Healthy Summer Appetizer Recipes

Avocado Tea Sandwiches

Tossing chicken tenders with cornmeal gives these chicken nuggets great crunch without deep-frying. Blackberries (or raspberries, if you prefer) combined with whole-grain mustard make for a sweet-and-savory dipping sauce. Serve with: Steamed broccoli and carrots.

This simple snack with protein and healthy fat will get you through the afternoon slump.

This easy cheese board features a bounty of seasonal vegetables and fresh fruits, which add color and complement the variety of cheeses.

Indulge your nacho cravings with this healthy vegetarian nacho recipe that's loaded with vegetables (thanks in part to roasted cauliflower standing in for chips) and protein-packed beans, and has a lot more fiber than traditional nachos. These baked cauliflower nachos, piled with guacamole, melty cheese, fresh pico de gallo and avocado, are great as an appetizer or could be eaten as a light dinner.

These bean burgers will even please carnivores. The cornmeal coating gives a pleasant crunch and smoked paprika, cumin, cilantro and guacamole add Southwestern flavor.

This snack mixes a serving of dairy with a serving of fresh fruit and provides a boost of vitamin C and calcium to your day.

This delicious guacamole recipe replaces half the amount of high-calorie avocado in a traditional guacamole recipe with a stealth, low-calorie vegetable--zucchini--to cut 100 calories and 6 grams of fat so we can eat more guacamole with fewer calories. We use the microwave to cook the zucchini until it's very tender, but you can steam it on the stovetop if you prefer.

Cabbage is a tasty low-calorie stand-in for buns or bread in this healthy chicken lettuce wrap recipe. Don't limit yourself to cabbage for this Thai-inspired recipe--any fresh green that's sturdy enough to wrap around 1/2 cup of filling works.

These easy-to-make homemade granola bars are inspired by the flavors of a classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. But feel free to vary the mix-ins to your preference. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

Instead of buying pricy energy bars, fuel your fitness routine with this great-tasting homemade energy bar recipe. Whether you use these energy bars as a pre-workout snack or to refuel and recover post-workout, they'll give your body what it needs. Best of all, you can make this energy bar recipe in minutes.

Take your veggies and dip to the next level with this colorful crudité wreath. This vegetable appetizer is a stunner with white cauliflower, red tomatoes and green broccoli, green beans, snap peas, kale and Brussels sprouts. It's also a delicious way to start your celebration with veggies (which there are rarely enough of at parties and holidays). The homemade ranch dip, which uses nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, takes just a few minutes to make, or you can use a healthy store-bought dip.

In this Mediterranean-inspired snack, dried figs and honey top plain yogurt. Substitute fresh figs if you can find them.

Romaine lettuce takes on a nice charred, smoky flavor with a quick trip to the grill in this healthy wedge salad recipe. Avocado makes the dressing extra-creamy without any cream. Serve alongside grilled chicken or fish.

Don't let the fancy French name for these cheese puffs mislead you--this is an easy appetizer recipe. They're traditionally made with Gruyère or Comté; we couldn't resist turning to our Vermont roots and using good old Cheddar instead.

These decadent-tasting wraps are lightened up with fat-free Greek yogurt in place of mayo--and lettuce makes a crisp, fresh alternative to a flour wrap.

This small snack packs a nutrient punch--it's loaded with protein, heart-healthy fats, vitamins and minerals to make eating healthy easy and yummy.

Halloumi, a firm Greek cheese, can be cooked on the grill or in a skillet without melting all over the place. In this healthy appetizer recipe, it's paired with tangy and sweet blueberry jam. The berry jam recipe makes enough so you'll have leftovers for your morning toast or for a spectacular peanut butter and jelly.

Fresh zucchini slices are battered in crispy panko and pan-fried until golden brown and crunchy. You can eat them with a fork, but popping these zucchini chips by the slice is perfectly acceptable. Serve with a dollop of creamy dressing for a simple summer vegetable side.

Sneaking green peppers into this quick fresh dip supplies added vitamin C.

The longer you marinate these Korean sweet-and-savory ribs, the better. Look for flanken-cut short ribs in the meat department or ask your butcher to cut them for you. If you can't find perilla or shiso leaves, try using mint instead.

Rather than serving this easy mock shrimp ceviche with chips or tortillas, cut some carbs and pile the citrusy seafood in fresh avocado bowls for a fun and healthy presentation.

If you're intimidated by shucking oysters--this recipe for barbecued oysters is for you. When you grill them, steam builds up inside the shells until they pop open. Then you slather a little garlicky red barbecue sauce on each oyster, put them back on the grill to get hot and bubbly, and you're done. At a party, bring your oysters to the grill and show your guests how it's done so they can barbecue their own.

These little jars are like nachos for the road—with plenty of protein from zesty black beans and taco-spiced Greek yogurt, heart-healthy fats from avocado and a little crunch from toasted corn. Homemade baked tortilla strips are a perfect dip delivery system; their length helps you dig out every last bite from the portable jars.