Crock pot holiday appetizers recipes are great to make because they are simple and easy and can be done without your really worrying too much about how long it takes to make it or having to keep a lot of time devoted into watching it cook. All you need to do is put the ingredients in the pot and wait for it to cook – letting you focus on more important things getting ready for your holiday party besides cooking!

Before I get to my recipes below though, I have to say probably one of the best things you can do is get yourself a really good recipe book for slow cooker recipes, because you can end up spending hours online searching for stuff, never really finding what you’re looking for, and it gets frustrating! The Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Slow Cooker Book is one of the best for anyone to start with if you don’t already have a great arsenal of crockpot recipe books. (Though I’m assuming if you did, you wouldn’t be here visiting my website, would you?) It’s really reasonably priced, too – for less than $15 you’ll have over 400 tasty crockpot recipes, everything from cherry cobbler to chipolte chicken and more. Not to mention, it has over 45 pages dedicated exclusively to appetizers! You can get a sneak peak of the inside and all of the recipes included here

So, use these recipes below for now – but if you love using your slow cooker as much as I do, it is certainly worth it to invest in a good cookbook.

Here’s some of my favorite easy slow cooker recipes for holiday parties:

Chicken Barbecue Bites:

You will need:
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
Your favorite BBQ Sauce
Water as needed
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper. Combine with sauce in the crock pot – the chicken should be entirely submersed. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. (Cooking times will vary depending on the model of slow cooker you are using). Chicken should be an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve with toothpicks.

Bacon Wrapped Kielbasa

You Will Need:
1 pound of bacon, strips cut into thirds
2 pounds of kielbasa, sliced into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick pieces
Brown Sugar

Directions:
Wrap the bacon around the kielbasa and arrange them in the crockpot so they are all evenly lining the bottom for the first row. Cover with brown sugar generously. Then stack more on top for the next rows, covering each row with brown sugar. Simmer on low for 4-5 hours.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

You Will Need:
1 pound of cooked chicken, cut up into very small pieces
1 package of cream cheese, softened
8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup of red hot pepper sauce

Directions: Combine ranch dressing, cream cheese, and hot pepper sauce together and stir in chicken in the slow cooker. (Canned chicken can also work for this, but that’s not nearly as good!). Cover with shredded cheddar cheese and allow to simmer on the low setting until the dip is hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips and celery.

Really Yummy Crockpot Mushrooms

You Will Need:
2 pounds of medium sized white mushrooms
1 stick of butter
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth

Combine all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and allow to simmer for 4-5 hours on low heat or 2-3 hours on high heat.

All of these easy slow cooker recipes are perfect for the holidays or casual get togethers with family and friends. Using very simple and basic ingredients, you can enjoy these easy crockpot holiday appetizer recipes any time you want a simple and easy to make dish!

If you’d like 400 more recipes for your slow cooker, don’t forget to check out Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Slow Cooker Book – it’s seriously well worth it if you’ve been searching online for hours trying to find the right recipe!

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These Thanksgiving Appetizers will be having everybody thankful you’ve all been able to come together to enjoy some great food and time together. They’re easy to make and suitable for any Thanksgiving Day feast.

Cranberry Dip

Cranberries are a must have for many when it comes to Thanksgiving, and this colorful dip looks and tastes great.

You Will Need These Ingredients:

1 cup of raw Cranberries (Frozen works well – just make sure you defrost them)
1 cup of sugar or sugar substitute (possibly more to taste)
1 apple
1 orange
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
Pinch of cinnamon
1 eight ounce package of cream cheese, softened
Food Processor/Chopper

Directions: The first thing to do is to take your orange and peel it. You are going to want to take the peel and chop it in your food chopper as finely as you can get it. If you don’t happen to have a food processor, you can always grate the peel off the orange before you peel it using the fine edge of a regular cheese grater. Next, you will want to cut your apple into smaller pieces – some like to do this by hand, others want to use the processor. It is really up to you – you don’t want your apples to turn into applesauce (though that does work as a substitute if you’re in a pinch!) – but you don’t want them too big either. Whichever you are the most comfortable with is fine!

Next, you’re going to want to chop up your cranberries. Now, cranberries are horribly bitter – don’t even try to eat one by itself, it will likely make you choke and gag – so you’re going to want to add a lot of sugar. I usually like to start with 1 cup and then add more if need be. I’ll typically add the sugar in while I’m using the food processor to chop it up and then after I mix all the remaining fruits and nuts I’ll determine whether or not I want to add any more.

So, we have our oranges, our apples, and our cranberries. Go ahead and mix those all together and add in your chopped nuts. (I like pecans, but walnuts are just as yummy!) At this point, if you think it needs a little more sugar (you shouldn’t have that “ooh that’s sour!” look on your face!) then by all means go ahead and add some teaspoon by teaspoon until the right flavor is there. (It’s going to depend too on the fruits you use – some apples are sweeter than others) – you can also add in a pinch of cinnamon. I like just a tiny hint of it, or you can add more if you think it would be appropriate and you’ve got a cinnamon loving crowd.

