Wedding celebrations can easily end up being an all day affair, especially when you include getting ready, the wedding ceremony, reception, and after party—-which is why providing a variety of appetizers is key to helping keep your guests’ tummies happy and ensure everyone who took the time out to support you during your wedding day are enjoying themselves and having a good time.

You don’t want the people who mean a lot to you to have to go too long without eating as that alters the mood and energy levels of guests and you also don’t want anyone to have to leave your event early to eat due to there not being any options to accommodate their dietary needs.

Kabobs or skewer appetizers make the perfect hors d'oeuvre ideas for weddings. Skewer appetizers is a small meal served on a stick (typically bamboo skewers) that allow your guests to enjoy the appetizer without getting their hands dirty.

Skewer appetizers are not only easy to make, but they’re also easy to clean up. Because of the versatility and being able to accommodate a wide range of dietary needs, kabobs are great for wedding receptions, bridal showers, and make the perfect party food for a wide variety of other celebrations.

Today, I’m sharing a round-up of skewer appetizer recipes that you could feel free to add to your wedding / bridal shower menus.

10 Skewer Appetizers

Here are some of my favorite skewers recipe ideas for you to try.

Beef (or Steak) kabobs

It wouldn’t be right for us to mention kabob ideas without talking about the traditional beef kabobs. These popular skewer options are traditionally made up of marinated beef (or steak), onions, and bell peppers varieties stacked on bamboo skewers. Don’t want to use red meat? You can swap out the beef for chicken to make a chicken kabob. You guests will honestly be happy with either as they both are filling and delicious!

Fruit Kabobs

Fruit kabobs are ideal for summer weddings, but make the perfect addition to your wedding appetizer no matter the season! Rather than offering up a traditional fruit tray, stack your fruit varieties on bamboo skewers for an interesting and eye-catching twist that every guest is sure to enjoy! 

Easy Antipasto Skewers

For the meat and cheese lovers, offer up a bite of salami, cheese, and olives for the perfect combination to hold guests over until it’s reception time. Like all the other ideas, this appetizer recipe is also super easy to prepare.

Ingredients

• 2 oz Cheese, sliced, mozzarella, full fat/ regular - 140 calories

• 2 oz Salami - 208 calories

• 2 oz Black Olives, whole - 100 calories

Directions

1. Cut block of mozzarella into small squares.

2. Pierce 1 square mozzarella + 1 circle slice of salami (folded) + 1 black olive with a toothpick (& continue).

3. Dairy free? Use a dairy free cheese – see Supplemental Materials. Vegetarian? Use a meat-free sausage chopped up into small slices.

Caprese Skewers

Bring this trusty Italian staple to your wedding appetizer menu that your wedding guests are sure to love! A traditional caprese is made up of mozzarella balls, grape tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, and red wine vinegar. Just stack these ingredients onto a skewer and drizzle your kabobs in red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Bonus: this appetizer recipe also works for those on a vegetarian and gluten-free diet!

Apple Prosciutto Bites

This recipe has a little bit of everything – notes of sweet, savory, salty, and bitter making it a winning combo so many of your guests will find it to be a hit! To put this one together, you’ll need:

Ingredients

• 1 Apple, small - 77 calories

• 1 cup Leafy greens, arugula, raw - 5 calories

• ⅓ cup Cheese, Parmesan, shaved (cups) - 111 calories

• 2 oz Prosciutto - 120 calories

Directions

1. Slice apple.

2. Top apple slice with 1 piece arugula + 1 strip Parmesan.

3. Wrap 1 small strip prosciutto around stack and pierce with toothpick if desired. Continue.

4. Dairy free? Use a dairy free cheese, or more prosciutto. Vegetarian? Add more cheese instead of using prosciutto.

Mini Pancake and PB Skewers

If your wedding is earlier in the day, then these mini pancake and pb skewers will make the perfect appetizer recipe to try. It’s light, tasty, and filling making it a great option to add to your menu. Also, another bonus is these are super economic to whip together large batches using just a few ingredients from the grocery store.

Just be careful with this one as it won’t work as an option to serve around those with a peanut allergy, but it definitely works for many other diets and is great if there are no guests needing to avoid peanuts!

Ingredients

• 1 Pancakes, ~100-calorie serving, frozen or homemade - 100 calories

• 4 Tbsp Peanut butter, unsweetened (Tbsp) - 376 calories

• 1 cup Strawberries, fresh - 50 calories

Directions

1. I’m using mini pancakes from Whole Foods – you can find similar ones at many grocery stores. Just choose a calorie-equivalent amount.

2. Bake pancakes as directed on package.

3. Once pancakes are cooked, spread peanut butter & make small stacks. Add 1/2 a strawberry on each stack.

4. You’ll likely have extra strawberries, eat them on the side!

5. Gluten free? Use gluten free pancakes.

Shrimp Kabobs

Shrimp is one of those ingredients that can be served cold, which makes it the perfect appetizer recipe for weddings or bridal showers. It’s easy to put together too. Just head to the grocery store and pick up the following items and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 Cucumber, medium - 42 calories

• 5 oz Shrimp, fresh or frozen - 140 calories

• ¼ cup Guacamole - 105 calories

• ¼ tsp Salt - 0 calories

• ⅛ tsp Red pepper flakes - 0 calories

Directions

1. Spray a pan with an oil spray.

2. Cook shrimp on medium heat ~6 minutes, drain any excess liquid if necessary. Also de-tail shrimp if necessary.

3. Slice cucumber.

4. Top cucumber slices with guac and shrimp.

5. Stick the bamboo skewers through the appetizers.

6. Season.

Greek Salad Kabobs with Artichoke

Reimagine all the ingredients traditionally found on a Greek salad now stacked onto bamboo skewers to make the perfect party food and skewers recipe. Here’s all you’ll need:

Ingredients

• ¼ Onion, red - 11 calories

• ½ oz Olives, sliced - 25 calories

• 1 cup Tomatoes, grape - 32 calories

• ½ cup Artichoke hearts - 35 calories

• 4 cups Mixed greens - 40 calories

• 4 tsp Red wine vinegar (tsp) - 4 calories

• ⅓ cup Cheese, crumbled, feta - 133 calories

• 1 Tbsp Olive oil (Tbsp) - 119 calories

• ¼ tsp Salt - 0 calories

• ¼ tsp Pepper, ground - 0 calories

• ¼ tsp Oregano - 0 calories

Directions

1. Chop onion and tomatoes into bite sized bits. Slice artichokes into smaller pieces. 

2. Stack all ingredients on bamboo skewers.

3. Top with seasonings and dressing.

4. No dairy? Use dairy-free cheese.

Chocolate Strawberry Dessert Kabobs

Can’t forget about desserts! Sometimes it just works to satisfy those sweet tooth cravings your guests are sure to have while waiting for the wedding reception and wedding cake. You can offer up these quick and easy dessert kabobs for guests. Here’s the recipe!

Strawberry Santa Hat Skewers

This is the same concept as the chocolate dessert kabobs we just mentioned, only this option that is gluten free and dairy free! Prepare these without the brownies and make sure to grab marshmallows that don’t “contain milk”, and wholah! Plus, if you’re having a winter themed wedding or bridal shower you can rename these as “Santa Hats”.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Strawberries, fresh - 100 calories

• ⅓ cup Marshmallows, mini - 50 calories

Directions

1. Slice off top of each strawberry.

2. Spear one strawberry and one marshmallow with a toothpick, as shown in the picture.

3. Any extra marshmallows? Eat them on the side.

If you need more ideas for bridal shower appetizers, we’ve got you covered along with the best wedding appetizers there are on the planet!

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