10 Dinner Starter Recipes That Will Surprise Your Guests

Whether it’s a romantic dinner or a special celebration, the occasion deserves a full menu. So, nothing better than surprising your guests with delicious dinner entrees, right? After all, who doesn’t like a good appetizer while waiting for the main course? So, check out the following delicious recipes for dinner starters:

1. Caprese skewers

skewer ingredients

• 400 g fresh cheese
• 14 cherry tomatoes
• 14 basil leaves

sauce ingredients

• ½ cup of olive oil
• ½ cup of walnuts
• ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup of basil tea
• dehydrated garlic to taste
• salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

Preparation mode

1. Cut all the tomatoes in half and set aside;
2. Then cut the cheese into cubes and set aside;
3. With wooden sticks, assemble the skewers, interspersing a piece of tomato, a basil leaf and a piece of cheese. Do this until all the toothpick is filled and set aside;
4. In a bowl, place the oil, the walnuts, the cheese, the basil, the salt, the pepper and macerate everything very well with a mixer;
5. Transfer the pesto sauce to another bowl, serve with the skewers and enjoy!

2. Crispy vegetable sticks

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots, sliced ​​into sticks
• 1 potato, peeled and sliced ​​into sticks
• 2 manioc, peeled and sliced ​​into sticks
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced ​​into sticks
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Preparation mode

1. In a bowl, place all the vegetables;
2. Add rosemary, olive oil, salt, pepper and mix well;
3. Transfer the vegetables to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper;
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes;
5. After this time, remove the foil and let it bake for another 30 minutes, every 10 minutes turn the vegetables to roast evenly;
6. When it’s golden brown, it’s ready to serve!

3. Shrimp cocktail

Spicy yogurt sauce ingredients

• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup of sour cream
• 2 tablespoons of white wine
• 1 teaspoon pepper sauce
• salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 minced girl’s finger pepper
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• paprika to taste
• 1/2 cup of cream cheese

shrimp ingredients

• 2 cups of clean shrimp
• juice of ½ lemon
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• paprika to taste
• 1 strand of olive oil
• chopped parsley to taste

Preparation mode

1. For the sauce, in a bowl place the yogurt, the cream, the wine, the pepper sauce, the salt, the black pepper, the lemon juice, the chopped pepper, the olive oil and mix well;
2. Add the paprika, cream cheese, mix and refrigerate until the shrimp are ready;
3. Season the prawns with lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika;
4. In a very hot, wide-bottomed skillet, add the olive oil and the prawns;
5. Let the prawns brown on both sides, stirring occasionally so they don’t burn;
6. To assemble, place the sauce in bowls, sprinkle with parsley and place the prawns around the bowl;
7. Now just enjoy!

4. Zucchini Bruschetta

Ingredients

• 1 Campagne or Italian baguette
• 1 clove of garlic
• Rosemary sprigs to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• olive oil to taste
• salt to taste
• ⅓ cubed zucchini
• 3 shiitake mushrooms in strips
• 1 sliced ​​garlic clove

Preparation mode

1. Cut the baguette into pieces on the diagonal and pass a clove of garlic on all pieces;
2. Add the rosemary, bay leaves, olive oil, a pinch of salt and bake in an oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. Reserve;
3. In a frying pan with a thread of olive oil, place the zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, salt and sauté everything until all the ingredients are well golden;
4. Then turn off the heat and set aside;
5. On the serving plate, place the pieces of toasted bread and zucchini on them;
6. Then just enjoy this entry for dinner!

5. Tapioca dadinhos

Ingredients

• 500 ml of whole milk
• 375 g grated curd cheese
• 250 g of granulated tapioca
• salt to taste
• allspice taste
• Black pepper to taste
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 minced chili pepper
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 3 spoons of cane molasses

Preparation mode

1. In a pan, put the milk and let it boil;
2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, place the cheese, tapioca, salt, peppers and mix;
3. When the milk boils, pour it into the bowl and stir constantly with a whisk;
4. After about 3 minutes mixing well, transfer the dough to an English cake pan lined with plastic film,
5. Cover the dough with more plastic film and take it to the fridge for at least 2 hours;
6. In a small bowl, place the lemon zest, pepper, lemon juice, molasses and mix. Reserve;
7. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into even-sized cubes;
8. Fry in hot oil until golden brown;
9. Serve with the molasses sauce and enjoy this delight!

6. Eggplant appetizer

Ingredients

• 3 eggplants with skin
• Water
• 1/2 teacup of olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 chopped red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper chopped
• ⅓ cup of chopped olives
• ½ cup of white raisins
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Basil leaves to taste
• thyme leaves to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons of white vinegar

Preparation mode

1. Wash the eggplants well, cut into cubes, place in a bowl, cover with water and set aside;
2. In a pan, put a thread of oil and sauté the onion with the garlic;
3. Add the peppers, cook until soft and then add the eggplants without the water;
4. Mix well and cook until everything is very soft;
5. Add the olives, grapes, oregano, salt, basil, thyme, pepper, vinegar, the rest of the oil and stir;
6. Cook until the liquids dry
7. Then just serve as you prefer and it’s ready!