Now you’re ready to serve it. I usually will take a platter that I plan on serving it on and place the cream cheese on it. Now, I think a regular old block of cream cheese just looks bad straight out of the package, it’s got those little dimples on it from the foil and the corners are not really perfectly square – so shape it a little and smooth it over with a knife. You can make it football shaped if you’ve got a lot of football fans watching the game while they eat or you can make it a nicer looking rectangle or if you’re really crafty shape it into something creative. Then I will spoon the cranberry mixture over it so that it looks nice. I like to serve it with thin wheat crackers, but it goes good with just about anything, even saltines. By the way, the topping for the dip is actually my cranberry relish recipe, too – so if you’d like save a little bit of it for dinner or make a double batch if you think you’ll need it!

Oven Roasted Pecans

Pecans are another traditional Thanksgiving favorite for everyone. Since we like to make pecan pies, it’s no trouble to make these the same time the night before our big feast.

1 egg white
1 tablespoon of butter, melted
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups pecans (or more, if you happen to have lots, you just may need to make a little bit more of the mix)
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar firmly packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions: Combine sugar, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a plastic zipper bag and set aside.

Melt the butter and then add in the vanilla and egg white and beat until all ingredients are blended together. Stir in the pecans, making sure each one is well coated with the liquid mixture. Then, transfer the pecans into the plastic bag with the dry ingredients and shake, shake, shake until they are all nicely coated with it.

Place on a lined baking pan (I use foil or parchment paper, both work just as well and help make it easier to clean up) and bake in a 350 degree oven for 4-5 minutes, then turn over and bake another 4-5 minutes until nice and roasted.

Other Thanksgiving Favorites:

Sausage Cheese Balls: A holiday favorite, made with sausage, cheese, and biscuit mix.

Stuffed Mushrooms: What’s Thanksgiving without the stuffing? You’ll love these stuffed mushrooms!

Simple Corn Fritters: Celebrate the first plant grown by the pilgrims with these easy corn fritters!

Appetizer Meatballs: These easy appetizer meatballs will be sure to disappear fast!

Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving appetizer recipe to share? Tell us about it in the comments below. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

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These 4th of July Appetizer Recipes are perfect for entertaining guests at a Fourth of July picnic and gathering around with family and friends. We’ve included some American themed snack recipes as well as few classics, such as deviled eggs.

Fresh Fruit Kabobs
Fresh fruit kabobs are healthy and delicious and are easy to prepare. You can use any fruits that you like, slice into chunks and then slide onto 4 inch skewers. Just be careful when you are poking the skewers through the fruit – it is very easy to accidentally stab yourself! Never take your eyes off the skewer!

Here are some ideas for different fruits you can alternate on each skewer:
Cantelope
Pineapple
Strawberries
Apples
Kiwi
Grapes
Bananas

You can serve with your favorite flavored yogurt as a dip for this light and refreshing appetizer.

Red, White, and Blue Party Mix:
You will need:
3 cups Chex cereal
1 cup miniature marshmallows (white)
2 cups Blue and Red M&M’s (You can either look for specially marked packages that are red white and blue, or buy 1 big bag and elist some kids into sorting them all out!)
1 1/2 cup mini pretzels
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl and serve.

Red, White, and Bleu Chicken Bites
This is an easy to make appetizer using pre-cooked chicken tenders. The red, white, and “Bleu” comes from the dipping sauce.

You Will Need:
1 Large Bag Pre-Cooked Frozen Chicken Tenders
Skewers or Toothpicks
Barbecue Sauce, Ranch Dressing, and Bleu cheese dressing

Directions: Bake chicken tenders according to package directions. For larger appetizers you can skew each tender directly onto a skewer, or for smaller bite sized appetizers you may want to cut each into about 1 inch sections and then stick a toothpick through the middle. Serve with the sauces each in their own dish for dipping.

American Flag Taco Dip
This is a creative appetizer idea that will be sure to have others smiling and thinking to themselves “Isn’t that clever?” It’s not too difficult to do either.

You Will Need:
1 Bag Blue Tortilla Chips, with 1 cup of crushed chips set aside
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 Can Refried Beans
1 cup Sour Cream
2 Cups Shredded Cheese
1 pound ground beef, cooked with taco seasoning added

Directions: Layer beans, then meat, then shredded cheese in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Lightly spoon sour cream over entire pan. Use the crushed blue tortilla chips to form the blue part of the American flag in the top left hand corner. Then, carefully spoon tomatoes over to create 13 stripes going across.

Deviled Eggs
Fourth of July and deviled eggs seem to go hand in hand, so we’ve included this recipe. Some people have dyed the eggs blue or red colors with food coloring to go with the “red, white, and blue” theme, but that’s entirely optional.

You Will Need:
12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise in half
1/2 cup Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing (Miracle Whip)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Paprika

Directions: After slicing the eggs in half lengthwise, remove the yolks and smash in a bowl with a fork. Once the yolks are mashed up pretty good add mayonnaise or salad dressing, mustard, salt, and pepper and mix until blended and smooth. If needed, you may need to slowly add 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise at a time, depending on the size of the egg yolks and the consistency you want to have. Spoon the mixture back into the eggs and then sprinkle paprika to taste to add color. Keep refrigerated.

Red, White, Blue Cheese Spread

You will need:
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1 red bell pepper, chopped finely
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix cream cheese, lemon juice, onion powder, and garlic powder together. Add dried blueberries and pepper and mix. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Do you have any other favorite Fourth of July Appetizer Recipes to share? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

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