Simple Crudités Platter

Here is a quick guide for how to assemble a beautiful crudités platter with little effort. This party platter is loaded with vegetables and Mediterranean favorites, it is the perfect make-ahead appetizer for a crowd!

Crudités

French crudités, pronounced kroo-dee-teh, are simply raw vegetables (sliced or whole), arranged neatly on a platter or board, and typically served with a sauce for dipping.

But for something so basic, a vegetable crudité platter can be the show-stopping star of your next party. And I always like to use beautiful fresh veggies on my appetizer table to balance heftier dishes like baked brie, shrimp fra diavolo, or bites of crispy smashed potatoes or Greek keftedes (meatballs).

An elegant crudite platter is not hard to put together, and the key is to really allow the veggies to shine. I put together a quick guide for how to make the ultimate crudités platter. Use it as a frame of reference and change things up to make use of what you have on hand! Here we go...

What goes on a crudités platter?

The perfect crudités platter focuses first and foremost on the vegetables. From there, you can add a sauce for dipping and a few accompaniments to complete your veggie platter. Here is my list of crudité essentials to get you started:

• Raw Vegetables. Use what's in season and aim for variety in texture, color, and flavor. And include at least 4 to 5 vegetables. Snap peas, mini bell peppers, carrots (rainbow carrots of different colors), cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and peppery radishes, smaller leaves of romaine or radiccho lettuce are some of my go-tos. You can also add broccoli florets, asparagus, or fresh string beans (all three can be blanched quickly then submerged in an ice bath to bring out the color).
• Dip. For a veggie platter, I like to use a yogurt-based dip like tzatziki or this walnut spinach yogurt dip. But if you have room on your board or platter, you can add one more dip such as hummus (or roasted red pepper hummus) or baba ganoush (the smoky eggplant dip makes a fun and unexpected addition).
• Olives and other marinated vegetables. Add in salty, briny olives and other marinated vegetables like pickles, artichoke hearts, or even sliced preserved lemons, if you have them, to instantly elevate your vegetable grazing board. I also like to add steamed or roasted beets.
• Cheese? Totally optional, but if you're adding cheese as part of your crudites spread, then baby mozzarella or blocks of feta are great options. If you want to step it up a little more, marinated feta is the way to go (and it takes very little time)
• Fruit such as grapes. It's nice to have something like grapes, figs, or apple slices as a sweet palate cleanser on your crudite platter. Don't go overboard on this, just tuck in some fruit where you see gaps.

What about crackers or bread?

Unlike cheese boards, a crudite platter does not typically include crackers. But you'll see I've taken some liberty and tucked in a few pita wedges just to fill in gapes and to please my Mediterranean palate (I simply can't have a dip without a slice of pita).

Crudités make-ahead tips

If you're hosting a larger crowd and looking for ways to prepare your vegetable platter ahead of time, keep these few simple tips in mind:

• Make your dips one night ahead. Some dips like tzatziki or hummus will last several days, but I like to make them one night ahead so that they are still as fresh and delicious. Be sure to store your dip in a tightly-closed container in the fridge.
• Slice your vegetables 2 hours ahead. To keep your veggies super crispy and fresh looking, it's best to slice them a little closer to party time. Wash and dry them well, then slice your veggies and keep them in the fridge in zip-top bags until you're ready to assemble the platter.

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