Labor Day Appetizers: 17 Crowd Pleasers

A party just isn’t a party without some tasty appetizers to kick things off, right? They’re those little bites that tell everyone, “Hey, the fun’s about to start!”

With Labor Day around the corner and summer winding down, it’s the perfect time to enjoy appetizers that are not only delicious but also set the tone for a great meal ahead.

In this collection, I’m sharing some of my go-to appetizer recipes that are sure to make your Labor Day gathering feel special without all the fuss.

1. Fresh Mango Salsa

Bright and decidedly festive, my first entry off the list is best served with black bean lettuce wraps. But you may opt for topping tacos, burrito bowls, and spicy Cajun chicken or salmon.

2. Mango Prosciutto Appetizers

These mango prosciutto appetizers are easy to prepare and can be ready in just 15 minutes. They can also be served in small batches. Combine them with a few mango pieces to create a divine-looking and delicious entrée.

3. Taco Cups

One of our most popular snacks on Pinterest, these easy-to-make and fun-to-eat finger foods are about the size of cupcakes but filled with your favorite taco fillings. Our recipe has a ground beef taco filling, but you can customize fillings a thousand ways. Give these a try sometime. The secret is in the muffin tin and flexible street-taco sized Mission flour tortillas.

4. Homemade Goat-Cheese Pecan Log

A little nostalgia here but very much the delicious party platter addition we’ve always wanted in a luscious, handsome cheese log. Soft, creamy, savory and without the processed bilge of our youth, this appetizer favorite is downright craveable.

5. Grape Jelly BBQ Meatballs

This super easy recipe only requires five ingredients – frozen homestyle meatballs, jelly, chili sauce, lemon, and crushed red pepper. The jelly is the obvious star of the recipe. You can use any brand and even go for apricot or strawberry jelly.

6. Grilled RealSweet Vidalia Onions with Bacon

These pictures aren’t great, but as an appetizer, these whole, sweet onions with a core of melted butter and wrapped with thick slices of bacon is bonkers. Sure they’d make a great side dish to steak or chicken, but we dug into these by themselves, knife and fork in hand.

It takes a bit of patience, but the presentation of turning a vegetable into a comfort food is unparalleled.

7. Honey-Roasted Figs

Roasted figs are a natural pairing with soft cheese like mascarpone, goat, ricotta, and blue. There’s a reason why cheese platters traditionally include figs!

The natural sweetness of figs works so well with creamy, nutty cheeses. If you want to add a tangy component to the dish, you can drizzle a little bit of balsamic reduction on top of the figs before serving them.

8. Grilled Pineapple

Hear me out. You probably already have the grill hot, right? This delectable nosh is everything: an appetizer, snack, side and dessert. The hard part will be keeping a slice for yourself; a whole pineapple makes about 10 thick rings so make sure you get the first piece. Pro Tip: 7 minutes each side on high and only turn them once.

9. Air Fryer Mini Bell Peppers

When I say this is a one-ingredient appetizer, I’m totally serious; the oil is optional. Wash and dry them well and set in a very hot air fryer (450F) and they come out beautifully charred and sweet. Grab a bag of those seedless red ones if you want, but no one will notice the seeds.

More often than not, I don’t even cut the stems off.

10. Skinny Bell Pepper Nacho Boats

There’s no shame when you’re munching with these skinny bell pepper boats. Their flavor, positively Southwest, is just insanely delicious! Your Labor Day party is made better with these.

11. Shrimp Ceviche

This Mexican-inspired ceviche version is all light, fresh, and teeming with flavor. With citrus-marinated shrimp, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, avocados, and jalapenos, this is a very good, quick ceviche.

12. Greek Salad Skewers

I’m just going to say it: I’m so proud of these. Not only do they look cool, but no one has to dip their hands into a chip bowl a dozen times to get enough to eat. Hearty, flavorful, practically healthy, and, of course, who doesn’t like food on a stick? We got ours to stand on the cubes of cheese, but cut yourself a break (see what I did there) and lay them down on a platter if you are in a hurry.

A can of olives, a container of cherry tomatoes, a block of feta, olive oil, and Italian seasoning. Stab! Boom, done.

13. Baked Zucchini Appetizer (Cheesy Fritters)

Use up the last of your garden zooks in these absolutely delish fritters. You can eat them at room temp as easily as fresh out of the oven, because the flavor is true north, my friends. The biggest chore here is either julienning the squash by hand if you don’t have a spiral cutter. But these are one of the best ways to get in your veggies effortlessly.

Bake these in your toaster oven or air fryer for crispness without heating your whole house up.

14. Mini BLTs

BLTs are an all-rounder great idea, and if you’re keeping things indoors for Labor Day this year, grab a fresh baguette, oven-bake a whole pan of bacon at once, and you’re on your way to the cutest mini BLTs ever. You may prefer the crunch of a romaine or iceberg lettuce, which I found holds up better if these are going to sit out on a platter for more than 30 minutes!

15. 3-Ingredient Chili Cheese Dip

We challenged ourselves to strip down a dip to the basics, and I’m still surprised this came out so good. I’m usually a fan of overdoing (and overthinking) everything, so if you have a slow-cooker, a can of no-bean chili, velveeta (or the generic equivalent) and a can of mild or hot Rotel tomatoes, you’re in bidness.

Yes, some kind of dipping vehicle like tortilla chips are important, but when I say this is stellar on top of chili fries? Or these air fryer cheese fries?? Oh, mama!!!

16. Goat Cheese-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Geez, these are good. There’s something totally poppable about the sweet ‘mater against the tangy, creamy goat cheese. Trimming off the bottom helps these stand up, and a melon baller or grapefruit spoon will help get the “guts” out of the cherry tomatoes. These make a great send-off for summer.

17. Twice Baked Loaded Fingerling Potatoes

Locked and loaded, these do take a little time to prepare. But if you have a small group that you really want to impress with food that looks casual and tastes restaurant-made, this Labor Day appetizer is for YOU. As soon as you think they have enough bacon, add more bacon.

The bottom line

We are big snackers around here, and while Labor Day is famous for picnics, cookouts, grilling and pool parties, if you’re beating the heat this year, we have slow cooker meatballs or dip, Greek Salad Skewers, salsa, and more, all to help you keep the party going in the A/C too!