Hearty Chicken Appetizers

Updated: March 12, 2015
Appetizers often serve as dinner during the hectic holidays, so make your dinner worthwhile with these satisfying chicken starters.
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Honey-Sesame Chicken Wings

Photo: Leo Gong; Styling: Dan Becker
Honey-Sesame Chicken Wings Recipe
Cover your grilled wings in a sweet Asian-style sauce instead of a hot and spicy sauce and watch them disappear. They're great for appetizers as well as a casual dinner.
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Chicken-Chipotle Nachos with Crema

James Carrier
Chicken-Chipotle Nachos with Crema Recipe
Nachos are always popular, and this recipe is great for parties because it has several make-ahead steps. Using rotisserie chicken makes it even more convenient.

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Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut-Miso Sauce

Randy Mayor; Mary Catherine Muir
Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut-Miso Sauce Recipe
Wrap strips of cooked chicken, bean sprouts, carrot and cucumber in lettuce leaves instead of rice paper wrappers for a colorful Asian-style first course. The peanut sauce will rival that of your favorite Thai restaurant.
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Honey-Ginger Chicken Bites

Photo: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro, Laura Zapalowski
Honey-Ginger Chicken Bites Recipe
These sweet and tangy bite-size chicken pieces are sure to be gobbled up quickly when you put them out on a holiday appetizer buffet. This glazy chicken is also great served over rice for a hearty main dish.

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Haitian Chicken Pâté Puffs

Photo: Kwaku Alston; Styling: Kevin Crafts
Haitian Chicken Pâté Puffs Recipe
Rather than a more traditional pâté, a chicken picadillo is first made and then whirred up for a filling in these little first-course puff-pastry packets.

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Bean and Chicken Taquitos

Photo: Andrea M. Gómez; Styling: Miranda Jones
Bean and Chicken Taquitos Recipe
A taquito is basically a “little taco" and consists of small rolled up tortilla filled with beef or chicken and beans and then fried. Serve these tasty tortilla bites with salsa and guacamole for a party appetizer a light dinner.
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Chicken Potpie Empanadas

Photo: Antonis Achilleos
Chicken Potpie Empanadas Recipe
Transform basic chicken pot pie ingredients—chicken, veggies, pastry crust—into savory Spanish-style turnovers that are great for parties or a light dinner.

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Chicken and Lemon Pot Stickers

Photography: Karry Hosford
Chicken and Lemon Pot Stickers Recipe
Use ground chicken, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms for the savory Asian-flavored filling, and serve the pot stickers with the tangy sauce.

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Grilled Herbed Chicken Drumettes

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Melanie Clarke
Grilled Herbed Chicken Drumettes Recipe
If it's a little too chilly for grilling in your part of the country, you can broil these drumettes in the oven. The tangy white sauce is what makes this recipe distinctive, so don't shortchange yourself by using a bottled barbecue sauce.
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Country Chicken Pâté

Country Chicken Pâté Recipe
Pâté is a classic appetizer that's typically fairly high in fat, but this one is lighter because of the skinless chicken, low-fat sour cream and fat-free cream cheese. Serve with baguette slices or sturdy crackers.

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Baked Hoisin Chicken Buns

Becky Luigart-Stayner; Melanie J. Clarke and Celine Chenoweth
Baked Hoisin Chicken Buns Recipe
This shortcut version of the steamed buns you often see at Chinese dim sum restaurants features frozen bread dough instead of a homemade dough and is baked instead of steamed.

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Saffron-Marinated Chicken Skewers

Becky Luigart-Stayner
Saffron-Marinated Chicken Skewers Recipe
Marinating the chicken pieces in a saffron-scented yogurt mixture gives this Indian-style chicken an exotic flavor, yet it's super-easy to make.
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Honey Chicken Wings

Honey Chicken Wings Recipe
Start with a jar of salsa for this 4-ingredient appetizer wing recipe. Simply adding honey and ginger to store-bought salsa turns it into a super-flavorful coating.

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Chicken-Cheese Spread Gift Box

Chicken-Cheese Spread Gift Box Recipe
Bring the retro appetizer that everyone at the party's talking about. Chill a chicken-cream cheese spread in a loaf pan, then make it into the shape of a box by cutting the loaf in half crosswise and placing one half on top of the other.

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Fancy Crescent Chicken

Fancy Crescent Chicken Recipe
These easy chicken appetizers feature crescent dough rectangles filled with a creamy canned chicken mixture and topped with butter. They're great pick-up appetizers for parties or to serve with salad or soup at dinner.
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