Rainbow fruit & veggie platter with hummus

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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! 

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.

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

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

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

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

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.