Rainbow vegetable plates are an easy snacktime activity and a chance to make veggies exciting to prep, look at, and eat! Make everyone’s day and make eating vegetables as fun as it is healthy! It’s great for kid’s snacktime, birthday parties, buffets, barbeques and for summer events or even St. Patrick’s Day (leprechauns love a rainbow!)
To make, just slice a variety of veggies in rainbow strips and arrange them in Roy G Biv order, with cauliflower florets at the bottom as fluffy clouds. Set them out with hummus or any dip for snacking. And instead of store-bought napkins, you can lean into the rainbow theme by cutting paper towels into fluffy clouds and placing one next to each plate!
You can make one for each guest at a party or kid on a playdate (we made these on paper dessert plates) —or better yet, let older kids make their own! Or, make a larger one for the middle of the dinner table.
Rainbow colors will give you the greatest variety of veggies. But they’re not the only shape you can make! Think green and red peppers for Christmas trees in December, or radish hearts for Valentine’s Day!
The pot of gold at the end of this rainbow is the delicious snack and healthy vitamins that come from eating it. In many cases, it’s the nutrients in each vegetable that give them their rainbow-ready color!
To make your rainbow, get creative with whatever vegetables you like! For this one we used the following:
- Red bell peppers
- Orange carrots (but you could use orange bell peppers)
- Yellow summer squash (also try yellow bell peppers)
- Green came from cucumbers (celery, green pepper, asparagus, or green beans work, too)
- Blue potatoes (we boiled and cooled them before slicing)
- Violet came from purple carrots (beets can work too)
- Clouds were made from cauliflower
You could also make your rainbow by arranging smaller fruit in arches: red, orange, or yellow cherry tomatoes, yellow corn kernels, green from peas, blue or violet from blueberries or blue corn kernels.
Whatever vegetables you use, when you’re done, you’ve got a nice assortment to munch on or dip into dips—and a fun display that serves as a centerpiece for your table. They’re veggies that double as eye candy!
What You’ll Need
- Vegetables in Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet, plus cauliflower for clouds
- A knife
- A board or platter for serving
- Paper towels, full sheet (optional for cutting into clouds)
- Scissors (optional for cutting into clouds)
How-To
Step 1: Slice vegetables into thin strips. Make the red slices the longest, then cut shorter strips for each color as you move down the rainbow to fit the descending size of the arches.
Step 2: Arrange strips into a rainbow, with red on top, then orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Place cauliflower florets at the ends of the arches.
Step 3: Cut paper towels into clouds for on-theme napkins. Then, gather everyone over the rainbow—in this case, around the dinner table!—to enjoy this healthy and happy-looking snack.
For more fun vegetable snack ideas check out our veggie bowl wraps!
