DIY Wood Casserole Tray – Present Your Food Dishes in Style

DIY Wood Casserole Tray to display your food dishes for entertaining or a carrier to bring your dish to a friend’s house.

This DIY Wood Casserole Tray with handles is a cute and creative way to display your food dishes at home or as a carrier when you are headed to a party. The chalkboard label allows you to label your food dish for guests.   

Another tray I made for entertaining is this Easy DIY Serving Tray that requires no sawing. If you like the look of a tray for decorating then you will love this DIY Modern Farmhouse Wood Tray

This Wood Casserole Tray is an easy wood project to make. I was able to make this out of scrap wood. If you don’t have enough scrap then it only requires two 1 x 4s. Also when you’re not using it as a carrier it could also work well as a TV tray.

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*Before you get started make sure you have your Safety Gear.  For this project I recommend safety goggles and ear protection.

TOOLS FOR WOOD CASSEROLE TRAY

• Measuring tape
• Carpenter’s square
• Brad nailer – I use the Ryobi 18G Brad Nailer
• Sander/sandpaper – I use the Ryobi Orbital Sander
• Drill – I use this drill and a 1/8 drill bit
• Silhouette Cameo

SUPPLIES FOR WOOD CASSEROLE TRAY

• 2 – 1 x 4 x 8 
• Sandpaper
• Wood glue
• 1 1/2 inch 18 G brad nails
• Wood filler
• Black latex paint, Rust-oleum White Chalk Paint and Americana Decor Chalk Paint in Refreshing 
• Chalkboard latex paint
• Paint brushes
• Polyurethane sealer – I used Rust-oleum Triple Thick
• Pouncer for stenciling
• Drawer pulls – I used these drawer pulls
• Felt pads
• Label stencil (optional)
• Chalk (optional)

CUTS FOR WOOD CASSEROLE TRAY

Large Wood Casserole Tray

• 5 – 16 1/4 inches – sides and bottom
• 2 – 11 1/2 inches –  ends

Small Wood Casserole Tray

• 5 – 11 inches – sides and bottom
• 2 – 11 1/2 inches – ends

*Please note due to differences in the thickness of wood your measurements may be different. I suggest cutting the sides and bottoms and then cutting the ends to get the best measurement. Lay out the bottom and sides then measure to get the length for the ends. 

STEPS TO COMPLETE WOOD CASSEROLE TRAY

Step 1) After the cuts were made I glued and nailed one side to one end. Then one at a time I glued and nailed the edges of the bottom pieces to the end piece and nailed any side pieces to end pieces as indicated. I used a scrap piece of wood and a carpenters square to help keep it square. Once I got all the bottom pieces in I glued and nailed the last side and end piece to complete the large tray. I repeated this same process for the small tray.

Step 2) I filled in the nails holes with wood filler and then I sanded the whole piece. Then I cleaned and wiped down both trays to get ready to paint. 

Step 3) I applied one coat of black latex paint to each tray and let it dry. Then I applied two coats of white chalk paint to the large casserole tray and the Reflection chalk paint to the small casserole tray. Once this dried I sanded the tray and the edges. This helped bring out the black paint underneath. Step 4) I applied a sealer, stenciled a chalkboard label and attached the drawer pulls. The triple thick sealer I used is great as you only need to apply one coat. As an added touch I wanted to be able to label my food so I created a label stencil with my Silhouette Cameo. If you would like the labels file please visit my FREE Resource Library (for personal use only).

I applied black chalkboard paint using an up and down motion with a pouncer. Once this dried I Seasoned the Chalkboard paint. Then I attached the handles. 

To protect surface areas you can add some felt pads under each corner as well. Now they are ready to be used.

 

 

 

PIN now save for later.Now you have a cute and convenient way to show off your food at parties! 

You can get access to this labels file and tons of other printables, graphics and designs by visiting my Resource Library. If you would like access please complete the form below.