Italian

41 Italian Appetizer Recipes

From ricotta toasts and polenta bites to pasta e fagioli and sea bream crudo, here are all of our favorite Italian and Italian-inspired appetizer recipes.
Assembled toasts smeared with ricotta and topped with broccoli on platter beside a small bowl of hot honey for drizzling...
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li
  • Assembled toasts smeared with ricotta and topped with broccoli on platter beside a small bowl of hot honey for drizzling...
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue Li
    1/41

    Broccoli and Garlic-Ricotta Toasts With Hot Honey

    Crispy roasted broccoli works just as well as an appetizer as it does a side dish when scattered over garlicky, ricotta-slathered toasts.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
    2/41

    Oregano-Marinated Tomato Salad

    Marinating sliced tomatoes in salt, pepper, olive oil, and fresh oregano intensifies their flavor and brings out their rich juices. Serve with crusty bread for mopping it up.

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani
    3/41

    Sea Bream Crudo with Lemon and Olives

    Sea bream, common in the Mediterranean, has lean flesh with a light, delicate flavor. If you can’t find it, porgy or snapper are suitable subs.

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  • Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    4/41

    Antipasto Salad

    Long sweet peppers show up at farmers’ markets during the peak of the season and may be sold as long sweet yellow, sweet banana, Hungarian Sweet, or Cubanelle. You can substitute two medium red, orange, or yellow bell peppers (don’t use the green ones).

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  • Photo by Gentl & Hyers
    5/41

    Pasta e Fagioli With Escarole

    Parmesan rind and a kitchen sink’s worth of aromatics give heady flavor to this classic pairing of beans and pasta, no meat required.

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  • Photo by Ed Anderson
    6/41

    Flatbread Caprese

    Top-of-season cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella turn flatbread—either homemade or store-bought pizza dough—into a refreshing, delicious summer appetizer.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray
    11/41

    Pea and Prosciutto Salad

    Toss blanched snap peas and English peas with arugula and a mustardy vinaigrette, then drape with prosciutto for an elegant spring salad.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    12/41

    Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto

    Making risotto in an electric pressure cooker means no stirring and no ladling of stock one cup at a time. Just get it going on high pressure, walk away, and make a drink.

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  • Photo by Isa Zapata, Prop styling by Tim Ferro, Food styling by Taneka Morris
    13/41

    Marinated Mixed Beans

    Coating the herbs in oil and soaking the shallot in vinegar prevents oxidation, so you can keep these beans for days.

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  • Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Liza Jernow
    14/41

    Clams Casino With Bacon and Bell Pepper

    A vinegary red bell pepper mixture cuts through the richness of this classic Italian-American appetizer for a bite that's salty, smoky, and sweet.

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  • Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
    15/41

    Slow Cooker Ribollita

    Ribollita is like a heartier version of minestrone, thickened with bread and redolent with garlic. It is a beautiful soup when it’s fresh from the pot, but it is also perhaps the most noble of leftovers.

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  • Photo by Peden & Munk
    16/41

    Caesar-Style Puntarelle

    Puntarelle is a crisp, spiky Italian green related to chicory. If you can get it, you’re in luck. If not, escarole is a great substitute.

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  • Photo by David Malosh
    17/41

    Eggplant Caponata

    The addition of the briny capers, anchovies, and acidic vinegar help cure the eggplant and other veggies, so this dish only gets better in a tightly sealed container in the fridge, where it will last for up to a week.

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  • Photo by Marcus Nilsson
    18/41

    Raw Artichoke Salad with Celery and Parmesan

    To prevent cut artichokes from browning, work with 1 artichoke at a time and lightly toss it in the lemon dressing as you go.

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Andy Baraghani
    23/41

    Arugula With Italian Plums and Parmesan

    For the best play between sweet, hot, and salty ingredients, look for spiky arugula, labeled "rocket" or "rucola," at the farmers' market. It's much more peppery and sturdy than what you’ll find at the supermarket.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray
    24/41

    Clam Toasts with Pancetta

    Shellfish and pork are a power duo. The backbone of this clam toast is a salty-sweet pancetta soffritto with onions, fennel, and lemon zest, which add a sweet, bright flavor.

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  • Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Food Styling by Sue Li
    25/41

    Radicchio and Plum Salad

    You can use almost any type of plum in this salad recipe, even hybrid ones like Pluots and Peacotums. If it looks like a plum, it probably acts like a plum too.

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    26/41

    Marinated Anchovies With Bread and Butter

    For a simple, just-the-right-amount-of-salty appetizer, doctor up a tin of anchovies. The acid, heat, and olive oil mellow the anchovies’ flavor, and serving them with a seedy loaf of bread and butter rounds the recipe.

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  • Photo by Elizabeth Cecil
    31/41

    Fried-Bread Panzanella with Ricotta and Herbs

    Frying thick slices of bread in olive oil on only one side gives you a magical combination of crisp and soft so that the bread can soak up the tomato juices without getting soggy.

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  • Photo by Christina Holmes
    32/41

    Pappa al Pomodoro

    If you love dipping bread into tomato soup, you’ll love this rustic Italian dish, known as pappa al pomodoro.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau
    35/41

    Roasted Vegetables Antipasto Plate

    This antipasto platter goes way past jarred peppers and cold cuts, with roasted vegetables that change with the seasons. Even at room temp, these options round out any meat and cheese platter.

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  • Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    36/41

    Shaved Fennel Salad

    This is an antidote to every side salad that ever was. Instead of meh greens, it's got shavings of fennel that bend and twist but keep their refreshing crunch. It's got a lean dressing and nuggets of deeply toasted croutons, meaty walnuts, and shards of Parmesan. It has acidity and zing—lemon juice, the zest, vinegar, mint, and red pepper flakes—just in case you were worried about palate fatigue. This is what salad looks like in 2018.

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  • MasterChef
    37/41

    Calamari with Roasted Tomato Sauce

    A straightforward version of the classic Italian-American appetizer.

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  • Photo by Christopher Testani
    38/41

    Kale Minestrone With Pistou

    Skip expensive store-bought stock: you can extract cleaner, stronger broth from water and a few pantry items you probably already have on hand (think bacon, tomato paste, herbs, peppercorns, a Parm rind, and, of course, kosher salt).

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