How To Make a Charcuterie Board

This guide on How to Make a Charcuterie Board will help you put together the most epic board ever. Assorted cured meats, cheeses, crackers, nuts, dried fruits, olives, and more. Impress your family and friends with a beautiful, colorful and creative charcuterie board. Perfect for the holiday season and Christmas appetizer.

How To Make a Charcuterie Board 

With the holidays just a few weeks away it’s time to start planning your menus for this season’s gatherings. Whether your hosting or bringing something to your family or friend’s house, appetizers are a must. They’re actually a great dish to bring if you’re heading to someone else’s place to celebrate the holidays. A charcuterie board is always a great idea and you could never go wrong with making one.

There’re no doubt charcuterie boards are a crowd pleaser and you can certainly have something for everyone. Meats, cheeses, crackers, nuts, dried fruit and fruit are all must haves to a successful and well detailed spread. Colors and wide variations make a big difference in any charcuterie board. Especially when making one for the holidays. Think happy, colorful and festive. And of course, think tasty and delicious!

What is a charcuterie board?

A charcuterie board is a beautiful way to display an assortment of appetizers on a big board. These boards are great to serve at dinner parties, game days, movie night, and especially for holidays. There’s something for everyone and you can pretty much serve anything you prefer.

What is typically served on a charcuterie board?

You can serve a variety of different foods on a charcuterie board. Usually, charcuterie boards are set up with an assortment of:

• Cured Meats
• Different Cheeses
• Crackers or Baguette Bread
• Olives
• Nuts
• Dried Fruit
• Jams
• Fresh Fruit
• Chocolate

What you need to make a charcuterie board:

1. Pick your board:

The first thing you want to pick when making a charcuterie board is the actual board you will be laying all your food on. I prefer a wooden board as it allows all the food to pop out and look more elegant. A white flat platter can work too and will also allow the colors of the food to pop out. A marble slab is always a good idea and will add some extra details to your spread.

Depending on how big your party is and how much food you will be adding to your board; pick your board size. The bigger the more food you can add but you also don’t want too much empty space. You want all you food to be able to cover most of the board so make sure you pick a board that’s will fit everything perfectly.

2. Pick your meats:

Cured meats are the kind of meats you want for your charcuterie board. Genoa salami, prosciutto, Capocollo are all great meat choices for your boards.  Try to use meats that are grass-fed beef, no antibiotics, no additives, gluten-free and overall clean ingredients. You want great quality meats for your board.

3. Pick your cheeses:

Your cheeses are also a very important part to creating a beautiful and delicious charcuterie board. You want to have a good selection of cheeses as well when you’re putting your platter together. Have at least 3 different kinds of cheeses so there is a good variation. If you have a smaller party have 3 variations. For a larger crowd have about 4-5. It’s also a good rule of thumb to serve 2-3 oz. per guest. My go-to cheeses for this kind of appetizer platter are a good Le Gruyere, Gorgonzola and Gouda.

4. Pick your crackers:

You can’t have a charcuterie board without some crackers. Just like the meats and cheeses, you want to make sure you have a good variety of crackers. I always make sure I have different flavors too and all gluten-free so that everyone can enjoy them. Try different brands and different kinds as well like rice, quinoa, sprouted seeds, flax, etc. All of these will pair lovely with your meats and cheeses.

5. Add some extras:

Once you have your meats, cheeses and crackers it’s time to add some fun and yummy extras. Olives, nuts, chocolates, fruits and dried fruits are always a great idea. They add color and a variety of flavors to your board. Jams are also a must have and make sure they are in season or holiday friendly to bring your board together. 

6. For Decorating:

Aside from the delicious foods to be eaten, you also want to add some foods to decorate your board. These will add some more details to your board, help fill in spaces, and add pop of colors. Get creative with your decorations and use in foods that are in season. Fresh fruits and herbs are great for decorating any charcuterie board. 

Featured on this board:

• Cured Meats: Calabrese Salame, Prosciutto, Capocollo
• Cheese: Gouda, Crumbly Gorgonzola, Gruyere
• Crackers: TJ’s Organic Cracker Assortment, Mary’s Gone Crackers (Super Seed) 
• Extras: Castevetrano Olives, Organic Adriatic Fig Spread, Dried Golden Figs, TJ’s Everything but the Bagel Nut Duo, Green Grapes, Red Grapes
• For Decorating: Persimmons, Rosemary Sprigs, Pomegranate Seeds

How to make a Charcuterie Board:

1. Place large board or platter on a flat surface. Start by laying cheeses and any bowls or jars and any whole fruits. I like pointing my cheeses to the outside so that it’s easier for guests to cut or dip into them. For this charcuterie board I started by placing my persimmons around the board. Then the cheese bricks and cubed my gouda. Then I placed a bowl of olives and a small jar of fig jam.
2. Continue with rolling and folding your cured meats and placing them around the bowls and/or cheeses. For this board I used Calabrese Salame, Prosciutto, and Capocollo. Keep in mind you want to create an aesthetic look. Get creative and move things around as you go. 
3. Place crackers around the other foods layering them over each other. Place your extras next creating more layers and filling in any empty spaces. Remember these are your dried fruit, nuts, etc. My go to’s are green and red grapes, assorted nuts (this time I used TJ’s Everything but the Bagel Duo Nuts), and dried fruits like these Dried Golden Figs from TJ’s too. 
4. Finish off with some decorations and pop of color. For this platter I used some rosemary sprigs and pomegranate seeds throughout the board in addition to the persimmons. Don’t forget to let your creative juices flow and move things around to make everything fit better and look pretty.

