Modern Relish Tray
A relish tray is a no-cook appetizer platter loaded with olives, pickles, and pickled vegetables assembled in 10 minutes with zero cooking required. It’s a completely make-ahead tray, and every single item can come straight from a jar. Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, Easter brunch, or any gathering where you need a gorgeous, stress-free appetizer that disappears fast.
Did your parents entertain a lot while you were growing up? Mine did, even if it was just our large family getting together. Whatever the occasion, there was always food covering every surface. And one of the very first things to hit the table was my mom’s relish tray.
Simple, a little tangy, a little salty, and completely impossible to walk past without grabbing something. I used to stick the black olives on the ends of my fingers and eat them one by one. No shame!
The relish tray has made a serious comeback and it deserves a spot at every party table. It’s the ultimate no-stress appetizer. You need a few pickled things, a tray, and about 10 minutes. That’s it.
And they aren’t just great for holidays parties, try them at your summer BBQ or Easter brunch!
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See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and their quantities.
What Goes On A Relish Tray
The more variety, the better. Here’s what works great:
- Olives: Jumbo black olives are the classic. Add Castelvetrano olives for a buttery, mild option, or go for marinated olives stuffed with cheese, garlic, or jalapeño for something a little more exciting.
- Pickles: Bread and butter pickles, super sour dills, and extra garlicky spicy pickles cover all the bases. Refrigerator pickles are a great homemade option that looks impressive with zero effort.
- Pickled Vegetables: This is where you can really make it your own. Pickled Brussels sprouts, pickled asparagus, green beans, and giardiniera are all fantastic and easy to find. Pepperoncini peppers, pickled cauliflower, artichoke hearts, and pickled beets are also great additions and add extra color.
- Bonus additions: Peppadew peppers, pickled garlic cloves, pickled okra, pickled mushrooms, and pickled green tomatoes are all great for guests who want something a little more adventurous.
How To Arrange A Relish Tray
- Grab everything from the fridge and a tray or serving board. Since most items have a brine or juice, you will need a tray with sections, small bowls, mason jars, or wine glasses to keep the juice contained
- Start to fill each container, spacing similar colored items away from each other for variation.
- Fill each container, arrange on the tray, and tuck in fresh parsley or rosemary sprigs to fill any gaps.
- Once you have everything arranged, place other crackers and snacks nearby. Don’t forget the mini tongs and forks.
Since most of the items are shelf stable it can sit our for a little longer than other items. You can also put everything together ahead of time, cover it with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge until ready.
For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Make Ahead & Storage
Assemble everything up to 24 hours in advance, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Since most items are shelf stable, the tray can sit out for 2 to 3 hours without any issues. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to a week. Just store in covered containers.
If you think there might be leftovers, save the original jars and brine and add them back to the original jars or pour some of the brine in the new containers. st
Tips for Setting Up A Relish Tray
- Skip the heavy glass divided tray if you have one. Try a lighter tray or think outside the box. Small organizers are fun and multipurpose.
- Mason jars, wine glasses, small ramekins, and mini bowls all work great and are much easier to clean.
- Provide toothpicks, small tongs, and mini forks so guests can serve themselves without digging around.
- Label anything unusual so guests know what they are reaching for.
Serving Suggestions
A relish tray is a natural starting point for a bigger spread. Use it as a light appetizer before a regular dinner. Or serve it with a classic charcuterie board or an easy crudité platter for an appetizer or finger food style party.
Variations
- Make it a specialty tray by swapping in all homemade pickles. A jar of pickled zucchini or pickled asparagus alongside store-bought olives looks like you spent way more effort than you did.
- You can also build a theme. A Mediterranean version with Castelvetrano olives, marinated artichoke hearts, and peppadews and pickled feta.
- A spicy version loaded with jalapeño-stuffed olives, hot giardiniera, and spicy dills, hot green beans.
- Don’t forget you can also do meats and seafood. How about some pickled eggs, pickled shrimp, and pickled sausages.
Frequently Asked Questions
A relish tray is a platter of pickled and brined foods served as a no-cook appetizer before a meal. The classic version featured olives, pickles, celery, and radishes. The modern version is basically anything pickled, brined, or marinated that you want to throw on a board. Think of it as a charcuterie board’s tangy, underrated cousin.
A veggie platter is raw or blanched vegetables served with dip. A relish tray is pickled, brined, or marinated items. No dipping required. The flavor is already in each item because of the pickling process. It’s like the veggie tray’s crazy cousin.
You can, but technically that makes it a hybrid platter rather than a traditional relish tray. If you want to add raw veggies like celery sticks or radishes for crunch, go for it. Just keep them in a separate section so the brine does not make them soggy. If you have a fun dip like this pickled beet hummus then I say add it on there!
Absolutely. Every single item on this tray can come straight from a jar at the grocery store. That is the best part. And there are so many more options now. Be sure to check the deli along with the regular store shelves. There are some tasty finds there! And if your store has an olive bar, make a stop there too!
These are questions that I frequently get regarding making relish trays. If I don’t have our answer listed, please email me or leave a comment.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Drain the items well before putting on tray so you do not end up with a watery mess.
- Mix colors intentionally: green olives next to bright red peppadews next to purple pickled onions looks way better than an all green rtray.
- If you are making this for a large party, set up two smaller trays instead of one giant one so guests at both ends of the table can reach everything easily.
- Don’t forget tongs, toothpicks, and forks to grab pickles and olives.
- Be sure to use pitted olives. If you can’t get them and still want to include them, add a small bowl with a lid for the pits. (Put a label on it so your guests know there is a place to put them but you don’t have to look at chewed pits)
The only rule to follow when making this relish tray recipe is that there are no rules. It’s your party, so fill it with what you like to eat!
