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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Gwendolyn says
My kids are all over the place with Veges. They will eat broccoli and corn (ok, not a super vege) with out much coercion. I can get my girls to eat dip and cucumbers and an occasional carrot… They will eat lettuce (but again, just iceberg) and call it salad. My son loves edamame and will eat them hot or cold. Anything else leafy and green – not a chance. I add mushrooms and red and green peppers to a lot of dishes as “filler” and that seems to go over well. Any other ideas… Would love them!
Trisia says
My teen lived veggies when younger, but recently has become finicky about veggies, so I’ve been making smoothies and adding them so they are disguised. He has no idea they are choked with kale or chard and carrots.
Lisa says
Patience and repetition. I serve them at every meal. Eventually, my 4 year old will do more than taste them. When she sees that they are not going away, she just accepts them and starts to eat them. Sometimes it’s not a texture or taste issue. It’s a power struggle. If she thinks I’m making her eat them, she won’t touch them. But if the veggies are just a part of the meal and the mealtime routine and we don’t discuss the “eating” of the veggies, she’ll just start eating them on her own. She has to think it’s her idea before she’ll do it!
Laura Fuentes says
Lisa, I completely understand the power struggle! Good for you for continuing to serve them at every meal.
Nicole says
I do struggle to get my kids to eat more veggies. I try to hide them in smoothies mostly but I fear they will not learn to like them that way so I also try to offer them raw with a dip.
Jen says
My kids do pretty well with veggies. I have followed a piece of advice that I have seen often, and I continue to serve them something even if they didn’t eat it the first few times, and it has worked! Zucchini, summer squash and mushrooms were recent “wins” via this method. One way that I sometimes do get the kids to eat more veggies is to offer them frozen veggies. I often buy bags of frozen carrots, peas, green beans and mixed vegetables as a time saver, and they like these all both frozen as well as cooked. They are a fun treat, especially on hot days.