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Rainbow fruit & veggie platter with hummus

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Text overlay: Rainbow fruit and veggie platter. Board with sliced fruits, vegetables, and hummus.

Give your veggie platter a vibrant makeover by leaning into the rainbow vibes. With a sea of pinks, blues, oranges, and reds, it will brighten any gathering. Plus, it couldn’t be easier to put together! 

Hummus on veggie platter.

Fruit and veggie platters are a standard appetizer option for parties, get-togethers, baby showers, and holiday gatherings.

But that doesn’t mean they have to be boring! By adding lots of rainbow-infused color to your tray, it becomes immediately eye-catching & noteworthy.

And even while our gatherings are smaller these days, it’s easy to size this board up or down, depending on the number of people in your immediate household.

Because there’s so much variety in this fruit & veggie platter, you don’t need a ton of any one thing. A couple bell pepper halves, a few carrot sticks, a handful of sugar snap peas, one celery stick…

It’s a great use of odds and ends. It turns into something much more impressive as a final dish than any of the individual components.

I added to the rainbow theme with a couple of small cloud plates from my old pottery-making days. Perfect for some white-colored additions – Marcona almonds and cauliflower florets.

Close-up fruit and veggie platter.

The vegetable aspect of this veggie platter

In terms of dipping and snacking, I especially like sturdier vegetables that can stand up to hummus or your preferred dip – like cauliflower, carrots, bell pepper, and celery sticks.

But if you have a favorite vegetable, especially one that’s at its seasonal best, add it here. You can even include cooked vegetables like roasted delicata squash or roasted cauliflower.

Or add some pickled vegetables like pickled asparagus, pepperoncini, dill pickles, or pickled turnips.

Vegetables on my board:

  • Carrots
  • Cauliflower
  • Tomatoes
  • Celery
  • Sugar snap peas
  • Bell peppers – in varying colors
  • Radishes (Easter egg radishes in hues of white, pink, and purple are especially vibrant!)

More veggie tray ideas:

  • Cucumber
  • Broccoli florets
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Mini peppers

Veggie and fruit platter on table with hummus.

Get sweet on fruit

Who can resist a pile of blueberries just begging to be plucked? Or neon pink grapefruit, so juicy in tempting wedges? Adding fruit to a platter makes it endlessly more inviting. I used:

  • Blueberries
  • Grapefruit wedges

Other fruits that would work well:

  • Orange wedges
  • Grapes
  • Blackberries
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries
  • Diced pineapple
  • Sliced persimmon
  • Sliced kiwi fruit
  • Melon
  • Cherries
  • Sliced mango

Close-up hummus garnished with chickpeas and oil on veggie tray.

Get dipping with hummus

In addition to being a flavorful dip for the vegetables on the platter, hummus is a protein-packed option to give this appetizer some staying power.

You can use my go-to hummus recipe, which can easily be made oil-free. Or you can choose a colorful option like buffalo hummus, pizza hummus, or kalamata olive hummus. Or go all out and have all four on the platter!

  • Easy hummus recipe
  • Buffalo hummus
  • Pizza-flavored sun-dried tomato hummus
  • Kalamata olive hummus

Other veggie tray dip ideas:

In addition to or instead of hummus, here are some other spreads that go well with a veggie platter:

  • Guacamole
  • Baba ganoush
  • Jalapeño cashew cheese spread
  • Vegan blue cheese dressing

Don’t feel like making anything? Pick up a store-bought hummus or vegan onion dip. My current favorite onion dips are from Kite Hill and Hope Foods.

Go nuts

Although it doesn’t strictly fit the headline, it’s nice to have some salty crunch and satiating bite on a veggie platter.

I used Marcona almonds here. (Truffle-flavored almonds from TJ’s are one of my favorite vegan Trader Joe’s products. They also have rosemary-flavored ones that would be really nice.)

Other nut options:

  • Candied pecans
  • Pistachios
  • Peanuts
  • Cashews

Chalkidiki olives in bowl.

Olives add briny goodness

Olives are always welcome on a vegetable tray. Pick any olive that you like. I used kalamata and green olives here.

Or go with a fancier option like:

  • Olive tapenade
  • Fried olives
  • Warmed Castelvetrano olives

Go all out for a grazing board

To move this veggie platter into the domain of a vegan cheeseboard, snack board, or grazing board, add these hearty additions:

  • Vegan feta cheese
  • Air fryer chickpeas
  • Homemade pita chips
  • Seitan slices
  • Crackers
  • Warm baguette

Hummus, olives, vegan feta cheese, and cauliflower on board with vegetables and fruit.

