Thanksgiving Appetizer Platter
At my house, we never exactly have lunch on Thanksgiving Day. Instead, I put out a big tray of appetizers for everyone to nosh on. I like to keep the snack choices light, so people don’t spoil their appetites for the big feast to come.
But at the same time, I like to make them look as festive as possible. I want my table to say, “It’s Thanksgiving!” even before the dinner shows up.
And for this year’s appetizer board, I came up with an arrangement that sends that message loud and clear. I’m arranging my snacks – cheese, crackers, sliced veggies, salami, nuts – in the shape of a Thanksgiving turkey.
This is easier to do than it looks. If you simply lay out slices of different things around a big round platter, working your way in from the outside, it looks just like a fanned-out turkey’s tail. And to make the head, cut a red pear in half and give it a pair of candy eyes and a little cheese beak.
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When your guests see this cute turkey appetizer tray waiting for them on the table, they’ll know it’s time to get the party started.
How big a plate do I need for this?
- Just use the biggest round plate you have. You can adjust the size of the bird to fit it. If your plate is a bit on the small side, you can overlap the rows of ingredients more to make room for them all. And if it’s super big, add extra rows to fill it up.
I don’t think my grocery store has red pears. Where can I find one?
- You can usually get them at Publix. But if you really can’t find any, use a Red Delicious apple instead and put it stem end down.
Can I put this together ahead of time?
- Partly. You can slice all your cheese, veggies, and salami ahead of time, and even make your little turkey head. But if you lay everything out on the tray and stick it in the fridge until lunchtime, your crackers will get soggy. So don’t start the actual arrangement until about half an hour before guests arrive.
Thanksgiving Appetizer Platter
- Slice pear in half lengthwise and place one half cut side down at the bottom center of your serving platter.
- Arrange cheeses, overlapping, around the perimeter of the serving platter.
- Arrange rectangular crackers to form a second row around the perimeter of the platter, under the cheese layer.
- Spread the larger round crackers in the next row.
- Pinch salami at one end and arrange below the crackers, placing them tightly together so that the pinched bottoms are touching and the open sides form a fan.
- Arrange bell pepper strips tucked in and around the salami pieces to accent the reds of the “turkey feathers.”
- Lift the pear half and fan out a circle of Ritz crackers to support the pear head. Create a few rows of cucumber slices for the turkey back.
- Place the pear back in shape and fill in the extra space at the bottom of the tray with the almonds.
- Cut a small triangle from an extra piece of cheese and place on the pear face to form a beak. Use hummus, peanut butter, or even a little butter to stick the candy eyeballs to the pear face.
- Storage: Keep refrigerated and covered in plastic wrap until ready to serve. Assemble as close to serving time as possible to keep crackers fresh.
Here are some other Thanksgiving Recipes we love!
- Thanksgiving Appetizer Snack Board
- Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries
- Copycat Honey Baked Ham
- Savory Cauliflower Stuffing
Thanksgiving Appetizer Platter
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Ingredients
- 1 red pear
- 12 oz. package party tray of sliced cheeses
- 13 oz package club crackers or rectangular crackers of choice
- 8 oz package of Breton crackers or large round crackers
- 10 oz. package of salami we used peppered
- 1-2 red bell peppers sliced
- 1 English cucumber sliced
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers or small round crackers
- 1 cup almonds or desired nuts
- 2 candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Slice pear in half lengthwise and place one half cut side down at the bottom center of your serving platter.
- Arrange cheeses, overlapping, around the perimeter of the serving platter.
- Arrange rectangular crackers to form a second row around the perimeter of the platter, under the cheese layer.
- Spread the larger round crackers in the next row.
- Pinch salami at one end and arrange below the crackers, placing them tightly together so that the pinched bottoms are touching and the open sides form a fan.
- Arrange bell pepper strips tucked in and around the salami pieces to accent the reds of the “turkey feathers.”
- Create a few rows of cucumber slices for the turkey back. Lift the pear half and fan out a circle of Ritz crackers to support the pear head.
- Place the pear back in shape and fill in the extra space at the bottom of the tray with the almonds.
- Cut a small triangle from an extra piece of cheese and place on the pear face to form a beak. Use hummus, peanut butter, or even a little butter to stick the candy eyeballs to the pear face.
- Storage: Keep refrigerated and covered in plastic wrap until ready to serve. Assemble as close to serving time as possible to keep
Video
Notes
Here is the log platter we used to serve this on.
- You can really use any kind of fruits, vegetables, breads, or crackers that you’d like. Arrange extra ingredients and/or dips in side dishes to serve alongside the main turkey.
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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Where can I buy candy eyeballs?
Amazon or some grocery stores carry them.