24 Easy Bites—Many of Them Make Ahead—To Create a Finger Food Feast for a Graduation Party (2024)

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Graduation season is upon us! Do you have a party in your near future? Here are 24 nibbles and bites that are easy to make and easy to share.

Carrie Havranek

Carrie has 10+ years experience as a food writer, editor, and recipe developer. She is the author of Tasting Pennsylvania and a contributor to Simply Recipes since 2017.

Learn about Simply Recipes'Editorial Process

and

Robin Shreeves

Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.

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Updated January 25, 2023

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24 Easy Bites—Many of Them Make Ahead—To Create a Finger Food Feast for a Graduation Party (1)

Graduation season is nigh—what are you making to feed the happy graduate and your friends and family?

Preparing meals for larger gatherings is all about planning, pacing and staging—careful implementation of time and resources.

For example, you can marinate skirt steak skewers ahead of time so they're ready to put on the grill as guests start to arrive. You can also make a big batch of deviled eggs and refrigerate them for several hours before serving.

Other recipes, such as the baked wontons or the cheesy zucchini bites in our round-up below, can be made entirely ahead and frozen—even better!

Here are some of our favorite bites for a big graduation party. What are yours?

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
Veggie lovers can buy a few bunches of asparagus, wrap them in thin slices of salty prosciutto, and roast them in the oven until crispy. Easy peasy. The asparagus can be wrapped several hours ahead of time and kept refrigerated.
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Sausage Rolls
Think of this as a slightly elevated take on pigs in a blanket—sausage rolls. Bake these ahead of time and reheat briefly in the oven before serving.
See Also
30+ Easy Graduation Party Food Ideas 30 Graduation Party Food Ideas This Is the Food That Will Make Your Graduation Party Great 2023 Graduation Party Food Ideas
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Broccoli Cheddar Bites
Bite-sized nibbles that you can easily cram onto a small plate or eat with one hand are often a winner at large parties. These broccoli cheddar bites also appeal to kids, too. Bonus!
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Grilled Skirt Steak Skewers
Marinate and thread the skirt steak onto skewers ahead of time and refrigerate. Fire up the grill before the guests arrive, and you’re good to go.
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Continue to 5 of 24 below.
Sour Cream and Bacon Deviled Eggs
The cool creaminess is a great foil for bacon and deviled eggs are a quintessential party favorite. Hard boil the eggs the day before, make the filling that morning, and refrigerate until party time.
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Spinach Artichoke Dip with Bacon
Dips with bacon are always crowd pleasers, and this warm one loaded with spinach is no exception. Mix the dip together ahead of time and then bake until bubbly when the party starts. Make sure you have plenty of pita chips and other crunchy things on hand for dipping.
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Cheesy Bread
It’s tempting to just leave the description at just those two words; after all, cheese and bread are so appealing. Consider this a cross between garlic bread and pizza. This recipe is so quick and easy that it needs no make-ahead steps; double or triple the recipe as needed.
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Bourbon Maple Glazed Chicken Wings
Bourbon and maple syrup complement each other well—sweet and slightly smoky and easy to share. Marinate the wings overnight and then bake them off in batches as needed.
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Continue to 9 of 24 below.
Baked Vegetable and Cream Cheese Wontons
Don't worry—these only look complicated! The best part is that you can prep the whole thing and freeze them ahead of time—and they don’t require messy deep frying, either.
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Potato Herb Tart
Cut this baby up into smaller pieces, put it out on a big tray, and sprinkle with fresh chives. This recipe is best left to the last minute and served hot from the oven, but with only a few key ingredients (namely, puff pastry and potatoes), it comes together in a flash.
See Also
40+ Graduation Party Food Ideas and Themes 2020
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Easy Muhammara
Roasted red peppers, walnuts, and a touch of pomegranate molasses create a dip that's perfect for raw veggies and crackers. The recipe is easy to double or triple depending on the size of the party crowd.
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Classic Cheese Ball
You might want to make two of this retro appetizer made with cream cheese, cheddar, simple seasonings, and pecans because people can't resist it.
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Continue to 13 of 24 below.
Asparagus Pakoras with Lemony Yogurt Sauce
These crispy fried fritters are made with chickpea flour, asparagus, and lots of fresh herbs. Make the pakoras up to 5 days ahead; to warm them up, bake on a sheet pan for 7 to 10 minutes at 300°F. You can also use a toaster oven on the ‘toast’ setting.
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Roasted Red Pepper Dip
Roasted red bell peppers, fresh red bell peppers, garlic, mayonnaise, and balsamic vinegar create a delicious dip for crudités, breadsticks, or chips. Make up to 2 days ahead to cut down on party day work.
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Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil
These toasts with tomato and basil topping are perfect for a party. Make a large batch of the topping ahead of time. Toast the baguette slices ahead of time. Bring them both out during the party and let people put the topping on themselves.
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Banana Bread
Everyone loves banana bread so turn it into a make-ahead snack for your graduation party. Bake it up to 2 days ahead of time, let it cool, wrap it in plastic wrap, and keep it at room temperature. Unwrap before the party, cut it into slices, place it out with the other snacks, and watch it disappear.
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Continue to 17 of 24 below.
Guacamole
This authentic guacamole recipes deserves homemade tortilla chips, but since it's party day, no one will think twice if you take it easy on yourself and serve it with store bought chips.
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Candied Bacon
Bring out these bacon treats and watch your guests make a beeline for the snack table. Just two ingredients, bacon and brown sugar (with optional black pepper), go into this snack you can make a couple days ahead of time. Reheat just before serving.
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Kettle Corn
Four ingredients. Five minutes. Make a few batches of this sweet popcorn 2 or 3 days before the party, and it will keep until you're ready to serve. Just hide it or it might disappear before the party.
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Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Chicken Wings
Let the slow cooker do the work and keep these wings warm for you. Sweet, savory, and spicy, these are the perfect wings to serve for the party, and the perfect way to prepare them.
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Continue to 21 of 24 below.
Cheesy Zucchini Bites
Cheddar, parmesan, lemon, and rosemary flavor these zucchini bites. If you're a super planner, make them weeks ahead of time, freeze, defrost and serve at room temperature.
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Deviled Egg Salad
Reinvent the deviled eggs by putting all the flavors of the classic appetizer into egg salad form. It keeps in the fridge for 3 to 5 days so you can make it ahead. Serve it surrounded by crackers or bagel chips to scoop it up.
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Buffalo Chicken Dip
Don't relegate this crowd-pleasing dip to sport's gatherings. It's just as crowd-pleasing at a graduation party. It reheats well so make it the day ahead of time and pop it back in the oven shortly before serving.
Buffalo Chicken DipREAD MORE:
Caramelized Onion Dip
You're going to have potato chips at the grad party, right? Give them a homemade onion dip that elevates the chip and dip experience. It tastes better on day 2, after the flavors have a chance to meld together, so it's great make-ahead party fare.
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