Vegetarian finger foods: meatless appetizers that even carnivores will drool over

Looking back, it’s no surprise that my daughter Alexa is a vegetarian. Even as a toddler, she wasn’t interested in eating the standard little-kid fare of chicken nuggets and hot dogs. By the time she hit middle school, she stopped eating meat altogether.

We’re used to accommodating Alexa for regular meals, but we’ve had to get creative for special occasions. A couple of times a year, our family does “appetizer-fest.” Instead of dinner, we’ll just make a table-full of delicious appetizers. We like to give Alexa some options beyond cheese and crackers and veggies and dip. Plus, we always want to make dishes the rest of the family can also enjoy. 

Here are some of our favorite vegetarian appetizers that even a meat-lover like me enjoy.

Tip: Don’t bookmark this page! Drop all of these vegetarian appetizer recipes into ClipDish app, where you can enjoy a “recipe card” experience that allows you to stop scrolling and start cooking.

Vegan cucumber hummus bites

I didn’t try hummus until I was in my 20s. Man, I was missing out. As Jamie from Drive Me Hungry shows, hummus isn’t just for dipping. Instead of just putting out a bowl of hummus and veggies, try flipping the script and creating these tasty, bite-size appetizers.

Vegan Cucumber Hummus Bites

These vegan cucumber hummus bites are an easy summer appetizer that’s perfect for bbqs. A tasty make ahead appetizer that’s served cold for the summer!

Spicy jalapeño hummus

But … if you still want to put out a bowl of hummus and chips (because, let’s face it, that’s never a bad idea), you better make extra. This spicy hummus recipe from Tori Avey won’t last long. 

Spicy Jalapeño Hummus Recipe - Healthy Vegan Mezze

Healthy green vegan mezze recipe. Lighter, zesty alternative to guacamole. Serve with pita chips, bread or crudités #vegan

Falafel-spiced cucumber bites

Enjoy the spice profile of classic falafel without having to break out the deep fryer. Ashley at Big Flavors Tiny Kitchen puts a new twist on the popular Middle Eastern dish.

Falafel-Spiced Cucumber Bites - A Quick & Easy Party Appetizer Recipe!

These cucumber bites are a healthy party appetizer recipe with major Middle Eastern flair! They’re quick & easy to assemble and make a great addition to any dinner or cocktail party. These would also be perfect for game day appetizer spreads!

French onion dip from scratch

I love French onion dip like no one you’ve ever seen. Give me a bag of chips and some French onion dip and it’s a party. I used to just grab a box of Lipton’s French onion soup mix, plop in some sour cream, stir, and go. It’s delicious – or so I thought. Once I tried this from-scratch version from Lisa at Downshiftology I realized just how much complexity I was missing. 

French Onion Dip

Homemade French onion dip is creamy, flavorful and fresh. Just a handful of ingredients are mixed together for this party favorite dip recipe!

Quick and easy bean dip

This will never erase my love for French onion dip, but a good bean dip is a close second. If you’re prepping a lot of finger foods for your friends, you’ll appreciate how quickly you can whip up this bean dip from Sonja and Alex at A Couple Cooks.

5-Minute Bean Dip

This intensely delicious bean dip recipe takes literally 5 minutes. You won’t believe how easy it is to make this party favorite!

Vegetable spring rolls with peanut sauce

You don’t need to be intimidated by spring rolls because Julia at Happy Foods Tube came up with a really easy recipe. Bonus: the bold colors of those delicious veggies coming through the rice paper makes a nice display.

The peanut sauce is a nice alternative to heavy mayo or cheese-based dips.

Vegetarian Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce - Happy Foods Tube

These Vegetarian Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce are packed with fresh vegetables! Salty Feta cheese complements the raw vegetables and gives these rice paper rolls a great flavor! They are light, refreshing and tasty!

Seitan Wings

Seitan wings, when made correctly, are such a close meat substitute that I’ll sometimes order them at a restaurant instead of chicken. They can be that good. Here’s a bunch of recipes I’ve clipped that are really delicious.

Vegan Hot Wings / Seitan Wings (2 Flavors!)

This Seitan Wings recipe is easy, vegan, and SO delicious - flavored to your preference with either buffalo or sticky sriracha sauce!

Vegan Garlic Ranch Seitan Wings

These vegan garlic ranch seitan wings are incredible! Super simple, 4 ingredient seitan wings that are the perfect texture! Tossed in an amazing sauce!

Barbecue Seitan Wings

This is the easiest seitan recipe in the world. Tossed in a delightful plant-based version of the classic, mustard-heavy barbecue sauce from South Carolina, these vegan barbecue seitan wings will melt in your mouth.

What’s your favorite vegetarian finger food?

Do you have any great vegetarian finger food ideas? Pop over to our Facebook group and share them with us.