Make Your Own Veggie Plate

Are you ready to make yourself a delicious and easy veggie plate? Let’s get started!

We all know that vegetables are good for us, but sometimes, some don’t want to eat them. I must confess that I am not one of them, I love my vegetables! But as a registered dietitian nutritionist, I like being able to help everyone enjoy ways to add them to their daily routine!

One way to do this is by making a mini veggie plate for snack time. I wanted to make these veggie trays a little different, a little fun and tasty! I hope you like some of these ideas so much that you will make them to take to work, eat on the weekend, and even serve at a party! You can also make a plant-based meal for a vegetarian or vegan option!

What Are the Makings of a Veggie Plate

1. When we think of a veggie tray, we often think of the typical carrot, cauliflower, and broccoli tray, and there is nothing wrong with that! However, I wanted to create and share some ideas about fresh produce in season so you can visit your local farmers’ market or garden. Take a look at these three veggie tray ideas!
   
   2. These veggie trays need a little prep ahead of time, but you can make them for your weekend lunch or snack and save some for the week. It will be your little oasis time at the office when you eat them
   
   These vegetable trays have been inspired by around the world. If you have not had a chance to visit, you can at least eat like you have been there! With this collection of recipes, you can make one thing, mix and match, or create the entire veggie tray concept!
   
   3. The first “Not Your Boring Vegetable Tray” is anything but boring; it has a Mediterranean influence and uses eggplant and bell pepper, which you can find now at the farmers’ markets. I roasted the eggplant and made a dip!
   
   A mezze platter is a delicious tray of savory items as an appetizer popular in Turkey, Israel, Greece, Lebanon, and other Middle Eastern cultures. An eggplant, tahini (sesame seed butter), and lemon juice make a delicious dip for crackers or raw vegetables. This dip is called Baba Ghanoush, spelled differently and made a little differently depending on the country of origin.
   

Menu Ideas for Deliciously Different Veggie Plates

Even though these veggie plate ideas are made for one, you can quickly increase the servings for however many people you desire. Try these yummy dips for veggie trays, too! You can also make them for a tasty lunch!

1. Mezze Platter for One

Pita triangles (cut 1/2 pita circles into four small triangles)

1/3 cup Baba Ghanoush Dip (see recipe below)

5 Greek olives

Two little chunks of feta cheese

1/2 cup sliced bell pepper

Baba Ghanoush Dip

This is one of my favorite dips for veggie trays. It goes excellent with pitas, crackers, or a vegetable dip. It is also tasty as lunch in a tortilla wrap with the fixings above, along with tomato and lettuce! This recipe uses tahini, a sesame seed butter, to give this dip a distinct nutty flavor. Tahini is also one of the main ingredients for hummus!

One medium eggplant (you can peel, but as you can see, I left my peeling right on to get the added flavor and nutrients)

Juice from half of a lemon

1/3 cup tahini spread

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut eggplant in half or even smaller pieces. Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast for 15-20 minutes until it becomes translucent, and put in a food processor with tahini and lemon juice.

2. Carrot Ginger Veggie Dip with Asian-Inspired Fixings for One

Another savory idea for a veggie plate that has an Asian flair and uses roasted carrots for the dip.

Here is what you will need to make this veggie plate:

1/3 cup Carrot Ginger Veggie Dip (see recipe)

Snow peas (I steamed mine ahead of time, but you can also have uncooked)

Red bell pepper slices

Five almonds

Five rice crackers

Carrot Ginger Veggie Dip

This combination of carrots and Asian seasonings makes an excellent dip for rice crackers and other veggies!

Four large roasted carrots, sliced

Two tablespoons of peanut butter

One teaspoon of minced garlic

One tablespoon of freshly grated ginger

One teaspoon of Sriracha sauce

One teaspoon of soy sauce

One teaspoon of sorghum or molasses

Peanut oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss sliced carrots on a cookie sheet and roast for about 15 minutes until they caramelize. Add the carrots to a food processor and add the other ingredients. Blend until spooned, and serve!

Last but not least, try my tapas veggie tray! Tapas are appetizers or snacks with a Spanish influence.

Spanish Tapas Veggie Plate for One

Bring toasted bread topped with tomato and egg served with marinated carrots and roasted cauliflower!

4 Marinated Spanish Carrot Pickles (see recipe below)

4 Roasted Cauliflower Pieces (see recipe below)

2 Tomato Toasts topped with Boiled Egg (see recipe below)

Marinated Carrots

This recipe has a slightly different twist from traditional Spanish tapas. It is made with a carrot pickle that is easy to transport to work for a snack! This recipe makes enough for about 2 cups of pickles. You can cut the recipe if you are making one.

Two large carrots peeled and cut into small match sticks

1/2 medium onion sliced

One clove of garlic, finely chopped

One tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Sprinkle of paprika, oregano, and freshly ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

Add the carrot match, garlic, olive oil, and onion to a quart mason jar with a lid. Add the other ingredients to a small saucepan and heat to mix, then pour over the carrot mixture. Let sit for at least an hour to marinate the vegetables, and let the vinegar mixture cool. Refrigerate the jar of leftovers and use within a week or two.

Roasted Cauliflower

One small head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces

Two cloves garlic pressed

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the cauliflower with olive oil, paprika, and cumin in a medium bowl. Add the cauliflower to a cookie sheet and stir every 5 minutes until it begins to caramelize. Allow to cool. Eat as a vegetable side dish with dinner, serve at a party as tapas, or bring as an exciting snack for school or work.

Tomato Toasts Topped with Hard Cooked Egg

This recipe usually calls for roasting the tomatoes, but I think they are also great added uncooked to the little toasts. Depending on how many people you serve, save some sliced baguettes for later. As mentioned, this makes a great lunch recipe idea or light supper! The quantities vary depending on whether you are making one or two!

One thin baguette

1-2 homegrown tomato

1-2 hard-cooked eggs (you can leave off the egg and top with a piece of Smiling Hara’s tempeh, No Evil Foods Plant Meat, or marinated tofu

1/2-1 teaspoon marjoram

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Take one small baguette and slice it thin. Toast the bread on both sides if desired, or skip toasting. Marinate the tomatoes in olive oil, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Roast the tomatoes at 400 degrees until they are slightly cooked. You can also leave the tomatoes raw and marinate.

Hard-cook an egg or two over the stove. To make the sandwich, start with one slice of bread, add a slice of tomato, and top with your choice of hard-cooked egg or other protein!

Additional Ideas for Veggie Plates

These veggie plate ideas will provide lots of inspiration for future snack ideas and even lunch and supper! The ideas are endless! You could do a Mexican-themed veggie tray or a mini-roll your own Thai spring roll tray! You could even make a Caribbean-themed tray with jerk tofu, cooked plantains, pineapple, and kale chips! Let me know what you have created. I would love to hear what you made!

I also have a lot of great seasonal recipe ideas in my new book Farm Fresh Nutrition

Snack time can be fun, healthy, and satisfying! Let me know if you tried one and how it turned out!

I am an Asheville nutritionist and registered dietitian. I would love to help you live the healthy lifestyle you hope to achieve. You can learn more about me here.