Easy starter recipes
Make entertaining a breeze by serving up one of our easy starter recipes. There’s plenty of starter recipe ideas for every time of year, including fresh summer dishes, cosy autumnal numbers and simple dishes that look impressive enough to serve as your Christmas starter, or at your next dinner party.
It can be hard to know what to make for a starter, but we think it’s an opportunity to really experiment and impress, without too much faff. It’s your chance to get taste-buds going, so have a bit of fun with it. For instance, our go-to starter ideas would be these white bean crostini with anchovy and lemon salsa, a whole lot of flavour, and no stress on the cook’s part. Chicken liver pâté is a gorgeous make-ahead option too, and it’s much easier to prepare than you might think. If you’ve a little more time, impress with our hake cigars with saffron yogurt or give vegetarians something to remember with our tomato and burrata salad with basil oil.
Our easy starter recipes include healthy soups, colourful salads, tartlets, smoked salmon, seafood starters and other easy-but-impressive dishes. And you know what make-ahead starter will never let you down? Miso devilled eggs! Explore over 100 party nibbles, if you’re looking for something more casual.
Showing 1-16 of 85 recipes
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Orange and clove Christmas tapenade
Olive-based dip tapenade gets an orangey twist and a hint of Christmas spice from the clove. Perfect for festive entertaining – and quick!
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Easy
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Camembert recipes
Baked camembert with harissa honey
Oozy, gooey cheese drizzled with a fiery, sweet topping; this easy baked camembert with honey recipe is perfect for entertaining.
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Easy
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Houmous recipes
Ultimate instant houmous
Make your best ever homemade houmous with chef Helen Graham's recipe. This instant houmous is creamy, silky and ready in minutes.
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Easy
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Easy starter recipes
Socca (or farinata) with prawns, chickpeas and peppers
Debora Robertson shares her easy recipe for the Provençal chickpea flatbread, socca. This popular snack is known as farinata in Italy.
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Easy
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Prawn recipes
Gamberi alla busara (prawns with cherry tomato sauce)
This recipe for prawns with a spicy tomato sauce hails from Italy's Veneto region. Enjoy with crusty bread or as a sauce for pasta.
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Easy
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Easy salmon recipes
Salmon and avocado summer rolls
Uyen Luu shares her recipe for salmon and avocado summer rolls. Vietnamese rice paper rolls are stuffed with salmon, avo and fresh herbs.
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Easy
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Sustainable recipes
Fish scrap croquettes
These herby croquettes filled with fluffy mash and surrounded by a crisp breadcrumb coating are the perfect vehicle for any scraps of fish.
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Medium
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Summer salads and sides
Parma ham, halloumi, strawberry and mint
This speedy parma ham starter pairs the ham with salty halloumi cheese, sweet strawberries and fresh mint.
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Easy
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Prawn cocktail recipes
Prawn cocktail platter
Create the ultimate prawn cocktail platter with proper marie rose dip made with homemade mayo, prawns and crisp lettuce leaves.
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Easy
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Crab recipes
Emily Scott’s Cornish crab, toast and mayo
Cornwall-based chef Emily Scott’s recipe for crab on toast is delightfully simple but special, enriched with just a little lemon and garlic.
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Easy
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Easy starter recipes
Pork rillettes
Pork rillettes, a French classic, is perfect served with a crusty baguette and pickles. Learn the art of meat potting with our easy recipe.
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Easy
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Filo pastry recipes
Filo-wrapped feta with spiced honey
Georgina Hayden's easy filo-wrapped feta is a guaranteed crowdpleaser. It's served drizzled with spiced honey and sprinkled with thyme.
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Easy
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Harissa recipes
Harissa, feta and filo cigars
Tangy feta meets fiery harissa and sweet honey, in this filo cigars recipe. The perfect pre-dinner bite or fancy snack – no humidor required.
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Easy
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Houmous recipes
Cauliflower houmous with pickled onions and cauliflower
This rustic cauliflower houmous will ruin you for the shop-bought variety. Top with pickles and serve with crisp lavosh or toasted pittas.
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Medium
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Easy starter recipes
Smashed potatoes with crème fraîche and roe
Smashed potatoes with crème fraîche, chives and roe make for a decadent starter or sharing dish. They're salty, creamy and very moreish.
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Easy
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