A traditional Relish Tray is a great dish to add to the appetizer or dinner table. It can be super simple with veggies, olives, and pickles or more elaborate, depending on what you want to include. Check out these easy relish tray ideas for a cheap but tasty holiday appetizer.
Want to save this post?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I’ll send you budget recipes and money-saving tips every week!
Holiday appetizers can get so complicated. We fool ourselves into thinking that we need to make a big froofroo spread before the bigger froofroo spread we call the holiday dinner. Boy! Have times changed.
At least since I was a kid. Things were a bit simpler, less-Pinterest-centric, and a lot more relaxed. True to her Midwestern roots, my mom typically made just one thing on Thanksgiving or Christmas for the pre-dinner bite: the relish tray.
What is a Relish Tray?
A relish tray is not a vegetable platter nor is it a charcuterie board. It’s simple, even plain.
Often served in a cut glass dish, also called “a relish tray”, this appetizer plate features the bare bones: some pickles, some olives, maybe celery sticks and carrots. It is not a meal, but an hors d’oeuvres, amuse-bouches, or snack offered before a meal, similar to the French aperitif.
Serving a relish tray is a great way to do Thanksgiving on a budget.
Why Make This
It’s easy! The traditional relish tray is nothing fancy, just celery and carrot sticks cut the old-fashioned way, as well as an assortment of olives and pickles — and maybe a few radishes.
It’s fun. We children of the 70s would graze on the Relish Tray, aka the Olive Tray or pickle tray, snacking on finger foods while the smell of roast turkey and stuffing drifted throughout the house. And yes, you should let the kids wear the black olives on their fingertips; it’s all part of the fun!
It moves with the meal. The Relish Tray, replenished with more olives, can follow you to the dinner table and perhaps be passed around so folks can add another tidbit or two to their plates. It’s a sweet tradition that deserves a place on today’s table.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to assemble a classic Relish Tray:
Feel free to mix and match the items on your traditional Relish Tray, being sure to shop the kitchen to see what you have on hand. Here are the basic ingredients to an easy relish tray:
olives – Include both green and black olives if you can. A Relish Tray is very much an olive plate embellished with pickled foods. Try some different varieties from the olive bar at your local grocer’s, such as those stuffed with garlic or jalapenos.
pickles – As the budget allows, vary the choices from dill to sweet to spicy, maybe throw in some itty bitty cornichons, too. Remember that pickles is a broader term to include other pickled or marinated vegetables as well, such as marinated mushrooms, marinated artichoke hearts, dilly beans or giardiniera.
pickled peppers – Pickled peppers can range from sweet to spicy to downright hot. Easy to find options, such as pepperoncini or pickled red cherry peppers are great to add to the relish tray.
radishes or sliced turnip – Long keeping and packing a bit of a bite, radishes or turnip slices are a classic addition to the Relish Tray. You’ll find 1960s cookbooks recommend that you carve radish roses.
carrot and celery sticks – Round out your Relish Tray with easy to cut carrot and celery sticks. Seriously, you don’t need to be extra here.
Variations
To make this gluten-free, be sure to read the labels on any processed items. The above shouldn’t contain gluten, but you want to be doubly sure.
To make this vegan, everything on this list is naturally vegan. Unless you buy cheese-stuffed olives, a relish tray should be appropriate for vegan eaters. Be sure to read the packaging to be absolutely certain there are no animal products included.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables as necessary, cutting carrot and celery sticks.
- Arrange the various ingredients on a tray. Use a pretty, divided party tray or several small dishes, depending on what you have.
Storage
Should there be any leftovers on your relish tray, package them up and store in the refrigerator. Use within 4 days.
You may want to chop the leftover olives into a tapenade or olive bruschetta and serve sandwiches to use up both the pickles and olive spread.
FAQs
A classic relish tray can hold true relishes, of course, but it also includes a variety of pickled foods, such as pickled cucumber, olives, and peppers, as well as celery and carrots. Many of these ingredients are affordable and long-keeping, making them ideal additions to a holiday spread.
A relish tray focuses on pickled foods while a veggie tray usually features fresh vegetables. However, there’s no reason why there can’t be some overlap between the two.
The word relish typically denotes a chopped mixture of pickled foods, such as sweet pickle relish that might go on a hot dog. This is where the confusion between relish and cucumber pickles comes in. According to the New Pillsbury Family Cookbook, 1972, “relishes are a welcome addition to any meal as an accompaniment to meats. Some relishes also can be served as a salad or as an accent to many sandwiches.”
It’s called a relish tray because it contains flavorful condiments that can be eaten with the meal to help you enjoy it, or relish it, more.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- olives – $1.23
- pickles – $2.47
- radishes – $0.98
- carrots – $0.45
- celery – $0.98
- pickled peppers – $1.98
While your costs may vary depending on where and how you shop, you can expect to pay about $8.09 for a basic Relish Tray, about $0.67/serving.
Traditionally, like back in my mom’s childhood (and the women of generations prior) pickled foods were made in the home each summer as a way of preserving the harvest from the family garden. Today, not everyone is so well versed in preserving.
That said, making homemade pickles is a great thing to do!
Nowadays, pickles and olives and jarred peppers can cost a pretty penny. Consider these budget tips as you put together your relish tray:
- Shop the sales. In the weeks leading up to the holidays, you’ll find lots of sales on party foods, pickles and preserves included.
- Shop the clearance. You never know what you’re going to find on the clearance aisle. Keep your eyes peeled for good discounts.
- Buy generic. Generic foods are often made by the same manufacturers as brand labels. You can often save up to half the price by purchasing generic labels.
- Check out the salad/olive bar. Since you don’t need a lot of any one ingredient for a relish tray, check out the salad and olive bar at your local grocery store. You may be able to purchase quite an assortment for very little money.
