The Perfect Charcuterie Board (2024)

Everything you need to know to make the perfect Charcuterie Boardincluding food ideas, recipes, and pro tips for assembling and displaying your charcuterie board for any season or occasion. This is the easiest way to serve snacks or appetizers in a fun and festive way!

The Perfect Charcuterie Board (1)

Charcuterie (shahr-koo-tuh–ree)

I find any excuse to make big or small Charcuterie boards, whether for casual Sunday afternoon snacking, Book Club get togethers, or holiday entertaining. I love that they’re quick and easy to throw together with little to no cooking required, and they are so fun! The term “charcuterie” refers to the preparing of cured meats, like prosciutto, bacon, salami, etc., but these days when people say charcuterie, they are usually referring to a fun, meat and cheese board that typically includes cured meats, a variety of cheeses, crackers, nuts, fruits and vegetables, and dipping sauces or spreads.

I’m so excited to share my tips and tricks with you, along with my favorite products to use!

What you’ll need:

The most important elements of a charcuterie board are meats, cheeses, savory accompaniments, sweet accompaniments, and crackers.

  1. Cheeses: choose a variety of hard and soft cheese, and cheese made from different animals (cow, sheep, goat). Expert tip: always choose at least one cheese that is familiar to your guests so they feel comfortable diving right in.
    • Hard cheeses: manchego, cheddar (white or orange), swiss, gouda, gruyere, parmesan etc.
    • Soft cheeses: brie, triple cream, goat cheese, havarti, burrata, cream cheese with pepper jelly on top (our favorite!). Could also you blue cheese or gorgonzola.
  2. Meats: prosciutto, salami, ham, cured chorizo, capricola, soppressata, summer sausage, etc.
  3. Savory accompaniments:
    • Nuts: almonds (marcona almonds from Trader Joes are my favorite!), candied pecans, pistachio nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, etc.
    • Briny, pickled or marinated: olives, cocktail onions, cornichons, dill pickles, pepperoncini. We love green olives stuffed with garlic or feta, and I also like including olive tapenade and bruschetta.
    • Savory Dips and spreads: Whole ground mustard, hummus, ranch, balsamic dip.
    • Veggies – cold cut, if desired
  4. Sweet accompaniments:
    • Fresh fruit and berries: grapes, apples, pears, oranges, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries.
    • Dried fruit: apricots, cherries, figs, pineapple, mango
    • Sweet spreads: Fig butter (Trader Joes brand is on every board I make!), orange marmalade, blackberry jam or other sweet spreads.
    • Chocolate: a few pieces of quality dark chocolate or chocolate covered nuts.
  5. Crackers: choose a variety of crackers, (or even sliced baguette or mini toasts) of different shapes, sizes and flavors. Some of my personal favorites include thin croccantini crackers, pita crackers, and Trader Joes raisin rosemary crisps.

How to arrange a Charcuterie Board:

1. Choose your board. The size of your board or plate largely depends on the number of people you are serving and it can be as large or small as you like! If you have a lot of people to serve or simply want a larger variety of food (dips, sandwiches, desserts, etc), you could always use multiple boards. Any board will work; cutting board, serving tray, or even your countertop! Target has a lot of great inexpensive cheese boards. I own a few fancier, extra-large charcuterie boards from Etu Home.

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Another of my favorite ways to serve a large crowd is to ditch the board or plate and lay a large piece of butcher paper all the way down my counter/island. Then put piles of food and arranged meats and cheeses right on the butcher paper!

2. Start with the cheese: I start with the cheese because it anchors the board. Work in odd numbers, so, depending on the size of your party, choose 3, 5, or 7 types of cheeses to place around the board.

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3. Fold and add the meats: check out my video below for a visual on fun ways to fold cured meats before placing them on the board, like folding them in half and fanning them out like a dec of cards, or folding them in half twice, so they are easy to grab. For thin meat (like prosciutto) fold them in a light and airy ribbon.

