14 party bites you can set out and then walk away from

The hour before a holiday dinner is when everyone is hungry and nothing is ready. These 14 appetizers hold that stretch without competing with the meal for oven space or attention.

Cucumber and Dill Smoked Salmon Appetizer

Cucumber rounds get topped with a cream cheese spread seasoned with fresh dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest, then finished with smoked salmon, capers, and a crack of pepper. The whole batch of 24 pieces comes together in 20 minutes of prep with no cooking at all. It's the kind of appetizer that looks considerably more involved than it is, which makes it a good choice for the hour before dinner when you'd rather be talking than standing at the stove.

Get the recipe: Cucumber and Dill Smoked Salmon Appetizer

Jalapeño Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach, canned artichoke hearts, and jarred jalapeños go into a hot oven alongside cream cheese, parmesan, mayonnaise, and sour cream, and the dip spends about 35 minutes baking and browning before a quick pass under the broiler to finish it off. With 15 minutes of prep and enough for 10 people, it fits comfortably into a holiday spread without requiring much attention once it goes in the oven. The jalapeños add real heat to what is otherwise a familiar, creamy combination.

Get the recipe: Jalapeño Spinach Artichoke Dip

Jalapeño Cranberry Dip

Fresh cranberries, jalapeños, green onions, cilantro, sugar, and lime juice come together with cream cheese and heavy cream to make a dip that serves 12. Prep takes 15 minutes, but the recipe needs about two and a quarter hours total, so there is time built in for the flavors to settle before serving. Set it out with crackers, tortilla chips, pita chips, or vegetables, and the cranberry color alone will draw people to the table before dinner is announced.

Get the recipe: Jalapeño Cranberry Dip

7-Layer Dip

Refried beans form the base, seasoned with taco seasoning mix and thinned with milk or cream, and the remaining layers include avocados, salsa, sour cream, cream cheese, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, garlic powder, and shredded mild cheddar. The recipe takes 25 minutes of prep and serves 10, requiring no time at the stove. Putting it together just before guests arrive means it goes straight from the kitchen counter to the table.

Get the recipe: 7-Layer Dip

Pickled Red Onions

Sliced red onion and fresh lime juice are the only two ingredients here, and after 5 minutes of prep the onions go into the refrigerator for the rest of the roughly four-hour process. There is no cooking and no canning involved. The pickled onions come out sharp and tangy, and they are the kind of addition that gives a spread of pre-dinner food some life when set alongside richer, creamier dishes.

Get the recipe: Pickled Red Onions

Whipped Ricotta Cheese Toast

An Italian loaf gets sliced, brushed with oil, and baked until browned while whole milk ricotta is whipped with lemon juice, lemon zest, and honey into a spread. Each warm piece gets the ricotta mixture and a scattering of fresh thyme leaves on top, pulling together citrus, honey, and herb in one bite. The recipe makes 12 toasts and takes 15 minutes, with 10 of those spent on prep.

Get the recipe: Whipped Ricotta Cheese Toast

10-Minute Spicy Tuna Rolls

StarKist Selects E.V.O.O. Wild-Caught Yellowfin Tuna, seasoned with hot sauce, cayenne, salt, and pepper, gets rolled up inside thin slices of cucumber with avocado tucked in alongside it, then held together with a toothpick. The whole batch makes six rolls in exactly 10 minutes of prep with no cooking at all. The cayenne and hot sauce give each bite a distinct heat that the cucumber and avocado temper without dulling.

Get the recipe: 10-Minute Spicy Tuna Rolls

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

The mushrooms get a short soak in vinegar and oil before the caps are filled with a mixture of browned Italian sausage, cream cheese, garlic, breadcrumbs, and grated Parmesan, then baked for 25 minutes. Fresh parsley finishes each one, and the recipe makes 20 stuffed mushrooms in about 45 minutes from start to finish. The combination of sausage and cream cheese produces a filling rich enough to make this kind of appetizer one of the harder ones to walk away from.

Get the recipe: Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Pickled Okra

A hot brine of white vinegar, water, kosher salt, sugar, and pickling spice gets boiled and poured over fresh okra stacked into a jar with garlic cloves and a fresh dill sprig. The prep takes about 15 minutes, and just 5 minutes of that is time on the stove while the brine comes to a boil. What comes out is a single jar of crispy, tangy okra spears, sharp with garlic and dill, that holds up well on a table of appetizers.

Get the recipe: Pickled Okra

Mini Spicy Canned Salmon Patties

Canned salmon gets mixed with eggs, finely ground pork rinds or panko breadcrumbs, minced jalapeño, mayonnaise, garlic powder, dried dill, cayenne, and red pepper flakes before being shaped into 24 small patties. They cook in avocado oil for about 20 minutes, coming out golden brown, and are finished with a drizzle of lemon dill aioli made from mayonnaise and lemon juice. From start to finish the whole recipe takes 30 minutes, which makes it a workable option when the pre-dinner window is short.

Get the recipe: Mini Spicy Canned Salmon Patties

Warm Marinated Olives

Mixed olives go into a single skillet with olive oil, garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and lemon zest, all cooked together for ten minutes so the oil picks up everything in the pan. A splash of red wine vinegar and cracked pepper finish it before it comes to the table. It serves six and takes twenty minutes start to finish, putting it among the fastest things to get ready in the stretch before a holiday meal.

Get the recipe: Warm Marinated Olives

BLT Dip

Bacon, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, and cheddar go into a baking dish and bake for fifteen minutes into a hot, creamy base that tastes exactly like its name. Fresh lettuce and tomatoes get scattered on top right before serving, so they stay bright against the warm dip underneath. It serves eight and the whole thing takes thirty minutes, which means it can go to the table while everything else is still cooking.

Get the recipe: BLT Dip

Spicy Egg Salad Cucumber Boats

Boiled eggs get mashed with Greek yogurt, stone-ground mustard, hot sauce, fresh dill, green onions, cayenne pepper, and paprika to make an egg salad with real heat. The mixture gets spooned into hollowed cucumber halves and finished with freeze-dried chives, flaky sea salt, and cracked pepper. The recipe serves two and comes together in twenty-five minutes, with the amount of hot sauce listed as adjustable depending on how much heat is wanted.

Get the recipe: Spicy Egg Salad Cucumber Boats

Whipped Feta with Honey Dip

Feta cheese and cream cheese get blended together with olive oil and lemon zest until smooth, then honey goes over the top along with cracked black pepper and fresh herbs from whatever combination of chives, thyme, and rosemary is on hand. The result is ready in ten minutes of prep with nothing going on the stove, so it can be out before the first guest sits down. It serves four and pairs with pita, crackers, or raw vegetables.

Get the recipe: Whipped Feta with Honey Dip