Sporked’s Guide to the Best New Year’s Food Ideas

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have fun on New Year’s Eve. Have a blast or your year is doomed! Kiss someone at midnight or you’ll die alone! Here’s an idea: Relax! Set the superstitions aside and focus on enjoying the best New Year’s food and drinks.. Whether you’re having a big blowout party or just staying in with a few friends and whatever weird, random celebs Ryan Seacrest drags out this year, make sure you stock up on all the best New Year’s food. From New Year’s Eve hors d’oeuvres to the most festive bevs to have in hand when the clock strikes midnight to the best stuff for brunch on New Year’s Day, here’s the Sporked guide to New Year’s food ideas.

The Best Frozen Appetizers from Our Taste Tests

Sure, you could spend hours separating sheets of filo and making little hors d’oeuvres by hand, but it’s so much easier to just pop some frozen apps in the oven. From fried shrimp to Buffalo wings, here are some of our favorite frozen appetizers.

The Best Bite-Sized Frozen Appetizers

If you don’t want your New Year’s guests leaving half-eaten taquitos on your end tables, opt for the best frozen mini appetizers. Sometimes the tiniest bites are the best New Year’s food. 

The Best Frozen Apps at Trader Joe’s

If you’re doing your NYE party shopping at Trader Joe’s, we have good news: There are a lot of good, nibbly things to eat in the frozen section. These are the must-buy frozen apps at TJ’s.

All the Best Dips from Our Taste Tests

A party isn’t a party without dip, and that goes for New Year’s Eve parties, too. From guacamole to spinach artichoke dip, these are the best dips we’ve tried in our taste tests.

The Best Easy Holiday Appetizers

Throwing a New Year’s Eve party doesn’t have to be a pain. Easy apps make it possible for you to be a host with the most and have fun.

The Best Brie (and Brie en Croute, Too)

Rise and rind! No New Year’s cheese board is complete without a wheel of gooey brie. Or a log of gooey brie. Or a wedge or gooey brie. Whatever, you get the point. 

The Best Canned Cocktails

If you don’t have the time or money to stock an entire bar, the best canned cocktails are a great shortcut to tasty drinks for your New Year’s Eve party.

The Best Canned Mocktails

The best canned mocktails aren’t just glorified sodas and seltzers—they really taste like well-crafted cocktails, minus the booze. Sober folks need tasty New Year’s bevs, too.

Best Cheap Champagne

Cheap Champagne is a New Year’s Eve classic. If you’re going this route, stock up on the best bottled water, too—hydration is key to having an enjoyable New Year’s Eve AND New Year’s Day.

The Best Canned Champagne and Sparkling Wine

Put away those plastic Champagne flutes. Serve sparkling wine in a can instead. 

The Best Non Alcoholic Champagne and Sparkling Wine

Toast the New Year without feeling like crap the next day. These sparkling wines are fizzy, festive, and totally booze free.

The Best Cheap Caviar

Caviar really classes up a NYE party—and no one has to know you spent less than 25 bucks on it.

The Best Holiday Hangover Cures

There’s no shame in overdoing it on New Year’s Eve. Just make sure you’re prepared to deal with the consequences the next day by stocking up on these hangover healers.