4 Easy Middle Eastern Apple Appetizers that Will Make any Holiday Entertaining a Breeze

These 4 Easy Middle Eastern apple appetizers are replete with deep flavors, exotic scents and Middle Eastern spices and flavors.

This post is a partnership with Cosmic Crisp Apples. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible; I am proud to only work with companies that I truly believe in.

From two apple appetizers with cheese, three savory apple appetizer options and a sweet apple dessert, these easy appetizers showcase the variety of the Cosmic Crisp apple! Choose from labaneh and apple crackers, cheddar apple appetizer spears, shawarma chicken apple skewers and even a sweet apple nachos spread - or make them all for an apple-themed grazing board idea.

Jump to:

• These 4 Easy Middle Eastern apple appetizers are replete with deep flavors, exotic scents and Middle Eastern spices and flavors.
• The search for easy appetizer recipes
• Ingredient spotlight: Cosmic Crisp apples
• Why I love these Apple Appetizer Recipes
• Cinnamon-kissed labaneh and apple crackers
• Ingredients for cinnamon labaneh and apple crackers
• Directions for cinnamon labaneh and apple crackers
• Cheddar apple spears drizzled with honey and ras al hanout
• Ingredients for cheddar apple appetizer spears
• Directions for making cheddar apple appetizer spears:
• Shawarma chicken and apple bites
• Ingredients for Shawarma chicken apple skewers
• Directions for making shawarma chicken and apple bites
• Sweet apple nachos with almond butter, pepitas, honey, thyme and yogurt
• Ingredients for sweet apple nachos
• Directions for making sweet apple nachos
• Scaling the recipes
• Storage
• Making in Advance
• Dominant flavors and ingredients
• Top tips for assembling and styling an apple grazing board
• Adaptations
• Accompanying Dishes
• When to Serve
• See our Step-by-Step Guide on how to make this grazing board!
• Pin for Later!
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The search for easy appetizer recipes

You guys already know about how much I love assembling appetizer platters. Long from just being an easy holiday entertaining solution, in my house appetizer platters and grazing boards substitute dinners, lingering Sunday brunches, and late night snacks for two.

But finding inspiration and easy appetizer recipes that move beyond the cheese-hummus-crackers equation can often be a challenge, even for a food blogger.

My TOP TIP to assembling these 4 Easy Middle Eastern apple appetizers, or any easy appetizer platter and impromptu effortless grazing board is one thing: reaching out for familiar, easily available ingredients. And one thing my house always have in abundance is apples.

But what kind of apple is worthy of being at the centre of 4 Easy Middle Eastern apple appetizers? Friends, I'd like you to meet my newest apple obsession: Cosmic Crisp Washington State Apples.

Ingredient spotlight: Cosmic Crisp apples

The result of over 20 years of classic breeding (without any GMO action!) at Washington State University, the Cosmic Crisp bills itself as "the perfect apple". And I have to say that they might be right.

First off, with its firm yellow flesh and attractive red skin, Cosmic Crisp apples are crispier and sweeter than other varieties. My toddler son devoured them without pause, a whole apple in under 10 minutes.

As a bonus, Cosmic Crisps are also naturally slow to brown - sliced pieces have lasted for days in our fridge, without the need for any old wives' tricks like immersing them in water!

To extend its shelf life, keep your Cosmic Crisps in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer. I keep them raw in these apple appetizers, but they are also perfect for snacking, cooking and baking, due to their sweetness and crispy texture. I loved them in this apple cinnamon oatmeal recipe!

Once we tried this new apple, we got hooked. And my mind immediately started developing new Cosmic Crisp apple recipes - which is how these 4 incredibly easy apple appetizers came to life.

For more easy apple recipes:

Why I love these Apple Appetizer Recipes

They keep the Cosmic Crisp apple front and centre, showcasing its firm and crisp texture and sweet, juicy flavor.

As an homage to my apple-loving Jewish heritage, all four of these recipes using the Cosmic Crisp apple have my favourite Middle Eastern flavor profile.

