16 Old-School Appetizer Recipes To Take You Back To The '80s

Sometimes, all that you need to take you back in time is to enjoy nostalgic dishes like '80s appetizers. Perhaps we took them for granted at the time, but revisiting these old favorites is likely to dredge up a memory or two of restaurant visits, parties, potlucks, and family get-togethers. While some are on the fancier side, conjuring up images of elegant dinners you've seen in '80s television shows and movies, others are more down-to-earth, with plenty of kid-friendly options.

Whether you're just wanting to stroll down memory lane or are looking for inspiration for appetizers or even an '80s-themed dinner party, these throw-back recipes can be exactly what you're looking for. There's a good mix of vegetarian and meat ones as well as hot and cold ones. Our list includes smaller one-bite hors d'oeuvres, larger appetizers, dips, and sauces. Plus, we have ideas of garnishes and accompaniments for everything. So, step into our version of a time machine and peruse this list of 16 appetizers we were eating and enjoying in the '80s.

If you went to a party back in the 1980s, you were likely to encounter stuffed mushroom appetizers. There were various stuffing possibilities, ranging from crab or sausage to Cheez-Its, cream cheese, and beyond. However, you could always count on them being tasty.

With artichoke and spinach dip also being a popular '80s appetizer, it makes sense to combine these two into one. Simply stuff de-stemmed mushrooms with a garlicky, creamy, cheesy artichoke and spinach dip before baking. They're delicious served warm with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Recipe: Simple Stuffed Mushrooms

When looking through a menu in the '80s, it seemed every restaurant had either a baked potato side dish or loaded potato skins appetizer. In fact, Keebler put out a Tato Skins potato chip in 1985 to capitalize on the popularity of baked potatoes and potato skins.

Potato skins are just as much of a crowd pleaser today. Hollowed-out, crisp baked potato skins are the perfect vehicle for ingredients like cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, and diced red bell peppers. Bake until the cheese is melty and top with cool sour cream and chives.

Recipe: Loaded Potato Skins

Quiches were quite trendy in the 1980s, with mini ones often showing up as appetizers. The ingredient range was endless, as nearly anything you normally ate for breakfast or in a sandwich could be ensconced in a crust and mixed with cheese and eggs.

Mini quiches keep the prep work basic and don't even require a crust. Simply mix together ingredients like eggs, cream, your favorite shredded cheese, and diced veggies like tomatoes or bell peppers and bake them in a muffin pan. Top with fresh herbs and enjoy.

Recipe: 5-Ingredient Mini Quiches

A 1980s potluck or family get-together was never complete without a plate of deviled eggs in a dedicated deviled egg plate. For many people, the only time they used paprika was to sprinkle on top of these eggs.

This appetizer tends to have a simple filling, with halved boiled egg whites holding a mixture of egg yolks and other ingredients spooned or piped inside. A tasty yet simple version mixes crème fraîche, mayo, and Dijon mustard into the yolks, with cracked black pepper and fresh dill sprinkled on top.

Recipe: Easy Deviled Eggs

While many people in the '80s were weary of spinach, delicious dips soon turned us into spinach aficionados. The creamy spinach dip people served in bread bowls in the '80s was often made with instructions on the Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix box. Others incorporated artichokes and were baked with cheese until bubbly and hot.

Baked spinach dips have our heart. Filled with ingredients like sour cream, cream cheese, Parmesan, and mozzarella and seasoned with onion powder and fresh garlic, they're always delightful. Fresh bread, crackers, or tortilla chips are the ideal dippers.

Recipe: Creamy Spinach Dip

No dip in the '80s was more visually impressive than a seven-layer dip, especially when served in a glass dish. Although, some seemed to end up with more than seven layers as people added extra ingredients like olives and jalapeños.

We like the idea of a modern take on this classic. An elevated version might contain layers of refried beans, spice-infused rice, guacamole, corn kernels and diced poblano peppers, pepitas, cotija cheese, and pico de gallo. Then, you could have a lime crema and cilantro for drizzling and sprinkling on top.

Recipe: Elevated 7-Layer Dip

We liked fancy appetizers in the 1980s that were simple to make, and shrimp dipped in cocktail sauce certainly fit the profile when served in fancy dishes. With sauce in a cocktail glass and shrimp adorning the sides, you felt like you were dining on something luxurious.

The sauce is the star of any great shrimp cocktail appetizer. Interestingly, the base is ordinary ketchup, which gets jazzed up with the help of lemon juice and zest, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco hot sauce. Make it fancier with diced tomatoes and avocados on top.

