Christmas Wreath Veggie Tray
The holidays are full of sweets and other decadent treats – sometimes a tray of veggies is just what you need to round out your table. But why have a standard old veggie tray when you can have a beautiful Christmas wreath veggie tray instead? This recipe is fun, simple, healthy, and the perfect way to decorate your table.
Video
Why I love this recipe
This recipe is so simple, festive and healthy. I love this recipe because it is allergy-friendly, naturally gluten-free (as long as the dip you choose is gluten-free), and just plain fun to look at.
Whether you’re someone who loves vegetables or someone who reluctantly adds them to your holiday menu, I think we can all agree that a veggie tray is best when arranged into a Christmas wreath!
The best part… the red bell pepper bow! Take your Christmas veggie tray up a notch with this easy to make bow made from a red bell pepper and one cherry tomato. Just follow the steps in the step-by-step photos or the video to learn how to make it!
Grab some green vegetables and your favorite dip, and you’re nearly ready to make this easy appetizer this Christmas!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- You can use any vegetables for this, but I chose long stringy vegetables like green bell pepper slices, sugar snap peas and green beans because they mimic the shape of the tree branches.
- I recommend blanching the green beans and broccoli, as they are tougher vegetables. To do so, bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the green beans and broccoli and cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly tender but still have a crisp to them. You don’t want them to be overcooked and wilted. Transfer the green beans and broccoli with a slotted spoon or spider spatula to a bowl of ice water to shock them and stop cooking. Pat dry before putting on the veggie platter.
- You don’t have to blanch the broccoli if you like them raw, but I prefer them blanched.
Step-by-step instructions
With a few easy steps, you can make this simple Christmas wreath vegetable platter:
- Pour your dip in a small bowl and place in the center of a round platter.
- Fan out the green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas and green bell pepper in sections around the bowl so it creates a wreath shape.
- Add the cherry tomatoes sporadically around the wreath to serve as ornaments.
- Slice the top inch off of the red bell pepper as shown in the picture above. Where the red pepper naturally has a section, make a slice from the outside to the stem. Repeat at the remaining creases. Gently pull a section away from the stem. It should detach without too much effort. Repeat to get one more section. These will become the loops of the bow.
- From the remaining bell pepper, cut two slices that will become the bottom ribbon of the bow. Place the two rounded sections of the bell pepper on the bottom of the wreath facing each other. Then, place the longer strips below it. Use one cherry tomato for the center of the bow.
- Serve and enjoy!
Expert tips
- I always like to blanch the green beans and broccoli to make for easier eating, since they are tough vegetables. To do so, bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the green beans and broccoli and cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly tender but still have a crisp to them. You don’t want them to be overcooked or wilted. Transfer the green beans and broccoli with a slotted spoon or spider spatula to a bowl of ice water to shock them and stop them from cooking further. Pat dry before placing on the veggie platter.
- Placing a bowl of dip in the center of the platter first is key. This way you can place the vegetables around the bowl and create the Christmas wreath shape. If you’re preparing ahead, just place an empty bowl in the center of the veggies and fill with dip just before serving.
FAQs
You can certainly experiment with different colored bell peppers. I chose red and green for a traditional-looking Christmas wreath veggie tray. Bell peppers have either 3 or 4 humps. Either is fine for this recipe as we only need two sections to create the red bell pepper bow.
You can use any kind of vegetables for this wreath. I used green vegetables that were long and skinny so they could fan out around the bowl of dip and create the wreath shape. Some other good options are cucumber sticks, asparagus, and celery, but you can always get creative and use vegetables of other shapes and colors.
Absolutely! This recipe is very allergy-friendly and is naturally gluten-free and vegan except for the dip. The dip that you use is entirely up to you. Many dips are gluten-free, but if you want to make it vegan, hummus is a great option.
It’s easiest to use a round platter than will make it easy to fan the vegetables around a small bowl of dip. I used a basic glass platter about 12 inches in diameter which worked perfectly with my 5-inch dip bowl
Related recipes
Christmas Wreath Veggie Tray
Ingredients
- 2 cups french green beans, blanched (see notes)
- 2 cups broccoli florets, blanched (see notes)
- 2 cups sugar snap peas
- 2 green bell peppers, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1-2 cups dip of choice, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables by slicing or blanching as listed in the ingredients.
- Place your dip in a small bowl and place in the center of a round platter.
- Fan out the green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas and green bell pepper in sections around the bowl so it creates a wreath shape.
- Add the cherry tomatoes sporadically around the wreath to create ornaments.
- Slice the top inch off of the red bell pepper.
- Where the red pepper naturally has a section, make a slice from the outside to the stem. Repeat at the remaining creases.
- Gently pull a section away from the stem. It should detach without too much effort. Repeat to get one more section. These will become the loops of the bow.
- Using the remaining bell pepper, cut two slices that will become the bottom ribbon of the bow.
- Place the two rounded sections of the bell pepper on the bottom of the wreath facing each other. Then, place the longer strips below it. Use one cherry tomato to become the center of the bow.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I recommend blanching the green beans and broccoli, as they are tougher vegetables. To do so, bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the green beans and broccoli and cook for 2-3 minutes, until slightly tender but still have a crisp to them. You don’t want them to be overcooked and wilted. Transfer the green beans and broccoli with a slotted spoon or spider spatula to a bowl of ice water to shock them and stop cooking. Pat dry before putting on the veggie platter.
- You don’t have to blanch the broccoli if you like them raw, but I prefer them blanched.
