Garden Vegetable Spread (Print)
A vibrant and creamy vegetable spread bursting with fresh garden flavors. Perfect as a dip, sandwich filler, or appetizer.
# What You Need:
→ Vegetables
01 - 1 cup finely diced cucumber, seeded and peeled
02 - 1 cup finely diced red or yellow bell pepper
03 - 1/2 cup finely grated carrot
04 - 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
05 - 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
06 - 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
→ Base
07 - 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
08 - 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
→ Seasoning
09 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
10 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
11 - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
# How To Make It:
01 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and Greek yogurt. Stir vigorously until the mixture is completely smooth and free of lumps.
02 - Add the lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to the cream cheese mixture. Blend thoroughly until all seasonings are evenly distributed throughout.
03 - Add the diced cucumber, bell pepper, grated carrot, celery, red onion, and fresh parsley to the seasoned base. Gently fold the vegetables in using a spatula until evenly coated and well combined.
04 - Taste the spread and adjust the salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed to suit your preference.
05 - Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop and the spread to firm up.
06 - Transfer the chilled spread to a serving dish and accompany with crackers, crusty bread, crostini, or use as a filling for sandwiches and wraps.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It requires zero cooking, which means your kitchen stays cool and you get to walk away with something that tastes like you tried much harder than you did.
- The texture walks a perfect line between creamy and crunchy, making it just as good piled on a cracker as it is spread thick across toasted sourdough.
02 -
- If you skip the chilling step the spread will taste flat and watery, because the vegetables need time to release their juices into the base and the cream cheese needs to re set.
- Patting the grated cucumber dry with a paper towel before folding it in prevents the whole thing from turning into soup by the time guests arrive.
03 -
- Dice every vegetable as small and uniform as you can tolerate, because inconsistent chunks make the spread awkward to eat and cause it to fall off the cracker.
- A pinch of sugar, just a tiny pinch, can round out the flavors beautifully if your lemon or onion is particularly sharp.