They would make an incredible Rosh Hashanah appetizer platter, or be a great part of a Thanksgiving grazing board. Any time of the year, these 4 easy apple recipes will make any Holiday entertaining a breeze!

Three of these recipes are raw apple appetizers, which means they involve no cooking at all!

All four can be served as cold appetizers, which is so incredibly easy and helpful when you're short on time or just eating an impromptu meal.

Two of these recipes are amazing apple appetizers with cheese, whether in the classic apple cheddar appetizer combo, or in my unique Middle Eastern labaneh dip with apples!

I even included a sweet apple appetizer, because you always want some natural sugar to balance out the savory flavors in a grazing board. True story: this was THE MOST popular apple appetizer of the lot in my house.

Cinnamon-kissed labaneh and apple crackers

Adding a bit of cinnamon to homemade labaneh adds a spicy, fragrant twist to creamy labaneh dip. Smear it on your favourite crackers and top with a few slices of apples for a unique raw apple appetizer that will surprise everyone!

Ingredients for cinnamon labaneh and apple crackers

For this easy cold apple appetizer recipe, you need:

• 300g Greek yogurt or lactose-free yogurt
• ½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Flaky sea salt
• 2 Cosmic Crisp apples
• Crackers

Directions for cinnamon labaneh and apple crackers

Make labaneh dip overnight

Fear not: making labaneh at home is the easiest thing you can do (easier than venturing out to the store in COVID times).

You can find detailed instructions on the process here, but the gist is super simple: you put some fatty Greek yogurt in cheesecloth, hang it out to drain overnight, and the resulting soft fresh cheese you end up with is labaneh.

Mix labaneh and cinnamon

Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of salt to your freshly made homemade labaneh. Mix well to incorporate.

Spread labaneh on crackers

Smear about a teaspoon of labaneh dip on your favourite crackers.

Top with sliced apples

Top each cracker with two or three thin slices of Cosmic Crisp apples. If using any other apple, try to do it as close to serving as possible as apples may brown.

Finish off with salt, olive oil and more cinnamon

Drizzle a bit of good quality extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt (Maldon sea salt is amazing here, though you can use your favourite kosher salt as well), and a pinch more cinnamon.

Cheddar apple spears drizzled with honey and ras al hanout

Easy cheddar apple appetizer spears are a breeze to throw together, but each bite packs a delicious punch of sweet Cosmic Crisp apple, sharp cheddar, honey and the amazing ras-el-hanout spice mix.

What is ras-el-hanout?

Ras-el-hanout is a pungent Moroccan spice blend that is popular for meat. It translates as "head of the shop", and it's one of the most popular North African spice blends.

Ingredients for cheddar apple appetizer spears

For this simple cheddar apple appetizer, you need:

To make Ras El Hanout spice mix:

• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom
• ½ teaspoon cayenne

For apple cheddar appetizer spears:

• 100g cheddar, preferably aged, cubed
• 1 Cosmic Crisp apple, cubed
• Honey
• Cocktail skewers

Directions for making cheddar apple appetizer spears:

Make ras-el-hanout spice blend

If you want to just buy ras-el-hanout, be my guest. But if you have a relatively well-stocked spice cabinet and you'd rather utilize what you get, then just mix your own ras-el-hanout spice blend!

Combine all the spices listed above in a bowl or jar, and mix well. The amount specified above makes double what you need for this recipe. You can use the remainder in vegan shawarma, the shawarma chicken apple skewers below, or just add ras-el-hanout in your favourite stew recipe.

Make apple cheddar appetizer spears

Arrange a cube of cheddar, and top it with a cube of Cosmic Crisp apple. Spear with a cocktail pick. Repeat until all out of Cosmic Crisps and cheddar.

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Sprinkle spears with ras-el-hanout and drizzle with honey

Lay spears on a plate, sprinkle with ras-el-hanout spice blend, and drizzle with honey. Serve immediately.

For more Moroccan recipes:

Shawarma chicken and apple bites

Chicken and apple make for an unusual, albeit delicious, appetizer combination. Season the chicken with simple shawarma spices and place both on a cocktail skewer, and you've got a filling gluten-free Middle Eastern appetizer!

