Individual Salad Cups with Rhubarb Vinaigrette are perfect for entertaining, whether you’re having a family picnic, throwing a wedding shower, or hosting a spring brunch. Make a few extra to keep in the fridge for healthy snacking, too.
Fessing up here: I have a thing for cutesy individual sized foods, I can’t help myself. I think maybe in one of my past lives I must have been a caterer, or event planner or something. I love little crisps, crumbles and layered salads in mason jars, and appetizer dip cups that encourage you to eat and mingle at the same time.
These salad cups solve the age old problem of how to serve salad to a crowd, especially an outdoor crowd. No more awkward gymnastics with tongs, no more soggy paper plates…or soggy salad for that matter…all you have to do with these elegant finger salads is grab one and go. You don’t even need a fork. Problem solved!
the tart rhubarb vinaigrette will be your new favorite dressing
I’m also giving you a bonus with today’s recipe – an amazing rhubarb vinaigrette, which could have been a post all by itself. It’s creamy, tangy, fruity, and really good. And so pretty, too! You can make it a day or two ahead and save yourself time.
Of course you can make these salad cups with any other salad dressing you like, but I definitely recommend making it yourself, and making it something a little extra special, since it’s the main “star” of this appetizer. Here are a few more homemade dressing ideas to try:
how to layer up the perfect salad appetizer cups
- Layer each salad cup starting with the dressing at the bottom.
- Arrange your lettuce leaves and veggies on top. I put colorful heirloom cherry tomatoes on a pick for easy dipping, too.
- You get extra points for tucking in a few fresh herbs, like basil and thyme, but this is optional. If you like you can slip slices of cucumber onto the rims of the cups, too.
- You can make the dressing a little bit ahead and store it in the fridge, but I recommend assembling these cups close to when you plan to serve them so the veggies don’t get soggy in the dressing.
what kind of lettuce works best for these individual salad cups?
You can see I used endive lettuce, and that’s important because this is finger food, and you want the leaves to have some ‘backbone’ to them, to hold up to being dipped and eaten by hand. I used both green and red endive, but you could also use very small romaine leaves if you can find them.
how to choose the best ingredients for salad appetizer cups
These cups won’t look very appetizing with wilted lettuce or wrinkled tomatoes, so use whatever looks good at the time you’re shopping. Remember to stick to veggies that are fairly firm and crunchy so they’ll stand up to dipping. My recipe below will tell you what I used, but feel free to experiment with what’s fresh and delicious in your area.
- red and green endive leaves
- snap peas or snow peas
- all colors of bell peppers
- radishes
- carrots
- scallions
- green beans
- cherry tomatoes
- celery
- jicima sticks
- small broccoli florets
- cucumber wedges
Individual Salad Cups with Rhubarb Vinaigrette
Ingredients
rhubarb vinaigrette
- 6 Tbsp fresh rhubarb puree, recipe below
- 4 Tbsp champagne vinegar, or other mild white vinegar
- 4 tsp honey
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard, I used whole grain
- 4-6 Tbsp mild olive oil
- pinch of salt and black pepper
salad cups
- 8 plastic tumblers, the kind that flare out, not the straight ones (mine were 10 oz)
- 8 appetizer picks
- 1 head green endive
- 1 head purple or red endive
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 carrots
- 8 scallions
- about 16 green beans
- 8 radishes
- 16 snap or snow peas
- about 24 small multicolored cherry tomatoes
- 8 small radishes
- fresh basil and/or thyme leaves for garnish
Instructions
- To make rhubarb puree, wash and trim the ends off of several stalks of rhubarb. Cut them in 1 inch pieces.
- Put the rhubarb into a saucepan and add a splash of water. Bring up to a boil, turn down the heat, and summer it for about 5-10 minutes until the rhubarb softens. Add a little bit of extra water if it runs dry.
- Let the mixture cool a bit and then puree in a small food processor. Measure out 6 tablespoons for the dressing recipe.
- To make the Rhubarb Vinaigrette put all the ingredients in a small food processor and blend until creamy. Taste and adjust any of the ingredients to your liking. Refrigerate until needed.
- When ready to assemble the cups, spoon 2 tablespoons of the dressing into the bottom of each cup.
- Trim the ends off the endive and carefully separate the leaves. You will need about 3 leaves per cup. Trim the leaves as necessary, from the bottom end, so that they extend an inch or so above the rim of the cup, as shown in the photos.
- Cut the bell peppers and carrots into thin strips and layer them into the cups, along with the trimmed green beans, pea pods, and scallions.
- Thread 3 tomatoes onto each skewer and add it. Finish with the radish and herbs for garnish.
- The cups should be full but not crowded. Assemble just before serving.
more appetizers perfect for entertaining
These are too cute!! And they are so pretty to look at! Great idea!
Thanks Ashley!
Absolutely stunning. Such beautiful photos and I’m loving the rhubarb vinaigrette 🙂
You are the queen of gorgeous garnishes! Your crown is made of fresh picked flowers and vegetables! You make the perfect party food – so when I come for a visit – let’s eat from cups and jars 🙂 Gotta try this dressing 🙂
What a pretty thought – when I was married I had a flower garland around my head, I haven’t thought about that in so long! Thanks Tricia!
Beauteous!
I have a secret obsession with individual portions too. These cups are the cutest, salad has never looked so good ;). And that vinaigrette! How pretty!
As one of my friends always says ‘Stinkin’ Cute’! What a great idea for a BBQ party or a picnic. I can’t wait to try the rhubarb vinaigrette as my plants are getting bigger every day.
Are you sure you weren’t a caterer? I love these and since I just discovered rhubarb I am adding it to my list. I am also pinning this for a bridal shower I’ll be giving for my daughter’s best friend. I know it is hard to hear as we age, so perhaps you didn’t hear the “no cake” thing? Or perhaps cupcakes? Congratulations, Sue! so much good news.
These are NOT salad cups! They little cups of exquisite artwork! Oh my word they are so beautiful. Please invite me to your next party. I’ll be the one hanging out at the salad cup table, staring!
Wow! This is just stunning, Sue! I can totally see this at a bridal shower or even a cocktail party. A perfect and unique addition for anything from a picnic to a gourmet dinner!! Gorgeous photos, too!
Sue, very elegant and colorful looking servings of fresh springtime vegetables – the rhubarb dressing is completely new to me, I have never seen a dressing using this lovely spring vegetable before! Individual servings are always a huge hit with our kids (and myself):
Beautiful presentation all around. A great mix of veg and sprouts and all – almost to pretty to eat.
Thanks KL! I hope you try the dressing, I think it’s a winner!