Dragon Veggie Tray – Healthy Dragon Party Food Ideas
A Dragon veggie tray!? Why not? I have actually been imagining this healthy dragon party food option ever since we had our Medieval Knight Dinner Party. Dragons and knights just seem to go together don't they?
As I've thought about it, there are dragons in our favorite Harry Potter books. Check out the pic for this “Chinese Fireball”. But dragons also feature prominently in “How to Train your Dragon”, “Raya and the Last Dragon”, and our favorite little Halloween story “Room on The Broom“. Not to mention being a super awesome food/decoration for Chinese New Year!
So have I convinced you yet to try a dragon veggie tray of your very own?
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13 Days of Halloween
It's Day 5 of the annual “13 Days of Halloween ideas” with Jordan at Jordan's Easy Entertaining. I’ll be posting new Halloween ideas Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays all month long. This year the theme is MAGICAL BOOKS and I'll share tips for a Room on the Broom Halloween party as well as Harry Potter inspired Halloween ideas.
Check back each week on the blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Or better yet, JOIN ME to receive a weekly summary straight to your inbox each weekend so you don't miss a single Halloween thing.
Simple Dragon Veggie Tray Ingredients
You ‘ll need your favorite veggies in the appropriate colors. I chose to model my tray after the red dragon in Room on the Broom. But because red veggies are limited, I chose to create more of a charcuterie board and mix in some meat and crackers with my vegetables. If you go with a green dragon your options will be greater!
Red foods:
- Red bell pepper (for body and ear)
- Red grape tomatoes (for body) – and yes, I realize these are technically a fruit but for this purpose we are keeping it savory
- Radishes or beet slices (for body)
- Beef jerky (for body)
- Beet chips (for body)
- Tomato Blue corn chips (for neck spikes)
*For more red food options check out the full list on Red Food Fruit Heart
Orange Veggies:
- Orange bell pepper (for fire and teeth)
- Orange cherry tomatoes (for fire)
- Carrots (for fire)
*There are also red & orange goldfish crackers if some of the veggies aren't super popular.
Yellow Veggies
- Yellow bell pepper (for fire and eyeball)
Details in Black:
- Olives (for nostril and pupil)
Optional Green Veggies:
- Broccoli
- Snap Peas
- Celery
- Green bell pepper
- Cucumber
- Edamame
- Pickled asparagus or okra
- Pickles
Supplies necessary:
- Fruit and Veggie Spray Wash
- Serving tray – IKEA
- Wax paper {to protect said tray}
- Sharp knife
Dragon Veggie Tray Tutorial
To make it easier to follow I've gathered up the photos and created this single image to save and use as a simple guide. For some of you this is all you'll need. If that's the case – print it, save it, pin it, and you're good to go.
But if you feel like you'd like a little more direction I'm happy to walk you through each step.
Create the Dragon Head
First things first, line your desired serving tray with wax paper to protect it from the cut veggies. I got these trays at IKEA a few years ago and I love them.
Next clean your vegetables with some fruit and veggie spray wash to remove any potential pesticides, wax, and dirt before
Using small pieces of your desired vegetable start creating the shape of the jaws and head. You'll want the mouth to be open if it will be spitting fire and there's a little bump at the end of the nose for the nostrils.
Create the Dragon Ear
Using a slice of red pepper, cut off a rounded section. Use the curved bottom portion as the end of the ear and trim the top down into a slight curve. Then, with a knife trim small crescent cuts to create the feathered look of fur.
Build Up Veggie Dragon Head
After the top of your dragon head is built use your straight edge veggies like peppers to create a line to follow and create the remainder of the head. You don't even need to keep this line, it just a guide for adding the rest of your ingredients. Leave the peppers, or replace with something else.
Fill in and Give it a Mane
I chose to replace the bottom section with beef jerky and took out some tomatoes and replaced them with radishes cut in quarters. These radishes are pretty mild but might be too spicy for the average kiddo.
Use your extra cut veggies, meat, and crackers to fill in the holes so your tray doesn't show. The only exception are the tomatoes. They work much better in a single layer. It's almost impossible to keep them from rolling when stacked.
Now build up the eye area so there's a bump on top of the head and use the tortilla chip triangles down the neck as spikes or mane.
Fire Breathing Veggie Dragon
Now that your dragon veggie head is complete it's time to add the details. Use a yellow pepper and olive slice for the eye. Another olive half-round for the nostril, and orange pepper triangles for the teeth inside the mouth.
For the fire, add your orange veggies inside the mouth just a little bit. The orange sun gold tomatoes worked perfectly here and transitioned into the carrots which take on a very flame like appearance when staggered like this.
Your finishing touch is a layer of orange pepper spikes around the edge and yellow pepper spikes on the very outside. It may seem like overkill to use both colors in the fire but it makes a big difference in the overall dynamic of the art. {refer to tutorial images above to see the difference}
Serve Dragon Veggie Tray
Now that your dragon veggie tray is done, take a minute to pat yourself on the back, snap a few photos and get ready to serve it with a side of ranch dressing and some dragon eye deviled eggs! The hard part is over. Now you just need to decide WHICH event you're going to make it for. Harry Potter party? Dragon Movie night? Halloween party? Medieval Dinner? Chinese New Year? Check out out full menu for the Room on the Broom Halloween dinner we did!
Whatever you decide to make it for, I hope you enjoy making your Dragon veggie tray as much you like eating it! If you do try one I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. And if you share photos, I want to see it too! Please tag us @partieswithacause on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. We love celebrating all your hard work!
Follow13 Days of Halloween
Coming up next for Day 6….
Dragon Eye Deviled Eggs
- Day 1: Black Cat Halloween Decor – Table Design
- Day 2: Room on the Broom Book Party Ideas
- Day 3: Fruit Wand – Room on the Broom Wand
- Day 4: Strawberry Mushrooms for a Potion
- Day 5: Dragon Veggie Tray – Dragon Party Food
- Day 6: Dragon Eye Deviled Eggs
- Day 7: Black Cat Melt and Pour Soap for Halloween
- Day 8: Recipe for Hot Butterbeer from Harry Potter
- Day 9: Easy Pumpkin Pasty Recipe
- Day 10: Halloween Recipe for Dinner in a Pumpkin
- Day 11: Halloween Books for Kids
- Day 12: Faux Leather Spell Book as Tom Riddle's Journal
- Day 13: Harry Potter Floating Candle DIY
From the Archives
Medieval Knight Party
Room on the Broom Dinner Party
Red Food Fruit Heart Tray
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