Welcome to the ultimate guide for making beautiful, family-friendly, and flavorful relish trays that will have everyone raving! And, discover creative and modern ideas for quickly putting together these unique platters for parties and special occasions.
What is a relish tray?
There was a time when relish trays were front and center on every holiday and special occasion table. These versatile appetizers also did double duty as side dishes. They were served on beautiful cut glass dishes with partitions.
In the early days, most everything served on them was either marinated or pickled, with olives and pickles usually taking center stage.
Is it the same thing as a vegetable tray, or a charcuterie board?
Vegetable or crudité trays usually contain fresh cut-up or bite-size vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, and celery. Often they also contain a dip for the veggies.
A charcuterie board (pronounced shar-koo-tr-ee), on the other hand, is full of a variety of meats, cheeses, and many times, fruits and nuts.
The main difference in a relish tray and a veggie tray or charcuterie board is that relish trays usually only contain marinated or pickled produce.
Fast forward to today, and modern relish trays are a place to let your creativity and uniqueness shine. The lines have blurred between crudité or vegetable trays, and the newest kid on the block, charcuterie boards. Today there are no hard and fast rules about what should or shouldn’t be on it.
The best thing about entertaining with these marvels is they hardly require any prep. Usually, all you need to do is make a quick trip to the store.
What to put on a relish tray:
While I added a few things from my fridge, most of these items can easily be found in your grocery store olive bar, or salad bar, or in the section where pickles and olives are sold. You may already have most of what you need in your pantry.
This assortment of relish trays is my twist with a southern spin. In addition to the ever-popular olives and pickles, I added some boiled peanuts, pickled okra, and pimento cheese.
Of course, you can use whatever you like. These are just suggestions; you can change it up; however, you want. I hope you do! And, if you do, please be sure to leave a comment to let me know what your favorite combinations are.
Unique Relish Tray Ideas
- Greek Pitted Mixed Olives
- Garlic Parmesan Toasted French Rounds
- Kay’s Southern Pimento Cheese Spread
- Parmesan Cheese Crisps
- Stuffed Green Olives
- Hot Cherry Peppers
- Marinated Mushrooms
- Pickled Green Beans
- Pickled Carrots, or carrot sticks
- Cornichons
- Pickled Okra
- Easy Southern Boiled Peanuts
Other great additions:
These tasty suggestions are in addition to the basic marinated, pickled, or fresh veggies. The possibilities are endless:
- Bourbon Candied Bacon
- Caprese Skewers or Cherry Tomatoes
- Giardiniera
- Black-Eyed Pea Hummus
- Southern Caviar Dip
- Olive Tapenade
- Marinated Cheese
- Cheeses: Provolone, Manchego, Cheddar, the list is endless
- Marinated, or Roasted Vegetables
- Meats: Salami, Prosciutto, Pepperoni, and Ham
- Fruits: Dried Apricots and Pineapple, Fresh Berries, Grapes
- Crispy Cheesy Southern Cheese Crackers, toasted baguette slices, etc
- Sweet and Spicy Tomato Jam, fig jam
- Nuts: Roasted Pecans, Candied Pecans, Cashews, Almonds
- Artichoke hearts
- Deviled eggs
- Black Olives
- Butter Pickles
- Fresh Vegetables
- Pickles
- Pickled Celery Sticks
- Finger Foods
- Pickled Beets
Creative ways to serve your relish tray:
I have a few vintage glass dishes but did borrow several of these beautiful dishes from my friends Mary Carroll and Kerri Mohar to fill in the gaps. Thanks so much, ladies!
If you don’t have the platters, no problem. You can probably find plenty of inexpensive options at your local thrift store. Or, the easiest, use what you have:
- Serving trays
- Baking pans or dishes covered with a kitchen towel can hold a variety of options
- Mason jars
- Coffee Cups
- Saucers
- Gravy boats
- Parfait glasses
- Ice cream dishes or dessert bowls
- Muffin tins
- Cutting Boards
- Vases
- Measuring cups
- Bar glasses: highball, margarita, champagne, wine, etc.
Nothing has to match. Feel free to mix things up!
How to make a Relish Tray
- Drain all of the marinated or pickled ingredients and arrange them.
- Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Sharon’s Expert Tips:
- Relish trays can be served chilled or at room temperature.
- This recipe, as written, easily serves 20. To serve fewer folks, pick and choose from the ingredients and ideas presented here and serve on fewer dishes.
- I used a combination of dishes in this post to provide you with as many ideas as possible. You want your dishes or combination of dishes to look appealing, so think about color and texture when filling them. Select as few ingredients or as many as your dish(s) can hold, and keep it simple.
- Be sure to provide your guests with plenty of small plates, cocktail forks, and napkins.
The Best Relish Tray
Ingredients
- 10 oz greek pitted mixed olives
- 1 pkg garlic parmesan toasted french rounds
- 1 cup pimento cheese
- 3 oz parmesan cheese crisps
- 6 oz stuffed green olives
- 10 oz hot cherry peppers
- 1 cup marinated mushrooms
- 8 oz pickled green beans
- 8 oz pickled carrots
- 4 oz cornichons or sweet gherkins
- 8 oz pickled okra
- 2 cups boiled peanuts
Instructions
- Drain all of the marinated or pickled ingredients and arrange on relish trays.
- Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
- Relish trays can be served chilled or at room temperature.
- This recipe as written easily serves 20. To serve fewer folks, simply pick and choose from the ingredients and serve on fewer dishes.
- I used a combination of relish trays in this post to provide you with as many ideas as possible. You want your relish trays or combination of trays to look appealing, so think about color and texture when filling the trays. Select as few ingredients or as many as your tray(s) can hold and keep it simple.
- Be sure to provide your guests with plenty of small plates, cocktail forks, and napkins.
I love this! I found Tabasco pickle spears, and I like to add garlic stuffed olives.
Awesome, I’m so glad you were able to personalize it to your taste! Thanks for sharing!
Sharon
This is such a GREAT post. I love all the ideas for what to include on a relish tray, the different options for serving and all the tips you always give in your posts. I come away from reading your posts and invariably feel educated. Thanks for sharing! Oh, and BTW – thanks so much for sharing my Bourbon Candied Bacon. So very kind of you.