30+ Easy Potato Appetizers

These garlic mashed potatoes are full of flavor and a great side dish to any meal. Enjoy this creamy and filling dish at your next family meal.

This dish is all the best of potatoes au gratin packed into the convenience of a sheet pan supper. There’s plenty of crispy, cheese topping that’s got a nice element of fresh thyme flavor, the corners and edges maintain a nice crisp, and the potatoes are perfectly cooked in the center. The ham and peas make this a full meal, but not so much that anyone will feel like this is anything but comfort food. When you’re adding the cheese sauce, shake the baking sheet a bit to make sure the sauce permeates the potato layers and settles in—this will result in perfect distribution and prevent any overflowing in the oven. 

These poppable hors d’oeuvres are like a fancier version of tater tots. Made with creamy mashed potatoes (you can use leftover mashed potatoes) and fried until crisp and golden on the outside, these melt-in-your-mouth Potato Puffs will be the hit of any party. Kids will love dunking them in ketchup, adults will love eating them drizzled with truffle oil and sprinkled with rosemary. (They also happen to pair perfectly with Prosecco.) Serve Potato Puffs piping hot, straight out of the fryer, because they will deflate a bit after sitting out for awhile. And be sure to make plenty of puffs to go around because they tend to go fast!

This party-perfect appetizer will be gone before the last guest even arrives. At a dinner party or holiday gathering, the main dish and a few incredible sides are really the stars of the show. But we can’t imagine a supper club or Christmas dinner without something to snack on as guests arrive, pour cocktails, and catch up before the meal is served. This five-ingredient recipe makes a bite-sized appetizer that every guest will rave about, and it has a high yield for your biggest crowds. But appetizers aren’t just for dinner occasions—For an at-home or away tailgate, you can’t beat an easy and portable snack like Mini Potato Skins. Our Test Kitchen professionals said these Mini Potato Skins pair well with beer, so cheers! A tip from the Test Kitchen: Place the sour cream in a piping bag for a nice neat dollop. If you don’t have a piping bag, simply cut off one corner of a ziplock plastic bag. These appetizers were made to travel. To take them to a party, prepare the recipe through Step 3 and place potato skins in a container. Complete Step 4 before serving.

Tender cooked beets add color and sweet flavor to your usual potato salad. We recommend using golden (yellow) beets in this recipe because red beets will turn the entire dish a bright shade of pink. A tangy sour cream-yogurt dressing flavored with fresh dill and lemon brings these two root vegetables together in perfect harmony.

Tender cooked beets add color and sweet flavor to your usual potato salad. We recommend using golden (yellow) beets in this recipe because red beets will turn the entire dish a bright shade of pink. A tangy sour cream-yogurt dressing flavored with fresh dill and lemon brings these two root vegetables together in perfect harmony.

This potato side would be welcome on just about any dinner plate, but it's particularly delicious paired with grilled steak or roasted chicken. Look for baby Yukon Gold in packages with the other potatoes; if you can’t find them, use 1 1/2 pounds of large Yukon Gold potatoes cut into 1-inch chunks. Other types of baby potatoes, such as red or white, aren’t the right texture for this side.

These crispy, salty skillet potatoes are a fantastic side dish for any number of meals. However, we especially love them served with our Braised Octopus in Tomato Sauce.

This bright and tangy potato salad pairs wonderfully with the ham. We prefer buttery Castelvetrano olives if you can find them.

A stovetop sauté and an oven braise give the spuds a bronzed exterior and creamy interior. The stock mixture reduces in the oven, giving the potatoes their own rich gravy. Serve with a simply roasted chicken or pork loin.

Paprika, fresh oregano, and olives turn everyday roasted potatoes into a spectacular side. Serve with a chorizo-flecked frittata or pan-grilled steak or chicken.

Double this recipe to serve with scrambled eggs for tomorrow's breakfast or a salad for lunch.

If you thought cheese fries were a brilliant triumph of culinary design, wait until you bring crisped roast beef, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese sauce, and au jus to the party. Inspired by a classic French dip sandwich and comparable to a roast beef poutine, these decadently beef-loaded fries are bringing a whole new level of swagger to the “meat and potatoes” meal construct. We’d suggest sticking with steak fries when making this built-for-sharing snack, as you need a hearty spud to stand up to the French dip treatment. 

