19 BEST Caribbean Appetizers: Tasty Island Flavors You'll Love🏝️ (2024)

Thanks for stopping by! We have a list of our best Caribbean Appetizers to inspire your next meal!
In the southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, you’ll find the Caribbean and its 7,000 islands.

What’s not to love about the Caribbean?

Aside from its great tropical location, they offer quite a diverse cuisine as well.

If you are looking for ways to incorporate the Caribbean flavor into your cooking, we prepared a list to get you started.

Here are 19 Caribbean appetizers to help you relish the fine flavors of the Caribbean right from home!

By definition, appetizers are typically small dishes or drinks that are consumed before a tasty meal to wake up one’s appetite.

Because we always deliver, the recipes in this list will surely muster your anticipation towards eating.

Just check out the Caribbean Shrimp Bruschetta and the Caribbean Octopus Appetizer.

But the #13 in this list is one of the best and ideal appetizers out there.

Sounds interesting?

Then let’s get sailing through the waves of flavors of the Caribbean!

The colors and flair of the Caribbean in one dish.

It’s flakey and dressed with a peppery vinaigrette.

Refreshing, light, and most importantly, it has the authentic Caribbean taste.

The Caribbean has an abundance of mangoes, and the locals love them!

And you will surely love it too with this wonderful Shrimp Bruschetta.

Classic shrimp co*cktail is infused with staple Caribbean ingredients such as allspice and mangoes that spice up the co*cktail and gives it a fruity, floral taste.

Place it on top of some bread, and you have the perfect appetizer.

From the tropical isles of the Caribbean comes forth a crispy chicken dish!

Shredded grilled chicken is mixed with tropical sauces and spices that have a little bit of everything.

From zesty and savory to fresh and sweet, yum!

The mixture is then used as toppings for the crisp and crunchy nachos.

Water and greenery, the Caribbean has a lot of those.

Moreover, they do happen to have a delicious starter meal recipe as well!

Caribbean Coleslaw is best enjoyed before eating a fried, crispy, and sweet-savory main meal.

The greens have that certain tang to them that does the job of balancing flavors really well.

Here is a different wrap you will be sure to enjoy!

It is crispy, delicious, and easy to prepare.

It is exactly what you need to serve when hosting events or managing a huge crowd.

Among the countries within the Caribbean, Haiti is a place that you just can’t hate.

Just look at this homemade Haitian Bread recipe.

Not only is it crispy, but it is perfectly seasoned as well!

It is good to eat before a heavy meal, but it can be used as toppings for saucy soups too.

Chicken, avocado, and fresh lime juice welcome to the tropics!

This starter meal is a prime example of fine Caribbean cuisine.

Buttery crackers are topped with sliced chicken and avocado.

Then some shredded coconut meat, and Caribbean seasonings, and it’s just divine!

Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island geographically sandwiched between Cuba and the British Virgin Islands.

Puerto Rico also happens to have a really great sandwich recipe called Sandwich De Mezcla.

It is made up of ham, a pimento cheese blend, cream cheese, and bread.

Tangy, packed with flavors, cheesy and savory!

Surrounded by a lot of water, fish is a sure staple in the Caribbean.

And one of their best staples is the Bacalao or salted cod.

Cod is a white fish; it is light and tastes mellow.

That makes it perfect for salt brine!

Mix the Bacalao with some herbs, batter and spices then fry it and you will have a good appetizer for your next meal.

These Cuban Sliders will definitely slide among your best appetizer recipes once you take a bite.

They’re really simple and delicious.

It has pork, ham, cheese, pickles, mustard, and sweet buns.

Savory, sweet, and perfect as a crowd-pleasing party appetizer!

Wherever you are, you will imagine yourself part of a Caribbean cruise once you have taken a bite of this amazing shrimp appetizer.

These balls of breaded shrimp can be baked or fried.

The name is a bit hard to pronounce, Caribbean Poofties-Hors D’oeuvres?

More like, who’s the boss?

Yeah, this dish!

Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, bursting with all the Caribbean seafood flavors.

This recipe also uses shrimp as an ingredient, but the flavor you get between #11 and #12 is incomparable!

You will appreciate the difference in flavors once you have given this recipe a try.

It is basically shrimp, mint leaves, and pineapple chunks on a stick.

While it seems quite easy to put together, it takes effort to add a number of spices and seasons to ensure there is a depth of flavor.

You can expect this dish to be so flavorful, succulent, and savory.

The best appetizers are ones that aren’t too overbearing so that the main meal won’t be overshadowed.

And one such appetizer is this Caribbean Mango Salad.

Fresh, light, fruity, and it has all the tropical flavors of the Caribbean.

You won’t believe how good this simple mixture is until you try it.

Of course, there are Caribbean Meatballs to be enjoyed too!

And it doesn’t disappoint.

Meatballs are perfectly browned.

They are moist and tender when you bite into them.

But you know what is even better?

These meatballs are slathered with a thick, gooey mango sauce.

So they are sweet, fruity, and spicy.

Just perfect to rouse one’s appetite!

The Caribbeans take their fruits seriously.

It is quite obvious once you observe how they invent all kinds of ways to appreciate their flavors.

This recipe is evidence of this.

Notice how good these fried plantains are after following the recipe instructions.

They are the ideal side dish, but they can also be used as toppings!

Crispy and sweet, these fried plantains are just that good!

There are a lot of octopuses and mangoes in the Caribbean.

The locals cherish them by coming up with unique and interesting recipes that make use of them as ingredients.

When you combine these two, you can expect a dish that just tastes so good.

You’ll have a hard time explaining just what makes it oh so delicious!

This dish is tender, juicy, and fruity!

An awesome appetizer that represents the flavors of the Caribbean.

Here is the easiest Pholourie recipe you can try making at home.

This is a very popular snack in a lot of Caribbean countries.

A fried fritter made out of flour that’s also savory and can be paired well with some chutney.

This dish’s popularity is evident because it’s served almost everywhere and almost all the time.

From parties to breakfasts, dates, dinners, and even while cruising!

It is like the popcorn of the Caribbean.

That is just how good these Pholouries are.

We like to think of Tacos as crispy sandwiches bursting with a lot of flavor in one bite.

These Jamaican Jerk Chicken Tacos are certainly creative.

Not only that, they are easy and quick to make as well.

The use of tortilla, the added seasonings, and using mangoes as toppings guarantees this dish to be a success in any household!

The Caribbean, even with 7000 islands, only takes one bowl of soup to define what it truly is.

And what is a better dish to represent the vigor of these isles than the Jamaican Pumpkin Soup?

A bowlful bursting with a true Caribbean flavor.

It is hearty and full of vegetable flavors.

Sweet Potatoes, pumpkin, and jackfruit all together in one dish!

If there are any other ingredients you prefer adding, you can also do so.

Own it!

This wholesome soup is best served warm.

The bottom line

So there it is, in the land of reggae, beach resorts, and 7000 islands, treasures do exist!

The recipes in the Caribbean are the treasures themselves.

With a region consisting of several countries, it is bound to have some of the best recipes in the world.

Being a tropical region, you can expect a lot of vegetables and fruits like mangoes and bananas in their recipes.

Seafood is abundant too!

Most notably, their shrimp and white fish recipes.

The Caribbean might potentially have the most diverse cuisine in the world!

And among that diverse cuisine, they have a lot of appetizers!

These 19 Caribbean appetizers in this list will surely rouse your palate for even bigger meals.

So if you are interested, try Caribbean cuisine, and you won’t be disappointed.

Have a go at the recipes in this list, and you’ll surely have a good time.

Looking for more Caribbean food options, we’ve compiled a list of 27 Best Jamaican Recipes, 21 Easy Jamaican Appetizers, 21 BEST Jamaican Desserts, 25 BEST Cuban Foods, and 24 Cuban Appetizers plus so much more you should definitely check out.