by Sheila Buck

Created on: February 28, 2012   Last Updated: February 29, 2012

Many people like to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day. Some people like to go to bars or to dances. Others like to have a get-together at home. If you are throwing a St. Patrick’s Day party at your home, you will want to make sure your guests have plenty of food to munch on. The main course isn’t the only focus point of the holiday party. Most guests like to eat smaller snacks throughout the evening. The following are some St. Patrick’s Day appetizer ideas that your company will enjoy.

The color theme for St. Patrick’s Day is green and gold. You may want to focus on green foods that are placed on to gold/yellow platters. You can also make appetizers that use foods that are traditional to eat on this holiday. Traditional St. Patrick’s Day foods include; corned beef, cabbage, bacon, and potatoes.

The following recipes are quick and simple to make. The corned beef can be prepared a day earlier. Boiling or baking the corned beef ahead of time helps minimize the time needed to make the appetizers. Nothing fancy needs to be done to the corned beef before cooking it.

Ham and Pickle Roll-Ups

These tiny snacks are quick and easy to make. Lay spinach wraps on waxed paper. Spread mayonnaise around the center of the wrap, making sure to keep the mayo away from the edges. Place two ham slices onto each wrap. Arrange four  sliced dill pickles on top of the ham. Roll the wrap into a log shape. Use a sharp knife to cut the log into pieces, width-wise. Stick a toothpick into each sandwich roll so they don’t fall apart. Arrange them on a platter.

Corned Beef Spread

Mix together two cups of mayonnaise, one cup of sour cream, and one cup of cream cheese. When the mixture is smooth, add one small onion (finely chopped), two cups shredded corned beef, two teaspoons dill weed, and garlic powder to taste. Stir the mixture until it is well mixed. This spread is a great topping for Irish brown bread, and crackers.

Cabbage Wrapped Corned Beef and Bacon

Wrap wedges of cooked corned beef with slices of bacon. Wrap a leaf of boiled cabbage around each meat combo. Use a toothpick to hold each wrap together. This treat tastes good by itself or dipped in the corned beef spread.

Chips and Dip

Serve potato chips with french onion or ranch dip. Put a few drops of green food coloring into the dip and mix it up for a festive look. Tortilla chips can also be served with guacamole. Spinach and artichoke dip is another great choice. 

Sugar Cookies

Make your favorite sugar cookies, using shamrock cookie cutters to cut the dough. Decorate the cookies using green sprinkles or green frosting. You could add some green food coloring to the dough to make festive cookies.

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