Easiest Crudités Platter Ever!

ByJennifer Stewart October 8, 2024

A Crudités Platter is an easy way to serve all vegetables that you love in a simple and beautiful display. The traditional veggie tray just got a little more exciting!

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Why is it called crudité?

First things first, what does the word crudité mean and how do you pronounce it? It seems like a strange name but it does have meaning.

Crudité is pronounced like “Crew-Dee-Tay” and is much easier to eat than say or spell.

The word crudites means raw in French. That basically describes the ingredients on board: tons of raw veggies for snacking on. And we all need to eat more veggies right?

So really the only difference between a veggie tray and crudite is the fancy word. I might call it a crudite when having a fancy brunch, but a veggie platter for a tailgate party.

Easy Party Foods

When I have a party or even a small gathering with a few friends, I find that a board or platter of some kind is the easiest way to feed them. The guys usually hang around the charcuterie board, while I love the tangy and sour flavors on a traditional relish tray.

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What veggies are in crudité?

It’s so much more than fresh vegetables like carrot and celery sticks! Try any of these delicious options:

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Radishes
Mini Bell Peppers (yellow and red peppers are my fave)
Celery
Baby Carrots
Green Onions
Shishito Peppers
Endive
Cherry Tomatoes
Asparagus
Green Beans
Snap Peas
Zucchini
Yellow/Baby Squash

Take a walk through your local farmers market or grocery store to check out what’s in season and local. I love finding as many fresh veggies as I can that aren’t just green. Bright and colorful means pretty and nutritious!

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How to Make a Crudite Platter

First: Cover the board or tray with parchment paper to protect it and make for easy cleanup. Place the bowls of dips on the board, leaving room between them to add all those crisp veggies.

Second: Place the vegetables around the board, being sure to mix up the colors and textures. You don’t have to group them all in one place. It’s cool to put carrots and cucumbers in multiple places so your guests can reach everything from all sides of the board.

Third: Start filling in the gaps with extra veggies until the board is full. I like to vary the colors around the board to balance it out

Fourth: If you have fresh herbs, you can use them as garnishes to complete the vegetable platter. Keep chilled until ready to serve. Enjoy!

For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

What’s the difference between crudite and charcuterie?

The best part of a Crudite board is that all the chopped raw vegetables are great by themselves or you can use them as a vehicle for a dip or hummus that is usually served with them. Not to be confused with a Relish Tray, a Charcuterie Tray, or a Cheese Platter.

A Relish Tray contains pickled vegetables like various pickles, olives, and other items like pickled peppers and veggies.

A Charcuterie Board (or cheese board) has various forms of meats, like hard salami and summer sausage, various types of hard and soft cheeses, with mustards, jellies, and crackers to eat with them.

What else goes on the platter besides the veggies?

I like snacking on the veggies myself, but having a creamy dip or two to add some extra flavor is not a bad idea. Plus you can make them tangy or spicy to some extra kick.

When I am putting my crudite board together I like to pick three dips to go with them. You can put as many as your board will hold but I like three since I prefer an odd number.

My go-to spreads are a hummus, a sour cream dip, and a cream cheese dip.

Hummus: A basil pesto hummus or a white bean hummus are perfect choices for all types of raw vegetables.

Sour cream dip: A French onion dip or sour cream and onion dip are easy and popular so you know a bunch of people will like them.

Cream cheese dip: An herb cream cheese dip or an everything bagel dip are yummy with a large number of different veggies.

Don’t be scared to add some crackers like pita chips and even fresh fruits, to serve with these. Especially if you have some extra room on the board. Make it your own creation!

How do you keep vegetable crudite fresh?

I like to store my prepped vegetables in ice water or wrapped in a damp towel and stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Make things even easier and prep them the day before.

I will admit that most of the foods I put on my boards are raw, but a few are steamed or blanched to make them easier to eat.

Easy Party Boards

Do I need to cook the vegetables first?

Most of the vegetables are perfectly tasty raw, but I prefer to have my green beans, peas, and asparagus slightly cooked to take out the fibrous nature of them. A quick 1-minute blanch in boiling water will do the trick!

If you are serving some vegetables that might need a little softening, try a quick blanching. Not only will it lightly cook them, but it will help them maintain their vibrant green colors on the serving platter!

How do you blanch vegetables?

Prepare a large pot of boiling salted water, and fill a large bowl with ice water.
Remove the tough bottoms of the asparagus stalks and the strings from the green beans and snap peas.
Starting with one vegetable at a time, lower the trimmed vegetable into the boiling water.
Stir and let cook for 1 minute.
Remove from the boiling water and immediately plunge in the ice bath to stop the cooking process and maintain the vibrant green color.
Continue with the additional vegetables that you want to cook.
Once you blanche the vegetables, store in the correct containers until you are ready to assemble your platter.

Tapas Tips & Tricks

Use the freshest vegetables you can find. Think seasonal too!
Blanch the veggies that have lots of fiber or strings to make them easier to eat.
Vary the colors and textures
Add your favorite dips to eat with them. A simple ranch dressing works great!
Keep everything chilled until ready to enjoy.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, please write a five-star review in the comment section below (or on Pinterest with the “tried it” button – you can now add pictures into reviews, too!), and be sure to help me share on facebook!

Looking for pictures of Vegetable Tray Ideas to take to a party you’ve been invited to? Check out my Pinterest Board dedicated to all things Vegetable Platters!