Thanksgiving Veggie Tray
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This Thanksgiving veggie tray is shaped like a festive turkey and loaded with colorful fresh vegetables. It is fun to assemble, easy to serve, and always a hit on a holiday table.
I have learned that every holiday spread needs a good veggie tray and this turkey version has become one of my go-to dishes. It is cute, colorful, and gives everyone something fresh to snack on before the heavier plates come out.
A few years ago I made a Christmas tree veggie tray that everyone loved, so I thought it would be fun to make a Thanksgiving version too. My friend Maria helped with the feather pattern and the turkey face and it turned out so adorable. We served it at Friendsgiving and people kept saying they did not want to mess it up. Once someone finally grabbed a few veggies everyone joined in.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Veggie Tray
- Crowd pleaser – Everyone loves a themed dish at a holiday party and this one is always the first thing people ask about.
- Fresh and colorful – A full tray of crisp veggies adds brightness to the table and balances out the richer Thanksgiving dishes.
- Kid friendly – Kids get a kick out of the turkey face and usually grab more veggies when they see them arranged like this.
- Easy to customize – Swap in whatever veggies you have, use hummus or guacamole, and make the feathers your own.
Ingredients Needed
- broccoli – the florets add fullness and texture to the “feathers.”
- endive – perfect for creating the tall feather shapes and adding a little crunch.
- mini cucumbers – slice them thin for layering or tuck whole minis under the endive for height.
- mini sweet bell peppers – you’ll use these for color, feathers, and the turkey face. Try to pick a good yellow one for the head.
- carrot chips – an easy way to add orange color and crisp bite.
- cherry tomatoes – these add brightness and help anchor the feather pattern.
- jicama or jicama sticks – great for filling the bottom part of the tray and adding a refreshing crunch.
- guacamole or hummus – a thick dip works best because it holds the turkey head in place. Use guacamole right before serving so it stays bright.
- greek yogurt and peppercorns – just a tiny amount to create the turkey eyes.
You’ll also want to use a round veggie tray. It’s is best for the configuration of the turkey. I got mine from Target and love it!
Dip Variations
I used guacamole but you can serve any hearty dip you like! Here’s a few great options:
How to Assemble a Thanksgiving Veggie Tray
Add the dip: Spoon your dip into a small bowl and place it near the bottom of the platter. This becomes the turkey body.
Pick your peppers: Grab a yellow pepper for the head, another yellow for the wings, an orange one for the legs and beak and a red one for the snood.
Build the feather pattern: Layer endive leaves, broccoli florets, cucumber slices, carrot chips and cherry tomatoes around the edge of the platter until it looks full and colorful.
Fill the base: Add jicama sticks along the bottom half of the tray.
Assemble the turkey: Place the yellow pepper upside down on top of the dip bowl for the head. Add pepper slices for wings. Pipe two tiny dots of Greek yogurt for eyes and press in the peppercorns. Add the beak, snood and legs.
Brittany’s Tip
- If you’re using guacamole, add it to the dip bowl last, right before serving, so that the guac doesn’t get brown on you.
More Holiday Appetizers You’ll Love
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Thanksgiving Veggie Tray
Ingredients
- 1-2 crowns broccoli
- 2 heads endive
- 1 package mini cucumbers
- 1 bag tri-color mini sweet bell peppers
- 1 bag carrot chips
- 1 package cherry tomatoes
- 1 jicama, or package of jicama sticks
- 1 teaspoon greek yogurt
- 2 peppercorns
- guacamole or hummus, a thick dip works best
- round tray or platter
Instructions
- Put the dip in a small bowl near the bottom of the tray. This will be the body of your turkey. If you’re using guacamole do this step last/right before serving so that the guac doesn’t get brown on you.
- Before making the veggie tray go through the bag of mini bell peppers and find a good yellow pepper to use for the face. Find another one for the wings, one orange pepper that you can use to cut out the legs and the beak and a red one you can use to cut the red snood.
- Start placing the feathers around the edge of your platter. We did a pattern of 1 endive leaf (with a mini bell pepper underneath to prop it up and two broccoli florets. Start filling in under the broccoli with cucumber slices. Add a small slice of yellow bell pepper to the center of each endive leaf. Then add a cherry tomato at the bottom of each leaf. Add another layer of carrot chips and cucumber slices.
- Arrange jicama sticks along the bottom half of the tray.
- To make the turkey, chop off the top of the yellow mini bell pepper, empty the seeds out and place it upside down at the top of the bowl. Add the wings using half slices of another yellow bell pepper. To make the the eyes we filled a plastic baggie with a couple teaspoons of greek yogurt, cut off the tip and used it to pipe two dots of yogurt onto the head of the turkey. We then situated two peppercorns in the middle of the yogurt dots. We were able to just sit the mini bell pepper beak and snood on the head and they stayed in place on their own. For the legs, grab a orange bell pepper and cut out two legs with little toes. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you have leftovers, place the veggies in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Keep the dip separate so everything stays fresh and crisp.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Planning to make this and will take a picture of it on my iPad and pop it up next to it with text saying gobble me up!
This is so cute!! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!