Tips for making the best Charcuterie Board:

1. Pick a board that is the right size for the crowd of people you are serving- The bigger the more food you can add but you also don’t want too much empty space. You want all your food to be able to cover most of the board so make sure you pick a board that will fit everything perfectly.
2. Have the right amount of meats and cheeses to feed your crowd- Depending on how many people you are feeding, you want to make sure you have enough food for your board but also not too much to go waste. A good rule of thumb is to have about 2-3 oz of each meats and cheeses per guest.
3. Keep in mind dietary needs- If anyone in your family or friends have any dietary needs or allergies, keep this in mind. Keep any foods that are allergy friendly on a separate board to avoid any cross contamination.
4. Place food items that pair together next to each other- Keep crackers next to cheeses and jams that pair together, etc.
5. Keep in mind you want to create an aesthetic look– Get creative and feel free to move things around as you go.
6. Add all the colors- The more colors you use the better. You want your board to look colorful and pretty. It’s a good idea also to keep themed colors depending on the occasion or time of year you’re making your charcuterie board. Especially if you’re making it for the holidays.
7. Don’t forget to let your creative juices flow– Again, move things around to make everything fit better and look pretty. Have fun and get as creative as you’d like.

Did you like this How to Make a Charcuterie Board guide? You may also like these other appetizer guides/ideas:

• Making the Perfect Crudités Platter
• Vegan Cranberry Almond Cheese Ball

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How to Make a Charcuterie Board

This guide on How to Make a Charcuterie Board will help you put together the most epic board ever. Assorted cured meats, cheeses, crackers, nuts, dried fruits, olives, and more. Impress your family and friends with a beautiful, colorful and creative charcuterie board. Perfect for the holiday season and Christmas appetizer. 

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword Charcuterie Board

Author Angelica Arias

Ingredients

On This Cahrcuterie Board:

Cured Meats:

• Calabrese Salame
• Prosciutto
• Capocollo

Cheeses:

• Gouda
• Crumbly Gorgonzola
• Gruyere

Crackers:

• TJ’s Organic Cracker Assortment
• Mary’s Gone Crackers (Super Seed)

Extras:

• Castevetrano Olives
• Organic Adriatic Fig Spread
• Dried Golden Figs
• TJ’s Everything but the Bagel Nut Duo
• Green Grapes
• Red Grapes

For Decorating:

• Persimmons
• Rosemary Sprigs
• Pomegranate Seeds

Instructions

1. Place large board or platter on a flat surface. Start by laying cheeses and any bowls or jars and any whole fruits. I like pointing my cheeses to the outside so that it's easier for guests to cut or dip into them. For this charcuterie board I started by placing my persimmons around the board. Then the cheese bricks and cubed my gouda. Then I placed a bowl of olives and a small jar of fig jam.

2. Continue with rolling and folding your cured meats and placing them around the bowls and/or cheeses. For this board I used Calabrese Salame, Prosciutto, and Capocollo. Keep in mind you want to create an aesthetic look. Get creative and move things around as you go.
3. Place crackers around the other foods layering them over each other. Place your extras next creating more layers and filling in any empty spaces. Remember these are your dried fruit, nuts, etc. My go to’s are green and red grapes, assorted nuts (this time I used TJ’s Everything but the Bagel Duo Nuts), and dried fruits like these Dried Golden Figs from TJ’s too.
4. Finish off with some decorations and pop of color. For this platter I used some rosemary sprigs and pomegranate seeds throughout the board in addition to the persimmons. Don’t forget to let your creative juices flow and move things around to make everything fit better and look pretty.

Recipe Notes

Tips for making the best Charcuterie Board:

1. Pick a board that is the right size for the crowd of people you are serving- The bigger the more food you can add but you also don’t want too much empty space. You want all your food to be able to cover most of the board so make sure you pick a board that will fit everything perfectly.
2. Have the right amount of meats and cheeses to feed your crowd- Depending on how many people you are feeding, you want to make sure you have enough food for your board but also not too much to go waste. A good rule of thumb is to have about 2-3 oz of each meats and cheeses per guest.
3. Keep in mind dietary needs- If anyone in your family or friends have any dietary needs or allergies, keep this in mind. Keep any foods that are allergy friendly on a separate board to avoid any cross contamination.
4. Place food items that pair together next to each other- Keep crackers next to cheeses and jams that pair together, etc. 
5. Keep in mind you want to create an aesthetic look– Get creative and feel free to move things around as you go.
6. Add all the colors- The more colors you use the better. You want your board to look colorful and pretty. It’s a good idea also to keep themed colors depending on the occasion or time of year you’re making your charcuterie board. Especially if you’re making it for the holidays. 
7. Don’t forget to let your creative juices flow– Again, move things around to make everything fit better and look pretty. Have fun and get as creative as you’d like. 

**Disclaimer- This post contains affiliate links and sponsored content. All of the opinions are my own and I only recommend those products I use in my own home with my own family. 

*Photos updated as of 12/23/2020

*Post updated as of 3/17/2020