A Veggie Tray is one of those simple appetizers that always disappears, especially when the dips are good. It is fresh, colorful, and so easy to throw together for parties, holidays, game day, or even a quick snack board for the family.
What makes this vegetable tray extra fun is using bell peppers as the dip bowls. It looks cute, keeps everything tidy, and it is an easy way to make a basic vegetable platter feel a little more special without any extra work.
When special occasions (holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or game day) come along, we ALWAYS make a veggie tray because it’s simple but adds balance to the rest of the food being served.
Serve this with dips like Dill Veggie Dip, Homemade Ranch or Velveeta Spinach Dip. !
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Healthy option. A fresh, lighter choice that balances out heavier party foods.
- Customizable tray. You can mix and match veggies and dips based on what your family loves.
- Perfect for hosting. Bright colors and simple presentation make it great for parties and holidays.
- 10 minutes or less! It only takes a few minutes to assemble with a super quick prep time. Minimal prep makes this perfect for last minute gatherings or snacks.
Veggie Tray Ingredients
- Peppers red, green or yellow (3): Adds bright color and crunch while also doubling as fun, edible bowls for dips.
- Celery (1 stalk): Brings a crisp, refreshing bite that pairs well with creamy dips.
- Baby carrots (1 pound): Provides natural sweetness and are easy to serve with no peeling or cutting needed.
- Broccoli florets (1 pound): Adds hearty texture and hold dips well for a satisfying bite.
- Cherry tomatoes (10 ounces): Brings juicy freshness and a pop of color to balance the tray.
- Vegetable dip: Homemade Ranch Dressing, Dill Veggie Dip, Hummus Recipe, Chipotle Ranch, French Onion Dip, or How to Make Guacamole.
- Optional garnish: Decorate trays with fresh herbs.
How to Make A Veggie Tray
PREP. Rinse and prep the celery stalk, 1 pound broccoli, 1 pound carrots, and 10 ounces cherry tomatoes.
Cut the top off each of the 3 peppers (you can save the tops to use as a lid). Use a spoon to scrape the inside of the peppers to remove all the “white” lining along with the seeds.
Dip. Fill the hollowed-out peppers with your choice of dips.
Assemble. Place the filled peppers on a tray or board and arrange the cut vegetables around them.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Cut vegetables into similar sizes so they are easy to grab and dip.
- Use a variety of colors to make the tray look more appealing and inviting.
- Add ranch, hummus, or veggie dip inside the peppers for easy serving.
- Keep veggies chilled until serving time to maintain freshness and crunch.
- Prep the tray a few hours ahead, cover tightly, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For this bell pepper vegetable board, we used a cookie sheet, but you can use any type of board or tray that you have at home.
- Add crackers, pita chips, cheese, or ham to the large platter to make it more of a Charcuterie Board or crudité platter. Assemble the platter the day before with meats and cheeses, but add the crackers right before serving.
- For the Holidays try a Turkey Veggie Tray or a Christmas Veggie Tray.
- During football season we love to put together a game day tray by lining the short edges of a cookie sheet with celery. Arrange baby carrots in a football shape in the center of the sheet. Fill the remaining space in the sheet with broccoli. Add bell pepper strips on top of the carrots to look like the stitching on a football. Line the perimeter of the football with cherry tomatoes.
Vegetable Tray
Ingredients
- 3 peppers, red, green or yellow
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 pound baby carrots
- 1 pound broccoli florets
- 10 ounces cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Rinse and prep all veggies.
- Hollow out the bell peppers by cutting the top off of each pepper. Use a spoon to scrape the inside of the peppers to remove the “white” lining as well as the seeds.
- Fill the bell peppers with vegetable dips or sauces of your choice.
- Place the dips on a serving tray or board and arrange the vegetables around them.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and spices.
Notes
- Cut vegetables into similar sizes so they are easy to grab and dip.
- Use a variety of colors to make the tray look more appealing and inviting.
- Add ranch, hummus, or veggie dip inside the peppers for easy serving.
