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This adorable Turkey Veggie Tray is so simple, even the kids can help! It’s a perfect centerpiece for your Thanksgiving spread.
It’s important to have appetizers on hand for guests to snack on at your Thanksgiving gatherings, and this Turkey Veggie Tray is the perfect solution! Serve it up with some Homemade Ranch or Dill Dip, and your guests will love it.
A Thanksgiving veggie Appetizer
We had so much fun making our Christmas Tree Veggie Platter last year, that we decided to make one for Thanksgiving as well!
This dish couldn’t be cuter, in the shape of a turkey! It’s the perfect Thanksgiving appetizer to be made year after year, and is one even the kids can help out with.
Veggie platters are an absolute must at any party. They offset the other heavy appetizers with something a little lighter. I love vegetable appetizers because it gives a great healthy option for everyone.
This Turkey Veggie Tray is so fun to create – get your kids involved. They will love it!!
turkey veggie tray Dip + Face
Pick your favorite dip to be at the bottom of your Thanksgiving Veggie Tray. Here are some of our favorite dips:
Make the turkey face:
- Cut the bottom off of a red pepper.
- Make the beak by using a baby carrot.
- Add candy eye balls!
Easy as that! Place it in the dip bowl as pictured above.
How to Make the Body
Start by gathering and preparing all of your vegetables. For this turkey veggie tray we used:
- sliced cucumbers
- baby carrots
- broccoli
- sugar snap peas
- bell pepper sticks (red and yellow)
Other veggies you can use: asparagus spears, black olives, grape tomatoes, and/or celery sticks.
1ST LAYER. Layer the sliced cucumbers first, in a half circle around the platter. We did two rows of cucumbers as you can see in the picture below.
2ND LAYER. Then layer the carrots, yellow and red peppers, and broccoli pieces in smaller half circles.
3RD LAYER. End with the snap peas at the bottom.
DIP + SERVE! Add the bowl of your favorite dip. Place the turkey face made out of a pepper in the dip bowl.
How much to make
Plan for each guest to eat about 5 pieces of vegetables each, and use about 3 tablespoons of dip.
For 10 guests this calculates out to 50 pieces of vegetables and 1 ¾ cups of dip. This recipe can feed about 16 people.
Storing + serving info
Make ahead of time. Make this turkey shaped vegetable platter up to 24 hours in advance. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge.
Prep all veggies 24-48 hours in advance and place in Ziploc bags. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.
Keep it cool when serving. Don’t set out the vegetable tray until you’re ready for guests to dig in. Another way to keep the veggies cool is to place the tray onto a tray of ice cubes or ice packs.
For more vegetable appetizers, check out:
- Veggie Cups
- Cucumber Sandwiches
- Baked Zucchini Fries
- Veggie Tortilla Roll Ups
- Christmas Tree Veggie Platter
Turkey Veggie Tray
Ingredients
- 2 red bell pepper
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- candy eye balls
- 1 crown broccoli
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 cup snap peas
- dip
Instructions
Face
- Cut the bottom off of a red bell pepper. Make the beak by using a baby carrot, a piece of yellow pepper under the beak for the wattle (over the beak for a snood), and candy eyeballs!
Body
- Gather and prep your veggies. We like to wash and cut to sizes that are easy to grab.
- Layer the sliced cucumbers first in a half circle around the platter. Then layer the carrots, yellow and red peppers, and broccoli pieces in smaller half circles. End with the snap peas at the bottom.
- Add the bowl of your favorite dip. Place the pepper turkey face in the dip bowl.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love your cute turkey veggie platter & going to give it a try tonight. How do you affix the face pieces (candy eyEs, carrot beak, etc.) to the pepper face so they don’t fall off?
I used toothpicks as best as I could, then a little corn syrup on the eye balls. Hope that helps!
Hi! Where do you get the cAnDy eyeballs?
I find them at Walmart, even Michael’s. They are usually by the Wilton baking supplies. Hope you find them!
Where do you find candy eyeballs for this recipe? thanks………..M
Usually Walmart, near the Wilton baking supplies, usually by the party area.
I got the eyeballs from Amazon prime—2 day delivery and free shipping!!
What are candy eyeball?
You can usually find them in the baking aisle, but they are just candies that look like eyeballs 🙂
What size is the platter?
I believe it is a 12 inch platter 🙂
SuPer cute…i make a similar one using leafy lettuce as the “feathers” and i slice an olive and use two slices for the eyes…glus them on with a bit of the dip…all edinle thst way! Thanks!
Sounds cute!! Thanks for sharing!
ThThis is so adorable! What size platter is that? also what size bowl or how much does it hold?
Thank you! I think it is a 12 inch platter 🙂
where can I find candy eyeballs?
I can find them at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, sometimes Target.
I got the candy eyeballs on Amazon. There are several You can choose. ?Love your decortiv platters!!! Thanks for the Attractive ideas!
You are so welcome! You can find everything on Amazon! Thank you!
Tasty looking turkey.
This looks great. Do you have any designs for a Christmas vegetable tray? Would love to make one for my family Christmas party. Thank you for this thanksgiving one.
Thank you! I do. I did a Christmas tree platter, that was fun. Here is the link…https://lilluna.com/christmas-tree-veggie-platter/