Turkey Veggie Tray for Thanksgiving (Easy Platter)
Make this Thanksgiving turkey veggie tray for a festive, healthy Thanksgiving appetizer! It’s an adorable, healthy option for the holidays.
Last year, I posted myself making this cute turkey veggie tray in a video I posted (see it here). Alas, it was too late for me to get the recipe posted here on the blog before everyone’s Thanksgiving celebration, but I’m working ahead this year so it’s ready for this year’s Thanksgiving Day parties!
This adorable turkey veggie tray was a huge hit for our Thanksgiving feast, and a I think it’s a great way to work some extra veggies and healthy food into a day that is traditionally filled with heavier food!
Making this Thanksgiving veggie tray really sparked some creative ideas for me last year! I was on a roll when it came to creative ways to make vegetable platters, also making this super easy Football Veggie Tray for our watch parties!
I will admit that this turkey veggie platter is just a bit harder to make than the football tray was! It was a little intimidating, but truly ended up being much easier than I thought it would be.
For the shape of a turkey head, I used the bottom of a bell pepper, nestled into a small bowl of dip. I have options listed below for your dip, but I recommend you use your favorite savory, creamy dip like Spinach and Crab Dip.
This Thanksgiving appetizer idea serves as a snack or a charming centerpiece for your Turkey Day celebration.
It’s *almost* too cute to eat, but I know you’ll find a way!
Turkey Veggie Tray Substitutions
I want you to know that when you’re making this very customizable turkey vegetable tray, you have plenty of options to substitute the ingredients! Here are some ideas for relish tray substitutions:
- Use your favorite veggie dip. Hummus, baba ganoush, black beans dip, a sour cream dip or homemade ranch dip will work. Even ranch dressing straight out of the bottle is fine! I promise that no one will complain, they will be so impressed by your creative efforts!
- Use your favorite veggies, or just the ones you have on hand already. Different veggies like cherry tomatoes (grape tomatoes), celery sticks, asparagus spears, cucumber slices or broccoli florets for any of the listed ingredients.
- Instead of the candy eyes, consider using sliced black olives.
- Swap out the individual veggies for fruits to make a turkey fruit tray! They concept stays the same as far as the design. For the dip, you could do a sweet fruit dip like the one I have in this Fruit Charcuterie Board!
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Thanksgiving turkey vegetable tray as the perfect Thanksgiving appetizer! For additional appetizers, consider making Sausage Rolls, Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts or this Easy Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball!
Or, it can also make a beautiful centerpiece for your Thanksgiving dinner or Friendsgiving party.
If you need more suggestions for the holidays, check out my complete list of easy Thanksgiving recipes!
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover veggies from your turkey vegetable platter separate from the dip in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Turkey Veggie Tray for Thanksgiving (Easy Platter)
Ingredients
- 2 large cucumbers sliced
- 1 pound baby carrots or carrot sticks
- 2 red bell peppers sliced
- 2 yellow bell peppers sliced
- 2 orange bell peppers sliced
- 8 ounces snap peas
- 6 ounces radishes quartered
- 12 ounces dill dip or ranch dressing
- a serving tray or charcuterie board approximately 20’’ round in diameter
- 2 candy eyes large (in the baking aisle)
- a small dip bowl
Instructions
- Turkey Body: Layer the vegetables in a half circle, starting on the far/top edge. Make the "turkey feathers" by layering each type of vegetable in a row, making the length of each row slightly shorter with each layer.
- Dip: Place the small bowl of dip at the bottom of your turkey body.
- Turkey Head: For the turkey head, use the end of one of the bell peppers. Rest it on the top of the dip, using the back of the bowl for support. Place the candy eyeballs (or sliced black olives) on the turkey "face" to make the eyes. Then, add a sliver of orange or yellow pepper for the nose, and a sliver of red bell pepper for the wattle. If you’re having trouble getting these pieces to stay on the bell pepper, gently dip the back of them into the dip, then press to the bell pepper face to attach.
- Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to serve!
- You can also use sliced black olives for the eyes.
This is such a fun idea for Thanksgiving! I always have a veggie tray set out, so why not make it fun?! Made it for Friendsgiving and everybody said it was so cute.
You made my day! Thank you!