4 Easy Spanish Tapas Recipes
Quick & affordable Tapas Recipes to Make at Home!
Discover our top 4 easy Spanish Tapas recipes that are quick and simple recipes that can be easily made at home with just a few simple and affordable ingredients! Whether you are planning the most epic tapas party of all time or simply looking to impress for your next date night, we’ve got you with our carefully selected mix of Spanish tapas recipes.
We’ve chosen these recipes based on specific criteria: they must be easy to make and not require any fancy cooking equipment, they must be affordable, easy to source ingredients, and finally (and most importantly), they must taste good!
Without further ado, here are our top 4 easy Spanish Tapas recipes to make at home!
Tapa 1: Garlic Prawns with Chili – Gambas al Pil Pil
- Serves: 4
- Difficulty: Easy
- Ready in: Under 15 minutes
🦐 Garlic Prawns with Chili Recipe VIDEO
Gambas al Pil Pil (garlic prawns with chili) is a traditional Spanish tapas recipe that is super easy to make and loaded with flavor. Large prawns are cooked in olive oil with plenty of garlic, paprika, and chili for some extra heat. The smell of this dish is irresistible and it is always best served with plenty of fresh bread.
This dish is very similar to the ever-popular gambas al Ajillo (garlic shrimp) recipe, with the addition of some chili to heat things up. Originally hailing from the northern region of Spain in the Basque Country, nowadays, It’s a popular dish served all over Spain as a tapas.
Ingredients:
- 20 large raw prawns 5 oz. / 150 grams in total
- Half a cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3 dried chili (we used Guindilla Peppers from the Basque Country)
- ½ teaspoon La Vera smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon crushed chili (optional for serving with a little extra heat)
- Salt to taste
Garlic Prawns with chili Printable Recipe & Instruction
Tapa 2: Padron Peppers – Pimientos de Padrón (VEGAN)
- Serves: 2-4
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time to make: 5 minutes
🌶️ Padron Peppers Recipe VIDEO
Padron peppers (Pimientos de Padrón) are a famous seasonal tapas served all over Spain. The dish requires just 3 ingredients: padron peppers, olive oil, and salt. The result is spectacular, and this recipe makes a healthy vegan-friendly tapas with just 5 minutes of cooking time!
Ingredients:
- 500 g Padron peppers (17 oz.)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt flakes
Padron Peppers Printable Recipe & Instructions
Tapa 3: Mushroom and Shrimp Tapas – Champiñón con Gamba
- Serves: 4
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time to make: 10-20 minutes
🍄 Mushroom and Shrimp Tapas Recipe VIDEO
Mushroom and shrimp tapas (Champiñón con Gamba) is unquestionably the most famous tapas dish found along the popular Calle de Laurel tapas/pintxos route in Logroño. The recipe itself is delightfully simple and has remained the same for over 40 years; grilled champiñón mushrooms, garlic oil, baguette, and the small fried gambas on top, all held together with a toothpick.
This classic tapas recipe is so special to many who visit Spain and the best news: you can recreate it at home with just 5 simple ingredients in around 10-20 minutes!
Ingredients:
- 14 oz. / 400g Small button/champiñón mushrooms (around 2 inches / 5 cm in diameter, stem removed)
- 5-6 tablespoons of Olive oil
- 5-6 cloves of Garlic crushed
- Baguette, cut into 1-inch / 2.5 cm slices
- 2 oz / 50-60g Small shrimp (around 1-inch / 2.5 cm or less is ideal)
- Salt for seasoning
Mushroom and Shrimp Printable Recipe & Instructions
Tapa 4: Spanish Meatballs – Albondigas
- Serves: 2-3
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time to make: Around 1 hour
🥘Spanish Meatballs Recipe VIDEO
The ultimate party pleaser! Albondigas are Spanish-style meatballs made with either minced beef, pork, or both. They are lightly fried and then simmered in a rich tomato-based sofrito sauce. You’ll find albondigas in virtually every corner of Spain, served either as a tasty tapas morsel.
This authentic albondigas recipe makes a large tapas portion (around 15 small meatballs) which is perfect for sharing between 2-3 people if you’re hungry or among more people if you’re serving other tapas dishes too. This recipe takes a little more time than the others mentioned, but the meatballs can be made in advance and fried once ready to be served making this a great party food or tapas party recipe option.
Ingredients:
- 500 g/17oz. minced beef or pork
- 1 small white onion diced fine
- 1 cup of breadcrumbs
- Half a cup of chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of cracked black pepper
- 2 egg yolks
- 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil for frying
Spanish Meatballs Printable Recipe & Instructions
Want to discover more Spanish Tapas Recipes and party ideas?
Check out our tapas recipes section on our website, or watch step-by-step tapas recipe videos on the