How to make shawarma seasoning?

For the easiest approach, just take 2 tablespoons of my ras-el-hanout spice blend and add ½ teaspoon paprika and ½ teaspoon turmeric to it.

Ingredients for Shawarma chicken apple skewers

For this delicious and filling chicken apple appetizer, you'll need:

• 400g chicken breast or boneless thighs, cubed
• 2 Cosmic Crisp apples, cubed
• ½ a lemon
• Oil
• Tahini blended with water (optional)
• 2 TBs shawarma seasoning (for shawarma seasoning, take 2 TBs ras el hanout spice mixture and add ½ teaspoon paprika and ½ teaspoon turmeric).
• Cocktail skewers

Directions for making shawarma chicken and apple bites

Make shawarma spice blend

For the easiest way of making my shawarma spice blend, just take your leftover ras-el-hanout blend and add ½ teaspoon paprika and ½ teaspoon turmeric to it. Blend well to combine.

Cook chicken

Preheat a pan to medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. Add cubed chicken and saute for a couple of minutes, stirring a couple of times, until the outside of the chicken has turned white. Add shawarma seasoning and more salt, and stir well to combine. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, 4-5 minutes.

Let shawarma chicken cool to room temperature, until it can be handled easily.

Assemble chicken apple skewers

Arrange a cube of chicken, and top it with a cube of Cosmic Crisp apple. Spear with a cocktail skewer. Drizzle with a squirt of lemon. Serve immediately. Option: drizzle with tahini that's been diluted with water to a pourable consistency.

Sweet apple nachos with almond butter, pepitas, honey, thyme and yogurt

Our sweet apple nachos make a beautiful plate that is not only an incredibly easy apple appetizer, but it can serve as a filling snack whenever you're in need of a pick-me-up! I based these apple nachos on a tartine from Half Baked Harvest's first cookbook, and they're a huge favourite in our house.

Sliced Cosmic Crisp apples are sliced thinly, arranged artfully on a plate, drizzled with almond butter, honey and yogurt and topped with fresh thyme, pepitas and flaky sea salt. Though the ingredient list sounds involved, the resulting recipe is anything but!

Ingredients for sweet apple nachos

For these sweet apple nachos, you'll need:

• 1 Cosmic Crisp apple, cut into slices
• 2 tablespoons Greek style whole yogurt
• 3 tablespoons almond butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, stems removed
• flaky sea salt

Directions for making sweet apple nachos

Arrange apples on a plate

For the prettiest presentation, arrange thinly sliced apple in a concentric spiral on a white plate. For a more rustic look, haphazardly arrange overlapping slices on a wooden cutting board; don't worry about how they look - it'll end up beautiful.

Drizzle with almond butter, yogurt and honey

Drizzle Cosmic Crisp apple slices with almond butter, yogurt and honey (if your yogurt is very thick, you may need to thin it with a bit of water).

Finish sweet nachos with thyme leaves, pepitas and flaky sea salt

Sprinkle pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Top with a pinch of salt (preferably flaky sea salt). Finish sweet apple nachos with thyme leaves.

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Scaling the recipes

The easy apple appetizers listed here will each comfortably feed four people. If you're making them for a group, you can easily scale up the recipes by just using more of the main ingredients (apple, cheddar, chicken, yogurt for labaneh). The spice mixes listed here will leave you with leftovers, so don't increase their amount.

If you'd like to serve the sweet apple nachos on their own, they will feed two people as a snack.

The shawarma chicken apple appetizer can be turned into a meal on its own - just throw the apples into the pan with the chicken! You can serve it with rice and a bit of yogurt or tahini on the side for a comfortable meal for two.

Storage

Our easy Cosmic Crisp apple appetizers are meant to be eaten right after making, or at least within the same day. If you have leftovers, they will store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.

Making in Advance

As all of these recipes are incredible simple, and all but one can be made in under 10 minutes, I recommend making them the same day you'll be serving them.

