Budget Friendly Appetizers (Cheap, Easy & Crowd-Pleasing)

A few years back if somebody told me to host a gathering at my place, I'd be dreadful.

Though I've always loved having people at my place, but hosting made me picture expensive grocery bills. Id start calculating prices of cutlery, special cheeses, fancy ingredients. So, hosting felt like a burden.

Over the years, along with my cooking, my hosting techniques have also reshaped. I learned that I can use simple pantry staples, affordable proteins, flavor boosters, and great presentation skills to make budget friendly appetizers and impress my guests.

If you, like the older me, also hesitate to host people, this guide is for you.

Budget Rules for Appetizers

When planning to host, whether a small group or a large one, these are the three core tips to follow to prepare budget friendly appetizers.

1. Choose Some Anchor/Bases

Anchor or bases mean the foundational layers of appetizers that hold other ingredients on top. Even the most expensive looking appetizers will have these similar bases. So, the basic tip for low cost snacks is to start with inexpensive filling ingredients. These can produce large volume of appetizers with cost-saving planning.

Some of these anchor ingredients can be:

• Bread
• Potatoes
• Beans
• Pasta
• Crackers

2. Use Affordable Protein

Protein often result in being an expensive ingredient for the appetizers. But it doesn't have to. You can choose proteins from a number of affordable options.

• Eggs
• Tuna
• Chickpeas
• Shredded chiken (buy in bulk)
• Lentils
• Cottage cheese
• Beans

Egg salads, cheese balls, deviled eggs, tuna bites, all of these filling and delicious appetizers can be prepared using these affordable protein options.

FoodVLove gives you the easiest and customizable recipe for cheese balls.

Use Flavor Boosters

These are the basic pantry staples that all of us have already in our kitchens.

• Garlic
• Ginger
• Lemon juice
• Paprika powder
• Vinegar
• Herbs
• Chili flakes

These flavor boosters can enhance taste of even the simplest looking ingredients and make your appetizer look like an expensive one.

Cheap Appetizer Categories

You don't necessarily need expensive appetizers to host an event. Instead, choose wisely from cheap appetizers categories that fall within your budget.

Pantry-Based Dips

The top choices of budget friendly appetizers can be dops. They're cost effective and can stretch easily according to the group of people you're hosting.

Here ar some affordable dips ideas;

• White bean dip with garlic and lemon
• Hummus
• Salsa
• Creamy avocado dip
• Dill pickle dip

Serve these with crackers, bread slices, tortilla chips, or vegetables.

Bread-Based Bites

Many cheap appetizer ideas are made with bread bases. They're filling and easy to make, hence ideal to feed even larger audience.

• Bruschetta with tomato and herbs
• Egg salad crostini
• Garlic toast with melted cheese
• Mini bread pizza

Veggie Platters with Upgraded Dips

A colorful veggie platter looks great on appetizers table. Raw vegetables are cheaper to use. Especially if you use seasonal produce.

You can upgrade your game by using better dips with vegetable platters.

• Lemon, garlic, yogurt dip
• Spicy hummus
• Peanut dip
• Cream cheese and herbs

Baked Bites

Baking is economical as it doesn't require oil. Hnece, it cuts the costs.

You can prepare batches of baked appetizers for your guests. The crispy, golden crusts looks stunning and delicious on the tables.

• Baked potato wedges
• Chickpease patties
• Pinwheels
• Quesadilla
• Hand pies

How to Feed a Crowd Cheaply?

If you know the art of preparing budget friendly appetizers, feeding a larger crowd won't be an issue for you.

Make Fewer Options In Larger Portions

Feeding guests don't need many options but a smart strategy. Focus on making fewer  low cost snacks but in larger portions to feed your guests.

instead of making six different appetizers, make three but in good quantities. Insufficient food never impresses anyone. No matter how many choices have you kept.

Pair One Filling + One Fresh

Create a balance with your choices.

• Prepare one hearty option like bread-based, potato-based, or protein rich appetizers.
• Serve one fresh option of food like salad or vegetable platter.

Balanced meals tend to be more filling for everyone that too within a budget.

Use Seasonal Produce

For anything that requires vegetables and fruits, always go for seasonal produce. They're cheaper and better in taste.

Going for exotic fruits or veggies may look good but these produces are not budget friendly.

FooVLove gives you some amazing, budget friendly options of appetizers.

Presentation Tricks That Make It Look Expensive

This is the most important trick to make any simple food item look expensive and impressive- use great presentation skills!

Presentation makes a visible difference in how your food looks and taste too.

Add Granish

Small touches at the end of appetizers can enhance the way your dish looks like.

Sprinkle:

• Fresh herbs
• Chili flakes
• Lemon zest
• Olive oil

Arrange on Boards or Large Platters

Using boards for presentation of appetizers is so in these days. So, if you follow the trend and use boards or even platters to arrange appetizers, your table will automatically look like a treat.

Apart from this, anything grouped closely look larger in quantity. So for visual abundance use platters or boards.

Use Small Bowls & Height

Using small bowls and different heights can create a visually appealing table spread that looks professional and impressive.

• Use tiered stands to present your appetizers. You can present bread based appetizers on these stands.
• Serve dips in bowls and layer them on larger platters.
• Present higher items towards the back and small or flatter items towards the center of the platter or board to create visibility.
• Use different kinds of shapes paired together. Like putting round bowls in rectangular wooden boards to create a variety of shapes and textures.

These are some of the tips and tricks that I've learned over the years to host people at your place. Honestly, I think guests come over for having a fun atmosphere and delicious food. So, you should try to be more creative and strategic to serve budget friendly appetizer in your next party.

If you're looking for some of the best appetizers for parties, then read my blog on this topic: Best Appetizers for Parties (Easy, Crowd-Pleasing Ideas)

FAQs