How to Make a Relish Tray

Whether at a supper club or at home, a relish tray is how you kick off a celebration in the Midwest. Contrary to the name, a relish tray typically doesn’t include relish — rather, it’s a spread of mix-and-match appetizers, such as dips, vegetables, and crackers. The trend emerged in the mid-20th century as a creative way for home cooks to show off the Midwest’s bounty of vegetables and relish trays quickly became a staple appetizer at supper clubs. 

Like a charcuterie board, you can throw a relish tray together using a variety of ingredients, but it doesn’t need to be fussy. You don’t need to spend too much time on the presentation and you definitely don’t need to include expensive ingredients. Whatever you have in your fridge, be it cheese, pickles, or summer sausage, can be thrown together on a platter to make the relish tray of your heart’s desire — a large-format version of a “girl dinner,” if you will. 

But while a relish tray can and should be low-effort, with a little bit of creativity, it can still make a statement. At Aster House in Minneapolis, nearly every party has a “sampling of snacks” at their table, 2024 F&W Best New Chef Karyn Tomlinson’s fresh take on the relish tray. The platter comes with seasonal pickles, chicken liver pâté, a smoked walleye spread, housemade Cheez-Its, brown honey mustard, and various meats and cheeses — and it rotates, so no one needs to reach over the table. “That gimmick was my idea,” Tomlinson told me. “I grew up using [a turntable] for special meals at home.” 

The relish tray is a little different at Joe Papach’s The Harvey House, a modern supper club in a historic train depot in Madison, Wisconsin. Here, the tray is composed of seasonal crudités, bread-and-butter pickles, applewood-smoked salmon spread, housemade pretzel crackers, deviled eggs topped with fried capers, and a whipped ranch dip. It’s all served on a vintage glass serving platter, of which they have a sizable collection.

At Joey Gerard’s, a supper club in Greendale, Wisconsin, the traditional Midwestern menu includes a “Classic Relish Tray” — a plate overflowing with crudités, pickles, and olives alongside green goddess dressing — as well as a rotating tower of meats and cheeses. And at Cordelia in Cleveland, 2025 F&W Best New Chef Vinnie Cimino lets diners build their own relish trays, picking one to five items including carrot muhammara, pimento cheese with smoked chili, farmer’s cheese with za’atar and garlic honey, smoked fish dip with roe, crispy chicken skins with buffalo tomato ranch, and more. (There’s even a brunch version.)

That’s the beauty of the relish tray: anything goes. You can go old school with charcuterie like summer sausage or liverwurst. You can have regional specialties like smoked whitefish or cheeseballs. Or you can go modern and pull from an international pantry. No matter how you spin it, here’s how to create your own showstopping relish tray.

Start with the dips

Likely the most prep-heavy part of your relish tray, the dips should pair well with every other component. Pick two — something thick and spreadable such as pimento cheese or a smoked fish dip and something dunkable, like buttermilk ranch.

Add a cracker (or two)

Crackers could easily be an afterthought, but they don’t have to be. Make them yourself like at Aster House or elevate a classic by frying saltines crackers until they’re golden brown (here’s our handy technique). And when in doubt, a bowl of pretzels or breadsticks will always do the trick.

Go big with vegetables

A combination of fresh crudités and pickles adds versatility to the relish tray. Head to your local farmers market to buy what’s in season, and to save time, what doesn’t need a ton of slicing, such as cherry tomatoes and pickled green beans. And don’t be afraid to add roasted vegetables in the fall and winter to give your tray some cozy vibes. 

Make deviled eggs

Not only are deviled eggs easy to make, but they also add a pop of excitement to your relish tray. Keep them classic, give them Thai-inspired flair with green curry, or top them with caviar to make them extra fancy.

Say cheese

Don’t overthink the cheese. Keep it mild, with hunks of crowd-pleasing cheddar or provolone — if you can source it locally, all the better. Cut them into easy-to-grab pieces to skip needing a cheese knife. If you can, look for cheese from Wisconsin. Midwest is best, after all.