A chef once told me you are far better off serving a few things in big quantities than forty different small ones, and every New Year’s Eve party since has proved him right. So these New Year’s Eve recipes are the kind you make in batches and set down: party appetizers, dips, skewers, crostini and a few desserts that look after themselves while people help themselves. There are bourbon bacon meatballs the slow cooker handles without you, wonton cups baked in a mini muffin pan, champagne jello layered in glasses with gold sprinkles around the rim, and black-eyed peas twice over, because the South takes its luck seriously. Some are a cracker and five minutes. Some are worth a whole afternoon. All of them travel, which matters when the party turns out to be at somebody else’s house.
1. Guacamole Shrimp Wonton Cups
Press wonton wrappers into a mini muffin pan and bake them at 350 for ten to twelve minutes and you have twenty four crisp little cups, which is the whole trick behind half the appetizers at any good party. Fill them with guacamole, top each one with a shrimp cooked in olive oil, garlic and a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning, and finish with cilantro. Store bought guacamole is fine here and cuts the work in half. Assemble and serve right away, because guacamole browns and nobody wants a gray appetizer.
Get the full tutorial at Kim's Healthy Eats.
2. Crock Pot Bourbon Bacon Meatballs
Frozen meatballs go into the slow cooker, then a bowl of barbecue sauce, maple syrup, bourbon and dried chili peppers gets poured over the top. Cook on high for two to three hours and stir once or twice. The bacon is cooked separately and cut in half, and everything goes onto medium skewers at the end: one meatball, a folded piece of bacon, another meatball. That skewer is why people pick these up first. Make a double batch. They go faster than anything else on a table.
Get the full tutorial at Tammilee Tips.
3. Deviled Egg Bouquet
Twelve hard boiled eggs, cut with an X on the top end that goes about halfway down the side, then piped full of cream cheese, Dijon, paprika and salt so each one opens into a tulip with a green onion stem underneath. Do not cut too far down or the egg loses its shape. Boil an extra egg or two the first time and practice on those, because the cut is the only fiddly part and it clicks after one try. Ten minutes once the eggs are cooked.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
4. Pomegranate Salsa
Pomegranate seeds instead of tomato, which gives you a salsa that is bright red, crunchy and a little tart, and it is served cold so nothing has to happen at the last minute. Adjust the jalapeno up or down and it suits whoever is in the room. The move worth knowing: pour it over a block of cream cheese and put crackers beside it, and a bowl of fruit salsa becomes a proper party dip. It keeps for days and tastes like it was made that morning, so double it.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
5. Bacon Chili Cornbread Muffins
Boxed cornbread mix, whichever brand is in your cupboard, turned into individual muffins with bacon, green chiles and cream style corn folded through. Muffin sized is the whole point at a party: individual servings, party ready, nothing to cut and nothing to serve with a spoon. Smoky, savory and a little spicy against everything sweet on the table. They keep covered at room temperature for up to two days, and a refrigerated one reheats in ten seconds in the microwave. Twenty five minutes at 375.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
6. Crispy Baked Avocado Chips
One ripe avocado, grated parmesan, lemon juice, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper, mashed and baked into crisp little rounds. The parmesan is doing the real work here, both for flavor and for the crisp edge, so do not go light on it. Ripe matters too: if it gives when you press it, it mashes smooth, and smooth mashing is what gives you an even chip. Low carb, keto friendly, and the only thing on the table somebody can eat a lot of without regret.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
7. Southern Hoppin' John
Black eyed peas, rice, bacon, onion, celery and bell pepper cooked down in one pot, and the reason it belongs on a New Year’s table is that it is supposed to bring good fortune for the year ahead. Half a pound of thick cut bacon in one inch pieces starts it, then everything else goes in with chicken stock, cayenne, thyme, basil, oregano and a bay leaf. It is filling, it feeds a crowd from one pot, and it is the only dish here that also works as actual dinner at one in the morning.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
8. Smoked Salmon Toasts
Ten minutes, serves six to eight, and there is no cooking in it at all. Avocado gets mashed smooth with a tablespoon of creme fraiche and spread over crispbread or thin toasted rye, then smoked salmon goes on top. Finely sliced radish tossed with chopped dill, a tablespoon of cider vinegar and a pinch of salt is scattered over at the end, along with cress. The radish is part of the recipe, not a garnish, so do not treat it as optional. Cold, sharp, green and pink.
