Holiday Veggie Dip Platter

Feast your eyes on this stunning easy and healthy plant-based platter. Featuring a sweet and creamy veggie dip made with roasted bell pepper, chickpeas, avocado and dried cranberries centred around an assortment of vegetables, fruits and toasted naan bread to create a beautiful and simple holiday centrepiece.

During the holiday season, we get excited to enjoy foods we don’t usually get to eat during the less festive months. This year, I’ve gone all out and created some of my favourite easy and healthy holiday dishes – with a desilicious twist. This veggie dip platter is delicious and perfect for entertaining – just before your exquisite holiday dinner! In fact, I’ve also taken this platter along when attending parties. I would say it’s party-perfect and certainly makes it on my list of easy and healthy recipes for this season.

Are There Any Health Benefits To Eating Dried Cranberries?

I love the addition of dried cranberries to a traditional hummus recipe. Besides a festive twist, and giving a desi-licious flair, cranberries add a sweet tang, along with an extra pop of flavour. This means that there’s no need for any salt. The red pepper is roasted in the oven to intensify the flavour. And while the oven is busy at work, you can prep the remainder of the ingredients and create a platter of veggies and fruits.

Did you know, cranberries may offer potential health benefits?  Research indicates that dried cranberries support heart and digestive health and may play a role in cancer prevention and diabetes management. 

How to make it

1. Start by grilling the bell pepper in the oven (Image 1). I like to use my hands to coat the pepper chunks with oil and broil for 3-5 minutes until charred. 
2. Begin the veggie dip by adding avocado, chickpeas, grilled pepper, lemon juice, water and 1 tbsp olive oil (Image 2). Blend for a few seconds and use your blender’s tamper tool (Image 3).
3. Add the cranberries and continue to blend until creamy. I like to have chewy cranberry bits in my hummus, but you can blend them completely if you prefer a creamy consistency (Image 4-5).
4. When preparing the vegetables and fruits, make sure they’re washed and dried thoroughly. I like to cut in strips, making the perfect dippers for my easy and healthy veggie dip. You can stack more veggies and fruits, depending on the number of guests.

When creating a veggie dip platter, you want to have a variety of textures, like the crunch of baked naan bread coated with creamy hummus. I’ve intentionally picked sturdy veggies and fruits, which are a perfect match for this veggie dip. You can prep your veggies ahead of time, wrap them in paper towels, and refrigerate them in an airtight glass container. 

Here’s what I use for my platter:

• 3 small carrots
• 1 small cucumber
• 2 cups blackberries
• 3 naan breads (Lebanese-style). I toast mine for a few minutes in the oven.
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 cup of snap peas

Besides being tasty, this veggie dip also gives a brilliant pop of colour to your platter. 

Tips

• Decide on a centrepiece that will complement the other items on your platter
• Introduce different textures to add variety
• Prepare your platter last – to keep it fresh and vibrant
• Always opt for *quality* fresh ingredients – it’s worth it!
• Make it colourful, so it’s inviting
• Think about the arrangement – you don’t want it to look like a collection of hodgepodge
• Keep it bite-sized

Love veggies? Here are more easy and healthy recipes you may like:

• Pumpkin Curry
• Desi Vegan Bean Burgers
• Chickpea Kale Curry Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
• Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

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