39 Flavorful Italian Appetizers You Will Love (2024)

Classic mozzarella cheese sticks are ready in 10 minutes! Everyone will love the crispy, crunchy bread crumbs and seasoning.

Risotto is lovely with spinach and goat cheese! Serve it as an appetizer or side dish for a busy weeknight or even Sunday dinner.

Fried stuffed olives (aka Olive Ascolane) are a traditional Italian appetizer. Using large green that are stuffed with meat, coated with breadcrumbs, and deep fried.

Italian appetizers like fried calamari are easy to make homemade! It’s another classic that’s full of flavor with lightly battered rings of squid fried and served with a warm marinara.

Caprese Pasta Salad is easy to make with traditional Italian flavors of Caprese filled with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella! It’s quickly assembled into a pasta salad that is bright, sweet, and tangy.

Italian pizza stuffed meatballs will quickly become your new favorite side dish. They are tender, stuffed with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese, and topped with sauce and fresh parmesan cheese!

Cheesy garlic rolls are buttery and garlicky versions of a cinnamon roll. Inspired by John’s Pizzeria in New York City’s Garlic Rolls.

Italian appetizers like crostini with prosciutto are elegant and easy to prepare. With crispy toasted slices of baguette topped with prosciutto, tomato, and Boursin garlic and herb cheese and finished with Herbs de Provence and sea salt.

Use a sturdy slice of bread when making Caprese bruschetta or else everything will fall off after 1 bite. The author recommends a crusty bread like sourdough, baguette, or ciabatta.

Make some classic Bruschetta topped with fresh tomatoes, garlic, and basil. It’s an easy delicious appetizer you can cook on the grill or in the oven.

Bruschetta with whipped ricotta and honey is a classic Italian appetizer you can enjoy with family and friends or as a light lunch and side dish. It’s one of my favorite ways to make it.

Bruschetta with mozzarella is easy and comes together in just 15 minutes. It’s perfect for a crowd with amazing rustic flavors like tomato, basil, and garlic.

Cherry tomatoes are so fun and tasty with bruschetta. Plus it’s a great party appetizer for a crowd to enjoy while you're grilling or making co*cktails.

Italian appetizers like Sun-Dried Tomato Crostini are sure to please your guests. Everyone will love the flavorful combination of sun-dried tomatoes, various cheeses, basil, and a hint of garlic.

These ricotta crostini are out-of-this-world delicious with a dose of rich brown butter. Easy to make, and there’s so much flavor in every bite.

If you’re looking for fresh Italian vegetable dishes, why not try some stuffed tomatoes with fresh burrata? They are healthy, quick, simple, light, colorful, and appetizing.

When you prepare this heirloom Italian burrata caprese salad, everyone will be impressed! It’s an amazing side dish or appetizer with balsamic vinegar and truffle salt.

This shaved artichoke salad is the perfect holiday side, dinner appetizer, or healthy lunch. It’s ready in under 20 minutes with 5 ingredients!

Mushrooms make lovely Italian appetizers, especially when stuffed! All you need is some large white mushrooms, marinara, olive oil, bread crumbs made from a day-old baguette, and a few other pantry staples.

Italian sausage stuffed mushrooms are fantastic for the entertaining season. They take 20 minutes to prep and 23 minutes to cook, resulting in 14 servings.

Pork sausage meatballs are tender, juicy, and crisp on the outside. They are so versatile as they can be air-fried, baked, or pan-fried.

Italian wedding soup is a traditional soup recipe. You will need olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, parsley, basil, broth, meatballs, spinach, and pastina pasta.

This meatball recipe is stuffed with Italian spices, cheese and topped with sauce. Italian meatballs are the ultimate comfort food and a delicious twist on your favorite traditional meatloaf recipe.

If you're looking for the best Italian appetizers, look no further! This homemade Italian cheese-stuffed meatloaf is soft, tender & melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

This is one fantastic, melt-in-your-mouth Italian appetizer. This cheesy meatball dip is homemade with bite-sized meatballs and layers of marinara sauce, cream cheese mixture, veggies, and cheese.

These classic Italian Meatballs will quickly become your family’s new favorite side dish. They are tender meatballs made with ground pork and ground beef, parmesan cheese, garlic, and herbs!

Italian rice balls are also known as arancini. They are a Sicilian classic with olive oil, arborio rice or short grain white rice, chicken broth, slightly beaten eggs, bread crumbs, and a few other pantry staples.

Italian appetizers like spicy Italian sliders also make a great lunch or main. You will need a 24-ounce bag of Bridgford Food's frozen Parkerhouse Rolls, a 6-ounce jar of pizza sauce, 12 ounces of provolone cheese, and a few other items.

Make this Italian antipasto board for a dinner party or crowd. It’s super tasty, savory, salty, and there’s something for every palate, including cheese, deli meats, vegetables and a garlicky herb dressing.

Crispelles are classic savory Italian fried dough balls that melt in your mouth! They’re filled with small pieces of anchovy, making it crunchy on the outside and soft inside.

Focaccia, (aka) flat Italian bread, has a crispy outer layer and a soft and chewy center. Lightly coated in olive oil and coarse salt, you can eat it alone or with dipping sauce.

Italian sub pinwheels will be the star of the show at any party. They are simple and scrumptious with ham, salami, pepperoni, herbs, and mozzarella cheese.

Tortellini salad is a lovely Italian appetizer or lunch recipe. With flavorful ingredients like pepperoni, fresh veggies, and both parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

I adore Caprese recipes like this simple salad with balsamic vinegar. With other fresh ingredients like grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, olive oil, salt, garlic, and fresh basil.

Italian marinated warm olives are a traditional appetizer. Add them to an antipasto plate, a martini, or pop a few before dinner is served.

I love a creamy broccoli cheese soup! This Italian recipe has shredded creamy Mozzarella cheese, shredded Italian cheese mix, and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. You will also need parsley, oregano, and red pepper flakes.

This pasta salad with peas, burrata, and prosciutto is out of this world amazing. The herby lemon vinaigrette and fresh and dried herbs will really put it over the top.

These sausage pizza bites are the best Italian appetizers. The personalized portions are fantastic for a party with homemade pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and hot Italian sausage with peppers.

Roasted Asparagus is an easy appetizer and healthy to boot. All you have to do is lightly coat them with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs. Don’t forget the shaved Parmesan cheese!