- Keep veggies chilled until serving time to maintain freshness and crunch.
- Prep the tray a few hours ahead, cover tightly, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For this bell pepper vegetable board, we used a cookie sheet, but you can use any type of board or tray that you have at home.
- Add crackers, pita chips, cheese, or ham to the large platter to make it more of a Charcuterie Board or crudité platter. Assemble the platter the day before with meats and cheeses, but add the crackers right before serving.
- For the Holidays try a Turkey Veggie Tray or a Christmas Veggie Tray.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Assemble the platter and veggie tray dips the day before, and keep them loosely covered in the refrigerator.
Disassemble and store the veggies in an airtight container in the fridge, or cover the pan of leftovers and refrigerate it as a whole.
More Like This
Easy Appetizers
Homemade Dips
Dill Veggie Dip Recipe
7 mins
Homemade Ranch Dressing
35 mins
Avocado Lime Ranch Dip
5 mins
French Onion Dip
5 mins
Collections
This recipe was originally published January 2017.
I loved the idea of adding the dip into the pepper, such a great idea and make the veggie tray more appealing.
I love this post so much, so perfect for any party or gathering. Thanks so much.
Yum – I love a good veggie tray. So delicious and a great presentation.
The layout of this is awesome!! I especially love using the empty bell pepper as a dip bowl.
These will be fun to make for our Super Bowl Party. So creative and healthy too!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing veggie trays recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
I’m a believer that veggie trays make eating vegetables so much easier! It’s great for everyone too.
I am the veggie tray person any time we have a party at my in-laws, so this is awesome!! I am always looking for fun ways to display the veggies.
We love veggie trays and they make the best appetizers. It feels like a healthy way to start a meal.
I like to enjoy vegetable in a stir fry the most.
So good!!! Thank you so much for stopping by!!
I like to enjoy veggies with ranch dip, or steamed with salt and butter.
Yum, yum!! Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE carrots in Ranch dip!
Delish!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!
I like to enjoy veggies with ranch flavored dip.
Me too!! Thanks so much!!
We love veggie platter with Ranch dip.
It’s our fav! Thanks so much!!
I love to enjoy veggies in stir fry or with yummy dips raw.
YUM!! Thanks for sharing!!
I love to eat veggies cold with dip – I usually get light dip so I can enjoy it without the guilt!
Exactly!! Thanks for stopping by!
I enjoy veggies sauteed in any way, stir frys are great too.
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
Sauteed are yum!! Thank you for sharing!
I like to eat veggies with Ranch dip
Me too!! Makes them so much better 🙂 Thank you!!
Can’t beat veggies and dip!
And what a cute idea to make a football out of veggies–looks really simple too!
How cute and creative are these veggie trays! I love the peppers filled with dip. That’s happening at my next get together. Pinning so I don’t forget!
Thanks!! Their perfect for parties!! Have fun!
I enjoy fresh veges on my vege platter that I make for me and the kids all the time. I have tomatoes, cucumbers, carrot sticks, sliced peppers, and I have a healthy dip to dip our veges in.
YUM! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!!
We love to eat our veggies with ranch dip and a little bit of Siracha stirred into the dip!!!
Oh, I’ll have to try! A little kick 🙂 Thanks so much!
My household loves to eat our raw veggies with a good ranch dip! We also love our veggies steamed and maybe add either a lil’ butter, pepper vinegar or for an even bigger indulgence browned butter and breadcrumbs!
Oh, the browned butter and breadcrumbs sound so good with veggies!!! Thanks so much for sharing!
I like veggies with French onion dip.
I love French Onion dip!! Thank you for stopping by!!
I have to have some kind of dip when I eat veggies. I usually go with Dill veggie dip or hummus.
Right there with ya!! Thank you!!
Totally with you on the dip thing. Everyone in my house will eat tons more fresh veggies if we have yummy dip to go with it. I want to try that Spicy Avocado Ranch – sounds fantastic!
Dip makes everything so much better!! My kids are dippers, too!! Thanks Kara!! 🙂