validation, the phenolic metabolites are determined in human blood and plasma obtained after an acute intake of a red-fleshed apple snack in ten volunteers. Capillary blood by finger prick is compared to venous blood by venipuncture and whole blood is also compared to their corresponding venous plasma samples. Moreover, the venous plasma results using DBS cards are compared to those obtained by microElution solid phase extraction (μSPE). The main phenolic metabolites detected in blood and plasma samples are phloretin glucuronide, dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid sulphate, (methyl) catechol sulphate, catechol glucuronide, and hydroxyphenyl-γ -valerolactone glucuronide. No significant differences are observed between capillary blood, venous blood, and plasma samples using DBS, and neither between plasma samples analyzed by DBS or μSPE. Conclusions: Finger-prick blood sampling based on DBS appears to be a suitable alternative to the classic invasive venipuncture for the determination of circulating phenolic metabolites in nutritional postprandial studies.