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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Theresa O says
My daughter loves veggies in all forms, but my son is more picky. Dip, any dressing, especially ranch, is what gets him to try and eat just about any foods if he’s not interested. We just saw a similar idea to this post in Laura’s new cookbook-which is awesome- and he wanted to try it right away!
MiWon Park says
I try to add veggies into whatever I’m cooking. I add veggies to fruit smoothies and puree veggies (carrots, peppers, onions) into tomato sauce or into meatballs. I add chopped spinach into lasagna–with all the cheese and sauce, the kids still love it.
Ginger says
We’ve been making these for years…though poppyseed dressing is the favorite here. Otherwise, my kids love kale chips fresh from the oven. They could eat them all the time if I let them!
Kristin says
It all depends on the veggies. There are some that my children will eat easily, either served with dinner or as a snack. They’re more likely to eat something if they’ve helped prepare it—they like to slice cucumber, for instance. It can be harder to convince them to try something new. The good news is that we have a great farmers’ market, and they’re often curious about new foods they see. If they pick it out, they’ll almost always try it. Sometimes, they’ll reject a food the first few times only to discover that they do like it on the fourth or fifth try.
grace says
yes .. no green in my son’s plate but we have tried for him to encourage to eat 1 greens everyday. sometimes i have to put mix some spinach in spaghetti sauces and we’ll do green juices that helps a little.