Straightforward Veggie Tray – A Couple Cooks

Listed below are all our prime veggie tray concepts for a subsequent degree get together platter! These tasty dips and greens transcend the strange carrots and celery to make a colourful, flavorful tray that may impress everybody.

Veggie Tray Ideas

Why we love this recipe

Wish to make a veggie tray however bored with the identical outdated factor? As two cookbook authors, we’ve put collectively a couple of of our prime veggie tray concepts for a crowd-pleasing get together platter! Each time we deliver a variation on this tray to events, everybody goes loopy over the brilliant colours and attractive dips.

Right here’s the factor: there’s not an excessive amount of wanted to take these strange carrots and celery from blah to superb. Our 3 finest methods? Play up the vegetable colour and texture contrasts, make our dill dip recipe that takes simply 5 minutes, and go for steamed broccoli as a substitute of uncooked: it makes everybody pleased!

Veggie tray concepts: finest greens to make use of

Positive, everybody is aware of carrots and celery. However what are some veggie tray concepts that make for a next-level tray? Use as many colours as potential. Listed below are some ideas that we observe each time we construct a tray:

  • Carrots: Keep away from child carrots. Peel and slice medium to giant carrots for the very best taste. Use rainbow carrots if you could find them for brightly coloured look!
  • Broccoli: Use steamed broccoli or blanched broccoli, flippantly salted, which makes a extra tender texture and candy taste. It additionally makes a good looking vivid inexperienced colour. Everybody at all times raves after we do that trick!
  • Bell peppers: Use pink, orange, yellow or a mix for the very best look. Mini candy peppers additionally look good.
  • Cucumber: We like utilizing English cucumber, which has the very best taste and vivid inexperienced colour. The peel is much less bitter and the seeds are smaller than a normal cucumber.
  • Snap peas: Snap peas are at all times a favourite, with their candy taste and crunch. Keep away from snow peas right here, that are thinner and fewer candy.
  • Celery: Celery nonetheless works, when surrounded by these colours and textures.
  • Cherry tomatoes: Use multi-colored tomatoes if you could find them.
  • Radishes: Utilizing radishes brings in a pleasant vivid pink colour distinction! We like slicing them for simple consuming.

What to keep away from on a veggie tray? Uncooked cauliflower is commonly a well-liked alternative, however we discover its taste may be very robust and it may be laborious to digest. We keep away from it on a veggie tray, or you possibly can make steamed cauliflower first.

Extra vegetable concepts

There are tons extra vegetable concepts for a veggie tray! Listed below are a couple of extra concepts:

Dill dip

Dip concepts for a veggie tray

Our favourite dip concept for a veggie tray is our easy dill dip! This recipe requires simply 5 substances in comes collectively in 5 minutes. It’s good to make use of at the least two dips, which supplies some contrasting flavors and makes for a extra fascinating veggie tray.

Listed below are all of our prime dip concepts, and a bit of bit about why we love them:

Ideas for styling a veggie tray

Half the enjoyable of a veggie tray is making it look superbly attractive (we eat with our eyes, proper?) As two cookbook authors and meals photographers, we’ve spent years attempting to excellent this artwork. Right here are some things we’ve realized:

  • Begin with the dips in low, small bowls. Place the dips onto the tray first.
  • Place piles of greens across the dips, enjoying up contrasts in textures and colours. Place completely different coloured greens subsequent to one another, and make completely different patterns with the shapes.
  • Garnish with herbs. We like including a bit of enjoyable with contemporary herbs like basil or thyme sprigs so as to add curiosity.
Veggie Tray

Storing leftovers and make forward ideas

A veggie tray is straightforward to make upfront. Listed below are a couple of of our ideas:

  • Wash and reduce the greens upfront (together with steaming or blanching the broccoli or inexperienced beans).
  • Retailer reduce greens as much as 3 days refrigerated.
  • Make the dips upfront and retailer as much as 1 week refrigerated.

Extra appetizer recipes

This veggie tray is certainly one of our favourite wholesome appetizers: it’s the proper get together meals concept! Listed below are a couple of extra appetizer recipes to attempt:

Dietary notes

This veggie tray is vegetarian and gluten-free, and dairy-free and vegan with vegan dips like hummus or the choices famous above.

Often requested questions

What are some distinctive vegetable choices for a veggie tray apart from the standard carrots and celery?

Contemplate including colourful and fascinating greens like snap peas, radishes, bell pepper strips, jicama sticks, kohlrabi, blanched asparagus, and even roasted greens like roasted Brussels sprouts or roasted candy potatoes.

What are some wholesome dips to pair with a veggie tray?

Hummus, guacamole, tzatziki, black bean dip, and white bean dip are all scrumptious and nutritious choices. You may as well attempt making your personal yogurt-based dip with herbs and spices.

How can I maintain greens contemporary on a veggie tray?

To maintain greens contemporary, retailer them within the fridge till able to serve. For those who’re making ready the tray upfront, think about using a moist paper towel to cowl the greens and maintain them from drying out. You may as well wrap particular person greens in damp paper towels and retailer them in a sealed container till able to assemble.

Print

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Description

Listed below are all our prime veggie tray concepts for a subsequent degree get together platter! These tasty dips and greens transcend the strange carrots and celery to make a colourful, flavorful tray that may impress everybody.


Veggie Concepts

  • Carrots (rainbow carrots if potential)
  • Celery
  • Cucumber (English cucumber is finest if you could find it)
  • Snap peas
  • Crimson, orange, or yellow bell peppers
  • Broccoli (steamed broccoli or blanched broccoli is finest)
  • Radishes
  • Cherry tomatoes (multi-colored, if potential)
  • Olives

Dill Dip

  • 1 cup full fats Greek yogurt (or bitter cream; see notes)
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons dried dill
  • 1 ½ tablespoons dried minced onion
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Different Dip Concepts (Non-compulsory): Hummus, Avocado Dip, Tzatziki, French Onion Dip, Dill Pickle Dip, Spinach Dip, Cottage Cheese Dip, Garlic Aioli, Pesto Aioli, Inexperienced Pea Dip, White Bean Dip, Cilantro Lime Crema


  1. Slice the greens. Steam the broccoli or blanch the broccoli and sprinkle it with salt, which makes the feel extra nice for consuming.
  2. Combine the substances for the dill dip in a big bowl. Refrigerate for half-hour for finest taste (dip shops as much as 1 week refrigerated).
  3. If making one other dip, combine up the hummus or different dip recipe.
  4. Place the dips in small shallow bowls. Organize the greens across the dips. Serve instantly.

Notes

We choose Greek yogurt, which retains this dip lighter and provides a tang to the flavour. Bitter crema makes it very wealthy and creamy.

Different hummus variations: Beet Hummus, Black Bean Hummus, or Inexperienced Hummus

  • Class: Appetizer
  • Technique: No Prepare dinner
  • Delicacies: Greens
  • Food plan: Vegetarian