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4. Add savory and sweet accompaniments. Fill in some of the gaps with savory and sweet. Separate colors in a way that allows the brightest colors to stand out and place foods together that pair well together. For example, mustard, briny foods and nuts near salami and sopresseta, and sharp cheeses like parmesan. Pair sweet accompaniments like fresh fruit, jams, and candied nuts, near the brie cheese or goat cheese. Cheddar cheese pairs well with savory and sweet.

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5. Fill in all the extra space with crackers: look for gaps in the board and spread crackers all throughout. Fill in any remaining space with extra small nuts or fruit.

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Pro tips:

  • Keep it simple! This may seem obvious, but design your board based on the people who will be eating from it and fill it with simple foods that people actually LIKE! When in doubt, avoid fancy and expensive cheeses, nuts, crackers or condiments that the people you’re serving may not care for.
  • Make it COLORFUL! I love to add color through fruit, like bright red apples, green and red grapes, strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.
  • Where to Shop: I find most of my favorite charcuterie items at Trader Joes, Kroger, and Costco (if it’s for a large group). Kroger and Trader Joes have great, fairly priced, cheese options and they are cut into smaller chunks, which is a fun way to try a few different flavors. I like the briny foods (like green olives with feta) from Kroger as well. Trader Joes has great crackers, peppered salami and fig butter. Costco is great for salamis and cured meats in bulk, as well as large portions of favorite charcuterie cheese.
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More Charcuterie board ideas:

Fall Charcuterie:Include small pumpkins to decorate your board, use seasonal vegetables like pears, and fall themed dips like whipped caramel apple dip or fall desserts like thinly sliced pumpkin bread or mini healthy pumpkin muffins!

Christmas Charcuterie: shape your meats, cheese, and crackers into the shape of a Christmas tree or include a few small Christmas treats like Chocolate Truffles or Christmas Cornflake Wreaths! Scattered cranberries around your board add a nice a seasonal touch.

Dessert Charcuterie:Make chocolate dipping sauce and surround it by strawberries, bananas, apples, pretzels, marshmallows, graham cracker sticks, mini cookies, etc.

Valentine’s Charcuterie:Shape your meats, cheese, and crackers into a giant heart and include chocolate covered strawberries, conversation hearts, and cinnamon gummy bears.

For a Kids party: Lay a large piece of butcher paper on your counter and fill it with piles of kid friendly food including fruit, veggies, dips, chips, donuts, mini sandwiches, popcorn, cheese, crackers, juice boxes, etc.

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Recipe

The Perfect Charcuterie Board (8)

Charcuterie Board

Everything you need to know to make the perfect Charcuterie Boardincluding food ideas, recipes, and pro tips for assembling and displaying your charcuterie board.

Print Pin Review

Author Lauren Allen

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 240

Cost 30

Prep 20 minutes mins

Total 20 minutes mins

Save Recipe

Ingredients

Cheeses (Chose 3, 5, or 7, depending on party size):

  • Hard cheeses: manchego, cheddar, swiss, gouda, gruyere, parmesan etc.
  • Soft cheese: brie, triple cream, goat cheese, havarti, burrata, cream cheese with pepper jelly on top. Could also you blue cheese or gorgonzola, or anything you like!

Meats:

  • Cured Meats like prosciutto, salami, ham, chorizo, capricola, soppressata , summer sausage is a good inexpensive option

Savory accompaniments:

  • Nuts: almonds, candied pecans, pistachio nuts, cashews, walnuts, macadamia nuts.
  • Briny, pickled or marinated: olives, cocktail onions, cornichons, dill pickles, pepperoncini, olive tapenade or bruschetta.
  • Savory Dips and spreads: Whole ground mustard, hummus, ranch, balsamic dip.
  • Cold cut veggies, if desired

Sweet accompaniments:

  • Fresh fruit and berries: grapes, apples, pears, oranges, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries.
  • Dried fruit: apricots, cherries, figs, pineapple, mango
  • Sweet spreads: Fig butter, orange marmalade, blackberry jam or other sweet spreads.
  • Chocolate: a few pieces of quality dark chocolate or chocolate covered nuts.

