Everything you need to know about making a perfect charcuterie board for the upcoming holidays with recipes and tips.

Confession time! I had never made a charcuterie board in my life until recently. I made a very small version of it for Mr. G and myself, but not for a party or gathering until the past couple of years and now I want to make them all the time.

What I love about this idea is there is little to no cooking and these boards can be made ahead of time when there is a party coming up. The term “charcuterie” refers to the preparation of cured meats, like prosciutto, bacon, salami, etc. But, it seems today that any kind of food can be used for a charcuterie board.

What You Need

The most important items of a charcuterie board are meats, cheeses, veggies, savory items, sweet items, and crackers. There are so many items to choose from and it also depends on the theme of your board. Here are the most common items found on a charcuterie board.

1. Cheeses – there are so many different kinds of cheeses to use. Hard cheeses are the easiest to cut in small slices, mozzarella balls are a great choice too. Soft cheeses, such as brie, goat cheese, and cream cheese are just a few which could be used with sauces on tops.
2. Meats – prosciutto, salami, ham, sausages, pepperoni, etc.
3. Savory – nuts, olives, pickles, pepperoncini, cocktail onions, savory dips, spreads, and sliced veggies.
4. Sweets – Fresh fruit, berries, dried fruit, sweet spreads, and of course, chocolates. Chocolate-covered items are perfect for sweet treats.
5. Crackers – baguettes, mini toasts, pita crackers, and flavored crackers. You could also add items of different shapes and sizes.

charcuterie board tips & recipes

• Keto Charcuterie Board
• 19 Easy Charcuterie Board Ideas
• Charcuterie Board for Beginners
• Boards on a Budget
• 42 of the Best Homemade Charcuterie Board Ingredients

Arranging your board

Now that you know what you want and how much to put on your board, the next thing to figure out is which board to choose.

There are several options for one large board or several boards. Do you want a dessert board, a cracker and cheese board, and a meat and cheese board? There are so many different options of sizes and shapes out there today that don’t cost a lot of money and can be used over and over.

Click on any of the boards above to shop

The way to lay out your board is up to you but I have found that if you lay your cheeses out in different places on your board first, that will lay the foundation for the other items. Next lay the crackers and pieces of bread around the cheeses. Since meats are easy to manipulate, they can be placed in other areas. Finally, add a few sweet items here and there to fill in the holes.

You could also make your layout in a shape, as shown in the picture above by Inspired by Charm. Use small cookie cutters to cut out cheese slices into shapes. His board is so perfect for the holidays.

Make it simple and colorful for your guests. Make a board you would love to eat from too! And don’t forget that the kids would love to have their own board too to choose from.

Don’t have a board? Parchment paper is another great substitution.

butter boards

Have you heard of the new trend called Butter Boards? These are boards with one butter recipe or several butter recipes on each board. You can make your own homemade kinds of butter or get them at the store. Sweet or savory flavors of butter are just a couple of ideas.

You can spread the butter right on the board with baskets of crackers and mini bread slices, make little piles of each butter with crackers around them, or put the butter in little dishes to display. Have several small spreading knives close by to use to spread the butter.

BUtter board recipes

• Butter Board Recipes
• Garlic Butter Board Recipe
• Italian Butter Board Recipe
• Whipped Feta Greek Board Recipe
• Dessert Butter Board Recipe

Enjoy These Posts: