With summer’s clock quickly winding down (it’s almost September already?!?), we are all trying to cram as much summer fun into our warm days and nights as possible. BBQs, of course, remain the go-to get-together. But even with all of that meat and drink drawing your guests, you still have to prepare some nibblies for the wait between their steak order and when it’s finished on the grill.
With that in mind, I’ve gathered together some great bacon-related appetizer recipes. Follow us after the link for the top twelve.
1. Bacon Pops! Goat Cheese Pops with Herbs, Pecan and Bacon. These are like little bacon lollipops. If the words, “bacon lollipops” doesn’t make you immediately toss your laptop off your lap and rush into the kitchen to make something, anything that resembles bacon lollipops, I think you might be reading the wrong website.
2. Baked Potato Skin Appetizers with Bacon and Cheese. These feel like they’d slide really easily onto any BBQ menu. And then, just as easily, slide into your guest’s bellies.
3. Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Bits. Little chicken bites doused in spicy brown sugar and wrapped in bacon. All you need to know.
4. Bacon and Eggs Appetizer. Not only does this appetizer combine bacon and eggs in a delicious way, it is also served on a little spoon, making rapid consumption relatively easy and greasy-finger-free.
5. Bacon-Wrapped Bananas with Apricot Glaze. I’m sorry. Were you talking to me? I couldn’t hear you. I was too busy paying attention to BACON-WRAPPED BANANAS.
6. Bacon Mushroom Appetizers. For all those fun-guys out there! (Yes, I am allowed to make ridiculous jokes.)
7. Duck Breast and Bacon-Pineapple Appetizer. This recipe is for all those times when you have duck breast kicking around your kitchen. Kidding, of course, but it’s always good to try something new, isn’t it?
8. Peanut Butter, Scallion, and Bacon Appetizers. As Samuel Johnson said on his deathbed in the 18th century, “When one is weari’d of bacon and the buttered peanuts, one is tired of life.”
9. Bacon Appetizer Crescents. This new century has been definitely the Century of the Mash-Up. So why not mash-up some crescent rolls with a few bacon slices? All the hipsters are doing it.
10. Bacon and Cheddar Devilled Eggs. We will give you this list of a few Christmas appetizer recipes below, including the Devilled Eggs. But like white shoes, devilled eggs are no longer confined to a specific time period. Those eggs are dying to see the sun, too!
11. Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Shrimp Recipe. Rachel Ray promises me that this will only take sixteen minutes. And when she promises something, she really means it. So, if you are concerned that other app recipes leave too much time between thinking about shrimp, bacon and pineapple and the consuming of shrimp, bacon, and pineapple, this one has you covered.
12. Bacon and Cream Cheese Roll-Ups. The creator of this recipe advises getting out-of-the-way of the tray when it is served, lest you get hurt by stampeding partygoers.
BONUS: Five Amazing and Easy Bacon Appetizers for the Holidays
The holiday party season is upon us. My favourite part of the holidays is definitely all the eating that goes with it, particularly when that eating includes some bacon.
I’m also a big fan of making things for the holidays that have as few steps as possible between the ingredients and eating those ingredients. The holidays are for enjoying yourself with friends, not sweating in a kitchen.
On that note, here’s five delicious bacon-based appetizers that require minimal cooking.
1. Bacon-wrapped fruit
The easiest-peasiest recipe possible. Take your favourite fruit. Chop it up into pieces. Wrap some cooked bacon that has been cut into strips around the fruit. Skewer away. And voila! You are instantly everyone’s favourite host/hostess. The best fruits are melon-y ones like cantaloupe or mango. The flavour of these fruit complement the flavour of bacon. However, other tropical fruits can also be surprisingly delicious, like kiwi. If you use a sturdy fruit like pineapple, you can actually wrap the fruit before you bake the bacon in the oven. This will make the flavour of the bacon and the pineapple mix. Mmmmmm. I’m getting hungry! We found a great pineapple recipe from the people at Zesty Cook.
2. Bacon-wrapped scallops
Pretty much like the same idea as the fruit, except for this you’ll definitely have to cook each portion and cook them separately. Sear the scallops in a medium-hot pan with some butter and oil (or bacon grease!). When you are searing them, try not to move them around. Just let them cook for about a minute and a half. After that, flip them to let them cook on the other side for another minute. Remove, let them cool, and wrap with bacon. Skewer ‘em up. And then enjoy your very own surf n’ turf.
Stephanie from CopyKat Recipes has made a delicious Bacon Wrapped Scallop dish.
3. Bacon and chicken wraps
Cook your chicken until it’s browned but tender. A good way to do this is on a George Foreman-type grill, but any old cooking method will do. And you won’t need too much – one boneless chicken breast is enough. Cook your bacon. Wrap thin strips of that bacon around a little sandwich of an olive and a small piece of chicken. If you are doing this before your party, you can store the apps in the fridge and then heat them for about ten minutes in the oven. The gooey olivey goodness will put everyone into the Christmas cheer. BakedBree.com sure knows how to make a good chicken bacon wrap!
4. Peanut-bacon toasts
This one sounds a little low-brow, but it’s a great treat for kids. Take some extra-thin bread and cover about four slices with your favourite peanut butter. Cut the bread into ninths – cut each piece three times vertically and three times horizontally. Wrap each piece with some bacon. (You’ll probably have to cut the bacon into strips so that it wraps properly.) Put the pieces on a tray and pop into the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. This sort of recipe calls for all sorts of variations. A nutella version would probably work out great. BokehBunny made it with Peanut-bacon French Toast!
5. Bacon-Cheddar Deviled Eggs
It’s devilled eggs, with a cheesy-bacon filling. For this, you’ll have to cook some bacon until its super crispy – crispy enough to fall apart when you crumble it. Then, take twelve hardboiled eggs. Cut them lengthwise and scoop out the yolks. Mash the yolks in a bowl with about half a cup of mayo, two tablespoons of cheese that’s been grated, a tablespoon of Dijon, and your crumbled bacon (about four slices). Add salt and pepper to taste. When it’s all mixed up, scoop it back into the eggs. It’s probably a good idea to make more than just twenty-four for a big party: these things will go fast. Feels Like Home Blog mentions this awesome recipe.
How about you? Do you have any bacon-related apps you like to bring out at the holiday time?