Thanksgiving Appetizer and Snack Recipes

Serve these mini sausages at your next cocktail party or tailgate.

Popcorn and chopped sweetened dried cranberries are tossed together and drizzled with white chocolate.

There are plenty of granola bar options at the grocery store, but they're also easy (and often healthier) to make at home. Feel free to vary the add-ins to your taste, swapping 2 cups of any combination of small (or chopped) dried fruit, nuts, seeds and/or chocolate chips for the dried cranberries and nuts in this version. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

The alpine cheeses in this healthy cheese fondue recipe by Laura Werlin are known for melting smoothly, which is key in a fondue. Adding vegetables brings texture and bonus nutrition, while complementing the buttery nuttiness of each cheese. To serve 12, plan to offer 6 cups of cut-up vegetables for dipping, such as steamed broccoli and cauliflower florets or strips of raw fennel and red bell pepper.

Amp up your appetizer game when you make this easy marinated vegetable recipe. Soak asparagus, mushrooms and cauliflower in rosemary- and garlic-flavored marinade and in just a couple hours you'll have tasty vegetables ready to serve.

Trade in plain crudités for something with more panache with this quick marinated vegetable recipe. Soak bell peppers, fennel and frozen artichoke hearts in an orange- and oregano-flavored marinade and in just a couple hours you'll have a tasty antipasto ready to serve with your cheese plate.

Dried herbs and crushed garlic dress up your favorite olives.

A riff on traditional spinach artichoke dip, this creamy, cheesy dip recipe is made healthier by replacing some of the cream cheese with yogurt. Serve as an easy appetizer with tortilla chips and carrot sticks.

Crispy pieces of polenta topped with a tangy sun-dried tomato tapenade makes a pretty and tasty appetizer.

Try this light spinach dip made healthier with reduced-fat cream cheese, nonfat yogurt and low-fat cottage cheese instead of full-fat cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. It will save you a whopping 84 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving when compared to traditional versions. Serve it with pita chips and crunchy vegetables or spread it on a sandwich.

These shrimp appetizers are simple yet full of flavor. Just top melba toasts with a bit of cream cheese, a cooked shrimp and dollop of pepper jelly. Look for pepper jelly near other jellies and jams--it has a tiny bit of heat that gives these some extra pizzazz!

Spread this creamy ham and roasted red pepper dip on Belgian endive, crackers or toasted baguette or use it as a dip for vegetables.

Marinating olives in aromatic herbs and a touch of lemon zest is an ideal way to enhance their flavor. Throughout the Mediterranean, bowls of them are routinely set out as appetizers or as a simple lunch with bread and perhaps some cheese or fruit. While a selection of olives of varying sizes, colors and cures is the most interesting, you can also simply use the one or two kinds most readily available.

Sweet pear, salty Cheddar cheese and crunchy nuts make this healthy cheese ball recipe an alluring holiday treat. Serve with an array of crudités and crisp party crackers.

Up your appetizer game with this fruit-topped cheese crostini recipe. Warm preserves give the pears a shiny glaze and prevent them from browning.

In this steak étouffée recipe, boneless chuck is slowly cooked in a flavorful liquid full of aromatic vegetables, spicy sausage and broth. This beef étouffée recipe calls for a 2 1/2-pound piece of chuck, but if chuck steaks are available at your market, purchase eight 4- to 5-ounce steaks instead of cutting your own from the roast. Serve the steak étouffée with stone-ground grits, polenta or rice, and pass the Tabasco.

Serve these rich and savory mushroom toasts as a healthy appetizer with a fork and knife. Wild mushrooms give the topping the best flavor, but any type of mushroom will work in this healthy recipe for creamy wild mushroom toast points. This recipe makes more Cream Sauce without the Cream than you'll need for the mushroom toasts. Refrigerate or freeze the extra sauce and use it in place of heavy cream in any sauce or soup that calls for cream.

This Scandinavian-style appetizer is a good way to try pickled herring if you've never had it. The potent flavor of the herring is balanced by a dollop of sour cream and the potato slice it's served on.

This flatbread and yellow split pea spread are full of big, bold rosemary and black pepper flavor.

Washington, D.C.-based chef Barton Seaver is a passionate advocate for the health of the oceans. He's a fellow with the Blue Ocean Institute and is working on a PBS series, Turning the Tide, about food and the environment. When we asked him what type of seafood he would like to include in a recipe for EatingWell, he suggested the humble canned sardine. We think Seaver has truly elevated the canned sardine with this fresh-tasting and simple appetizer.