Dinner party starter recipes
Get your next gathering off to a delicious start with one of our dinner party starter recipes.
These impressive entrées include dinner party classics like elegant soups, salads, tartlets and terrines. There are plenty of make-ahead dishes and lots of plant-based ideas for vegetarians and vegans. Or why not opt for something a little fancy in the form of scallop recipes? Start planning your next dinner party with a browse through these test kitchen-approved starter ideas.
That’s the starter taken care of; how about the main course? Choose from 100+ easy dinner party recipes.
Showing 1-16 of 92 recipes
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Blood orange recipes
Brown shrimp, chicory and blood orange salad
Crisp chicory leaves are draped in creamy dressing, spiked with blood orange and the briny sweetness of brown shrimp in this starter recipe.
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Easy
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Marmite
Jason Atherton’s Marmite tarts
Jason Atherton's Marmite tarts are a mind-bending combination of sweet pastry and a custard filling laced with Marmite and HP sauce,
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Medium
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Recipes from restaurants
Prawn toast bao with burnt peach chilli sauce
Julie Lin shares her incredible prawn toast bao recipe. Crispy bao are stuffed with juicy prawns and served with peach hot sauce.
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Easy
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New Year's Eve recipes
Mini larb buns
Ravinder Bhogal's mini larb buns are stuffed with pork and prawns, plus plenty of aromatics. Serve as a New Year's or dinner party starter.
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Medium
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Dinner party starters
Paul Ainsworth’s The Mariners taramasalata on toast
Taramasalata on toast makes a winning dinner party starter or snack. “There’s no comparison to the homemade stuff," says chef Paul Ainsworth.
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Medium
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Camembert
Baked camembert with harissa honey
Oozy, gooey cheese drizzled with a fiery, sweet topping; this easy baked camembert with honey recipe is perfect for entertaining.
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Easy
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Pâté
Mushroom and tarragon pâté with roasted grapes and chestnuts
This easy pâté makes a pretty vegetarian starter, Roasted grapes bring bursts of sweetness while earthy chestnuts add festiveness.
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Easy
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Crab
Crab crumpet rarebit with pickled walnut ketchup
Crab raises welsh rarebit to the height of luxury in this impressive Christmas starter recipe. Make the rarebit and crab mixes a day ahead.
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Easy
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Pears
Beef carpaccio with pickled pear and parmesan mayonnaise
This carpaccio is a masterpiece on the plate, with butter-soft beef, pear, umami-rich mayo and crunchy nuts, A perfect make-ahead starter.
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Medium
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Steak
Best-of-the-best steak tartare
Good steak tartare is a thing of beauty. The French dish is a restaurant classic, but with quality beef fillet, it’s simple to make at home.
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Medium
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Prawn cocktails
Prawn cocktail platter
Create the ultimate prawn cocktail platter with proper marie rose dip made with homemade mayo, prawns and crisp lettuce leaves.
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Easy
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Crab
Emily Scott’s Cornish crab, toast and mayo
Cornwall-based chef Emily Scott’s recipe for crab on toast is delightfully simple but special, enriched with just a little lemon and garlic.
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Easy
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Easy starters
Pork rillettes
Pork rillettes, a French classic, is perfect served with a crusty baguette and pickles. Learn the art of meat potting with our easy recipe.
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Easy
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Fakeaways
Mushroom jiaozi dumplings
Jiaozi are a versatile Chinese dumpling, served steamed, boiled or fried These vegan jiaozi are packed with three kinds of mushroom.
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Medium
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Harissa
Harissa, feta and filo cigars
Tangy feta meets fiery harissa and sweet honey, in this filo cigars recipe. The perfect pre-dinner bite or fancy snack – no humidor required.
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Easy
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Houmous
Cauliflower houmous with pickled onions and cauliflower
This rustic cauliflower houmous will ruin you for the shop-bought variety. Top with pickles and serve with crisp lavosh or toasted pittas.
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Medium
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