MAKE-AHEAD (holiday appetizers)

When a meal is too much, but chips and salsa aren’t enough food (or festiveness), give these delicious starters a try.

- LISA TURNER

You’re looking forward to showing off your mad kitchen skills at a festive, friend-filled holiday soirée. But the day of the event finds you frazzled and frantic, too stressed to enjoy your own celebration and with a kitchen that looks like a disaster zone. And then there’s the end-of-meal clean-up disaster—plus enough leftovers to feed a small country, and no room in the fridge.

Sound familiar? We’ve got your fix. Instead of a full dinner, try this curated selection of both hot and cold appetizers, hearty enough for a full meal and festive enough for a proper party—all of them designed to make ahead of time, with minimal last-minute prep. So you can greet guests with a clean kitchen and relaxed attitude, ready to ring in the holidays. (Bonus: they’re all clean and nutritious, with gluten-free and vegan options to satisfy all your guests.)

Photography | Pornchai Mittongtare

Prop Styling | Kim Wong

Food Styling | Claire Stancer

Cranberry-Walnut Stuffed Dates

Serves 12 (makes 36 dates)

This meat-free twist on bacon-wrapped dates features holiday-centric cranberries and walnuts for a fast, festive, no-cook app. Mascarpone is an Italian triple-cream cheese with a rich, luxurious texture and mild, sweet flavor. If it’s hard to find, a blend of cream cheese and heavy whipping cream is a decent substitute. For a vegan version, swap agave for honey and use vegan cream cheese or raw cashew butter instead of Mascarpone.

³/4 cup Mascarpone cheese

¹/4 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

¹/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped

1 Tbs. honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

36 pitted Medjool dates