How to make a rainbow fruit & veggie platter

Wash the fruits and vegetables. Group similar colors together on the towel.

Get a medium-sized charcuterie-style board, marble cheeseboard, or chopping block.

“Anchor” the board with a few bowls & plates for interest. It also helps to contain spreads or items that are prone to rolling. Scatter them across the board from light to dark.

Now it’s time to organize the remaining fruits and vegetables. Think about color gradation. Start on one corner with white, and the other opposite corner with black. Then work naturally from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Work in a clock-wise direction, starting with the lower left hand corner. Move around the board from light to dark. Go white, yellow, orange, red, green, and back around to blue, purple, and pink.

Don’t worry if it’s a perfectly logical progression. It’s going to look great no matter how it plays out.

When you’re done, ideally you don’t want any of the board showing underneath. Add a few sprigs of cilantro where necessary to cover any gaps.

How to use leftovers

If you have leftovers after noshing on your veggie platter, pop all of the elements into covered glass containers for later use.

Slather leftover hummus on tortilla pinwheels, bagel sandwiches, artichoke crostini, double hummus wraps, or brown rice bowls.

Chop leftover vegetables into an easy spinach salad, or kale salad with roasted chickpeas. They’re also great in a stir-fry with brown rice.

Put leftover blueberries in a blueberry banana smoothie. Sprinkle them on top of cashew yogurt, add them to oatmeal, or pancakes.

Colorful veggie platter on table.

Hummus on veggie platter.

Rainbow fruit & veggie platter with hummus

Turn that ho hum vegetable tray into a splash of vibrant color. By using a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables and organizing them by shade, you can take this easy appetizer from standard to spectacular.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American, Vegan
Keyword: easy appetizer, party food, veggie platter
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 106kcal
Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Marcona almonds
  • 1/4 cup vegan feta cheese optional
  • 1 batch hummus
  • 1 slice lemon to garnish hummus
  • 1/2 cup green olives
  • 1/2 cup kalamata olives
  • 1/2 cauliflower head broken into florets
  • 10 Easter egg radishes halved
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper sliced
  • 4 carrots peeled
  • 1/2 red bell pepper sliced
  • 1 tomato sliced
  • 1 stalk celery cut into sticks
  • 1/2 cup sugar snap peas
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 grapefruit cut into wedges
  • Few sprigs cilantro optional

Instructions

  • Get a medium-sized charcuterie-style board or chopping block. Put the following into their own separate bowls or plates: Marcona almonds, vegan feta cheese (if using), hummus with a slice of lemon garnish, green olives, kalamata olives, and cauliflower florets. Scatter them across the board as your "anchors."
  • Now you'll start compiling the sliced fruit and vegetables. Start in the lower left hand corner, and work in a clockwise motion to fill out the board. Spread out the Easter egg radishes from white to bright pink in one corner. Then add a pile of sliced yellow bell peppers, carrots, red bell peppers, sliced tomato, celery sticks, sugar snap peas, blueberries, and grapefruit wedges.
  • If there are any blank areas, garnish with sprigs of cilantro. Ideally, none of the wood block underneath should show.

Notes

Don't feel like making hummus from scratch? Pick up a container of readymade hummus at the grocery store.
Or choose one of these dip alternatives instead: 
  • Guacamole
  • Baba ganoush
  • Jalapeño cashew cheese spread
  • Vegan blue cheese dressing
 

Nutrition

Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 270mg | Potassium: 321mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 4648IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg
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Posted On: December 16, 2020
Comment: Leave a Comment

About Cadry

Cadry Nelson is the writer, photographer, and recipe creator behind Cadry’s Kitchen, a vegan food & lifestyle blog started in 2009. Through approachable recipes, vegan travel guides, and down-to-earth discussions on the social aspects of being vegan, Cadry shows that living a vegan lifestyle is deliciously uncomplicated. Cadry has been featured on NBC News, Mashable, Today, Reader's Digest, Yahoo, Delish, Shape, and Huffington Post.

Comments

  1. Shell says

    December 19, 2020 at 7:30 pm

    5 stars
    What a beautiful platter. I love all of the colors. Your hummus recipe is so easy and delicious. It is my go-to hummus recipe also!

    Reply
    • Cadry says

      December 22, 2020 at 8:16 am

      Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that.

      Reply

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Welcome

Hi, I'm Cadry Nelson. I'm the recipe creator, writer, and photographer behind Cadry's Kitchen.

Cadry's Kitchen is a vegan food & travel blog. It features plant-based comfort food classics that are ready in about 30 minutes.

You can also find travelogues & recommendations on where to eat vegan while traveling - even in unlikely places!

Contact me at cadryskitchen@gmail.com.

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