Get the full tutorial at Jamie Oliver.
9. Vegan Spinach Dip
Soft tofu blended with cashews soaked overnight, nutritional yeast and apple cider vinegar makes a base that is genuinely creamy rather than merely acceptable. Spinach gets boiled for one or two minutes only, then drained, rinsed cold and squeezed dry. Onion, garlic and diced water chestnuts go in for crunch. The tofu and cashew puree is stirred into the pan and heated through, so nothing has to go in the oven at all. Drizzle olive oil over the top, dust it with paprika and serve it with vegetables and bread.
Get the full tutorial at No Recipes.
10. Cranberry Pecan Cheese Ball
Two blocks of cream cheese beaten with a cup of shredded white cheddar, then half the chopped cranberries, pecans and chives go into the mixture and the other half get rolled around the outside. Half in, half out, and that split is the method. Creamy, savory and sweet in one bite, which is exactly what makes a cheese ball disappear. Set it out with crackers and whatever dippers you have and step away from it.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
11. Port Sliders with Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions
Two cups of port and two tablespoons of sugar simmer down to half a cup, which takes thirty to thirty five minutes and is the entire reason this tastes like a restaurant. A quarter cup of that reduction gets mixed into a pound of lean ground beef, the rest goes over the top at the end with caramelized onions and crumbled goat cheese. You get eight or nine two ounce patties, two to three minutes a side. Start the onions and the port at the same time and the whole thing lands together.
Get the full tutorial at The Brewer and the Baker.
12. Chocolate Fruit Dip
Heavy cream whipped to nearly stiff peaks with powdered sugar, folded into cream cheese beaten with more powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa and vanilla. That is it, and it tastes like the filling of a chocolate cheesecake without any of the baking. Make it up to four hours ahead and no further, because after four hours it turns less fluffy. Strawberries and bananas are the classic partners, raspberries are better than you would guess, and the cocoa wants to be the unsweetened kind.
Get the full tutorial at Cooking Classy.
13. Cheesy Bacon Holiday Crack
A bag of kettle chips spread on a sheet pan, sprinkled with a quarter cup of brown sugar and drizzled with a quarter cup of maple syrup, then covered with shredded cheddar, ten slices of chopped bacon and half to a full teaspoon of cayenne. Ten to fifteen minutes at 350 and you break it into pieces. Sweet, salty, spicy and crunchy all at once, and it is the single most dangerous thing on this list. Cook the bacon first, only until the fat renders and it starts to crisp.
Get the full tutorial at Half Baked Harvest.
14. Savory Tuna Sandwich Cake
A Swedish smorgastarta, which is a layer cake built from sandwich bread, and it is the best party trick in this whole roundup. Sixteen crustless slices get layered with a filling of canned tuna, sweetcorn, hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise and sour cream blended smooth, then the whole thing chills at least two hours and ideally overnight. The next day you frost it with more sour cream and mayonnaise, cover it in grated cheese and decorate the sides with cucumber and tomato. People will not know what it is until they cut it.
Get the full tutorial at Happy Foods Tube.
15. Champagne Jello Cups
Three layers in a glass: champagne jello, a creamy layer made with sweetened condensed milk, then champagne jello again. Three cups of champagne, a fourteen ounce can of condensed milk and three envelopes of gelatin is the whole shopping list, and the recipe calls for cheap champagne, so save the good bottle for the toast. Rim the glasses last, after every layer has set: corn syrup in a shallow bowl, then gold sprinkles. Small glasses go further than you think.