This fun take on scalloped potatoes is so delicious you’ll want to tell all your friends about it. The potatoes are wonderfully browned on the top, but perfectly tender and creamy on the inside. Combining butter and oil gives the potatoes a nice flavor and also helps prevent them from burning. For best results, use potatoes that are all the same size. Slightly larger potatoes work best, since you can trim them down to the right size. You want the potatoes to brown without burning the butter, so don’t rush and keep the heat controlled. Don’t completely cover up the browned potatoes with cream so you—and your guests—can still see the brown sear. 

If you prefer to explore the savory side of sweet potatoes, make these roasted sweet potato wedges for an easy and delicious fall dish. All it takes is a sprinkle of fresh rosemary and standard pantry spices to take these potatoes from overtly sweet to simple, salty-sweet perfection. Spread your potato wedges in a single layer rather than overcrowding them in the roasting pan to ensure they get nicely browned and crisp. Leave them in the oven a little longer for a satisfying crunch. Toasty on the outside and soft in the center, these oven roasted sweet potato wedges are a guaranteed way to get veggies on every family member’s plate.

This is a marriage of two of the greatest comfort foods of our time: Rotel dip and mashed potatoes. We’re talking very satisfying and suuuuuuper-rich. This would be great served with a protein like pork chops, but you can also add a little milk to turn this into a dip. This method of mashing potatoes essentially emulsifies whole butter into hot potatoes, and it’s important that you work quickly and don’t let the potatoes get too cool. The potatoes will continue to break down as you add the butter, so don’t overmash them. 

Everyone will gobble up these spicy grilled sweet potato fries topped with honey and salty queso fresco. Serve them as a fun appetizer or alongside burgers or your favorite grilled protein. Microwaving the sweet potatoes before they hit the grill ensures the fries will be tender throughout and helps them cook up quickly.

No need to rush to the store—we’ve got the perfect potato salad recipe right here. Creamy and rich, with hints of tangy vinegar and crunchiness from fresh vegetables, this classic potato salad is hearty and perfectly delicious. Russet potatoes are the ideal here, because they break down a little and make the potato salad creamier. Also, feel free to add in fresh herbs or more veggies to customize it to your tastes—think of this recipe as a basic canvas for foolproof potato salad. 

Sweet potatoes make a wonderful base for a creamy dip, creating a smooth texture and faintly sweet flavor. Toasting the curry paste in the first step helps to deepen the flavor and is worth the extra couple of minutes.

Things we love: Impressive appetizers that require minimal time and minimal ingredients. Things we really love: Impressive appetizers that require minimal time and minimal ingredients, and make use of the leftovers in your fridge—i.e. these easy, cheesy potato purses. Supposing you’re not looking to use up leftover spuds, you can also substitute prepared, store-bought mashed potatoes, such as Bob Evans brand, in this recipe.   

Ditch the sodium-bomb seasoning packets and sour cream-and-mayonnaise–laden dip (which can pack a small meal’s worth of calories and sat fat into a single serving) for our homemade dip. And be patient with the caramelizing process—slowly sizzled onions have noteworthy sweetness and concentrated umami. You’ll know the onions are done when they become deep chestnut in color and nearly melt-in-your-mouth tender. And because no dip is complete without a dipper, baked sweet potatoes will satisfy your chip craving for half the calories of most bagged varieties. Dehydrating the potatoes in the oven before roasting helps them develop crispy edges and tender centers. With big flavor and less heft, our healthier ode to the classic is a delicious way to sneak in extra vegetables.

Side dish or snack? We say both! If you think sweet potatoes are just for Thanksgiving, give these spicy wedges a try. The smoky spice blend is easy to whip up ahead of time, but the potatoes are best eaten while hot. Though it’s tempting to crowd the air fryer basket and cook everything in one batch, resist the urge—air flow is crucial for maximum crispiness. Not a fan of cilantro? Try basil, parsley, or fresh thyme leaves.

This starchy side rarely scores points for presentation—until now. Toss the thinly sliced potatoes in herb-seasoned butter, and bake them in a muffin pan to make these amazing looking—and tasting—little stacks.

When the chip craving strikes, look no further than these healthy, homemade chips. Pro tip: You'll need a mandoline to slice the potato thin enough to crisp.

A middle ground between waxy red potatoes and starchy russets, buttery Yukon Golds are great in potato salad.

You’ve seen the Internet-famous “melting potatoes;” now here’s how to do them in your Instant Pot—i.e. without cranking your oven up to 500°. Buttery, creamy, perfectly salty Instant Pot Melting Potatoes make for a divinely decadent celebration of potato—no cream or cheese necessary. If you want to double the recipe, you’ll need to brown your potatoes in batches, but can steam them all together. Feel free to garnish with a sprinkling of whatever herbs you desire; parsley, sage, or rosemary are all great options.