This Grazing Platter is easy to put together and perfect for sharing! Load your board with a variety of dips, bread, fruit, nuts and nibbles and let your guests help themselves. Perfect for a fancy dinner party or casual entertaining – simply add wine and friends.
Think of this grazing board as the ultimate party-perfect Vegan appetizer platter.
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In Collaboration with Artesano de Argento
Have you ever felt a little bit helpless when it comes to planning a dinner party menu? I know I have!
This incredible vegan grazing platter filled with your favourite combination of nibbles, is the perfect way to get the party started. There’s something here for everyone to enjoy and you can customise it to suit your taste and dietary requirements.
I feel like the days of formal entertaining are long behind us anyway. These days it’s all about casual and cosy fun, not sit down dinners, am I right?
WHAT IS A GRAZING PLATTER?
A grazing platter is the offspring of cheese platter and charcuterie board but funkier, more budget friendly and infinitely more adaptable!
Grazing platters are definitely the way forward whether you are catching up with friends over a bottle of wine or enjoying a date night.
Sometimes you can skip serving a main course altogether, trust me no one will miss it 😉 My husband and I frequently have grazing platter Friday nights instead of dinner.
WHY SHOULD YOU TRY IT
Stress-free entertaining – you don’t have to slave away in the kitchen preparing a three-course meal.
Quick and easy – you can prepare the dips, breads and nibbles yourself, simply pop in to your nearest deli or a combo of both!
Easy to customise – I have kept this grazing platter entirely vegan in honour of Veganuary but you can add WHATEVER you like on it. There’s no one way to serve it, just make it your own.
Perfect wine partner – I paired my platter with my fave vegan red, Artesano de Argento Organic Fairtrade Malbec Cabernet Franc. This rich and smooth wine is the ideal match for this easygoing grazing platter. Artesano de Argento Fairtrade Organic Malbec Cabernet Franc is available at / from Sainsbury’s and selected retailers.
HOW TO BUILD THE ULTIMATE GRAZING PLATTER
One: Select a board to suit the size of your party. Position the dips and larger items such as bread around the board. I used my vegan Turkish Bread in this instance.
Two: Fill the gaps with nibbles and smaller items. Remember to offer a variety of flavours and textures.
CUSTOMISING YOUR PLATTER
Oftentimes vegan and vegetarian guests get the short straw when it comes to party food, especially when the party is made up of mostly omnivores.
Building a vegan grazing platter is surprisingly easy however and no one will miss the meat or cheese. Here are the building blocks of my platter.
BREAD – offer one or two options such as Sourdough, focaccia, flatbreads and crackers. Tortilla chips can be added depending on the dips on offer.
DIPS – there are SO MANY delicious options that are perfect for a grazing platter. My favourites include Baba Ghanoush, Hummus, Tomato pesto, guacamole and caponata. Remember you can always buy some of the dips to supplement any homemade offerings. Offer your guests spoons and plates so they can help themselves.
CHEESE – there are some amazing artisan vegan cheeses available these days but you can also make your own. Why not try my friend the Domestic Gothess’s Vegan Almond Cream Cheese?
FRUIT & NUTS – perfect for adding texture and a little sweetness to your board. Grapes are a must but you can also add figs, cherries and dried fruit such as dates, apricots and apples. A variety of nuts such as pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews and pistachios are also welcome but make sure to ask your friends about any allergies.
VEGETABLES – celery, cucumber and carrot sticks, sliced peppers, radishes, cherry tomatoes. Pickles, sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, olives, beetroot, marinated artichokes – anything goes! Offer toothpicks / cocktail sticks so everyone can spear their faves.
SMALL BITES – falafel, stuffed mushrooms, loaded crostini, vegan meatballs. Make sure these can be served cold.
What can I use as a platter board?
A wooden board, marble board, slate board, large flat roasting tray or drinks tray can all be used along with a variety of smaller bowls for your dips.
Amazon has a huge variety of boards and platters, some with bells and whistles (bonus: they make excellent gifts too).
TIPS AND NOTES
- Make sure to ask your guests if they have any allergies or intolerances before you build your board. You can easily pick some gluten free bread and omit any nuts if you are prepared beforehand.
- The grazing platter is served cold so you can prepare it a couple of hours in advance and keep it in the fridge, adding the bread and crackers just before serving.
- Presentation is everything – make sure you spruce up any store-bought items with a few sprigs of fresh herbs, a drizzle of oil or a few pomegranate seeds.
- Keep some spare dips, cut vegetables etc. in the fridge in case you want to replenish the board.
- I would not recommend storing any leftovers if people have been using communal dip bowls etc. You can always use any leftover vegetables in a sauce or on a pizza.
- Have a few bottles of your favourite wine in your drinks cabinet. You never know if any unexpected guests drop in!
- Have napkins on offer. I bought cloth napkins finally to reduce waste and am never going back!
Have you tried my Grazing Plaater? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebookpage, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!
Grazing Platter
Equipment & Tools
Ingredients
- 3-5 dips hummus, guacamole, baba ghanoush, caponata etc.
- 1 Olive oil and balsamic vinegar dipping bowl
- 1-2 types of bread , flatbread, bread sticks
- 1-2 crackers
- 2-3 Fruit grapes, figs, cherries etc.
- 2-3 Dried Fruit apricots, dates, cranberries, apple rings etc.
- 2-3 Vegetables ,cucumber, celery, carrots, beetroot etc.
- 2-3 Nuts pecans, walnuts, cashews, pistachios etc.
- 2-4 Cheese Vegan cheese (optional)
- 3-5 nibbles olives, pickles, marinated mushrooms, artichokes etc.
- Small bites falafel, stuffed mushrooms, loaded crostini, vegan meatballs etc.
Instructions
- Remember to ask your guests if they have any allergies or dietary preferences.
- Select a board to suit the size of your party. Position the dips and larger items such as bread around the board in small bowls and ramekins with spoons for people to serve themselves with.
- Fill the gaps with nibbles and smaller items. Remember to offer a variety of flavours and textures.
Notes
- Bread – offer one or two options such as Sourdough, focaccia, flatbreads and crackers. Tortilla chips can be added depending on the dips on offer.
- Dips – there are SO MANY delicious options that are perfect for a grazing platter. My favourites include baba ghanoush, hummus, tomato pesto, guacamole and caponata. Remember you can always buy some of the dips to supplement any homemade offerings. Offer your guests spoons and plates so they can help themselves.
- Cheese – there are some amazing artisan vegan cheeses available these days but you can also make your own.
- Fruit and nuts – perfect for adding texture and a little sweetness to your board. Grapes are a must but you can also add figs, cherries and dried fruit such as dates, apricots and apples. A variety of nuts such as as pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews and pistachios are also welcome but make sure to ask your friends about any allergies.
- Vegetables – celery, cucumber and carrot sticks, sliced peppers, radishes, cherry tomatoes. Pickles, sun dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, olives, beetroot, marinated artichokes – anything goes! Offer toothpicks / cocktail sticks so everyone can spear their faves.
- Small bites – falafel, stuffed mushrooms, loaded crostini, vegan meatballs. Make sure these can be served cold.
- Nutritional information is hard to determine as it will depend on the food on offer and how much each guest eats!
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