Need a way to help your family eat more vegetables? These veggie cups are a fun option for kids and make getting your daily dose of vegetables easy!
Pack them with your favorite dipping sauce and watch them disappear from the fridge.
A little backstory on this snack recipe: at the age of 2, my daughter decided that all things veggies were no longer an option. No matter how hard I tried to make veggies appealing, she refused to eat them.
A few years later, these veggie cups made an appearance at a birthday party, and with some encouragement from her friend, Casey, she grabbed a veggie, took a bite, and liked ‘colorful’ foods again.
For a while, she called these snack cups “Casey’s cups” and asked for them frequently.
Veggie Snack Cups
Veggie cups are a great snack that’s fun and convenient to eat. You can prep them with an assortment of vegetables and stash them in the fridge for school lunches or veggie snacks to munch on while at the office.
If your kids (or you) aren’t a fan of raw vegetables, try giving them a quick steam in the microwave before assembling the cups. This works great with carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower and can even enhance their flavor with the dip.
What to Put in a Veggie Cup
Usually, I prep this snack with ranch dressing, baby carrots, and celery, but you can customize these veggie cups with any of your favorite dips and vegetables. Grab a few ideas in the list below:
- homemade ranch dressing
- homemade hummus
- red pepper hummus
- baby carrots
- celery sticks
- cherry/grape tomatoes
- broccoli
- sliced bell peppers
- sugar snap peas
- asparagus
Want more delicious recipes to include in your snack routine? Check out the Best Homemade Kids’ Snacks on the Planet.
It’s filled with creative and tasty snacks you’ll want to make again and again!
How to Assemble Veggie Cups
Here’s how to assemble your own veggie cups step-by-step:
- Add the dip
Add your choice of dip or sauce to the bottom of a 6 to 8-ounce storage cup; 2 tablespoons should do the trick. - Add the veggies
Place the veggies, standing up, into the dip. - Seal
Top with lid and seal. - Save for later
Once prepped, these veggie cups will stay good for up to 3 days.
You can also watch how to put these snack cups together in the video below:
More Ways to Get Kids to Eat Veggies
I have plenty of healthy meals ideas your picky eater will eat and ask you to make on repeat! Each recipe is a kid-favorite option recreated with better ingredients and hidden veggies to bump up the nutrition.
- Blueberry Smoothie – with invisible spinach!
- Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce
- Zucchini Pizzas
- All Meat & Veggie Chili
- Broccoli Nuggets
Easy Veggie Cups with Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 ribs celery, sliced into sticks
- 4 ribs carrots, peeled and sliced into sticks
- ½ – 1 cup ranch dressing
Instructions
- Place 1-2 tablespoons of ranch dressing at the bottom of each cup, and fill each container with 1 cup of sliced veggies.
- Close the lid and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
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LaTanya says
I use ranch as a dipping sauce and sometimes my son will eat veggies if he sees other children eating their veggies.
Sara says
My kids eat some veggies, but not enough, I find having something to dip them in helps.
YvonneB says
What a great idea. Don’t know why I never thought of putting both veggies and the dip in the same container! While my oldest is great at eating his veggies my youngest is another story. I’ve learned to sneak greens into her smoothies. And I have found than better than any dip or sauce, steaming green veggies with salt and butter draws out the sweetness
Danielle Aguilar says
Veggies appear to be the mortal enemies of my children! I can certainly coerce them to eat a few pieces of broccoli (dipped in mustard of all things) at dinner but I wish they greeted veggies the way they do a juicy hamburger! For now, the best way to make sure they meet their needs is to Smoothieize them! I make smoothies with berries and sneak in some spinach or kale or I make “leprechaun” muffins (no leprechauns were actually harmed in the making of these muffins) and add in spinach for the green color. I’m guessing I should have eaten more veggies myself while pregnant and nursing to help them love the taste. Oh wait, I still need ranch dip to eat my raw veggies too….
Mary vissani says
I have never really struggled to get my kids to eat veggies. I think the 2 main reasons really that my husband and I like a variety of veggies and we grow a lot of our own. Our kids help in the garden and get excited about eating from it.