20 Most Popular French Appetizers That You Should Try

Are you looking for the best French appetizers?

An appetizer is a small-portioned first course meant to compliment a main course in a multi-course meal. Appetizers in France reflect both traditional cuisine and the locations from which they originated through the ingredients used.

20 Most Popular French Appetizers That You Should Try

From cheese to meat to veggies and seafood, these are twenty of the most popular French appetizers.

1. Escargots Bourguignonne

This traditional French appetizer is inspired by Burgundy. Escargot involves baking snails with garlic and butter.

If you’re using fresh snails, blanch them first in boiling water before rinsing them in cold water. The snails are rinsed again before baking after being cleaned with a tiny brush in a mixture of water and vinegar.

2. Provençal Stuffed Squid

Fresh squid of various sizes, as well as cuttlefish, may be obtained in Provence’s fishmongers.

This is why one of their signature starters are stuffed squids, a filling appetizer that can even be served as a main course when utilizing larger varieties. Medium-sized squid, filled with herbs, chard, or spinach and bread crumbs, are often used when served as an appetizer.

3. Fromage Blanc à Disperser

This meal is claimed to be named after Lyon’s 19th-century silk weavers, who would commonly eat the smooth herbed-cheese spread for lunch.

Chef Boulud’s family used to make it with fresh goat cheese, but fromage blanc will suffice. Salad, mashed potatoes, or toasted bread are good accompaniments.

4. Féroce D’avocat

This one is a traditional French West Indian cuisine that is popular in Martinique and Guyana.

The ingredients include avocado, cassava flour, garlic, chili peppers, lime juice, salt cod, and spinach leaves. The cod is boiled, then the flesh is blended with the remaining ingredients until completely smooth.

5. Pissaladière

In the southern parts of France, it is one of the oldest culinary specialties.

The Pissaladière is a bread-based dish topped with onions, black olives, anchovies, and olive oil, and it originated in Nice. It’s best served warm and sliced into squares, but it’s also delicious cold!

It’s best with a glass of crisp white wine from the Côtes-de-Provence or a Bellet.

6. Oysters – Huitres 

Oysters are another classic French appetizer to serve at a party, especially if you want to add a touch of je ne sais quoi and elegance.

In France, raw oysters are rarely cooked. Cracking the top shell open is the most challenging element of serving oysters. But once that’s done, all you have to do now is squeeze some lemon juice over them and put them in a tray to serve.

7. Gougères

This term, which is pronounced “gou-jaire,” does not have an English equivalent. Gougères are eggy pastry puffs prepared with butter, flour, and cheese. It may just be puff pastry with cheese inside baked in the middle, and it’s amazing. 

They can be served hot or cold, on their own or with a sauce like tomato provençale or béarnaise.

8. Ficelle Picarde

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Picardy string, also known as Ficelle picarde, is a basic and straightforward appetizer seen on the menus of many restaurants in northern France. This is a savory pancake with ham, cheese, and mushrooms. 

9. Mousse de Foie de Canard au Porto

The creamy sauce is laced with Port wine, mixed with  duck liver, eggs, milk or cream, and spices. The ingredients are briskly combined until a delicate, airy froth develops, which is then cooked in a bain-marie bath.

Mousse de foie de canard au Porto is best served chilled as an appetizer with crunchy, rustic bread and light red or medium-bodied dry white wines.

10. Jambon Persillé

The Burgundy appetizer jambon persillé is a popular dish in France. It’s made with a ham hock cooked in white wine and converted into a terrine with plenty of parsley.

The Burgundy Ediun tribes were superb charcutiers, and the Roman army, who arrived later, added other vital elements to the dish.

11. Salade Lyonnaise

This is a rich, decadent salad that’s high in protein and nutrients. Lettuce, bacon strips, and a poached egg top the salad. It’s dressed with a tasty vinaigrette made with Dijon mustard, bacon grease, shallots, vinegar, and olive oil.

With some baguette slices, mop up the vinaigrette and runny yolk!

12. Canapé

A canapé is a small, prepared, and frequently decorative snack consisting of a small slice of bread (often toasted), puff pastry, or a cracker wrapped or topped with savory food, held in the fingers and typically consumed in one bite.

Cheese, various varieties of fish and seafood, cured meat, and herbs are among the toppings available.

13. Mini Quiche Lorraine

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It is without a doubt one of the most well-known French meals in the world, dating back to the 16th century and unmistakably hailing from Lorraine.

This is made in a smaller version as an appetizer with only four ingredients: puff pastry, eggs, bacon, and cream. It’s simple but delicious, and it’s a favourite choice among newcomers to French cuisine.

14. Brandade de Morue au Gratin (Whipped Salt Cod Gratin)

The Provençal meal brandade de morue is a terrific example of how to elevate simple ingredients like salt cod and potatoes—in this case, by beating them with milk, olive oil, and garlic until delightfully smooth.

To improve the flavor of this dish, it is au gratin (browned with cheese on top).

15. Mini Tartes Flambées

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This is a bite-size variation of the classic Alsatian tarte flambée. Gabriel Kreuther’s mother creates tarte flambée with home-smoked bacon and homegrown onions on the family farm in Alsace.

16. Saint-Jacques Au Concombre 

Another traditional French appetizer is Coquille St. Jacques. Cucumber slices are topped with buttered scallops and chives and olives before being served.

Coquille St. Jacques can be served as a hors d’oeuvre or a beginning, but Saint-Jacques au concombre (cucumber) makes a great finger snack for a party.

17. Courgettes Roulées

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This is a zucchini-based version of the Jambon rolls. (The word courgette comes from the French word courgette, which means “zucchini.”) Zoodles are thinly sliced and baked with olive oil, cream cheese, and smoked salmon, smoked tuna, or cured ham.

18. Brochettes Parme Melon

A brochette is a French word that refers to a long, thin stick that is used to spear various foods, such as while grilling.

This hors d’oeuvre, on the other hand, is a cocktail version of Melon au Porto, a traditional French beginning. Cheese, ham, and melon are used in the Parme Melon Brochettes.

19. Crudités

Crudités are fresh vegetables that can be sliced or left whole, and are a typical French starter. Crudités are usually  carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, asparagus spears, broccoli, and cauliflower, among other vegetables.

Dips like vinaigrette, tapenade, hummus, or mayonnaise can be served alongside the vegetables or poured on top.

20. Soufflé au Fromage

With a cheese base, whisked egg whites, butter, milk, and flour, this classic French starter is light and fluffy.

The dish rises up into a delicious golden soufflé when baked. It is thought that the cheese soufflé was invented in the late 1800s.

Today, cheese souffles are  commonly served hot from the oven in ramekins.