If you’re hosting this season, keep reading.
Key Points
- Serve easy, make-ahead snacks like seasoned nuts or a cheese board to keep guests satisfied pre-dinner.
- Packaged snacks or simple homemade options, like roasted nuts, save time and reduce hosting stress.
- Grazing snacks like chips and dip or granola mixes are quick, versatile and great for all ages.
My hosting pet peeve isn’t guests hanging out in the kitchen while I’m putting the final touches on dinner—it’s when they start asking if the meal will be served soon. (My eye is twitching just thinking about it.) One way that I’m able to stave off the guests’ hungry antics is by serving a first course. The best first course is just a small bite that I barely need to prepare—it can even be a packaged snack that people can pick at before sitting down for the main event.
Other EatingWell editors do the same, especially for the biggest food holiday of the year: Thanksgiving. From protein-packed snacks to antipasti, here are some small bite ideas that you can present to guests for grazing (and to leave you alone, quite frankly) before the turkey dinner. Hosts, this one’s for you.
Seasoned Nuts
If you need a quick and impressive snack to bring out for guests, consider a bowl of seasoned nuts. Personally, I am a big fan of the Trader Joe’s mixes, including the Olive & Herbs Mixed Nuts and the seasonal favorite Nuts About Rosemary Mix. Our editorial director Carolyn Malcoun is also a mixed nut fan for pre-meal grazing and especially loves the latter TJ’s mix for a “delicious” upgrade to classic snack mix.
Instead of packaged mixed nuts, you can also roast some nuts with your favorite seasonings in advance. “My mom makes a metric ton of seasoned pecans and we all gobble them up,” associate social media editor Allison Little says. Plus, homemade roasted nuts are easy to make ahead of time, can help you control the sodium content and make it easy to personalize the seasonings to your liking.
Cheese Board
If you are having guests over much earlier than you plan to serve dinner, a cheese board might be worth building. A great thing about charcuterie is that it requires zero cooking, which is why senior editor Megan Ginsberg is pro-cheese board ahead of the holiday meal.
“I always put out a cheese board and crackers with a hard cheese, a semi-hard cheese and a soft cheese, plus accoutrements like nuts, cornichons, dried apricots, mustard and jam,” quality team editor Jane Leverich, M.S., RDN says.
Crunchy Bites
For a savory bite, something like chips and dip is a simple starter that’s ready to whip out in seconds. Ginsberg is a fan of Terra vegetable chips for a more autumnal flavor profile.
But you could also go sweet for contrast with the main meal. EatingWell editorial fellow Natalie Onkst says her family goes for a fiber-packed option: “My aunts and uncles make a granola mix for the little ones since they’re still resisting vegetables.” While intended for kids, we can see a crunchy granola mix working for adults, too.
Our Expert Take
Overall, if you want to include a grazing snack pre-dinner this year, don’t add something to your already hearty workload. Instead, opt for a packaged good or something that you can make before Thursday. And there’s nothing wrong with not serving snacks ahead of dinner—editors Leah Goggins and Abby Abesamis Demarest prefer an earlier meal over additional bites.
Here are some more suggestions from our editors, in case you need them:
- “Truthfully, my favorite appetizer we do is steamed and seared pierogi, because why not pre-game the potatoes with other potatoes?” – Kristin Montemarano, commerce editor
- “If we’re hanging with my family, we love horseradish dip and chips.” – Carolyn Malcoun, editorial director
- “I love setting out quick and easy hot apps like cranberry-Brie bites.” – Megan Ginsberg, senior editor