Hummus Antipasto Platter

This antipasto platter is brought to you in partnership with Sabra. Thank you for supporting the companies that encourage my creativity and work. 

Today’s hummus antipasto platter idea is one you are going to love. And you know what? If you’ve been intimidated in the past by gorgeous antipasto platters and wonder how does one put it together? This is the post for you.

Let me preface by saying that I’ve only set up an antipasto platter at a party a couple of times. Usually, I’d set up a cheese area, a veggie tray, and then crackers and a variety of Sabra hummus around them. In my mind, this build-your-own antipasto “plate” was a better idea; except it did not wow the guests (or my kids).

Lately, I’ve wanted to up my appetizer game so I’ve been practicing -yes, practicing- setting up an antipasto platter at dinner time. I mean, why wait till you have a party and get all stressed out? You already have enough to think about at that point.

I asked my friend Anna, who throws the most incredible parties in her small cottage home, the key to a great appetizer bar (something she’s known for) and she said that the key is “variety of items, color, and lots of things to choose from!”

So there I was. Pen and pencil ready and asked Anna What do I buy for an antipasto platter? I mean, what cheese? What meats? All.of.that. I wanted specifics!

Her advice was to play around with sweet (fruit) and savory things (cheese, deli meats, nuts, hummus, and veggies). Buy as many colorful things your family will eat and place them on a board tightly.

Ok. “A lot of colors” and variety I could do. Favorite hummus dip… done. Then, I went to the store and saw that Sabra, a hummus you’ve seen me make many recipes with before, has three new varieties of Mediterranean Bean Dips out… so I had to try them (sorry chickpeas!)

The hummus antipasto platters you see here have Mediterranean White Bean with Spinach & Roasted Garlic Dip; which has a Tuscan flavor to it with garlic in it. I also have Red Bean, and Sundried Tomato & Basil that delivers a creamy combination of sundried tomato and basil your tastebuds will die for. And the Black Bean with Roasted Tomato and Smoked Paprika that is so smoky and good it’s hard to describe -maybe because I ate the whole tub in two days and forgot to take notes.

So, back to the rest of the platter. As you can see, I took a couple of blocks of cheese and cubed it. Of course, you can buy already cubed cheese, but you are a bit more limited in your choices. I bought sharp Cheddar, and a couple of Mozzarella sticks my kids love and halved those.

Next, I moved to other favorite items like salami, whole-grain crackers, and a variety of nuts, which I placed in small bowls on the side -watch out smoked almonds, so good.

The veggie platter had lots of fresh veggies with tiny savory crackers that I often use for snack boxes. Speaking of snack boxes, what I love about making an easy antipasto platter like this one for dinner is that leftovers make awesome snacks for the week!

As you can see, I keep things really simple. Fruits like grapes and berries that are easy to find and veggies that I can use afterward for meals or salads.

I usually go shopping on a Saturday morning, and I decided this would be a no-fuss dinner to make for the family. All I have to do is set out the antipasto platter and let everyone build their plates. I pack leftovers back in the fridge and our snacks for the week are done. So easy!

Do you make antipasto platters as a meal for your family? What would you put in them?