If you’re planning to impress your dinner guests with delicious appetizers, finger foods are a perfect choice. Not only are they easy to serve and enjoy, but you can also create elegant bites without breaking the bank. This article offers a selection of finger foods that are budget-friendly yet have a sophisticated appeal.
Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
Figures from Foodwise.org show that “on the shelf, imported asparagus may be as cheap as £1.50 a pound.” This makes asparagus a great, inexpensive ingredient to use as part of a finger food snack. Wrapping the asparagus in prosciutto is easy to do and delicious.
Skewers
Food on a skewer that is cut nicely always looks expensive. Place round, red cherry tomatoes on the skewers, and alternate with wafers of folded ham and cubes of cheese. The more colorful your skewers and the neater your presentation, the more expensive they will look.
Garlic Bread
YouGov Today says that “garlic bread is the 1st most popular Italian dish and the 2nd most popular dish.” Yes, serving garlic bread as finger food at a dinner party is definitely a popular choice. Not only that, but garlic bread is inexpensive to buy, and its Italian roots make it feel more classy.
Bread Sticks
Everyone loves eating breadsticks when they are accompanied by the right dips. If you lay out some interesting and tasty dips that are made with some innovative ingredients, your simple breadsticks with cheese dip will turn into the talking point of the night. Assorted breadsticks with chives and cheese are also popular.
Stuffed Tomatoes
Tomatoes are inexpensive fruits to buy. You can stuff them with tuna salad, cream cheese, or whatever you fancy to turn them into a high-end finger food option. Don’t throw the hollowed-out portion of tomato away! Freeze that and add it to your next tomato-based pasta sauce.
Dough Cups
Pastry dough is easy to make from scratch and inexpensive to buy from the supermarket. It is great to fill with feta cheese, chopped tomatoes, and herbs. You can make mini dough cups to serve your guests with different ingredients. They will love sampling the various flavors.
Baked Brie
Brie is a popular cheese that makes a good main ingredient for finger foods. Baked brie topped with honey or assorted jam flavors is an awesome choice that will help you tend to a variety of tastes. Make sure you have a number of different jams on hand for your guests to sample.
Mozzarella Sticks
Mozzarella sticks might not look like much on their own, but the simple fact that they contain mozzarella takes them up a notch in people’s minds and makes them seem more fancy. Decorating your plate with some garnish and sliced cucumber will make the finger food even more presentable.
Stuffed Peppers
Bell peppers are relatively cheap to buy and come in eye-catching colors. You can fill the peppers with cream cheese, herbs, tomatoes, and spices, and then put them in the oven. Top them with grated cheese at the end to make them look even more appealing.
Nachos and Dips
There is an art to making nachos and dip look expensive. The key to it is in the dip. Provide your guests with a variety of interesting dips to choose from. Then, put a number of nacho flavors out there for your guests, and they can choose their favorite.
Mini Pizzas
Pizza in itself is not an expensive-looking meal, but mini pizzas are different. The intricacy of the pizzas at such a miniature size can make them look more expensive. And choosing the right toppings for your pizzas will make them very popular with your guests.
Fruit Skewers
Making fruit skewers look like expensive finger food is easy if you watch your presentation. Cut all of your pieces of fruit into uniform pieces. Make sure you alternate the colors of the fruit and keep them in the same pattern on all of the skewers.
Cucumber Bites
Cucumber is one of those vegetables that always looks nice. It is also the perfect size to make finger food. Cucumber slices topped with cream cheese and cherry tomatoes look very appetizing. Present them neatly with a garnish, and everyone will be eager to try one of your bites.
Spring Rolls
There is something about the exotic name and look of spring rolls that makes them seem like expensive finger food. Spring rolls are perfect when you have the right sauces for them. Make sure you have a couple of sauces to really bring this finger food to life.
Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuffed mushrooms are scrumptious finger foods for dinner parties. They look expensive because their main ingredient is mushrooms, but you can fill them quite economically with cheese and ham. Stuffed mushrooms are a crowd-pleaser, as statistics from Correlated.org show that “in general, 69 percent of people like mushrooms.”
Mini Bruschetta
Mini foods involving bread always look expensive. Making your own mini bruschetta is a great way to save money and serve something tasty at a dinner party. Beat the Budget recommends topping your baguettes with tomatoes, balsamic, and herbs to make the perfect finger food for vegan guests.
Bite-Size Quiches
Because quiches look so intricate, they are often seen as high-end food. This makes them the perfect dinner snack to serve to your guests. Quiche is a great option, as it is not eaten often. According to Tastewise, “On average, quiche is consumed 1.48 times every year.”
Tea Sandwiches
When you fill your tea sandwiches with the right ingredients and give your guests a variety of flavors, they can look expensive. Tasty sandwich spreads and fresh, crispy lettuce can make your finger sandwiches look upmarket. Seeded bread can also take your tea sandwiches up a notch.
Courgette Fritters
Courgette is a vegetable that people don’t eat often. It’s also inexpensive to buy and goes a long way. This makes it the perfect finger food to share with guests. Top your courgette fritters with cream cheese and a little spring onion to make them look even fancier.