How to Make a Delicious Santa Veggie Tray

I am so excited to share this awesome Christmas vegetable tray with you. Like, so excited. Because I love the holidays and I love cute Christmas vegetable platters and I love Santa (and Santa crafts) and I love combining all those loves into one super awesome Santa veggie tray.

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I have a confession to make – I like to make showstopper food to bring to a potluck. Yep, whether it’s a spectacular plate of cookies, dessert, or a super cool side dish – I look forward to making food that is delicious and looks amazing. So, this is why I was so excited to create a Santa veggie platter and share it with all of you.

How to Make a Santa Veggie Tray

2 blueberries
pint of cherry tomatoes
cauliflower
4 large carrots
1 English (seedless) cucumber
2 red peppers
1 zucchini
dill
parsley
sour cream
lemon
salt and pepper

Okay, let’s have some fun. The first step is selecting the tray you are going to build Santa on. I started building him on a smaller wood platter and then decided to switch to a larger wood cutting board. You can make Santa whatever size you like. Once you have the tray, start with Santa’s face. A layer of zucchini slices makes up the face. Build up the zucchini slices for the cheeks and nose area.

Moving on to the cauliflower trim on Santa’s hat. This is easy, break off a few “trees” of cauliflower and arrange them across the top of Santa’s face. The trim is done.

vegetable santa face cauliflower hat trim

Next is the red portion of Santa’s hat. For this, slice the red peppers into thin, flat strips. Tuck the bottom layer of red peppers into the cauliflower trim. As you lay out the pepper, build the hat narrower and with a turn. At the end of the turn, you will place the dip as the pom pom for the hat.

santa vegetable tray with red pepper hat

Once the hat is complete, we move on to the beard. The beard is built from slices of cucumber and zucchini. I kept the zucchini slices in the background. Be sure to bring the beard up the sides of Santa’s face. I cut a few cucumber stars to add to Santa’s beard. To make the stars, simply use a small star cookie cutter to create stars from slices of cucumber. Arrange the cucumber slices to make a beard shape. Don’t forget Santa’s mustache. Cut a cucumber slice in half to make the moustache. Cut a mouth from the red pepper. Place the mouth under the moustache. Add the blueberry eyes and a cherry tomato nose.

santa vegetable face with cucumber beard and moustache

Finally, it is time to build the carrot background. Simply cut slices of carrots. Again, use the star cookie cutter to make a few carrot stars. Arrange the carrots all the way around Santa and add the carrot stars and cucumber stars around the background. Now that Santa’s beard and face are complete, it’s time to finish his suit. The suit is built from cherry tomatoes.

santa veggie tray with carrot background and cherry tomato shirt

Easy Vegetable Dip Recipe

To make the vegetable dip, combine the chopped dill and parsley with the sour cream. Sprinkle with lemon and salt and pepper to taste. This is a classic dip that everyone will love and could it be any easier to make? Adjust the herbs as you like.

Once the dip is in the bowl, the Santa vegetable tray is done. You could totally add crackers to the edges of the platter if you like. I couldn’t be happier with how this Christmas vegetable platter turned out.

santa vegetable platter with vegetable dip

Now, how to transport a Santa vegetable tray? Prepare all of the veggies at home – clean and slice. Make the dip ahead of time and put it in the bowl – covered with a lid or plastic wrap. Clearly, you can’t travel with the rolling cherry tomatoes in place. However, the face, beard, background, and even the hat can be made ahead. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Bring along the cherry tomatoes and be prepared to do some touch-ups when you get to the party.

how to make a santa vegetable platter larger image

If Santa isn’t your style, make our Christmas wreath vegetable tray. This one is packed with broccoli goodness. It would make a lovely addition to any holiday party.