• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQs
  • Privacy Policy
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
Mad about Macarons
  • Recipes
    • French Classics
    • By Season
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Autumn
      • Winter
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Light Lunch
      • Starters/Appetizers
      • Main Dish
      • French Desserts
      • Drinks-Nibbles-Apero
      • Picnics
      • Salads & Sides
    • Gluten-Free
    • Egg Yolk Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Scottish
  • French Food Guides
    • Paris Tea Rooms
    • France Travel Guides
    • Markets & Produce
    • Paris Pâtisseries
    • All Guides
  • Books & Courses
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Classic French Dishes
    • Season
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Autumn
      • Winter
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Light Lunches
      • Starters/Appetizers
      • Main Dish
      • French Desserts
      • Drinks-Nibbles-Apero
      • Picnics
      • Salads & Sides
    • Gluten-Free
    • Egg Yolk Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Scottish
  • French Food Guides
    • Paris Tea Rooms
    • France Travel Guides
    • Markets & Produce
    • Paris Pâtisseries
  • Books & Courses
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home • Recipes • Meals

    Starters/Appetizers

    Collection of light recipes served as French appetizers or starters, known as l'entrée in France. Choose from the following healthy menu ideas to start off a dinner party or holiday meal.

    Looking for something specific? Browse the recipe index to refine your search.

    • asparagus spears like sun rays on a tart
      Asparagus Tart with Puff Pastry
    • small individual asparagus clafoutis with parmesan sauce basil top
      Asparagus Clafoutis - Easy French Spring Recipe
    • bowl of creamy broccoli cheese soup topped with grated broccoli and served with Parmesan crisps
      Broccoli Cheese Soup
    • bowls of bright green watercress soup
      Watercress Soup (Soupe au Cresson)
    • bowl of horseradish sauce with grated apple next to a pot of French creamed horseradish sauce and salmon
      Horseradish Sauce with Apple: Perfect for Smoked Salmon
    • sweet corn soup restaurant style like in Paris - a creamy chowder topped with herb leaves, pumpkin seeds, smoked salmon and fried corn
      Sweet Corn Soup - Restaurant Style
    • a slice out of a golden leek pie to see inside the crust
      French Leek Pie (Flamiche) - A Classic Vegetarian Recipe
    • Moroccan handpainted bowl filled with a raw carrot salad topped with fresh mint, toasted nuts and seeds next to oranges and a Moroccan teapot
      Raw Carrot Salad Moroccan Style
    • large choux bun filled with smoked salmon and runny cream with apple and dill
      Savoury Choux Buns with Smoked Salmon (Choux au Saumon fumé)
    • slices of toasted bread with cheese, nuts, lettuce and bacon
      Warm Goat Cheese Salad (salade de chèvre chaud)
    • white lion bowl of creamy fish soup surrounded by tartan and heather
      Cullen Skink - Traditional Scottish Smoked Haddock Soup
    • 3 bowls of pea soup with fresh peas and pods
      French Pea Soup Recipe with Ham (Potage Saint Germain)
    • cauliflower cream soup topped with florets and parsley candlelit
      Cauliflower Cream Soup (Crème Dubarry)
    • close up of a shrimp cocktail with tropcial dragon fruit, avocado and apple topped with citrus caviar
      Shrimp Cocktail Recipe with Tropical Fruit
    • large round tart with pumpkin, mushrooms and topped with walnuts
      Savoury Pumpkin Tart with Mushrooms
    • baked tomato tart with french niçoise olives, basil and a green salad
      French Tomato Tart with Mustard - An Easy Summer Lunch from Provence
    • cutting into fluffy smoked haddock fishcakes
      Smoked Haddock Fishcakes Recipe
    • pumpkin soup and cooked chestnuts, a French speciality
      Pumpkin Soup and Leek with Chestnuts
    • a bowl of thick curry soup garnished with 3 pan-fried seared scallops, cumin seeds, cauliflower florets, turmeric and finely chopped coriander
      Curried Cauliflower Soup with Seared Scallops
    • black bowl with a thick and creamy carrot soup, thickened with rice and topped with a sprig of fresh parsley and pinch of ground coriander
      Creamy Carrot Soup (Potage Crécy) without the Cream
    • A ceramic bowl of a French cheese spread known as Cervelle de Canut made with cheese, cream, shallots and herbs - served with a baguette.
      Cheese Spread Recipe: Cervelle de Canut - Lyon's Fun Version of Brains
    • bowl of homemade vegetable soup made with fresh vegetable chunks and a short cooking time
      Homemade Vegetable Soup (Soupe de légumes)
    • bright orange mini pumpkins baked and stuffed
      Stuffed Mini Pumpkins - The Most Versatile, Easy Recipe
    • stuffed courgettes with cheese
      Mediterranean Stuffed Zucchini (Courgettes farcies)
    • roasted sliced tomatoes with mozzarella stacked together
      Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Mozzarella
    • French onion tartlet tatin with salad
      Onion Tarte Tatin - With or Without Cheese
    • tossed green salad with seasonal fresh vegetables such as arugula, avocado and other greens with toasted nuts and seeds
      Simple Green Salad - The Best All-Rounder, Seasonal Side
    • mint omelette
      Corsican Mint Omelette (Omelette à la Menthe)
    • French white porcelain bowl of leek and potato soup with a baguette and butter
      Leek and Potato Soup (potage Bonne Femme)
    • cup and saucer of creamy French mushroom soup with coffee
      Creamy Mushroom Soup (façon Cappuccino)
    • bowl of rocket soup with smoked garlic
      Smoked Garlic Soup with Rocket (Arugula)
    • bowl of creamy chickpea spread with extra garlic the French way, served with raw vegetables
      Poichichade: Provençal Garlic Chickpea Spread
    • land and sea salad with a savoury beet macaron
      French Charcuterie Plate Land and Sea (Salade Terre et Mer)
    • beetroot salad with apple, leaves, nuts, seeds, orange and smoked mackerel
      Roast Beetroot Salad with Apple and Smoked Mackerel
    • asparagus lemon clafoutis slice
      White Asparagus Recipe: French Clafoutis with Lemon
    • blue cheese crumbled into a green salad with pear, apple and walnuts
      Roquefort Salad with Pear, Apple and Walnuts
    • purple beet risotto with purple macaron and glass red wine
      Beetroot Horseradish Risotto - with Macarons

