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 platter with nuts, vegan cheese, and hummus.

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.

Plus, 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.

In this post:

Jump to:

Why readers love this recipe
The veggies
Get sweet on fruit
Get dipping with hummus
Go nuts
Olives add briny goodness
Go all out for a grazing board
Step by step instructions
How to use leftovers
📖 Recipe

Why readers love this recipe

“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!” – Shell

The veggies

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, Middle Eastern pickled turnips, or watermelon rind pickles.

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

Vegan fruit and vegetable tray with hummus in rainbow of colors.

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

Hummus with lemon & chickpeas on colorful veggie platter.

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 or pizza hummus.

Or go all out and have multiples on the platter!

Other veggie tray dip ideas:

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

Don’t feel like making anything? Pick up a store-bought hummus or vegan onion dip.

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 in green bowl by hummus, sugar snap peas, blueberries, and tomato slices.

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:

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:

Step by step instructions

This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Brightly colored fruits and vegetables in slices on serving 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.