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.
The recommendations below may include affiliate links.
Kristi says
The best way I get my kids to eat more veggies, is using the spiralizer! They think it’s fun, and makes them more appealing! Mix in garlic with some spinach and they are good to go!
Gwen @ ButtercupsBabies.com says
Our oldest has always been great about veggies, so we were shocked when it was a huge issue with our second (and now third child as well).
Smoothies would usually work, but I hate making them unless its hot (mommy-fail). I also make something we call “Choco-berry Juice” (greens powder, Ovaltine, Good Belly Juice, Berry flavored Kefir, and little bit of milk- mixed up with butter knife until all clumps are gone in glass). Even our youngest will ask for this one.
We finally realized our second had a killer sweet tooth, as does our third, and started leveraging it. For them to have any sort of dessert, they had to have at least 3 veggie bites (our standards for what consists as a “bite” grow with more success). Originally, our second child would even throw up TRYING to force himself to eat veggies. We told him it only counted if he kept it down… 🙁 We’ve gotten into a more frequent dessert habit than I would like, but I try to keep the options “healthier” as much as possible.
Our second is way better about veggies now. The other night at my in-laws, he was running around with his cousins and actually stopped to grab some roasted asparagus off a tray before continuing on! Warms a mama’s heart…
Know we just need to work on that third kid… 😉
A_Shoemaker says
I struggle to feed my girls veggies, but only when they are not at home. If I put veggies (other than cucumber) in their lunch box they always come home at the end of the day untouched no matter the dipping sauce or the shape. To help with this I try to do more salads and wraps with a variety of veggies in small pieces. The girls like pasta salads so I make them with peppers, spinach carrots, tomato, etc. and I cut everything into small dice so it would take too much time to pick it out and they just eat it 🙂 I will also make quiche with veggies and “homemade ramen” with edamame, carrots, cabbage and celery to get added servings. For dinner we always have a cooked veggie choice or salad and they do not have a problem eating a serving or two when at the table with mom and dad.
Crystal says
My daughter will usually eat most veggies. Those that she does not like, I put on her plate anyway and let her know that she just needs to try it. Most of the time she eats them. If there is a sauce, dressing or cheese on them, then it is easier for me to get her to eat them. I can usually chop them pretty small in a dish and she doesn’t notice.
Christy says
I struggle with getting my kids to try NEW veggies. The usual suspects show up to the table and I nearly gag, so I try using different things like ranch dressing, lemon juice, butter, and garlic salt to entice my kids to try something different. Most of the time, this tactic works, but they’re not very tolerant of trying new things often so I have to space it out a bit.