How to Build a Crudités Platter
Pronounced “krew-dee-tay” this abundant platter of assorted raw veggies and flavorful dips is the perfect hors d’oeuvre to kick off a party! In this post you’ll learn how to assemble the quintessential crudités platter with fresh, crisp veggies and perfectly paired dips and sauces.
Welcome to Crudités 101.
I think it’s time we leave behind the grocery store plastic platter of sad, stale pre-cut veggies surrounding a tub of ranch dip. Ok well, we can bring the ranch dip but the rest has to go!
Building a beautiful crudités platter is easier than you might think and oh so satisfying with all it’s beautiful colors and textures. There really is something for everyone. I’m partial to crisp carrots, and bitter radicchio dunked in garlicky labneh dip!
You can find everything you need to make a beautiful vegetable platter at the grocery store but if you really want to step it up a notch plan a trip to your local farmers market!
Ingredient’s You’ll Need
Spring and Summer Crudités Ingredients: snap peas, green beans, asparagus, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, lettuces, radish, squash blossoms.
Fall and Winter Crudités Ingredients: sliced beets, fennel, cauliflower, roasted squash, carrots, endive, radicchio, and broccoli.
Dips, Sauces or Spreads: There are so many different options here. I recommend including at least two. To keep things simple, use a combination of store-bought and homemade.
Tips and Tricks:
- Use seasonal veggies! No matter the season carrots and cucumbers will always make an appearance on my crudités platter but beyond that I try to keep it seasonal. In the fall I like to add roasted delicata squash and raw fennel, in the spring and summer I load up on green beans, snap peas, and asparagus!
- Blanch or roast hearty vegetables. It can be really interesting to mix things up with roasted vegetables like squash, carrots, and cauliflower. For hearty spring vegetables like asparagus, green beans and broccoli give them a quick blanch in boiling water then shock them in ice water which will not only make them more tender but intensify and brighten their beautiful green color.
- Refresh Vegetables in Ice Water: Sometimes even fresh vegetables become stale and limp as they sit in the refrigerator. To fix this, fill a large bowl or your kitchen sink with ice water. Drop the vegetables into the ice water, let sit for 1-2 minutes then remove and dry on a clean kitchen towel. The ice water will instantly crisp up and rehydrate almost any vegetable, but especially carrots, cucumbers and radishes. This trick works really well with lettuce too!
- Things to avoid putting on a crudités platter: Don’t even think about including those weird little wet baby carrots, you know the ones I’m talking about. Also, I’m all for using store bought hummus or dips (Trader Joe’s always has great ones), but transfer them into a pretty bowl, rather than leaving them in their plastic containers. It will look so much more sophisticated —trust me!
FAQs
We’ve all seen the pre-cut veggie platters at the supermarket and they never look very appealing, thats because the’ve been assembled sometimes days in advance. It’s best to prepare crudités as close to serving as possible, ideally with in 2-3 hours. To keep your vegetables fresh, cover with damp paper towels and store in the refrigerator. The damp towels will keep the veggies hydrated and fresh! Dips and sauces can be made up to 2-3 days in advance.
My favorite dips to serve with crudités are: Whipped Feta Dip, Smooth and Creamy Homemade Hummus, Garlicky Labneh Dip, or warm Bagna Cauda.
Check our More Great Recipes
- How to Build a Charcuterie & Cheese Platter
- Pan con Tomate
- Burrata Salad with Prosciutto and Nectarines
- Avocado Panzanella with Snap Peas and Feta Cheese
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Crudités Platter
Ingredients
Vegetables:
- 1 bunch breakfast radishes
- 2 bunches carrots
- 4 small Persian or English cucumber
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups sugar snap peas
- 1 bunch broccolini
- 2-3 heads endive or radicchio
Instructions
- Wash and dry all of the vegetables in ice-cold water.
- Remove the strings and stems from the snap peas, peel the carrots and cut the rest of the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Add two bowls of different dips to a large platter then pile the vegetables around the bowls. Serve immediately!
Notes
- Use seasonal veggies! No matter the season carrots and cucumbers will always make an appearance on my crudités platter but beyond that I try to keep it seasonal. In the fall I like to add roasted delicata squash and raw fennel, in the spring and summer I load up on green beans, snap peas, and asparagus!
- Blanch or roast hearty vegetables. It can be really interesting to mix things up with roasted vegetables like squash, carrots, and cauliflower. For hearty spring vegetables like asparagus, green beans and broccoli give them a quick blanch in boiling water then shock them in ice water which will not only make them more tender but intensify and brighten their beautiful green color.
- Refresh Vegetables in Ice Water: Sometimes even fresh vegetables become stale and limp as they sit in the refrigerator. To fix this, fill a large bowl or your kitchen sink with ice water. Drop the vegetables into the ice water, let sit for 1-2 minutes then remove and try on a clean kitchen towel. The will ice water instantly crisp up and rehydrate any vegetables, but especially carrots, cucumbers and radishes. This trick works really well with lettuce too!
- We’ve all seen the pre-cut veggie platters at the supermarket and they never look very appealing. It’s best to prepare crudités as close to serving as possible with in 2-3 hours. To keep them fresh, cover with damp paper towels and store in the refrigerator. The paper towel will keep the veggies hydrated and fresh! Dips and sauces can be made up to 2-3 days in advance.
