Barefoot Contessa: 4 of Ina Garten’s Patriotic Appetizers for the Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is almost here. Get patriotic with some festive appetizers from Ina Garten. The longtime host of Barefoot Contessa has a number of appetizers featuring the colors of the American flag. 

1. Ina Garten’s Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta is ready in 40 minutes

This recipe from the Barefoot Contessa has red and white. The tomatoes provide a pop of red against the white of the creamy feta cheese. Not only is this appetizer festive but it’s also easy to make. 

According to Food Network, Garten’s Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta dish takes 40 minutes to make from start to finish. With some help from the food processor, a must-have Barefoot Contessa kitchen gadget, the cookbook author makes quick work of the whipped feta topping. It’s ready as quickly as Garten can pulse a few ingredients together with “good” olive oil. 

What takes more time are the other two elements of the appetizer. The tomatoes have to sit for 10 minutes and the bread has to be toasted. After that all that’s left to do is put everything together. 

2. Make the Barefoot Contessa’s Fruit Platter red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July

There’s no cooking or baking involved making this the ultimate summer appetizer. Not to mention it’s ready in a matter of minutes. Simply rinse and cut the fruit and arrange it on a platter. 

Prepare a patriotic version of Garten’s Fruit Platter by serving up only red, white, and blue fruits. Artfully arrange fresh fruit such as watermelon, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries on a tray to make an easy Fourth of July appetizer. Have time to spare? Arrange the fruit to resemble an American flag. 

Short on time or don’t want to be bothered with cutting up fruit? Have one of the Barefoot Contessa’s “store-bought is fine” moments. Get fruit that’s already cut and rinsed from the grocery store and use it to make a patriotic fruit platter.  

Another option is to make the fruit platter fruit kabobs. Put red, white, and blue fruit on wooden skewers for a simple and easy Fourth of July appetizer.

3. Garten’s Tomato Feta Salad is an easy 20-minute appetizer

More red and white in the form of tomatoes and feta cheese, this is one of many popular Barefoot Contessa salad recipes from Garten. The Food Network star, according to Food Network, combines less than 10 ingredients to create something similar to the Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta. Served at room temperature, the salad is ready to eat in the time it takes to chop everything up and toss it all together. 

4. The Barefoot Contessa’s Sweet Red Pepper Hummus is a quick food processor recipe

Use roasted red peppers to give hummus a patriotic pop of red. Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and Garten’s dip will be ready in under 10 minutes. Serve it with red and white vegetables to keep up with the Fourth of July theme for a festive “How easy is that?” moment.