There are tons of great vegan appetizers - you just have to be creative! Many recipes can be modified to be vegan by removing the dairy/eggs/meat, but there are plenty of naturally vegan foods that are great.

Just off the top of my head:

Middle Easters: Falafel, pita, hummus, cucumber and tomato salad

Mexican: Salsa, Guacamole, 7 layer dip without the sour cream/cheese?

Pasta Salad - can do anything here - spinach, olives, onions, broccoli, asparagus with a vinaigrette

Green Salad

Olive tapenade and baguettes

bruschetta

veggie potstickers or egg rolls with dipping sauces

If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have a ton of vegan appetizer-type foods.

Chocolate mousse tartletts, lots of things you can do with tofu for a creamy "dip" type of food.
Check out this previous thread with some good recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: tofu recipes

I agree with chi83 that falafel and hummus are good choices, but egg rolls are not vegan unless you substitute rice paper or egg-free pasta for the traditional wrappers. You can also make Vietnamese style lettuce wraps and omit the fish sauce.

Here is my recipe for a bean dip, which I developed while I was living in Texas. It was a big hit there:

Texas Bean Dip

Ingredients

1-1/3 cup dried pinto (or red) beans (about 2 cups cooked)
1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp cumin
1 bunch of cilantro, large stems removed, about 2/3 cup chopped
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes (10 oz.) or similar tomatoes, diced with green chilies, drained, liquid reserved
3-4 Serrano chilies, coarsely chopped
6 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tbsp dried oregano)
1 tbsp vegetable soup base

Place dried beans in large pot and cover with water to about 3-4 times original depth. Bring to a boil and boil for two minutes, cover, and remove from heat and allow to soak for one hour. Discard the soaking water and rinse and sort the beans. Cover with fresh water, with about two inches above the soaked beans, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for one hour, or until done, and discard the cooking water.

Place all of the ingredients except the beans in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the beans, and check for flavor - you may not want to add all of them. If needed, add a bit of liquid from the canned tomatoes to aid in processing. I remove some of the seeds from the chilies - you can remove all the seeds, if you like it mild.

Serve warm or cold with tortilla chips.

These days I boil the beans with a few epazote leaves that I tie into a bundle so that they can be removed after cooking. This is a traditional way of cooking Mexican beans, and I do it partly because I always have a lot of epazote in my yard, and it also eliminates the need for cilantro, although I still add that as well if I have it.

Potato empanadas might be another good choice.

Lars

This is the best bruschetta I have ever had and the only one that I make now. From Rosie Daley, (former?) personal chef to Oprah:

Bruschetta with Chopped Tomato Salad

2 cups chopped tomato (2 medium tomatoes)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (1 medium pepper)
1 cup chopped yellow or orange bell pepper (1 medium pepper)
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium onion)
2 teaspoons capers
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano

FOR THE BRUSCHETTA
8 or more slices baguette
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved lengthwise

Directions:
Put all the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the broiler.

Arrange the bread on the broiler rack and broil about 2 minutes per side, until browned. Remove the bread slices and rub them with the cut side of the garlic halves. Discard the garlic.

Place a mound of salad on each serving plate, with 2 slices of bruschetta alongside.

Serves 4
Fat per serving = 2.2 grams
Calories per serving = 209

-Caponata (served with pita wedges, whole-grain crackers or crisp bread sticks

-Lettuce wraps

-Stuffed tomatoes, stuffed cucumbers, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed peppers, stuffed artichokes

-Spring Rolls

The link below has a bunch more....

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: The Kitchen - Recipe Roundup - Vegan Appetizers

I usually make hummus, or spinach artichoke dip made with butter beans instead of mayo/cheese. Also roasted eggplant dip with pita. I have made mushroom tartlets with those little phyllo cups--mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and whatever else sounds fun--seasoned with italian seasonings. I also sometimes make roll up sandwiches and then slice them like pinwheels. Good with bean spreads and lots of veggies. I also like spiced nuts but rarely make them!

Thanks all for the great ideas and websites!
I only have a day or so to pull this together, so I'm thinking TJ's and Olivers (local, very similar to TJs) will be my best bet!
One question about the bruchetta....do I have to be careful about the breads? I'm not much of a baker, but do yummy breads have dairy????
I'll be keeping all these sites for future use cause I seem to be the only person that thinks about vege/vegans when we go to parties with pot lucks! Thanks again! Nancy

I would just quickly scan the bread ingredients and look for milk or eggs. Most should be fine. Same with pasta too if you go that route.

Here's a list for all the vegan food at TJ's. They have a lot of great stuff. Some personal favorites are the vegetable gyoza and their dipping sauce, and the Japanese fried rice and the orange morsel (fake) chicken.

I think it's nice of you to consider vegans! It doesn't happen very often.

Here is a link that might be useful: TJ's Vegan food

Italian or French bread should not have milk and eggs.

I do consider vege/vegans, but I'm not either of them!
I have heard so many complaints from "them" that I try to make something yummy that can please anyone. Then I label it "vegan" or "vege"
Personally, I have these teeth for tearing, chewing etc and I'm a homosapien, which is considered an omnivore!
I love ALL food! LOL Nancy

I think there are a lot who when the word "vegan!!!!!" comes up get freaked out. When in reality....just think of all the stuff would usually eat....that isn't meat, eggs or cheese.
You could dos everal different hummus types of stuff....with roasted red pepper added, lots of spinach and provide lots of different veggies for dipping...carrots and celery, broccoli, cauliflower, raw asparagus, spears of jicima, turnip.
Fruits in melted chocolate dip ( not milk chocolate!)

I one time asked for donations of vegan cookies....good heavens you might have thought I had asked for the moon....and the cookies that turned up were just awful!