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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Jacqueline says
Ranch dressing with veggies is the best dipping sauce!!!
Laura B says
I do struggle to get my kids to eat more veggies, especially a bigger variety of them. One thing I do is have the kids help with picking out new ones to try at the grocery store, and help prepare them at home
Rehana khan says
I use to struggle with getting my more to eat more vegetables but not so much anymore. I remember while she was 3 years old I would talk to her about the benefits of eating a vegetable that I was offering. For example- if you eat lots of carrots it’ll help your eyesight and your skin become beautiful. I would even say, “it’ll make your hair nice and long”- which works. My latest selling point is, “if you eat beets daily, it’ll help you have beautiful skin and help you digest food easily.” After having the beets, she mentions how her skin and tummy start feeling better.
Jamie says
I struggle with one of my kids, the other two will eat them no problem. with my daughter, I find if I have something she can use to dip them in – usually ranch dressing – then she will eat them.
Candy says
My girls go through spurts. Some days my 3 year old begs for a bowl of broccoli and hummus and other days they won’t touch any vegetable. They really like frozen peas and I learned to add seasonings to the veggies to make them more appealing. For example, on taco night I add cumin and other seasonings to the vegetables while I cook them and then the kids really like them. Truthfully, the struggle is more mine than theirs. I’m not a good or creative cook and working full time leaves little room to work on this skill. Not giving up though! Thanks for all your great ideas!