Get the full tutorial at The First Year.
16. Light Tex Mex Shrimp Bites
The same wonton cup idea again, pointed in a different direction: guacamole, pico de gallo and shrimp tossed with olive oil, chili powder, salt and lime, finished with chives. Because the shells are baked rather than fried, these stay light enough that people go back four times without noticing. The shells can be baked ahead of time, which leaves nothing but filling them once guests arrive. Fill them at the last minute and they stay crisp all the way through the first bite.
Get the full tutorial at Julie's Eats and Treats.
17. Baked Buffalo Chickpea And Artichoke Vegan Taquitos
Two cans of chickpeas mashed with a potato masher, a cup of chopped artichoke hearts, a cup of butternut squash sauce and a quarter to half a cup of buffalo sauce, rolled two tablespoons at a time into fifteen to twenty small tortillas and baked at 425 for fifteen to twenty minutes. A quarter cup of hot sauce gives mild heat, so go up from there if your crowd likes it. Best part: you can assemble them and freeze them until you want to heat and serve them. Corn tortillas make them gluten free.
Get the full tutorial at Veggie Inspired.
18. Sweet Chicken Bacon Bites
Cubes of chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper, wrapped in a half or third slice of bacon, rolled in dark brown sugar and baked at 350 on a cooling rack set over a foil lined sheet. No toothpicks needed, because the bacon sticks to the chicken on its own. Use the rack rather than the bare pan, and line the sheet unless you enjoy scrubbing caramelized sugar. Chicken thighs work if you want them juicier, and turkey bacon works if you want them leaner.
Get the full tutorial at Jo Cooks.
19. Countdown Cupcakes
Boxed cake mix, a tub of whipped vanilla frosting, twenty four Oreos and a food safe marker. Twist the cookies apart, keep the side with the frosting on it, scrape a thin layer off if crumbs came with it, and draw a clock face on the white. Stand each one in a frosted cupcake and add sprinkles. It takes about as long to make as it does to read, which is why it is the dessert to hand to whoever volunteers and then wanders off.
Get the full tutorial at Somewhat Simple.
20. Mushroom Marsala Baked Brie
Cut the top rind off an eight ounce brie, bake it at 350 for ten to fifteen minutes until it slumps, and meanwhile cook six ounces of quartered button mushrooms with green onion and thyme in butter and olive oil, then pour in half a cup of marsala and let it reduce until it thickens. Pile the mushrooms on the brie, back in the oven for five more minutes, and serve it hot with crackers. Twenty five minutes total for the thing everyone stands around.
Get the full tutorial at Lemon Tree Dwelling.
21. Buffalo Quinoa Bites
Two cups of cooked quinoa, a cup of mashed cannellini beans, three quarters of a cup of panko, an egg and a quarter cup of buffalo sauce, formed into sixteen balls with a lump of blue cheese hidden in the middle of each. Flatten the ball in your palm, set the cheese in, fold the sides up and squeeze it shut. Air fry at 375 for eight minutes, turn, eight more, then toss in the rest of the sauce. The blue cheese inside means no dip is required, which is a small stroke of genius.
Get the full tutorial at Betsy Life.
22. Balsamic Beef Crostini with Herbed Cheese and Arugula
Half a pound of thin cut steak marinated at least an hour in olive oil, balsamic, Worcestershire and garlic, then cooked three minutes a side for medium and rested ten minutes before it is cut. The crostini get a teaspoon of boursin and a few leaves of arugula and can be put together in advance. The steak goes on at the last second and a half teaspoon of balsamic vinaigrette goes over each one right before it leaves the kitchen. Warm or room temperature, both work.
Get the full tutorial at PinkWhen.