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please leave us a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five-star review in the comment section below. Thanks!
Modern Relish Tray
Ingredients
- 1 cup Pickled Brussels Sprouts
- 1 cup Pickled Asparagus
- 1 cup Black Olives
- 1 cup Giardiniera
- 1 cup Pepperoncini
- 1 cup Pickled Corn
- 1 cup Pickled Okra
- 1 cup Gherkins/Cornichons
- 1 cup Pickle Slices
- 1 cup Mixed/Stuffed Green Olives
Instructions
- Drain all your items that are stored in juices and brines.
- Arrange all your ingredients in small containers and place on a tray.
Video
Notes
- Drain the items well before putting on tray so you do not end up with a watery mess.
- Mix colors intentionally: green olives next to bright red peppadews next to purple pickled onions looks way better than an all green rtray.
- If you are making this for a large party, set up two smaller trays instead of one giant one so guests at both ends of the table can reach everything easily.
- Don’t forget tongs, toothpicks, and forks to grab pickles and olives.
- Be sure to use pitted olives. If you can’t get them and still want to include them, add a small bowl with a lid for the pits. (Put a label on it so your guests know there is a place to put them but you don’t have to look at chewed pits)
Nutrition
{Originally Published 11/6/18 – recipe notes and photos updated 03/25/26}
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My mother was a gourmet cook, and we grew up with relish trays that had celery, green onions, olives, and several things that you describe. But it was considered gourmet to have celery and green onions on your relish tray and radishes.
Thank you for such great ideas. I am making one for our Thanksgiving at my moms this year. Have a Bless Grand Thanksgiving.
Thank you! Happy holidays!
I’ve been doing this for years using my great grandmother’s relish trays (smaller) but now I want to find a tray like yours!
How did you keep your parsley from wilting?
I got it at Michael’s on a clearance sale:) For the parsley, I trim the ends, then wrap them loosely in a wet paper towel to keep them fresher longer. The one thing about relish trays that I love is that they can sit out for longer so I have duplicate jars of goodies in the fridge that I can just switch out. Same with the parsley. I keep a few extra bundles in the fridge. You can also try rosemary sprigs! They last a little longer at room temperature:)
I’m going to do this for my book club next month! Now for the cute tray, container….have plenty of cute clear jars and plastic wine glasses…thanks!
Absolutely love this
Will do it for a party Thurs night
Thank you !
It’s beautiful! I love this idea and I can’t wait to try it!
How do you plan on how much to put out? I know we have to adjust it to the amount of guests. However, not having a good idea of guest:snack ratio, knowing the amount of guests seems irrelevant. Do you have any insight?
I usually follow the rule of 2-3 pieces per person per hour if you are serving this as an appetizer. If your meal is all appetizers then I would plan 4-6 pieces per person per hour. Noting that some of the items are smaller, you might just double the amount for those items. Thanks!
what is a good cheese to go with this relish tray?
Great question! Because the veggie tray is meant to be light, I would stick with cheeses that are also light to eat. I would avoid a heavy gouda or cheddar and go with something like a feta, a fresh mozzarella (they make tiny balls called bocconcini that are poppable :)) and maybe a Swiss. If you are looking for something with spice or herbs go with a pepperjack or spiced monterey jack cheese. And then a herb/nut crusted goat cheese log is a great choice too. I hope this helps!
What a beautiful platter. I’m hanging onto this one to recreate while holiday entertaining!
I remember mom and grandma had a small relish tray every family gathering. I did the same thing as you as a child — I’d put black olives on my fingers and eat them
Off. Good memories! Now that I am older, I have found I adore Greek kalamata olives and will use those instead. Love the idea of Putting each item in its own mason jar. Those older glass trays are quite heavy to bring with you, and this modernizes the look. Thanks for reigniting an oldie but a goodie! Happy holidays!
I did that too! Now I really like Castelvetrano green ones as they are bigger and fit my fingers better. Thank you I hope you have a great holiday too!
Was looking for ideas for a pot luck relish tray. These were very good suggestions. Thank you!
Great idea for a relish tray going to make for a friendsgiving this week. Thanks for this great idea.
Post some pictures so I can see! I hope you enjoy!
I love all the little vessels you use to display these on the tray… nothing is worse for me than mixing all the juices together… I cant wait to make this tonight… for our dinner… I mean, I have everything and we love small noshing so Im going for it!
Oh my goodness! I can see this being great for entertaining. I can also see me sitting by this and considering it my meal!
I love this! There are so many tasty bites on this tray and it would be great for light snacking before our big Thanksgiving dinner!
I love the idea of bringing back a relish tray! I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year and I told my mom no appetizers so we have plenty of room for the meal. I think light noshing can be the exception! It looks so festive and pretty!
I love making a fun relish tray! This looks delicious for the holidays! Thanks for the tips
I just love the idea! This would be so fun to make for Thanksgiving!
This is just so perfect! I little bits of different tasty things for entertaining! Love all the little containers you use.
Thank you!!
Great alternative to the classic relish tray.
I just love all of the pickled vegetables! Okra, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms are my favs! Thank you for all fo the tips and tricks to arrange and present a great relish tray!
I have never thought of a relish tray before. That is very creative. I love all the items in this tray and its perfect for a Sunday brunch too.
I love how everything is in jars so the flavors don’t all run together and it would make cleanup easier!
I love this twist on a traditional relish tray. I love setting out finger food like this and it’s perfect timing before the holidays!