The perfect starter for your Easter dinner or family gathering: An Easter veggie tray, with affordable vegetables and a delicious homemade buttermilk ranch dipping sauce.

I’m a huge fan of the humble veggie platter. Every holiday and food gathering should begin with a healthy tray of vegetables plus a delicious dip.

Easter is no exception. 

The key to making a veggie platter Easter-themed – without attempting to make your tray look like an Easter bunny – is to choose beautifully hued vegetables in the pastel colors typically associated with Easter or early spring.

Avoid buying the expensive ready-made vegetable platters at the grocery store. This is an affordable appetizer option for your Easter or spring-themed gathering.

What Vegetables Go On An Easter Veggie Tray?

To make a beautiful Easter-themed vegetable platter, choose pastel-hued vegetables like:

• Purple cauliflower: Purple cauliflower contains anthocyanin, the same antioxidant that is present in red cabbage. This results in the most beautiful lavender hued vegetable that tasted just like regular cauliflower. I have purchased this at Trader Joe’s.
• Watermelon radish: The beautiful pink and white slices on the veggie platter are slices of watermelon radish. This vegetable is in the same family as daikon radish, and has a mild peppery flavor. Watermelon radish is milder than smaller red radishes.

• White salad turnips: White salad turnips sometimes show up at Minnesota farmers’ markets – and I always grab some when I find them. They’re crunchy and sweet and add
• English cucumber: My cucumber of preference for a vegetable tray is the English cucumber, which stays nice and crunchy. Cucumber slices can be up to 1/2-inch thick. 
• Carrots: Peel and slice your own carrots instead of buying baby carrots. Look for the multi-colored carrots for even more visual appeal. Look for bags that contain white, purple, yellow, and orange carrots.
• Sugar snap peas: Every veggie platter needs sugar snap peas. They’re readily available at most grocery stores and are crunchy and sweet.

Feel free to add or substitute other vegetables. The pastel colors are ideal for an Easter platter but other affordable vegetable options include celery sticks, red bell peppers, broccoli florets, grape tomatoes, and other colorful veggies.

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dipping Sauce

Once you learn how to make your own ranch dip at home, you’ll never go back to buying it in a bottle. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Mayonnaise
• Buttermilk
• Sour cream
• Dried dill
• Garlic powder
• Fresh parsley
• Red onion
• Vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Scroll down for full ranch dip recipe, which can also be used as a salad dressing or appetizer dip. (Here in the Midwest we use ranch on everything!)

Other dips that will work for your spring-themed vegetable platter: Dill vegetable dip, spinach dip, hummus, roasted carrot dip, and all-purpose dipping sauce.

Remember to keep and serve your buttermilk ranch dipping sauce chilled. No one wants room temperature dip – or vegetables for that matter.

Creating An Easter Charcuterie Board

It’s easy to turn a traditional veggie tray into an Easter-themed charcuterie board. You’ll just need to add some meat, cheese, pickled items, and crackers.

To turn your Easter vegetable platter into a charcuterie board, simply add any combination of the following:

• Dry salami
• Other cured meats
• Cube cheese or slices of cheese
• A goat cheese log
• Olives (consider kalamata olives)
• Pickled vegetables
• Crackers: Ritz crackers, homemade 4-ingredient crackers or salami crackers
• Homemade crostini

Get tips for creating a charcuterie board on a budget. 

Enjoy making and eating your simple Easter veggie tray, whether you’re contributing to an Easter buffet table or entertaining guests for Easter dinner. Remember to keep your Easter veggie tray and dip chilled until ready to serve – and enjoy!