23. Russian Salad Olivie
Diced potatoes, carrots, hard boiled eggs, bologna, dill pickles, cucumber and canned peas in a mayonnaise dressing, and in a great many households this is what is on the table at midnight. Gold potatoes are the pick because they hold their shape instead of going to mush, and the dill pickles bring the crunch and the briny tang that balances all that creaminess. Chop everything the day before and keep the pickles separate, then add them and the mayonnaise a few hours before you serve it.
Get the full tutorial at Olga's Flavor Factory.
24. Smoked Salmon Canapés With Cream Cheese
Eighteen canapes in twenty minutes, and the only cooking involved is opening packets. Cream cheese gets mixed with two tablespoons of crème fraîche, chopped dill, lemon juice and half the zest, then spooned onto rye crispbreads and swirled with a fork. Cut the smoked salmon into ribbons, roll and twist each one into a rose, and set it on top with a sprig of dill and a strand of zest. Cooked prawns work just as well if smoked salmon is not your thing.
Get the full tutorial at Red Online.
25. Shrimp Taco Bites
Tortilla chip scoops instead of wonton cups, which means no baking at all for the shell. Twenty four large shrimp get salt, lime zest and two teaspoons of chili powder and go into a 375 oven for five to eight minutes, just until they curl. Each chip takes a teaspoon of diced avocado tossed with lime, half a teaspoon of sour cream spiked with minced chipotle in adobo, then a shrimp and a little cilantro. Assemble these at the last minute or the chip gives up on you.
Get the full tutorial at I Wash You Dry.
26. Filipino Pork Barbecue
Two and a half pounds of pork shoulder sliced about a quarter inch thick and marinated overnight in garlic, calamansi or lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup and a can of 7 Up. Pineapple juice is the suggested addition if you want more sweetness and acidity, and it helps tenderize the meat. Soak the bamboo skewers for at least an hour, thread five or six pieces per stick, and baste as you turn. Serve with the vinegar and garlic dipping sauce. Pork wants 145 degrees.
Get the full tutorial at Salu Salo Recipes.
27. Lavender Creme Brulee
Two cups of heavy cream heated until hot but never boiling, then left to sit with two tablespoons of fresh lavender (or one of dried) for thirty minutes before it is strained. Four yolks and three tablespoons of sugar, baked at 300 in a water bath for fifty to sixty minutes until the middle still wobbles, then chilled at least two hours. Sugar on top and a blowtorch, or three to four minutes under the broiler if you do not own one. Make it the day before and torch it at the table.
Get the full tutorial at Lavender and Macarons.
28. Black-Eyed Peas And Collard Greens Croquettes
The Southern New Year’s tradition, rolled into a ball and fried, which is a better idea than it has any right to be. Red onion caramelizes slowly for fifteen to twenty minutes, then garlic, ginger, frozen black eyed peas, frozen collard greens, coriander, cumin and chili go in, and two boiled potatoes get mashed through to hold everything together. Roll, dip in egg, roll in breadcrumbs, fry. Taste the mixture for salt before you shape anything, because once it is breaded it is too late.
Get the full tutorial at Savory Spin.
29. Beef Crostini With Horseradish Spread
Prime rib and horseradish, taken apart and rebuilt as twelve crostini. Rib eye or strip steak marinates ninety minutes to two hours in Worcestershire, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic chili sauce and a little sugar. The spread is horseradish whipped with mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, lemon, Worcestershire and a dash of Tabasco, and it has a serious kick to it. Fried shallots go on last. Trim the beef hard and slice on the bias, three to four inches long.
Get the full tutorial at A Family Feast.
30. Sparkling Cranberry Brie Bites
Fresh cranberries soak overnight in warm maple syrup, and warm is the word that matters, because hot syrup makes them pop. Drain them, roll them in granulated sugar in two batches, and leave them to dry for about an hour until they look frosted. Then it is just a cracker, a slice of brie, a little cranberry chutney and four or five sugared cranberries with a sprig of mint. You can sugar the cranberries a day ahead and leave them loosely covered at room temperature.
Get the full tutorial at Yummy Mummy Kitchen.
