Make your own Thanksgiving veggie tray with these tips, including advice on how to make your vegetable spread look like a turkey!
Your holiday spread is likely to contain many delicious, colorful, flavorful dishes that are perfect for snacking and creating a plate of your choosing. One option that will enhance the meal is a Thanksgiving veggie tray!
A veggie tray is a perfect entertainment piece because it allows all guests to decide how much of each item they want and is available for snacking before, during, and after your big meal.
Not to mention that parents are not likely to be upset that their child was offered too many healthy options when visiting your house — truly, you’re doing us all a favor by providing a veggie tray so we can actually kick back and enjoy our friends and family, rather than hover over our kids to make sure at least one vitamin or nutrient passed their lips!

What Veggies Are Good for a Veggie Tray?
Fresh vegetables that taste great raw and are perfect for dips will be a win on your veggie tray.
These vegetables are most commonly found on veggie tray spreads:
- Baby carrots
- Broccoli florets
- Celery sticks
- Cauliflower
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Sugar snap peas
- Cucumber slices
- Green beans
- Radishes
- Sliced or mini sweet peppers
Using a mix of red, orange, and yellow bell pepper can add nice pops of color to your tray. In general, the key is using a variety of different veggies in terms of color, texture, and taste. And of course, you’ll also want to add your favorite dip like ranch dressing!

How to Make a Veggie Tray Look Good — and Festive
Laying out the perfect Thanksgiving veggie tray is easier than you think.
On a large dish or serving platter, use a handful of fresh, clean vegetables in various locations separated from one another as anchor points.
A good example would be small piles of broccoli, carrots, and sliced cucumbers (rounds or sticks) spaced apart.
From there, fill in gaps with vegetables such as tomatoes, baby bell peppers, snap peas, green beans, and more.
Spread the colors and textures evenly for a wonderful visual and sensory presentation.
You can also use your vegetable tray to make a beautiful work of art in the shape of a turkey as part of your Thanksgiving dinner or celebrations!
Crafting a beautiful veggie turkey is sure to impress everyone at your Thanksgiving feast and only takes a little bit of extra effort.

Using a small dish of ranch dip or dill dip, you can make a forward-facing turkey body by placing it at the bottom of the tray, in the center.
From there, make the head and turkey face of the turkey above the dip using the circular bottom of a cut pepper for the face and the tip of a baby carrot as a beak!
You can even use candy eyes to make the turkey’s features pop!
After this, arrange your vegetables in a fan around the dish, slowly working your way outward. Use only one type of vegetable per row of “turkey feathers” for obvious and consistent imagery. Start by the head and work your way outwards until the tray is full. It will be a huge hit!
Can a Veggie Tray Be Made Ahead of Time?
It’s best to make a veggie tray as close to presentation time as possible, so preparing it within a day of serving is ideal.
If you do make your Thanksgiving veggie tray in advance, make sure to cover it well with plastic wrap and refrigerate it.
I suggest washing, cutting, and prepping the veggies the day before and placing them in Ziploc bags in the fridge. This finishes the bulk of the preparation ahead of time, with just arrangements and dip left to worry about.

How to Make a Cheap Veggie Tray Look Expensive
Veggie trays can be very affordable, especially if you make them yourself.
Buying in-season veggies when possible or buying them in bulk can save you a lot of money.
You can dress up a veggie tray for your holiday gatherings by using a nice serving platter as the base. You can even buy nice-looking serving trays at stores like Dollar Tree if you don’t have a lot of money to spend on it.
Adding colorful, flavorful dips and dressings in small ramekins throughout the veggie tray will make it look fancier. Hummus is a great option, as are ranch or dill-based dips. Place these strategically throughout the dish or make an interesting pattern or statement.

How Many Veggies Should I Buy Per Person?
The best way to plan and prepare your Thanksgiving veggie tray is to estimate that each adult will eat 1 to 1.5 cups of vegetables.
When I’m preparing food in large quantities for guests, I usually consider teenagers as adults and younger children as half adults.
You should also assume each adult will eat 1/8 to 1/4 cup of dip along with their veggies.
Most leftover veggies can easily be roasted on a sheet pan.

Make Your Own Dip
We’ve compiled lists of our favorite dips to make your life (and Thanksgiving celebration) much easier! Find your ideal match for your Thanksgiving veggie tray — just note that if you’re trying to keep it vegetarian, some of these do incorporate meat.