11 Luscious Lemon Appetizers

You know how there are some simple foods that bring certain sunny days and a bright feeling to mind and just lighten your mood? This is how lemon is for me. And these Lemon Appetizers are just the best appetizer recipes. 

Sometimes we have party guests over just as an excuse to make a few of these. 

Leftovers are great, of course, but a dinner party is an easy way to wow with these delightful apps and then not have to eat them all yourself.

While lemon may seem to be the poster child for summer, I can’t wait to add them to my list of fall holiday hors d’oeuvres too.

It’s gotten a bit hard to find Meyer Lemon fruits here in Texas, but they are my favorite lemons.

Mild and sweet, Meyers are not quite as sour as a regular lemon.

1. Lemon Ricotta Bruschetta

This recipe is a must-have for your next party. This may truly be a perfect appetizer.

Imagine slicing and toasting a freshly made French baguette. 

Then spread lemon-infused ricotta on top of that. Then drizzling olive oil and honey on top of that.

We are not done, though, because next we top that with fresh basil, lemon zest, and salt. 

The fresh herbs really nail this one.

Oh my!

Making the lemon ricotta for this recipe is quite easy to do. 

All that you need to do is juice the lemon and mix that juice with the ricotta cheese.

Now, do note that you will want lemon zest for this recipe so be sure to zest that lemon before you juice it.

2. Creamy Feta Dip

This creamy garlic and lemon feta dip is perfect for your next party. 

You can dip pita chips, carrot sticks, slices of English cucumber, or your favorite pieces of crusty bread in this dip.

Whatever you use as your shoveling device, you will be happy.

This dip is so easy to make. You will just need some cream cheese, Greek yogurt (or sour cream), feta cheese, fresh lemon juice, fresh garlic and some seasonings.

You can serve this dip chilled or you can heat it up in the oven and serve it hot to get one of those gooey cheesy dips. 

You have a lot of options with this yummy feta spread cheese dip. 

The best part is that this is one of those easy appetizer recipes that you can put together in just a few short minutes.

By the way, if you zest the lemon before you juice it, you could sprinkle that zest on top for a pretty display.

3. Meyer Lemon Crab Bites

This recipe has two of my favorite foods in it. It has crab meat and radishes. So when I saw this combo I got so excited.

The radishes serve as the cracker that holds the crab meat mixture. 

This is seasoned with minced shallots, Meyer lemons, dijon mustard and pomegranate seeds.

This is a finger food for the record books. Make a bunch of these and don’t forget to invite me to the party.

4. Meyer Lemon, Kale And Goat Cheese Flatbread

The secret to serving a flatbread as an appetizer is to cut it into small bite size pieces before you serve it.

This helps people know that it is ok to pick up a piece and munch down.

You can make this delicious lemon appetizer in less than 30 minutes.

Kale and lemon are buddies and go together so well. The flavor combo will really shine through in this flatbread.

Then combining those two flavors with goat cheese, garlic and olive oil makes for one delicious snack. 

This is one of my personal favorites that accompany a perfect cheese board.

5. Lemon Garlic Hummus

I must admit that I have a new love for hummus. Up until about three years ago, you couldn’t pay me to eat this stuff.

Now, I can’t get enough of it so when I saw this lemon appetizer recipe I was sold.

This hummus is exploding with flavor and lemon is so bright in this recipe.

Just keep this one in an airtight container and it should stay fresh for a few days in the fridge.

6. Lemony Tuscan White Bean Dip

A good bean dip is just fantastic and fun to eat. I love dipping chips and veggies.

All that you need to make this dip is a few ingredients. You will want some white beans (cannellini beans), lemon and lemon zest, olive oil, garlic and herbs.

In just about 15 minutes you will have your dip. 

Be warned, you are gonna want to make this again and again and again. It’s a serious crowd favorite.

Get those carrot sticks ready. Or do it up with tortilla chips.

Spear kalamata olives to offer alongside this dip for extra pizzazz.

7. Mini Salmon Cakes

What is it about mini foods that are so darn fabulous? These salmon appetizer bites are just so delish.

So you mention mini salmon cakes and I am in. Then you add in a lemon aioli sauce to boot and I am giddy.

You can prep this recipe in just five minutes. Then you cook them for 40 minutes.

The cakes are made from fresh salmon, sautéed onion, breadcrumbs, parsley, mayo, mustard, eggs and lemon. 

The aioli is made with mayo, lemon, garlic and other seasonings. You can make it spicy or not.

8. Lemon Chex Mix

Serve Chex mix at your next party and you are practically guaranteed to see extra smiles. 

This snack mix has a bit of tart and a bit of sweet. This is one of those finger foods that is just fun to eat.

You don’t need a ton of ingredients for this lemon snack. You need Chex, white baking chips, lemon, butter and powdered sugar.

Yes, you can mix this quickly and easily. It’s a great appetizer if you have a sweet tooth.

9. Lemon Strawberry Caprese

So let’s talk about the ingredients of these lemon strawberry appetizers. There is so much yummy here.

With this one you will combine juicy strawberries, tart lemon, refreshing basil and Mozzarella. 

All of these ingredients are delicious all on their own so combining them together makes for something beautiful and delicious.

Take one little bite of these hors d’oeuvres and you will be in a happy place.

10. Lemony Cucumber Bites

These lovelies are made with lemon, lemon zest, cucumber, cream cheese and fresh dill.

For this lemon appetizer you need cream cheese, dill, lemon, English cucumbers and quality bread.

I love to use fresh plain white bread for these type of appetizers but you can use French bread or even pretzel bread.

It’s pretty easy to add this to your table full of appetizer spreads.

11. Smoked Salmon Ricotta Bites

With this appetizer you get a lemon dill ricotta mixture spread on top of a crusty garlic baguette.

Smoked salmon is a real treat. Most of us don’t have it on an average day. 

So when I see it on top of a crusty garlic bread like this, I get so excited.

My only question is how many will you eat?

The bottom line

Does the flavor of lemon make you as happy as it does me? 

I am looking forward to the next game day party so I can get two or five of these healthy lemon appetizers on the table. 

Looking for more lemon recipes? We also love this Lemon and Dill Salmon with Herbed Salad. 

And what’s a light dinner without a little Lemon Rice? Enjoy!