If you'd like to make them in advance, you can:

• make the shawarma chicken a day in advance and store in an airtight container
• make the shawarma and ras-el-hanout spice mixes even days in advance
• If using Cosmic Crisp apples, they will stay fresh for up to a whole day even if cut. So you can cut them the night before serving these appetizers, but store them covered in water for best results.

I don't recommend cutting the cheddar in advance, or assembling the sweet apple nachos.

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Dominant flavors and ingredients

These 4 easy Middle Eastern apple appetizers all rely on one main ingredient: apples. We recommend using Cosmic Crisp apples for best results.

The dominant flavours here are a balance of sweet, savoury and pungent. I use cinnamon, honey and olive oil in three of the recipes. I also rely on North African and Moroccan flavors for quite a few of my flavorings.

If you're not a fan of these Middle Eastern flavors, or you're missing some spices, you can easily omit them!

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Top tips for assembling and styling an apple grazing board

All of these easy apple appetizers can be made as stand-alone dishes (check out my scaling section for advice on how to turn some of them into a meal!).

Yet for the most wow factor, I recommend assembling them into a beautiful grazing board, all celebrating the beauty and diversity of apples. This would be beautiful in the fall, for Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashana or Sukkot.

• Use Cosmic Crisps, but you can also incorporate other apples for variety. I also love Gala, Honey Crisp and Granny Smith.
• Cut the apples in a variety of natural shapes and forms - everyone knows to cut an apple in half lengthwise, or into slices or quarters. But have you ever looked at how beautiful it looks when sliced across, widthwise? The resulting star-shape of the core makes for a gorgeous natural decoration!
• Divide your appetizers into groups. For example, don't clump all the shawarma chicken pieces in one place; instead, divide them into two or even three groupings.
• Try to "paint" with the small pieces. Don't put them into just one pile; instead, arrange them as a snake, a river trailing through the board, or a sun with may rays.
• Lay some skewers, and stand others. This makes for a more visually appealing presentation.
• Decorate with fresh herbs or leaves, if you've got some.
• Add leftover labaneh dip, honey and crackers to the board.
• Supplement with your favourite nuts and seeds.
• Feel free to use bowls and little plates as additional styling aids on your board.

Adaptations

Dairy-free and vegan

To make the cinnamon labaneh and apple crackers dairy-free and vegan, use cashew cheese.

To make the cheddar apple appetizer skewers or the shawarma chicken apple skewers vegan, substitute the cheddar cheese and chicken for your favourite hard nut cheese - or better yet, use tofu cubes that have been marinated overnight in the ras-el-hanout or shawarma spice mixtures with 2 TB of olive oil, 1 TB of Tamari sauce, and 1 TB of apple cider vinegar.

Our sweet apple nachos are naturally vegan; just omit the yogurt drizzle.

Gluten-free

To make gluten-free cinnamon labaneh and apple crackers: You can use gluten-free crackers to make this snack gluten-free. If looking for a completely grain-free version, use an apple circle as the base and top the labaneh and cinnamon on it.

Everything else on this list is already gluten-free.

Keto, paleo and Whole 30

Unfortunately, these recipes cannot be easily made keto.

The shawarma chicken apple appetizer is paleo and Whole 30-appropriate. The apple nachos can be made paleo and Whole 30-appropriate if you omit the yogurt drizzle.

Accompanying Dishes

If serving these as part of a several course meal, or in the mingling portion of a longer dinner, I have additional ideas on accompanying dishes you can serve with these Middle Eastern apple appetizers:

When to Serve

These 4 easy apple appetizers can be eaten as part of a grazing board any day! I love making a quick and easy dinner out of grazing boards and appetizer platters in the summer.

Yet these Cosmic Crisp apple appetizer recipes are particularly impressive during the holidays. With their quick preparation and several cold or raw appetizer options, they will help ease your load and make holiday entertaining particularly effortless.

These apple appetizer recipes would make a beautiful appetizer spread in the fall, for Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashanah or Sukkot.

See our Step-by-Step Guide on how to make this grazing board!

Check out my 4 Easy Apple Appetizers Story to get the breakdown on how to assemble this beautiful apple grazing board.

If you're looking for more Middle Eastern appetizer ideas:

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