Listed below are all our prime veggie tray concepts for a subsequent stage celebration platter! These tasty dips and greens transcend the abnormal carrots and celery to make a colourful, flavorful tray that may impress everybody.
Why we love this recipe
Wish to make a veggie tray however uninterested in the identical previous factor? As two cookbook authors, we’ve put collectively just a few of our prime veggie tray concepts for a crowd-pleasing celebration platter! Each time we convey a variation on this tray to events, everybody goes loopy over the intense colours and engaging dips.
Right here’s the factor: there’s not an excessive amount of wanted to take these abnormal carrots and celery from blah to superb. Our 3 greatest 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 an alternative of uncooked: it makes everybody glad!
Veggie tray concepts: greatest 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 attainable. Listed below are some suggestions that we observe each time we construct a tray:
- Carrots: Keep away from child carrots. Peel and slice medium to massive carrots for the perfect 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 ravishing shiny inexperienced colour. Everybody all the time raves once we do that trick!
- Bell peppers: Use crimson, orange, yellow or a mix for the perfect look. Mini candy peppers additionally look good.
- Cucumber: We like utilizing English cucumber, which has the perfect taste and shiny inexperienced colour. The peel is much less bitter and the seeds are smaller than a normal cucumber.
- Snap peas: Snap peas are all the time 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 shiny pink colour distinction! We like slicing them for straightforward consuming.
What to keep away from on a veggie tray? Uncooked cauliflower is usually a preferred alternative, however we discover its taste could be very sturdy and it may be onerous to digest. We keep away from it on a veggie tray, or you could possibly make steamed cauliflower first.
Extra vegetable concepts
There are tons extra vegetable concepts for a veggie tray! Listed below are just a few extra concepts:
Dip concepts for a veggie tray
Our favourite dip concept for a veggie tray is our easy dill dip! This recipe requires simply 5 components in comes collectively in 5 minutes. It’s good to make use of not less than two dips, which offers some contrasting flavors and makes for a extra fascinating veggie tray.
Listed below are all of our prime dip concepts, and a bit bit about why we love them:
- Dill dip: This traditional Dill Dip makes use of mayonnaise, Greek yogurt (or bitter cream), and massive fill taste. Different choices are Ranch Dip, Veggie Dip, or Vegan Ranch.
- Hummus: Hummus is a good choice for a veggie tray because it’s naturally vegan. We like our traditional Hummus Recipe greatest, however we additionally love variations like Beet Hummus, Black Bean Hummus, or Inexperienced Hummus.
- French onion dip: This French Onion Dip is creamy and wealthy.
- Spinach dip: A chilly Spinach Dip is a pleasant different for a veggie tray. For vegan, use Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip.
- Inexperienced dips: We like including colour contrasts with a inexperienced dip, like Avocado Dip, Inexperienced Pea Dip, Cilantro Lime Crema, or Cilantro Sauce (vegan).
- Dill pickle dip: This creamy Dill Pickle Dip has a tangy, shiny taste everybody loves.
- Aioli: Aioli is a creamy French sauce or dip. Strive our Garlic Aioli, Pesto Aioli, Chipotle Aioli, or Truffle Aioli.
Ideas for styling a veggie tray
Half the enjoyable of a veggie tray is making it look fantastically attractive (we eat with our eyes, proper?) As two cookbook authors and meals photographers, we’ve spent years making an attempt to good 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 totally different coloured greens subsequent to one another, and make totally different patterns with the shapes.
- Garnish with herbs. We like including a bit enjoyable with contemporary herbs like basil or thyme sprigs so as to add curiosity.
Storing leftovers and make forward suggestions
A veggie tray is straightforward to make upfront. Listed below are just a few of our suggestions:
- 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 one among our favourite wholesome appetizers: it’s the proper celebration meals concept! Listed below are just a few extra appetizer recipes to strive:
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.
Continuously requested questions
Think about 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.
Hummus, guacamole, tzatziki, black bean dip, and white bean dip are all scrumptious and nutritious choices. You can too strive making your individual yogurt-based dip with herbs and spices.
To maintain greens contemporary, retailer them within the fridge till able to serve. In case you’re getting ready the tray upfront, think about using a moist paper towel to cowl the greens and hold them from drying out. You can too wrap particular person greens in damp paper towels and retailer them in a sealed container till able to assemble.
Description
Listed below are all our prime veggie tray concepts for a subsequent stage celebration platter! These tasty dips and greens transcend the abnormal carrots and celery to make a colourful, flavorful tray that may impress everybody.
Veggie Concepts
- Carrots (rainbow carrots if attainable)
- Celery
- Cucumber (English cucumber is greatest if you could find it)
- Snap peas
- Crimson, orange, or yellow bell peppers
- Broccoli (steamed broccoli or blanched broccoli is greatest)
- Radishes
- Cherry tomatoes (multi-colored, if attainable)
- 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 (Elective): 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
- Slice the greens. Steam the broccoli or blanch the broccoli and sprinkle it with salt, which makes the feel extra nice for consuming.
- Combine the components for the dill dip in a big bowl. Refrigerate for half-hour for greatest taste (dip shops as much as 1 week refrigerated).
- If making one other dip, combine up the hummus or different dip recipe.
- Place the dips in small shallow bowls. Prepare the greens across the dips. Serve instantly.
Notes
We want 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
