Ultimate Veggie Board with Three Dips
March 30, 2018
A classic vegetable snack board with three of my favorite dips. Play around with veggie combinations and find your families favorite dip using my tips and tricks below!
BUILD THE PERFECT VEGGIE BOARD
Cheese boards have had their time in the spotlight (and for good reason, I’ll never say “no” to good cheese spread), but I’m all about embracing bountiful snack boards. It’s my favorite way to tackle an appetizer for entertaining. They are most definitely party-worthy because of their beautiful display of bite-sized bits. While typically I include a variety of ingredients for a snack board, I love this idea applied to a good ole’ fashioned veggie tray.
UP YOUR VEGGIE TRAY GAME
Resist the urge to pick up a veggie tray at Costco or your local grocery store and build your own. Pull out a big cutting board and assemble your veggies in some sort of eye-pleasing arrangement. I like to place a few bowls on the board that I can fill with various dips, then build my veggie patterns around that.
MOVE OVER VEGGIE TRAY
Here are a few tips for tackling this classic party appetizer. Remember to keep it simple. Don’t drive yourself crazy tracking down unique vegetables or recreating an elaborate board you saw on Pinterest or Instagram. Simple choose about 5 veggies that are different yet seem to go well together. Bites tend to be best, so if needed, break your veggies down into bite-sized pieces. I think about everything being able to be consumed in one or two bites. Crackers, bread, and cheese can also be mixed in with your veggies and dips to round things out. As you get more comfortable arranging snack boards you can loosen things up and get more creative.
WE EAT WITH OUR EYES FIRST
Looking at your board as a whole it should look colorful, appetizing, and easily accessible. I tend to uses veggies that are all different colors – in fact my kids will sometimes even call it a “rainbow board.”
PrintSpicy Avocado Dill Dip
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe avocado
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, plus a few sprigs for garnish
- 2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 medium jalapeno, minced, seeded for milder heat
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions
Mash the avocado with a fork in a medium bowl. Add the sour cream and whisk until well combined. Stir in the dill, scallions, garlic, jalapeno, salt and black pepper. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Caramelized Onion Dip
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- One 10-ounce box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Instructions
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Stir in the onions and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.
Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese and cayenne in a mixing bowl and mix vigorously until smooth. Add the onions and thawed and drained spinach and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as necessary.
Homemade Buttermilk Ranch
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until fully incorporated. Adjust the seasoning. The dressing can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a week.