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Learn how to make an easy crudités platter from start to finish, perfect for seamless entertaining. This post is sponsored by Hidden Valley Ranch but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

No holiday or party table should be bare of a good crudités platter.

While I love making charcuterie or cheese boards, a crudités platter is a personal favorite for so many reasons.

First, they’re colorful and stunning — filled with vibrant seasonal vegetables and various shapes and textures. Second, they’re more cost-effective than charcuterie or cheese boards, making them a great choice for a bigger crowd. Last, but not least, they’re more versatile and accommodating to different dietary restrictions.

Not to mention how incredibly effortless they are to put together.

Here are my top tips to make the absolute best easy crudités platter this holiday season.

How to Make a Crudités Platter

The Dip

We’re making an easy platter, so we’re going to keep things simple with one dip: ranch. Who doesn’t love ranch, right? It’s also the most popular choice for crudités and veggie platters.

We’re not going to make just any ranch, but we’re going to make the-very-best-ranch: Hidden Valley Restaurant Style Ranch. It’s the #1 ranch mix used in restaurants for a reason.

Hidden Valley Restaurant Style Ranch (full recipe below) comes together with a few simple ingredients to create a delicious dip full of flavor.

With creamy buttermilk, spices, fresh garlic, and chives, this homemade ranch is a quick and easy crowd-pleaser.

The Veggies

Use whatever veggies you like and feature a mix of seasonal vegetables with various colors and textures. Look for rainbow or colorful varieties of vegetables when possible (rainbow carrots, Aloha peppers, Easter Egg radish, purple cauliflower).

While most of your veggies should be raw, don’t be afraid to roast some for additional flavor and texture. For green beans, asparagus, or snap peas, blanch the vegetables to bring out their green color.

Below are some vegetables for your crudités platter:

asparagus
beets
bell peppers
broccoli
carrots
cauliflower
celery
cucumbers
endive
fennel
green beans
jicama
radishes
sugar snap peas
tomatoes
zucchini or baby squash

The Extras

Who says that crudités platters need to be only raw vegetables? Think outside the box and have fun with your platter. Here’s some ideas on things to add for a variety of flavors and textures:

pickles and pickled vegetables
marinated vegetables (artichokes, mushrooms, roasted red peppers)
roasted garlic
breads and crackers (pita chips, garlic crostini, breadsticks)
chips (kale chips, sweet potato tortilla chips, carrot chips)
olives
nuts
cheeses (fresh mozzarella cheese balls, marinated feta, manchego)
meats (proscuitto, ham, peppered salami)
dried and fresh fruits (apricots, figs, pears, apples)
fresh butter and sea salt (for radishes)
sweet additions (jams, dark chocolate, chocolate-covered fruit)

Crudités Platter Tips

If possible, cut your fresh vegetables right before serving to maintain optimal freshness. If you need to prep them the night before, store cut carrots and peppers wrapped in damp paper towels in air-tight containers to keep from drying out. Store sliced radishes in a shallow container filled with cold water, and save delicate vegetables like endive and cucumbers for the day of.

Prep what you can in advance. Make the dip 1-2 days before, skewer fresh mozzarella cheese balls, and roast any vegetables the day before. You can also place olives and pickled vegetables in their serving bowls, plastic wrap them, and refrigerate. Just let them come to room temperature before adding them to the platter.

Be mindful of your guests and their dietary restrictions. For example, if you know that you have a few vegan or vegetarian guests, make sure meat or cheeses are not touching anything else on the tray.

We hope that these tips ensure crudités platter success! What are your favorite appetizers for effortless entertaining? Let us know in the comments below.