How To Create A Holiday Charcuterie Board Step-By-Step

Learn how to create a holiday charcuterie board with step-by-step directions. These boards are easy to make, perfect for big and small gatherings, and always a crowd-pleaser. They’re versatile enough to serve as a festive appetizer or a fun meal!

What Is A Charcuterie Board

A charcuterie board (pronounced shar-koo-tuh–ree) is an artfully arranged platter of cured meats and cheeses often accompanied by beads, crackers, fruit, vegetables, and other tasty morsels. Charcuterie, a French word, originally referred to cured meats like salami, prosciutto, and pâté. Over time, cheese was added to these meat platters, followed by other delicious foods.

Charcuterie boards are a close cousin to cheese boards. However, a cheese board highlights cheeses, and a charcuterie board celebrates cured meats. Today, there is a lot of crossover, and often, the words cheese board and charcuterie can be used interchangeably.

Charcuterie boards have been very popular over the last few years, becoming the go-to choice for large and small gatherings. They are perfect for appetizers, snacking, or even a light meal.

With just a few easy tweaks, this holiday charcuterie board is perfect for fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!

What Kind Of Board To Use

The foundation of charcuterie is a board. I like to use my very old 10 x 20 cutting board as a base. The wood has split in its side, so I don’t use it as a cutting board, but it makes the perfect base for all the meats, cheeses, and other goodies. I also use a large rectangular platter, a breadboard (for a small charcuterie), or a cake pedestal. You can even use parchment paper on a countertop as a board! Get creative.

What Food To Use On A Charcuterie Board

There are too many different choices of what to use on a charcuterie board to mention! The wonderful part about these crowd-pleasers is that they can be tailored to your and your guests’ likes and tastes. Before creating one, let’s look at what goes on a holiday charcuterie board.

Cured Meats

Because of the origin of these French boards, you will want to add slices of cured meats. Salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, and, sopresatta.

Hard And Soft Cheeses

It’s popular to use hard and soft cheeses on a charcuterie board.

Hard cheeses include aged sharp cheddar, gruyere, manchego, Parmesan-Reggiano, and Gouda. Choose a hard cheese that you think everyone will enjoy.

Popular soft cheeses are brie, goat cheese, Boursin, Mozzarella (semi-soft), and camembert. These cheeses can be garnished with nuts and honey or even baked to enhance their flavor.

Blue cheese adds a bold, tangy flavor to your charcuterie board, offering a sharp contrast to milder cheeses. Its creamy or crumbly texture makes it popular for anyone who enjoys a more intense taste.

Crackers And Bread

Crackers and artisan bread are perfect accompaniments to your charcuterie board’s cheeses. Choose a variety of types, flavors, and shapes of crackers to add interest and texture. If your board runs out of space (a common occurrence in our home), you can serve crackers and bread in a basket or on a small platter beside the board. For today’s holiday charcuterie board, I placed a French ceramic bread basket of baguette rounds layered with a tea towel next to the board.

Tasty Accompaniments

There is no end to the delightful, tasty morsels that can accompany the main players on a charcuterie board. This is where you can get very creative, making one-of-a-kind, edible piece of scrumptious art! Here are some popular items often found on a board…

• Olives in small bowls
• Nuts like cashews, almonds and pistachios
• Cornichons
• Dolmas
• Condiments like jam, mustard, olive tapenade, and chutney- served in small bowls.
• Pretzels
• Fresh fruit like fresh figs, grapes, and pear and apple slices.
• Dried fruit like apricots and oranges
• Fresh veggies like blanched asparagus, red bell peppers, and cucumber rounds- served with a small bowl of something to drizzle over them.
• Something sweet like chocolate (an important part of any charcuterie board), honeycomb-a favorite of mine and even small cookies

Garnishes And Extras

Don’t leave out holiday-inspired garnishes to give your delicious charcuterie board a finished seasonal flair. My favorites are fresh herbs like sprigs of rosemary, any food-safe greens, cranberries (fresh or sugared), and pomegranates. See How To Make Sugared Cranberries.

Be creative! Remember, all this food can be found at your local grocery store!

Step-By-Step: Creating A Holiday Charcuterie Board

This charcuterie board is easy to create and can be customized for fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. It can also be adjusted for a small family movie night or a sparkling holiday party.