With a little creativity, you can easily prep a delicious holiday meal on a budget.
Tell us what you think!
We love to hear your experiences with Good Cheap Eats. Click the STARS on the recipe card or leave a STARRED comment to let us know what you think of the recipe.
Easy Relish Tray
Ingredients
- 1 can whole black olives – try some different varieties from the olive bar at your local grocer's
- 1 can green olives
- 2 to 3 jars assorted pickles – vary the choices from dill to sweet to spicy, maybe throw in some itty bitty cornichons, too
- 1 bunch radishes or sliced turnip
- 4 carrots cut into sticks the old fashioned way if you wanna go retro
- 1 head celery cut into sticks
- 1 jar pickled or roasted peppers – try a few different colors and varieties like pickled cherry peppers, roasted red bell peppers, and fresh red, green or yellow bell peppers
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables as necessary.
- Arrange the various ingredients on a tray. Use a pretty, divided dish.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in November 2011. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Cheri A
HappY Thanksgiving Eve, Jessica. This was fun to read, as well as the comments. I just wanted to leave a rating and comment to say hi and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
We’ve always had simple relish trays at our holidays as well, nothing fancy. My Southern grandma always had celery stuffed with pimento cheese dip as well as the standards you mentioned. And there’s always olives on fingers at our house! Ha ha!
Jessica Fisher
Thank you, Cheri! I’ve only had pimiento cheese on a hot sandwich. Gonna have to try it cold now.
Anne
Did anyone else have watermelon pickles on their relish tray? My mom was from Iowa and we always had a relish tray on Thanksgiving with them and celery, radishes, green and black olives and sweet pickles. I live abroad now but will be making a relish tray for a small, Covid-distanced, American Thanksgiving potluck this year. Found a jar of said pickles last trip home and it gives me a happy feeling to share them with my friends. Putting money on it that at least two guests (adults) stick olives on their pinkies.
Jessica Fisher
Love it! Enjoy!
tiffany
I grew up with pickled watermelon rind on the relish tray at Thanksgiving. My mother did it, which she got from her mother. This was in Lexington, KY.
Chris
OMG, I’m having a ladies luncheon next Sunday and yup, pulled out the 3 section glass relish tray my mom gave me, ahhh way too long ago. After this post it is going back to the hutch and I’m pulling out 3 small fish bowl style glass bowls that will really perk up my table.
Thanks for all the tips!
Jessica Fisher
Have fun! A ladies luncheon sounds awesome!
Eva Lyons
We always add stuffed celery to the Thanksgiving relish tray- some stuffed wirh peanut butter and some with cream cheese. Our youngest grandchild just got diagnosed with a peanut allergy so the pb will be off the menu this year. Any suggestions for a replacement?
kim fuller
I love the relish tray pictured with the recipe, love the little individual sections. Can you please tell me where you got it? Thanks.
Jessica Fisher
The one with the wood base? I got that last weekend at Ross.
Dianne Dedick
Dianne says
I am from Wisconsin so grew up with a “relish” tray! All holiday dinners had to have a variation of a relish tea. We are celebrating our 55th anniversary with a formal dinner but the only appetizers will be a rather large relish tray. It will include liver pate and pumpernickel bread. Loved all the ideas.
Jessica Fisher
How fun! Congratulations!
Kate
My Pennsylvania family always had a relish tray with both green and black olives, peppers (those round ones that aren’t too hot), pickles and celery stuffed with peanut butter and cream cheese. I’ve added marinated artichoke hearts to mine. Plus my kids and grandkids insist on a plate of deviled eggs to go with it.
Jessica Fisher
Sounds delicious!
Karen
My family had these too. Black and green olives….pickles. Then there was stuffed celery…filling was cream cheese and sliced olives and pimento. I thought we were so fancy when we got these special treats on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Clam and French onion dip with chips was another special indulgence. I grew up in Northern Maine. My Dad is of Scandinavian decent and my Mom well she was from Maine. I think this tradition came from my Dad’s side. He enjoyed pickled herring too. I have one of the dishes she served in from my childhood and it’s always nice to look at. Thanks for conjuring such lovely warm memories.
Heidi
Where did you purchase the relish tray pictured in this article?
Jessica Fisher
World market about 5 years ago.
Heidi
Thank you! 🙂
Rebecca Herrold
Having a small family gathering for Daddy’s 90th birthday this Sunday. Among his requests is a “relish tray.” I often put together a crudite tray, sometimes including olives and pickles. This one will be more pickled items.
My dad, nephew and I like hot/spicy items, and I often include those on another dish. So that “wimpy” eaters don’t accidently eat the spicy pickles, I usually make a sign or stand nearby to point out which ones they’ll like best.
I just got the idea to get a red glass relish dish to serve the spicy items. It’s too late for this Sunday, but I’ll be looking at Thrift stores and garage sales to find one for the next time. I saw many on line, so I know red relish dishes are out there waiting to be found by me!
Jessica Fisher
Relish trays are so fun! Check right after Valentine’s Day in stores. I bet there will be red cut glass out there next week!
Jackie
I said I would make a relish tray for dinner and my 46 year old son said How many kinds of relish are there? Apparently I went wrong somewhere.. Ha Ha
Jessica Fisher
Haha! Just send him here. We’ll set him straight. 😉
deborah
Never was there a party or special occasion in our family without a relish tray! I carry on the tradition and have several divided dishes that I use for relish trays. My family always served whatever home canned pickled items were on hand along with radishes, green onions, celery, carrots and olives (black & green). I have added to that list for my relish trays and also have shrimp cocktail, cheese balls with crackers, veggie dips and assorted veggies and deviled eggs. I carry on the family tradition and never have a dinner party or special occasion without a relish tray gracing the table!