After getting a smoker most people dive straight into all the low and slow classics. While I love smoking brisket or pulled pork for 12+ hours, there are so many delicious appetizers and snacks you can churn out in an hour or two.
If you’re looking for some fresh ideas of things to smoke that are perfect for parties and don’t take too long, read on for our full list of quick smoker appetizers.
We’ve got you covered with a range of smoked meat, seafood, and vegetable snack ideas.
Best[TAG25][TAG26] Recipes
1. [TAG27]
These smoked pig shots are one of our most popular appetizers on the blog, with a 4.98/5 rating from hundreds of reviews.
You wrap pieces of Kielbasa sausage with streaky bacon to create a shot glass and fill it with a cream cheese mixture.
These only take around 45 minutes on the smoker, so you can throw these on just before your guests arrive, and they will be ready in no time.
Recipe: Smoked Pig Shots
2. [TAG30]
Be prepared to get your fingers sticky eating pasta. And who’d have thought you could cook pasta on your smoker anyway?
Well, you can, and we can vouch that they’re delicious. How can they not be? Manicotti tubes stuffed with ground beef and cheese, wrapped in bacon, with a lick of BBQ sauce.
Recipe: Smoked shotgun shells
3. [TAG34]
What BBQ appetizer list would be complete without a twist on the jalapeño popper?
Atomic buffalo turds have been around for a while. They are essentially a pimped version of a smoked jalapeño popper, stuffed with smoked pork sausage.
We like to serve these with our favorite BBQ sauce on the side for dipping.
Recipe: Smoked atomic buffalo turds
4. [TAG38]
If you are watching your carb intake at the moment, then these are a good option.
Our jalapeño cheese squares are low-carb and keto-friendly, and thanks to the bacon, cheese, and jalapeños, they do not lack flavor.
Recipe: Jalapeño cheese squares
5. [TAG40]
All it takes is a little creative knife work (don’t worry we will show you how easy it is), and you can turn a basic chicken drumstick into a unique smoked appetizer.
To amp up the flavor, we like to wrap these in bacon and dip them in a barbecue sauce for a sticky, delicious chicken snack.
Recipe: Smoked Chicken Lollipops
6. [TAG43]
Everyone knows that smoking makes everything better, but the fact that hot honey makes everything amazing is a bit of a secret.
Our take on the viral smoked cream cheese trend is perfect for game day platters or serve it with pre-dinner drinks.
Recipe: Hot Honey Smoked Cream Cheese
7. [TAG45]
No list of appetizers to make on the smoker would be complete without a smoked queso.
We make ours with a mix of cheddar, pepper jack, Velveeta, and cream cheese and then add chilis, tomatoes, and spices. Hot queso dip is perfect served with corn chips for dipping
Recipe: Smoked Queso Dip
8. [TAG48]
If you have leftover pulled pork, you’ve got the perfect appetizer. Grilled crostini piled with pulled pork and slaw make a crunchy, smokey, sweet mouthful of barbecue.
They are super easy to make and pack a ton of flavor. Plus, half the work has already been done.
Recipe: BBQ pulled pork crostini
9. [TAG51]
If you’re breaking out the bubbles, these oysters are the perfect accompaniment.
Grilling makes everything better, and these oysters are no exception. We’ve kept it simple by making a compound butter with herbs, shallot, garlic, and parmesan. A little hot sauce on top is optional but highly recommended for a final kick.
Recipe: Grilled oysters with savory butter
10. [TAG54]
They’re quick to prep and big on flavor. You can also save on dishes by serving them as is on the skewer.
For these bad boys, you want a good-quality steak and your favorite BBQ rub. Get some grill marks on there, baste with flavorful garlic butter, and finish with a generous dusting of Parmesan cheese.
Recipe: Grilled garlic parmesan steak bites
11. [TAG58]
Although we have served these as a main dish, why not make them smaller and serve them as appetizers?
These crab cakes are full of flavor from celery, parsley, mayonnaise, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, crushed crackers, and seasonings. Plate them all fancy with a gochujang remoulade and zucchini corn succotash, and the combination of all three is a game-changer.
Recipe: Smoked crab cakes
12. [TAG61]
Who can resist the combo of cheese and onion? And once you cook it, it’s one of those dishes you can’t stop eating.