Crackers:

  • Pita crackers, whole grain crackers, croccantini, or your favorite kind of crackers
  • Toasted baguettes or mini toasts crackers

Instructions

  • Choose your board, depending on your party size. You could always use multiple boards if needed. See my notes in the post for more board ideas and links.

  • Start with the cheese: I start with the cheese because it anchors the board. Work in odd numbers, so, depending on the size of your party, choose 3, 5, or 7 types of cheeses to place around the board.

  • Fold and add the meats: check out my video below for a visual on fun ways to fold cured meats before placing them on the board, like folding them in half and fanning them out like a dec of cards, or folding them in half twice, so they are easy to grab. For thin meat (like prosciutto) fold them in a light and airy ribbon.

  • Add savory and sweet accompaniments. Fill in some of the gaps with savory and sweet. Separate colors in a way that allows the brightest colors to stand out and place foods together that pair well together. For example, mustard, briny foods and nuts near salami and sopresseta, and sharp cheeses like parmesan. Pair sweet accompaniments like fresh fruit, jams, and candied nuts, near the brie cheese or goat cheese. Cheddar cheese pairs well with savory and sweet.

  • Fill in extra space with crackers, and then any extra gaps with nuts or fruit.

Notes

  • Keep it simple! This may seem obvious, but design your board based on the people who will be eating from it and fill it with simple foods that people actually LIKE! When in doubt, avoid fancy and expensive cheeses, nuts, crackers or condiments that the people you’re serving may not care for.
  • Make it COLORFUL! I love to add color through fruit, like bright red apples, green and red grapes, strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.
  • Where to Shop: I find most of my favorite charcuterie items at Trader Joes, Kroger, and Costco (if it’s for a large group). Kroger and Trader Joes have great, fairly priced, cheese options and they are cut into smaller chunks, which is a fun way to try a few different flavors. I like the briny foods (like green olives with feta) from Kroger as well. Trader Joes has great crackers, peppered salami and fig butter. Costco is great for salamis and cured meats in bulk, as well as large portions of favorite charcuterie cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 240kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 10gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 607mgPotassium: 120mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 353IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 1mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @TastesBetterFromScratch on Instagram with #TastesBetterFromScratch!

I originally shared this recipe December 2019. Updated December 2021.

This post contains affiliate links.

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Categories

  • Appetizers
  • Birthday
  • Christmas
  • Holiday
  • Kid Friendly Recipes
  • New Years
  • Snacks/Misc.
  • Special Occasion
  • Thanksgiving
  • Thanksgiving Appetizers
  • Valentine’s Day

About The Author

The Perfect Charcuterie Board (13)

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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The Perfect Charcuterie Board (2024)

FAQs

What is the 3-3-3 rule for charcuterie board? ›

The 3333 rule applies to the number of foods to create the perfect board. To follow the 3,3,3,3 rule, stick to three cheeses, three meats, three starches, and three accoutrements.

What should every charcuterie board have? ›

Recipe Ingredients
  • Cured meat. Use a selection of 3-4 different cured meats for your charcuterie board. ...
  • Cheese. Select 4 or more cheeses of varying texture and flavor. ...
  • Bread and crackers. I love to include a baguette with a charcuterie board. ...
  • Nuts and chocolate. ...
  • Condiments and jams. ...
  • Fruit. ...
  • Garnish.
Dec 16, 2023

What are 5 things to avoid on a charcuterie board? ›

CHARCUTERIE // Stop Adding These 10 Ingredients To Your Charcuterie Boards!
  • STINKY CHEESES. The cheese section at the grocery store can be overwhelming and intimidating. ...
  • FRUITS THAT GO BROWN. ...
  • SPICY FOODS. ...
  • CRACKERS & BREAD. ...
  • Veggies. ...
  • Allergens and Sensitivities. ...
  • Dips, Sauces and Jams. ...
  • Boring and Bland Foods.

