How to Blanch Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Carrots • Recipe for Perfection (2024)

This post was sponsored by Walmart as part of an Influencer Activationfor Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Learn how to blanch broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots for vegetable trays, crudités, and salad. Includes blanching, shocking, and serving instructions, plus vegetable tray ideas.

How to Blanch Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Carrots

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I love summer! I view it as an excellent excuse to break out the snacking and entertaining essentials that don’t require cooking. To that end, I like to blanch broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots for veggie trays.

You can also get fancy and call themcrudités. Crudités is French for “raw things,” and is pronounced crew-dih-TAY (don’t pronounce the “s” at the end). A platter ofcrudités can include raw vegetables like tomatoes and celery, but it can also include lightly cooked vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.

The cooking method used for these vegetables is called blanching, in which veggies are briefly boiled in salted water, then plunged into ice water to stop the cooking process and set the color. Blanching removes the “raw” flavor, makes the vegetables easier to bite into, and helps preserve the natural color of the vegetable.

Acrudités platter usually includes dip. I like to use SabraRoasted Red Pepper Hummus from Walmart, which is agreat summer dip for any picnic or poolside snack. My favorite thing about SabraRoasted Red Pepper Hummus is how its robust flavor can be paired with anything from vegetables, to chicken wings, to crackers.

For crackers, I picked up Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins Original, which are made with real Blue Diamond® Almonds, and are wheat and gluten free. They have no artificial flavors, and their crispy, crunchy texture goes well with hummus and provides a nice contrast to the blanched vegetables.

I also added Blue DiamondGourmet Garlic, Herb, and Olive Oil Almonds to mycrudités platter. Blue Diamond Gourmet Garlic, Herb, and Olive Oil Almonds are a premium product that is made withonly high-quality nonpareil almonds that have been perfectly seasoned.

The flavor of the seasoned almonds adds spice and savoriness.

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When you shop at Walmart, you can pick up your broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots in the produce section. I usually buy two individual bunches of broccoli, one head of cauliflower, and one pound of baby cut carrots. You can vary the amount to suit the size of the party you’re serving.

Don’t forget to enter the Backyard Makeover promotion!