Seafood appetizers bring something special to a holiday gathering, dinner party, or relaxed fall evening with friends. A good spread does not need to be complicated: choose a few dishes with different flavors and textures, and balance homemade recipes with prepared options.
Below are 14 seafood appetizer ideas, with links to the original recipes and relevant seafood. Read each recipe before shopping: some call for raw seafood that needs cooking, while others begin with cooked ingredients.
How to Choose Appetizers for Your Gathering
For a dinner party, try one warm appetizer and one chilled option before the main meal. For an appetizer-only gathering, choose a broader mix and add bread, crackers, and vegetables. Check recipe yields and product portions against your guest count rather than assuming every dish serves the same number.
Keep the cooking schedule manageable. A prepared dip or shrimp cocktail can leave more time for a homemade recipe. Prepared does not always mean ready to eat, so follow the product directions for thawing, cooking, heating, and serving.
14 of the Best Seafood Appetizers to Make for Any Party
1. Corn and Lobster Fritters
Corn and lobster fritters offer a warm, crisp bite to start the meal. For a dinner party, serve them as a small first course with dipping sauce rather than adding several other fried dishes.
Follow our Corn and Lobster Fritters recipe and shop lobster meat for the filling.
2. Crab Beignets
These fried crab bites are an option for a more hands-on appetizer. Plan to fry them close to serving time and keep the rest of the menu simple.
See Bon Appetit's Blue Crab Beignets recipe. For a Maine-inspired variation, consider Jonah crab leg meat.
3. Cocktail Shrimp
Shrimp cocktail is a simple chilled option alongside warm appetizers. Our cocktail shrimp are cooked, peeled, and deveined. Follow the thawing directions, then serve with cocktail sauce and lemon. Keep chilled until serving.
4. Bacon-Wrapped Scallops
For a warm appetizer without wrapping each scallop yourself, choose our bacon-wrapped scallops. Prepare them according to the product instructions and serve with small plates or appetizer forks. Pair them with something lighter, such as chilled shrimp or vegetables.
5. Crab-Stuffed Deviled Eggs
Crab gives familiar deviled eggs a seafood twist. This is a useful option for a menu that already includes a hot dip or fried appetizer. Keep the finished eggs refrigerated until they are ready to serve.
Follow the Crab-Stuffed Deviled Eggs recipe from Allrecipes and explore Jonah crab leg meat for a Maine variation.
6. Crab Toasts with Spicy Yogurt
Crab, spicy yogurt, and toasted bread make a different kind of party bite. For easier sharing, consider serving small toast portions and assembling close to serving time.
See Bon Appetit's Crab Toasts with Spicy Yogurt recipe and shop Jonah crab leg meat.
7. Cocktail Claws
Cocktail claws can form the centerpiece of a chilled seafood platter. Set out small dishes of sauce and an extra bowl for shells. Browse our seafood starters and sides for current availability and check each product's preparation instructions before serving.
8. Lobster Dip
A bowl of hickory smoked lobster dip gives guests something to share while dinner is finishing. Serve it with chips, crackers, sliced bread, or vegetables, following the product's storage and serving directions. Keep the accompaniments simple so the dip gets the attention.
9. Spicy Tuna Salad with Flatbread
See Food Network's Spicy Tuna Flatbread recipe for the original preparation. For a cooked variation, shop yellowfin ahi tuna and cook it thoroughly before cooling and using it in your own topping. Do not assume that a frozen fish product is suitable for serving raw.
10. Blue Cheese Stuffed Shrimp
This chilled appetizer pairs cooked shrimp with a blue cheese filling. It offers a change from shrimp cocktail without adding another hot dish to the menu.
Follow the Blue Cheese Stuffed Shrimp recipe from A Well Seasoned Kitchen. Unlike coconut shrimp, this recipe starts with cooked shrimp, so our cooked cocktail shrimp are the appropriate starting point.
11. Lobster Cocktail
For our serving suggestion, arrange cooked lobster meat in small glasses with lemon and your preferred cocktail sauce. Keep the seafood chilled and serve modest portions before a larger meal.
For more ways to serve lobster, explore Saveur's lobster recipe collection.
12. Baked Crab Dip
Include baked crab dip when you would like a warm, shareable dish at the center of the appetizer table. Our serving suggestion is to offer bread and crackers alongside it and use small dishes for individual portions.
For a homemade version, see Taste of Home's Baked Crab Dip. Browse Jonah crab leg meat and check the recipe's ingredient list before choosing your crab.
13. Salmon Mousse Cups
Salmon mousse cups are another bite-size idea for a holiday spread. Follow the original Salmon Mousse Cups recipe from Taste of Home for its filling, assembly, and chilling directions. Check the type of salmon it specifies; raw fillets are not interchangeable with cooked, canned, or smoked salmon.
Our salmon collection offers options for other salmon dishes on your menu.
14. Coconut Shrimp
Coconut shrimp add a crisp, lightly sweet option to the table. Follow Sally's Baking Addiction's Coconut Shrimp recipe and start with raw shrimp, not cooked cocktail shrimp. The recipe calls for peeled, deveined raw shrimp; follow its preparation and frying instructions.
A Simple Fall Appetizer Menu
For a relaxed fall gathering, try lobster dip with bread and vegetables, one warm appetizer such as bacon-wrapped scallops, and small cups of clam chowder or lobster bisque. Add a chilled option if it fits the rest of the meal. This is a menu suggestion, not a fixed package.
Planning around football instead? Our game-day seafood recipes and appetizers focus on a casual watch-party spread. For a seated meal, explore our seafood dinner date-night guide.
Prepare Ahead Without Overcomplicating the Party
Choose your serving dishes and make a shopping list before the day of the gathering. Follow each recipe's make-ahead instructions, and leave final cooking or assembly for the recommended time. Check ingredients with guests who have food allergies and provide separate serving utensils.
Keep cold seafood cold and hot seafood hot. The FDA's seafood safety guidance recommends not leaving perishable food unrefrigerated for more than two hours, or one hour when temperatures are above 90°F. Serve smaller portions and replenish them as needed.
Choose an available delivery date at checkout and allow time for any required thawing. Shipping charges and any free-shipping qualifications are shown at checkout.
This fall, choose two free soups with orders of $275 or more. No promo code needed; eligible soups only. Browse our Fall Seafood Feast to plan your order.