    Primary Sidebar

    Portrait of Jill Colonna, French cookbook author in Paris
    Welcome

    Bonjour - I'm Jill

    Here you'll find easy French recipes worth coming back to.
    After 30+ years cooking for my French family in Paris, I share reliable recipes made with everyday ingredients - from family meals to classic French desserts with less sugar and more flavour.

    -> Plus discover France like a local.

    More About Jill

    Latest Summer Recipes

    • large wine glasses with marinated strawberries in orange liqueur and orange topped with vanilla Chantilly cream
      Strawberries Romanoff (Fraises Romanoff)
    • Lemon chicken thighs baked with garlic, herbs and fresh lemon in a rustic French baking dish
      Lemon Chicken Thighs with Garlic & Herbs

    Popular this month

    • raspberry macarons with a white chocolate ganache and raspberries, sitting on top of each other next to roses
      Raspberry Macarons (White Chocolate Ganache Filling)
    • plate with eiffel tower and circle of caramel sauce around a shiny creme caramel
      French Crème Caramel (flan aux oeufs au caramel)
    • jar of bright pink pickled radishes with bay leaves
      Pickled Radishes Without Sugar
    • mango cream dessert made with fresh mangos, whipped cream, coconut milk, vanilla and lime
      Mango Cream Recipe - Like a Mousse without Eggs or Sugar

    More from France

    • The grand entrance to the château of Fontainebleau
      What to Do in Fontainebleau: Food Guide to France's Most Underrated Royal Town
    • French pastry shop or pâtisserie in Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris
      Saint-Germain-en-Laye Chocolate and Pastry Self-Guided Tour

    Footer

    Mad about Macarons
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • Twitter
    • All Recipes
    • About
    • Videos
    • Books
    • French Food Guides
    • FAQ
    • Store
    Contact
    Newsletter

    © 2026 Mad About Macarons®. All rights reserved.

    Privacy Policy

    Terms of Service

    I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.