There is no recipe, but I’m sharing an easy-to-do formula for creating charcuterie and very helpful tips, too!

Start With A Board

When selecting a board or platter for your charcuterie, there are two key things to keep in mind. Consider how many people you’ll be serving and whether the charcuterie will be an appetizer, a stand-alone snack, or a full meal, then choose a board that suits those needs.

Start In The Middle

It’s easiest to start in the middle of your board and build from there. This charcuterie board is simple and filled with things my family loves.

I started by placing a round, soft French Camembert cheese in the middle of my cutting board. Then I fanned out table water crackers all around the cheese.

Add Some Of The Cured Meat

I like to keep the meat, cheese, and crackers relatively symmetrical on the board. It makes it so much easier to create a becoming and artful design.

I arranged the meat on opposite ends of the board.

I had two whole sticks of salami and soppressata in the frig. I made a little charcuterie yesterday, and my little grandkids ate almost all of them! I was lucky to have anything left. I usually cut a lot more cured meat because people generally love it. There is always so much on a charcuterie that a little less of something is never noticed.

The board may look slightly bland right now, but we are laying down the foundation. It will get very interesting and yummy soon!

Arranging The Cheese

Next, I placed two hard cheeses on either side of the Camembert, close to the crackers. I prefer a loose arrangement rather than a more structured one, as tightly arranged cheeses, like domino tiles, can be difficult to move if needed.

I used a light-colored mild cheddar with garlic and herbs and a yellow sharp aged cheddar. Two totally different types of hard cheese would be a better choice, but I knew my grandkids would probably eat the cheese.

Add Condiments

I used a bowl of sour cherry jam for this charcuterie and mixed it in small, white bowls. Sour cherry jam is delicious on a cracker slice of a baguette with blue cheese.

The items I have put on the board create a symmetrical design.

Add More Cheese Crackers And Meat

By now, the charcuterie board is starting to take shape. I added a soft bleu cheese on an angle at what I call the top of the board, fig and rosemary artisan crisps on one side of the board, and cranberry vanilla artisan crisps on the other side.

I found the crips at Whole Foods. They are always a favorite!

Prosciutto is a big family favorite, so I gathered slices of this delicious cured meat and dropped them in little bundles on the bottom of the board.

I decided to switch the olives and the sour cherry jam because I thought the composition would look better.

Fruit

It’s nice to add sweetness to your charcuterie board. It balances the saltiness of the cured meat and cheese. I like to add fresh fruit and dried fruit to my board.

I cut grapes into small clusters to make it easy for people to pick them up and get the right amount. The grapes I used on the board are called gumdrops. They are very sweet!

When fresh figs are in season, they are a must on our board. I cut some and arranged some whole. They are the most delightful, sweetest fruit and look so pretty! Sprinkle dried apricots on the board. They are a sweet and tangy treat that brightens up the board.

Adding Nut To The Board

Choose your favorite nuts and fill any empty spaces on the board. Fall is the perfect time for walnuts or pecans, though my family’s favorite is cashews. You can also place them in a small bowl on the board, but I love how loose nuts give the display a bountiful, abundant look.

Garnishes And Goodies

I always love embellishing! Garnishing a holiday charcuterie board creates a bountiful, overflowing look. I topped the Camembert with candied walnuts and drizzled a bit of honey for extra flavor.

For an indulgent treat, I cut small cubes of honeycomb and added them to the board. If you’ve never tried honeycomb, you’re in for a delightful surprise! To finish, I scattered cranberries around the board to give it a festive look.

The final embellishment is to add fresh herbs for a pop of green. On this charcuterie board, I used rosemary sprigs, arranging them around the Camembert and tucking them into spots that needed a bit of freshness and color.

Use holiday-inspired forks, spoons, and fun festive toothpicks to pick up the delicious food on the board.

Creating a holiday charcuterie board is easy, fun, and creative. It is a wonderful way to treat your family and guests to a holiday treat. So gather your ingredients, follow the steps, and enjoy making a board that looks just as amazing as it tastes! Happy holidays and happy hosting!

FAQs About A Holiday Charcuterie Board

Happy Holidays!