It is super easy to whip up and has only three ingredients: cheese, onions, and mayonnaise. You can prep it in advance and pop it in the smoker an hour before your guests arrive.
Just remember to include a scooping utensil; double dipping will be rife!
Recipe: Smoked hot onion dip
13. [TAG64]
Sweet little Hawaiian buns stuffed with pulled pork, Swiss cheese, and BBQ sauce.
Get your next party started with these sliders. Serve alongside pickles, onions, and coleslaw, so your guests can customize their own.
Recipe: BBQ pulled pork sliders
14. [TAG69]
It will take you longer to thread all the shrimp onto the skewers than it will to cook them. These shrimp only take around four minutes to cook on the grill.
We’ve kept the marinade simple to avoid overpowering the beautiful shrimp flavor: garlic, lemon, olive oil, and lemon juice.
Serve on the skewers with some aioli and napkins on the side.
Recipe: Grilled garlic shrimp skewers
15. [TAG72]
Smoky chorizo, garlicky butter, crisp white wine, parsley, and clams it doesn’t get much better than that.
This is a great dish; it’s packed full of flavor, simple to make, and you can pop it in an aluminum tray to cook and serve it straight from there with all the delicious juices.
If you can’t get clams, you can use mussels, but make sure, whatever you use, there’s a pile of bread on the side to mop up the juices.
Recipe: Smoked clams with chorizo
16. [TAG75]
Who doesn’t love a meatball?
This is a really versatile recipe. You can swap out your favorite ground meat, add your favorite spices, or kick up the heat with some cayenne – endless possibilities.
Serve with toothpicks and your favorite BBQ sauce on the side for dipping.
Recipe: Smoked BBQ meatballs
17. [TAG79]
Oh, buffalo hot wings, how we love you, especially with blue cheese dipping sauce!
We use the low and slow method to cook these wings and show you the tricks to guarantee ultra-crispy skin and tender juice meat.
Recipe: Smoked buffalo wings
18. [TAG83]
Break out the wet wipes at the end of this course!
Even though your guests will have to work for their appetizer, the effort will be worth it when they taste the sweet, succulent crab meat basted in honey garlic butter.
It’s another recipe for the ‘easy’ pile. Most crab legs come pre-cooked, so you’ll only need to heat them up on the smoker for some added smoky flavor.
Recipe: Smoked crab legs with honey garlic butter
19. [TAG85]
We’ve taken your favorite jalapeño popper and turned it into a shotgun shell.
Manicotti pasta stuffed with cream cheese, spicy breakfast sausage, and diced jalapeños, wrapped in bacon, smoked for an hour and a half, and coated with your favorite BBQ sauce.
Recipe: Jalapeño popper shotgun shells
20. [TAG89]
While ‘meat butter’ may not appeal to everyone, it is certainly a treat for those of us to whom it does.
We won’t go into detail about what it is; we will say it’s creamy and has an almost buttery texture and flavor. Perfect when served with toasted baguette and parsley salad for added freshness.
Recipe: Smoked bone marrow
21. [TAG92]
Meet your new BBQ addiction!
These smoked salmon burnt ends take fish to a whole new level. Sticky and sweet, with a hit of lemon to offset the richness of the salmon and the heat of black pepper.
Serve these hot off the grill, cold on a grazing platter, or smashed onto mini bagels schmeared with cream cheese.
Recipe: Smoked salmon burnt ends
22. [TAG95]
These poppers are the ones you make when you want the flavors of a jalapeño popper but don’t want to deal with jalapeño popper belly the next day!
They’ve got the cheese, cream cheese, and jalapeños (in moderation) stuffed nicely into a mushroom cap, wrapped in bacon, and sprinkled with crushed potato chips.
You can go hard on consuming these, knowing tomorrow will be a normal day.
Recipe: Smoked mushroom jalapeño poppers
23. [TAG98]
Is your BBQ Mexican-themed?
Serve those corn ribs alongside your Margaritas, and you won’t go wrong.
Our inspiration for the flavor of these ribs comes from Mexican street corn, which is buttery and spicy. The ribs are smoked until perfectly curled, then topped with cilantro and cotija cheese.
Recipe: Smoked corn ribs
Looking for more things to make on the smoker?
If you like these quick smoker appetizer recipes, we have lots more you will love. Here are a couple of recipe collections you should check out next:
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