39 Hanukkah Appetizers (Latke Bites, Dips & Fried Everything)

Hanukkah is the only Jewish holiday where the food rules are basically “if you can, fry it.” Eight nights, one miracle about oil, and a cultural mandate to put something crispy in front of your guests. I am not going to argue with tradition.

But here is the thing nobody tells you about hosting Hanukkah: latkes are a tricky party food if latkes are your only party food. They want to be eaten fresh out of the pan, which means you are standing at the stove with a spatula while everyone else drinks wine in the other room. Ask me how I know.

So this list is built the way I actually host. A few latkes, yes, because obviously. Then a pile of dips you made yesterday, some fried things that hold up better than latkes do, and a tray of bites you can assemble cold and forget about. Here are 39 Hanukkah appetizers, sorted by how much time they will cost you on the night.

Why fried food and cheese on Hanukkah

Quick version, in case a guest asks. The oil is the whole point. The Hanukkah story turns on a one-day supply of lamp oil that burned for eight nights in the rededicated Temple, so we eat food cooked in oil to remember it. Latkes, sufganiyot, anything that hits a pan of hot schmaltz or canola. That is the fried half.

The cheese half comes from Judith, who gets much less airtime than she deserves. In the story she feeds the Assyrian general Holofernes salty cheese, he gets thirsty, she keeps the wine coming, and once he passes out she beheads him and saves her town. Girl power! Dairy on Hanukkah is a nod to her. So when I tell you to put out a cheese dip, that is not me being lazy. It’s related!

Latke bites for a crowd

These are the latkes I make when people are coming over, as opposed to the ones I make standing over the stove in a bathrobe. Most can be fried an hour ahead and crisped back up in a hot oven for five minutes, which is the single most useful thing I know about hosting Hanukkah. If you want the full technique breakdown (potato choice, oil temperature, why yours went soggy), I put all of it in my guide to perfect crispy latkes.

Fried pickle latkes with everything bagel ranch

Two bar snacks combined into one tasty fried treat. Dill pickle ticked into the potato batter, everything bagel ranch for dipping, and the briny tang cuts the fried richness so people keep reaching for another. This is the most popular recipe on my site during Hanukkah and I understand why. Get the recipe.

Spinach artichoke dip latkes

Spinach and artichoke cheesy latkes dipped in more cheesiness. I do not know what else to tell you. Get the recipe.

Caesar salad latkes

Okay health queen! A crispy potato latke topped with chopped romaine, dressing and shaved parm, so it eats like a wedge salad you can hold. Good for the moment in the evening when someone says they need a vegetable. Get the recipe.

Flamin’ hot latkes

Crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in the crust. Loud, orange, absolutely a conversation piece. So wrong or so wrong it’s right? I’ll let you decide. Get the recipe.

Latkes nachos with homemade queso

Latkes instead of tortilla chips, then queso, jalapeños and all the toppings. Build it on one big sheet pan, put it in the middle of the table, and let the room handle it. Get the recipe.

Latkes alfredo

Fettuccine alfredo’s richness spooned over a crisp latke. Deeply unserious, completely delicious, and the kind of thing that makes a Hanukkah party memorable rather than just fed. Get the recipe.

Loaded chili cheese latkes

Chili, cheese, sour cream, scallions. A loaded potato skin that went to Hebrew school. Get the recipe.

General Tso’s latkes

Sweet, sticky, a little spicy, and a nod to the great American Jewish tradition of Chinese food. Get the recipe.

Brussels sprouts latkes

Shredded brussels sprouts in place of the potato. They crisp into lacy, frizzled edges and taste much lighter than a classic latke, so they are a good opener before the heavier stuff arrives. Get the recipe.

Sweet potato casserole latkes

Sweet potato latkes with the marshmallow-and-pecan treatment. Half appetizer, half dessert, entirely at home when Hanukkah lands near Thanksgiving. Get the recipe.

Rainbow latkes

Beet, sweet potato, carrot and regular potato, fried into a stack of colors. The one I make when kids are coming, and the one that always ends up on somebody’s Instagram. Get the recipe.

Dips and spreads you can make the day before

Every single one of these is better on day two, which is the whole reason they are on the list. Make them Wednesday, pull them out Thursday, and spend the party talking to your guests instead of apologizing from the kitchen.

Everything bagel dip

Everything bagel seasoning folded into a cream cheese and sour cream base, served with bagel chips or veggies. It is the flavor everyone already loves in a format that feeds twelve people. Dairy, so Judith approves. Get the recipe.

Beet hummus with rainbow crudité

Shocking magenta hummus surrounded by a rainbow of raw vegetables. Does an enormous amount of visual work on a table that is otherwise brown and fried, and it comes together fast. Get the recipe.

Spicy dill pickle hummus

Chopped dill pickles and heat blended into hummus. Briny, garlicky, a little aggressive, and it disappears faster than the classic version every time I put both out. Get the recipe.

Honey tahini yogurt dip

Thick yogurt, tahini, honey. Sweet and savory at once, and the coolness is a genuine relief next to a plate of fried potatoes. Good with crackers, better with fruit. Get the recipe.

Whipped goat labneh

Tangy labneh whipped with goat cheese until it is airy, then pooled in a bowl with olive oil. Feels fancy and it is the cheese course hiding inside a dip. Get the recipe.

Jewish guacamole

Guacamole with an Ashkenazi accent. Sounds like a bit until you try it, and then it becomes the thing you bring to every party. Get the recipe.

Cheesy bourbon horseradish dip

Warm, sharp, boozy and unapologetically rich. Serve it in a small dish with a lot of bread, because people will not stop. Get the recipe.

Fried bites that hold up better than latkes

Still honoring the oil, but with more forgiving timing. These stay good for fifteen or twenty minutes on a platter, which in party terms is an eternity.

Roman Jewish fried artichokes

Carciofi alla giudia, the great dish of the Roman Jewish ghetto. A whole artichoke fried until the leaves open into a crisp bronze flower. So impressive and it is nothing but artichoke, oil and salt. Get the recipe.

Deep fried matzo balls

Take a matzo ball, fry it, serve it with a dipping sauce. Crunchy outside, pillowy inside, and it converts even the people who claim to have negative matzo ball opinions. Get the recipe.

Beer battered brisket fritters

Leftover brisket in a beer batter with horseradish cream. An excellent answer to the question of what to do with the brisket, and a better appetizer than most things built from scratch. Get the recipe.

Chickpea fries with date ketchup

Crisp panisse-style chickpea batons with a sweet, tangy date ketchup. Naturally gluten free, and they fry up in minutes from a batter you set the night before. Get the recipe.

Fried leek rings with homemade ketchup

Onion rings’ more elegant cousin. Sweet, mild, shatteringly crisp, and a nice break from potato when the potato count is running high. Get the recipe.

Savory sufganiyot with chopped liver

Hanukkah doughnuts, but savory, piped full of chopped liver instead of jelly. The most Jewish sentence I have ever written and a genuinely brilliant party bite. Get the recipe.

Knishes, bourekas and dumplings

The savory pastry section. Nearly all of these freeze raw, which means you can do the fussy assembly weeks ahead and bake straight from the freezer on the night.

Beef and sweet potato knishes

A proper knish, filled with seasoned beef and sweet potato. Hearty enough that a tray of these plus a couple of dips is honestly a whole spread. Get the recipe.

Garlic mashed potato knishes

Garlicky mashed potato in a tender dough. Cut them small and serve with mustard. Get the recipe.

Mofongo knishes with mustard amba

Puerto Rican mofongo inside an Ashkenazi knish, with amba for dipping. My favorite kind of recipe, where two traditions turn out to want the same thing. Get the recipe.

Bourekas

Flaky Sephardi pastry triangles, cheese or potato filled. Buy the puff pastry, nobody will know, and they bake into the most reliable crowd-pleaser on the table. Get the recipe.

Pastrami on rye pot stickers

A deli sandwich in dumpling form, pan fried so one side goes golden. Serve with a mustard dipping sauce and expect to explain the concept exactly once before the plate is gone. Get the recipe.

Pot roast egg rolls

Shredded pot roast rolled and fried until blistered. The best possible use for leftover brisket that is not a sandwich. Get the recipe.

Cold bites you can assemble ahead

No frying, no oven timing, no standing up. Build these on a tray, cover them, refrigerate, and put them out when the doorbell rings.

Sabich crostini

The Israeli sabich sandwich (fried eggplant, egg, amba, tahini) rebuilt on a crostini. All the flavor of the best thing at the shuk in two bites. Get the recipe.

Tzimmes crostini

Sweet carrot and dried fruit tzimmes spooned onto toast with something creamy. A clever way to get a traditional holiday side onto an appetizer plate. Get the recipe.

Kofta stuffed dates

Spiced meat tucked into a date. Sweet, savory, rich, and about as close to a guaranteed hit as an appetizer gets. Six ingredients. Get the recipe.

Pickled beet everything bagel deviled eggs

Deviled eggs, pickled beet pink, everything bagel spice on top. Deviled eggs are already the most efficient appetizer ever invented and these are the prettiest ones I make. Get the recipe.

Bagel, lox and schmear bites

The entire bagel spread miniaturized into one-bite form. Assembles in fifteen minutes and photographs absurdly well. Get the recipe.

Cheese, for Judith

Four that lean all the way into the dairy tradition. If you only take one thing from the Judith story, let it be permission to serve more cheese. Everyone loves a cheese plate, right??

Brie and apple blintzes with balsamic reduction

Melted brie and apple in a delicate crepe with a sweet-sharp balsamic drizzle. Cut each blintz into thirds and it becomes a passed appetizer. Get the recipe.

Caprese rugelach

Rugelach rolled with mozzarella, tomato and basil. Savory rugelach is an underrated idea and this is the version that sold me on it. Get the recipe.

Lox and cream cheese rangoon

A crab rangoon that went to shul. Lox and cream cheese folded into a wonton and fried until it blisters, so it is dairy and fried at the same time, which makes it the most efficiently traditional thing on this list. Serve them hot with something sharp to dip into. Get the recipe.

Beet fries with goat cheese sauce

Sweet, earthy beet fries with a tangy goat cheese sauce for dipping. An East Side Kings copycat, and the plate that convinces people who think they do not like beets. The magenta against the white sauce does a lot for a table full of fried brown things. Get the recipe.

How to build a Hanukkah appetizer spread

The formula I use, for eight to twelve people: two dips made the day before, one cold tray, one pastry you baked from frozen, two fried things, and one or two latkes. That is it. Seven items, and only three of them require you to be standing up when guests arrive.

Pick your one or two great latkes, make a double batch, and let the other six things do the work.

On quantity, plan six to eight bites per person if dinner is coming, and ten to twelve if the appetizers are dinner, which honestly is the better party. And put something cold and acidic on the table, whether that is the pickles, the crudité or the deviled eggs. After the third fried thing your guests will need it more than they realize.

Hanukkah appetizer FAQ

What are traditional Hanukkah appetizers?

Latkes are the classic, along with anything else fried in oil, since the holiday commemorates the miracle of the Temple oil. Dairy is the other tradition, from the story of Judith, so cheese dips, blintzes and cheese pastries are all traditional. Knishes, bourekas and fried artichokes are longstanding holiday foods in Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Italian Jewish kitchens respectively.

What Hanukkah appetizers can I make ahead?

Every dip on this list is better made a day ahead. Knishes and bourekas can be assembled and frozen raw weeks in advance, then baked from frozen. The crostini and deviled eggs can be assembled a few hours ahead and refrigerated. Latkes can be fried up to an hour ahead and re-crisped for five minutes in a 425°F oven, which is the trick that makes hosting bearable.

What are some easy Hanukkah appetizers?

The whipped goat labneh, beet hummus, honey tahini yogurt dip and kofta stuffed dates are all under fifteen minutes of active work with short ingredient lists. Start there if you are short on time or hosting alongside a full dinner.

What Hanukkah appetizers work as finger foods?

The bagel lox bites, kofta stuffed dates, deviled eggs, bourekas, pot stickers and small knishes are all one or two bites and need no plate or fork. For a standing party, build the spread mostly from that group and skip anything that needs to be cut.

How many appetizers do I need for a Hanukkah party?

Six to eight pieces/bites per person if you are serving dinner afterward, and ten to twelve if the appetizers are the meal. Across six to eight different items, that means a double batch of two or three things and single batches of the rest. I like to err on the side of having too much food!

Are these Hanukkah appetizers vegetarian?

Most of them. All seven dips, the chickpea fries, beet fries, fried leek rings, fried artichokes, potato knishes, bourekas, tzimmes crostini, sabich crostini, deviled eggs, blintzes, caprese rugelach and nearly every latke here are vegetarian. The meat ones are the brisket fritters, pot roast egg rolls, beef knishes, mofongo knishes, pot stickers, kofta dates and savory sufganiyot. The lox rangoon and the bagel lox bites are fish rather than meat.