You will need to make a batch of mashed sweet potatoes, so once you get the sweet potatoes in a pot of boiling water you can do other prep work. Start by cutting thick slices of bacon in half and line the bottom of each muffin tin with those. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Once the sweet potatoes are tender, drain them and mash them up with butter, rosemary, and garlic powder. Scoop the mashed sweet potato mix into each muffin tin and bake it for 20 minutes until the bacon gets crispy. Set them on a paper towel lined plate to catch the excess grease then flip the appetizers on their side to make a stunning presentation.