7. Figs with Brie and Honey

Ingredients

• 5 very ripe figs
• 5 tablespoons of honey
• ½ sliced ​​brie cheese

Preparation mode

1. Cut the figs in half and brush honey on all halves;
2. Arrange the figs with honey in the airfryer basket and bake for about 10 minutes at 200 degrees;
3. After this period, place the brie slices over the figs and cook for 2 minutes;
4. Transfer to a plate, finish with a little honey and enjoy!

8. Roquefort and walnut palmier

Ingredients

• 100 g of ricotta
• 2 pieces of roquefort
• 1 package of ready-made puff pastry
• chopped walnuts to taste

Preparation mode

1. In a bowl, mix the ricotta with the roquefort until it becomes a homogeneous cream;
2. Roll out the puff pastry on a countertop and spread the cream over it;
3. Sprinkle the walnuts and roll each side of the dough towards the center, so that the two ends meet;
4. Pack the dough in the paper itself and take it to the freezer for a few minutes;
5. Then cut 1 cm thick pieces and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake in an oven at 180 degrees until golden and that’s it!

9. Vegan caponata

Ingredients

• 3 eggplants, diced
• 5 tablespoons of white vinegar
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 1 onion
• ½ chopped red pepper
• ½ yellow pepper, chopped
• ½ chopped green pepper
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 5 tablespoons of soy sauce
• ½ cup of hydrated raisins
• ½ cup of olives

Preparation mode

1. Place the eggplants in a bowl, add the vinegar and leave to soak for 20 minutes;
2. Drain all the liquid from the eggplant, wash and dry them very well.
3. Spread the eggplants on a greased baking sheet and bake in the oven at maximum temperature for about 30 minutes or until dry;
4. Meanwhile, in a frying pan, put the oil and sauté the onion with the peppers;
5. Add the garlic, mix, add the dried eggplant and soy sauce. Mix and sauté for 4 minutes;
6. Turn off the heat, add the raisins and olives;
7. Transfer to a bowl and it’s ready to serve as you wish!

10. Vegan cold cuts board

Sundried Tomato Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes
• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 spoon of salt
• 1 grated garlic clove
• chimichurri to taste
• oregano to taste
• olive oil to taste

Smoked Salmon Ingredients

• 1 packet of coarse salt
• 2 carrots with skin
• 1 cup of soy sauce
• 1 cup of water
• Canned capers to taste
• 1 coffee spoon of vinegar
• liquid smoke to taste
• smoked paprika to taste
• Nori seaweed, chopped to taste

Tofu Cheese Ingredients

• 1 firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 lemon juice
• salt to taste
• chimichurri to taste
• 1 clove of garlic
• ¼ cup of water
• Chopped chives to taste
• Nutritional yeast to taste

Yellow Lupine Cheese Ingredients

• 1 cup shelled lupine
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• 1 tablespoon of agar-agar
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Nutritional yeast to taste
• 1 cup of water

Dry tomato preparation method

1. Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the pulp with the aid of a knife;
2. Arrange the tomatoes on a baking sheet and place a little of a mixture of sugar and salt on each of the halves;
3. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 1 hour.
4. Then turn the tomatoes and return to the oven for another 20 minutes;
5. In a clean canning jar, place the roasted tomatoes, garlic, chimichurri, oregano, 2 tablespoons of the sugar-salt mixture and fill the glass with olive oil;
6. Cover, shake the glass to mix the ingredients well and set aside.

Salmon cooking method

1. In a small form, put some coarse salt, the carrots and cover completely with more salt;
2. Bake at 200 degrees for about 1 hour;
3. Then remove all excess salt and slice the carrots into very thin slices;
4. Transfer to a jar with a lid and add the rest of the ingredients;
5. Cover the pot and let it marinate for at least 24 hours.

How to make tofu cheese

1. In a blender, add all the ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. Transfer the mixture to a piece of aluminum foil and roll up to shape the shape of the cheese;
3. Close the sides well, rolling the excess as if it were a bullet;
4. Leave the cheese in the fridge for 24 hours to set;
5. After that, carefully unwrap the cheese and pass the chives all over it;
6. Finish with a few more seasonings and set aside.

Preparation of yellow lupine cheese

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Transfer the mixture to a pan and cook, stirring constantly, for approximately 12 minutes;
3. When it thickens, turn off the heat and put it in a pot greased with olive oil;
4. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes or until it’s time to unmold.
5. Run a knife along the sides of the cheese, unmold onto a plate and set aside.

Cold board assembly

1. On a board, place a little sun-dried tomato, the smoked salmon and the unmolded cheeses;
2. Decorate as you like and add some fruits, nuts and breads to complement the flavors.
3. Now just enjoy this amazing starter for a completely vegan dinner!

These delicious dinner starter recipes are sure to leave your guests satisfied. The best thing is that in addition to being tasty, these preparations are easy to make. So you can also enjoy the special night. If you still haven’t decided what the main course will be, check it out…