The best starter recipes for fuss-free entertaining
Kick off your dinner party as you mean to go on, with an impressive starter.
Get the party started with our top picks of the most impressive starter recipes to make for your next dinner party, or take your entertaining more low-key with our delicious nibbles and dips.
We've found recipes that will satisfy all guests, from salads to homemade bread, tarts to soups - plus there's some real showstoppers for special occasions, like our twice-baked soufflés.
Don't forget to have a good selection of wines. We've rounded up our top performing red wines, white wines, English sparkling wines and Prosecco for drinks to pair with your food.
Prawn cocktail tartlets
If you love a prawn cocktail, you'll want to try this puff pastry tartlet version. They're moreish and elevated with using some Fresh white crab meat, too.
Recipe: Prawn cocktail tartlets
Asparagus bundles
This easy starter is the perfect use of in-season spears. Simply roast a parma-ham wrapped spear for an easy, sophisticated starter.
Recipe: Asparagus bundles
Roasted celeriac, walnut & Stilton soup
Celeriac adds such a wonderful flavour to dishes and pairs perfectly in this velvety celeriac, walnut and Stilton soup.
Mandarin, pomegranate and goat's cheese salad
This vibrant and tangy salad is filled with walnuts, goat's cheese and zingy mandarin and pomegranate. Plus, a zesty mustard dressing. Perfect with a glass of fizz.
Whipped beetroot and feta dip with caramelised onion crackers
Crackers and dip is a fail-safe starter for a dinner party and this one is a vibrant beetroot and whipped feta number.
Recipe: Whipped beetroot and feta dip with caramelised onion crackers
Bresaola with Celeriac and Pear Remoulade
An update on a classic remoulade. We've served salty bresaola with pickled radishes and a celeriac and pear remoulade.
Smoked Mackerel Pâté with Rye Crackers
This pâté has a lovely green colour from the watercress, but parsley would make a good alternative.
Asparagus and Hollandaise Tart
This tart recipe is so easy – just use a jar of hollandaise, fresh asparagus and ready made puff pastry for a striking starter.
Recipe: Asparagus and Hollandaise Tart
Fig and Parma Tartines with Courgette Salad
An open-faced sandwich, topped with a winning flavour combination and served with a refreshing salad.
Goat’s Cheese, Rosemary and Red Grape Focaccia
We’ve suggested using a freestanding mixer, as this dough is fairly sticky (this gives the bread its unique texture), but it can be achieved by hand. Grease your worksurface and hands with a little extra oil and knead for 10min, until dough its elastic and soft.
Pork and Apricot Terrine with Sourdough
This pork and apricot terrine is the ultimate make-ahead starter – it can be assembled and cooked up to 3 days ahead.
Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad
Za’atar is a zingy herb and spice mix, but if you can’t get hold of it, a teaspoon each of dried oregano and cumin would work well instead.
Baked Tunworth with Roasted Grapes and Crostini
Forget Camembert, British Tunworth (made in Hampshire) is our go-to cheese for this indulgent starter.
Crab and Asparagus Clafoutis
We’ve used a mix of white and brown meat to maximise the flavour of this savoury dish.
Recipe: Crab and Asparagus Clafoutis
Clementine and Crab Tartlets
We love using a mix of brown and white crab meat in these for flavour, but you can use just the white for a more delicate finish.
Recipe: Clementine and Crab Tartlets
Roasted Tomato and Burrata Salad
This creamy burrata salad is irresistible when combined with sweet summer tomatoes and basil.
Recipe: Roasted Tomato and Burrata Salad
Twice Baked Spinach and Goat’s Cheese Soufflés
This tasty vegetarian main can easily be doubled. Make sure you use a baking dish that’s just big enough to fit the soufflés without them touching and check your goat’s cheese is vegetarian, if needed.
Creamy Guinness Mussels
We've used Guinness as the base of the sauce in this addictively creamy mussels dish.
Recipe: Creamy Guinness Mussels
Lime and Coriander Fish Cakes
These salmon and prawn fishcakes are zesty and fragrant in equal measure. You could swap the salmon for another meaty fish such as cod.
Recipe: Lime and Coriander Fish Cakes
Prawn Bisque
Simply exquisite, this get-ahead soup is so worth the effort. Restaurant quality at home.
Recipe: Prawn Bisque
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
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