Recipe: Classic Cocktail Sauce

With Chinese restaurants becoming among the most popular ethnic restaurant cuisines in the '80s, people began discovering their love of crab rangoon appetizers. Then, they were more likely to have significant amounts of imitation crab rather than being filled with no or very little crab, as is common today.

To make this simple fried appetizer, stuff wonton wrappers with cream cheese, imitation crab meat, and flavorings like Worcestershire sauce, scallions, and minced garlic before dropping them into hot oil. Don't forget to serve them with sweet and sour or plum dipping sauce.

Recipe: Homemade Crab Rangoon

When you saw a cheese ball show up as an appetizer back in the 1980s, you never knew what ingredients were going to end up in it. With everything from pickles, fruits, and chutney showing up in them, some were better than others.

Today's cheese balls are the same in spirit but often better in flavor. A favorite combo includes cooked bacon, onion, and garlic with fresh jalapeño, crushed pineapple, and cream cheese combined and rolled in chopped pecans. Served with sturdy crackers, it's a hit.

Recipe: Bacon Jalapeño Pineapple Cheese Ball

One of the quintessential appetizers of the '80s was little smokies or hot dogs wrapped in a crescent roll blanket. They showed up everywhere from birthday parties to sports-watching parties and were always devoured quickly.

Making them simply requires wrapping individual cocktail wieners with small triangles of crescent roll dough and brushing them with melted butter. To fancy them up a bit, try adding a few fresh herbs before baking, like chopped sage, rosemary, and thyme along with garlic powder. Don't forget barbecue sauce or ranch dressing for dipping.

Recipe: Herby Pigs in a Blanket

For a dip that screams 1980s, look no further than French onion dip. Busy moms grabbed a packet of Lipton French onion soup mix and followed the directions often on the package, but you can do better with a few fresh ingredients.

A superior and more luxurious version of French onion dip involves a base of mascarpone cheese and crème fraîche, combined with caramelized onions and shallots. It's further flavored with Worcestershire sauce, freshly ground pepper, and garlic powder. Your favorite potato chips will taste even better with this dip.

Recipe: Luxe Caramelized Onion Dip

With Mexican food becoming more popular, people were starting to discover jalapeňo poppers in the '80s. After originating at a Mexican restaurant in Texas, they started appearing everywhere from newspaper recipes to restaurant appetizer menus, containing various meats and cheeses.

One of the easiest ways to make these is to combine cheeses like cheddar and cream cheese with cooked bacon, season them with onion powder, garlic powder, and chives. Then place the filling in hollowed jalapeño halves and broil. Try them with cooling sauces like ranch or blue cheese.

Recipe: Broiled Jalapeño Poppers

If you were serving little smokies cocktail wieners in the '80s andthey weren't turned into pigs in a blanket, they were likely simmering in sauce in a crock pot. And they never failed to please.

A common way to prepare them was simply with barbecue sauce and grape jelly. However, if you want to go spicier, we have a better idea. Barbecue sauce is still the base, but try spicing it up with Worcestershire sauce and your favorite garlic chili sauce and adding rich brown sugar to sweeten it. Add chopped green onions to serve.

Recipe: Spicy Little Smokies

While Swedish meatballs were popular in the '50s and '60s, they still made an appetizer appearance in the '80s. The sauce was sometimes sour-cream-based, but alternate ingredients like brown gravy mix and mayo could make it a little more suspicious.

For a better version, you want to make garlic- and onion-infused meatballs and enrich the sauce with ingredients like cream and stock. Try adding extra flavor to the sauce with Dijon mustard, soy sauce, and allspice. Then, add fresh herbs like chives or parsley for a nice garnish.

Recipe: Classic Swedish Meatballs

When eating crackers in the '80s, it wasn't uncommon to serve them with chicken liver pâté or salmon mousse. Of the two, the one most likely to have modern appeal is the mousse, especially when made with smoked instead of canned salmon.

While you can skip the Jell-O mold, you'll still need unflavored gelatin to help it keep its shape. Other ingredients include sour cream and fresh lemon juice. Once it sets in the fridge, you can top it with fresh dill and serve it with baguette rounds or crackers.

Recipe: Creamy Smoked Salmon Mousse

While air fryers didn't exist in the '80s, cheese straws certainly did. They were the homemade answer to Cheez-It crackers and tended to be far more delicious. There are two types: one that's flour-based and another that's puff-pastry based, with the puff pastry version working best in the air fryer.

Making this appetizer is far easier than it looks. Simply place shredded cheddar, Parmesan, minced garlic, and paprika between two pieces of puff pastry dough, cut into one-inch strips, twist, and air fry. They're excellent alone or brushed with spicy melted butter.

Recipe: Air Fryer Cheese Straws

Static Media owns and operates Mashed and Daily Meal.