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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Chelsea says
I am one of the lucky few who has a child who loves fruits and vegetables. For him, cooked is always more appealing, with few exceptions. For those veggies he will not eat raw (carrots are especially hard for him), we cook them, adding appealing seasonings. Easy way to make kid-friendly carrots is to toss baby carrots with some oil, salt, pepper, and a spoonful of brown sugar. Bake at around 350° for about 15-20 minutes. I often just throw a tray of them in with whatever else is in the oven, no matter the temperature. Just check after 10 minutes and keep an eye them. The softer they get, the sweeter they taste.
Elizabeth says
I try to get my kids to eat veggies, but no matter what I do they come back on the plates or in the lunch boxes. Even when they are veggies that they love! I try to serve them with dips that they love, but one of my kids won’t go near dips! I just keep offering over and over, and not just the same ones every time, new veggies too!
Angie B says
I love the idea of putting dipping sauces in the bottom of the veggie container 1 kid with ranch and other will use hummus wish I would have thought of this during the school year. During the summer I like to keep a tupperware veggie platter ready with alternating veggies and fruit during the week for variety. Currently the favorites are hummus, cucumber, sliced mini peppers and sugar snap peas with a spinach ranch dip. The fruit one usually has an assortment of melons and berries and occasionally some vanilla yogurt in the dip container.
Tara says
We struggle with some veggies, but I just try to make them in a way that appeals to my daughter. We try new things and as long as she tries it I will not force her to eat it. She tried Brussel sprouts and didn’t really remember if she liked them, I made them again and now she raves about them. She won’t eat cooked carrots but she will eat them raw. Broccoli she will only eat cooked and not raw. I’ve just learned how she likes it and I go with that.
Christine says
Certain veggies I know my kids will always eat and others they won’t. I focus on the ones they will and occasionally offer up new ones.
My husband likes to make up silly voices to get my boys to eat their veggies. Just tonight, I made stir fry. One of my twins was being difficult and dad put on a silly voice and began narrating our dinner. We were all laughing and my son ate all his veggies!