What is the secret to a great charcuterie board? ›

After all that meat and cheese, you're going to need something to balance those rich flavors. Cairo suggests accenting the board with acidic pickles, crunchy nuts, whole grain mustard (Maille is his favorite brand), tinned fish, and something sweet like quince jam or a drizzle of honey.

What goes first on a charcuterie board? ›

Start by adding structure with little dishes, then place your ingredients on the board starting with the largest elements like the cheeses and meats, followed by smaller items like crackers and fresh produce.

What are the best 3 cheeses for a charcuterie board? ›

Here's some of the best cheese for charcuterie boards: Hard cheese: chunks of parmesan, aged gouda, asiago. Firm cheese: gruyere, comte, manchego, colby, cheddar. Semi-soft cheese: havarti, butterkäse, muenster.

What are 5 tips to making a charcuterie board easy? ›

Here's an easy, step-by-step guide.
  1. Choose your board, platter, or plate.
  2. Lay out your soft and moist ingredients first.
  3. Place your dips and spreads around the board.
  4. Lay out your dry ingredients, like meats, nuts, and hard cheeses.
  5. Top with your choice of garnishings.

How to make a charcuterie board look fancy? ›

Charcuterie Board Styling Tips & Tricks
  1. Consult the guest list. ...
  2. Work with uneven numbers. ...
  3. Keep organized. ...
  4. Start with your bowls or round shapes. ...
  5. Next, move on to your biggest pieces and arrange by category. ...
  6. Avoid same category items touching. ...
  7. Move and adjust as you go. ...
  8. Fill final empty spaces with nuts.
Nov 24, 2021

What vegetables go on a charcuterie board? ›

When it comes to what vegetables you should use for your vegetable charcuterie, almost any vegetable can work. Some easy favorite vegetables to incorporate in your boards include, carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and green beans.

What are the do's and don'ts of charcuterie? ›

Rules to follow for the perfect Charcuterie Board
  • Everything should be easily accessible. Hard cheeses should always be on the outside of the board. ...
  • Something Hard, Something Soft & Something BLUE. ...
  • Meats should stand out! ...
  • Something Sweet & Something Spicy. ...
  • Garnish!
Sep 22, 2019

Are there rules for charcuterie boards? ›

The flavors can be paired with the cheeses or chosen for their unique qualities, but always aim to have something spicy, something smoky, and something unexpected. Rule of thumb: 1 small salami, 1 large salami, 1 whole-muscle meat.

How do you arrange a simple charcuterie board? ›

I like to begin arranging my boards with the cheese first, and I follow the design rule of odds (3, 5, or 7 cheese selections, depending on the size of your board). Space the cheeses apart equally on your board, followed by the meats, then fill in the remaining empty spaces with fruits, nuts, crackers, etc.

What are the 3 kinds of charcuterie? ›

Charcuterie is divided into three types: forcemeats, sausages and salumi, an Italian word for “salted meats,” which includes preserved whole cuts of meat. Forcemeats are spreadable mixtures of meat and offal (organ meats) like rillettes, pâtés and terrines.

What are the red things on a charcuterie board? ›

The red things on a charcuterie board typically include red meats like cured sausages or prosciutto, red-colored cheeses, and fruits such as red grapes or berries. These items contribute to the visual appeal and flavor diversity of the charcuterie presentation.

What are the three starches for a charcuterie board? ›

3 Starches: we like Taralli (a traditional Italian cracker almost like a small, circular breadstick), Artisan Crisps by Rustic Bakery, and baguettes from Gilles Baguettes. 3 Accompaniments: Cerignola olives, Marcona almonds, French cornichons.

How many cheeses should be on a cheese board? ›

A good rule of thumb is 1 ounce of each cheese for every guest and about five types of cheese. For a party in which cheese is the main event, plan on buying 3 pounds for eight people, 6 pounds for 16 people, or 9 pounds for 24 people. If cheese is one of many items being served, plan on buying 3 to 4 ounces per person.

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