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By: Rachel Tiemeyer
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A holiday or party appetizer doesn’t get easier than a simple charcuterie board! Anyone can pull together this amazing spread using our 4 steps for building a perfect board.
Table of Contents
What Is a Charcuterie Board?
Let’s get some important business out of the way. How do you say “charcuterie”, anyway? Say it with me like this: SHAR-KOO-TUH-REE. There you go. Consider yourself officially edjumicated. 🙂
Secondly, what does “charcuterie” actually mean? This French word is literally translated “cooked flesh”. Umm, gross. Maybe don’t tell your guests that part, k? When we say “charcuterie” today, we are usually referring to the act of preparing and arranging cold, cured meats on a board with cheeses, crackers, fruits, vegetables, and more.
Why We Love This Appetizer
A simple charcuterie board works wonderfully for a holiday gathering or as an impressive appetizer because of the variety of options and how gorgeous it is! Seriously, you have a high chance of impressing all friends and family with a board like this. Plus, as a host, it’s super simple to pull together for a crowd.
A Few Starting Tips
- Begin with a nice wooden cutting board. You choose the size for your group.
- Think about including food items that offer a variety of colors, textures, flavors, and heights.
- Utilize small ramekins or bowls to contain smaller items and spreads.
- There’s really no wrong way to build one, so don’t be intimidated! Start with our pillars below, but feel free to get creative.
- Don’t forget to offer interesting and well-paired beverages, especially wine.
Video: How to Make a Charcuterie Board
Watch this quick video so you can see how our board came together. We included one extra step in this version…pairing wine with your board.
4 Steps to a Simple Charcuterie Board
Let’s walk through how to build a beautiful and delicious spread step-by-step. I’ll include a variety of ideas to make yours unique!
Step 1: Choose Your “Charcuterie”
Pick your “charcuterie”, aka cold cooked or cured meat. You’ll build your board and wine pairings around this central part of your platter. Some popular choices to include are prosciutto, salami, summer sausage, chorizo, and pâté. Many local grocery stores have whole sections dedicated to these speciality cured meats.
Step 2: Pick Your Cheese, Please
You typically want to shoot to include about three different types of cheese. Go for variety, picking ones from different regions and/or that have differing flavors and textures. Include a small cheese knife for easy cutting and serving.
Here are some of my favorite cheeses that are easy to find and affordable:
Soft Cheeses:
- Goat/Chevre cheese (pictured) – Soft, tangy, spreadable cheese from goat’s milk. We used one rolled in cranberries to add color and texture to our board.
- Brie – Soft cow’s milk cheese from France. Creamy, buttery taste.
Semi-Soft Cheeses:
- Manchego (pictured) – Semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese from Spain. Fruity, nutty, sweet, tangy flavor.
- Havarti – Semi-soft cow’s milk cheese from Denmark. The taste is buttery, from somewhat to very sweet, and slightly acidic.
Hard Cheeses:
- Aged Cheddar – Hard, sharp-tasting, cow’s milk cheese from England.
- Smoked Gouda (pictured) – Hard cow’s milk cheese from Holland region. Buttery, smokey, pale yellow.
Step 3: Offer Assorted Crackers or Breads
It’s imperative to include great vehicles for your meat, cheese, and condiments. Grab a variety of crackers and/or slice up a baguette. Fan them out around the board and you’re almost there.
Here are a few ideas:
- Multigrain, artisan, water crackers (pictured)
- Small baguette, sliced thinly
- Pita chips
- Consider adding gluten-free crackers for those who have dietary restrictions.
Step 4: Add in Fruit, Veggies, and More
Here’s where you can get super creative! Fill in the rest of the board with all kinds of colors, flavors, and textures from fruits, vegetables, nuts, spreads, and even candy. For mine, I tried to think about spreading out colors and textures around the board.
Give several of these fill-in foods a try. You might even have a lot of these on hand already!
Fresh and Dried Fruits
- Grapes (pictured)
- Dried apricots (pictured)
- Fresh figs, sliced in half
- Fresh berries
Vegetables
- Baby Gherkins/Cornichons (pictured)
- Olives
- Pickled vegetables
- Roasted red peppers (pictured)
- Your favorite raw vegetable sticks
Spreads or Dips
- Fig Compote
- Apricot Jam
- Orange Marmalade
- Hot Pepper Jelly (pictured)
- Mustards (there are so many interesting varieties on the market!)
- Hummus
Nuts and Candy
- Smoked or roasted almonds (pictured)
- Roasted pistachios (pictured)
- Squares of dark chocolate (pictured)
- Chocolate-covered raisins
Bonus: Fill in with Greens and Get Messy!
We found that our board looked much more appetizing and colorful just by filling in negative space with arugula leaves. And…the messier, the better. There’s a danger is being too precise when laying out all the elements on a board. Don’t be afraid to get in there and muss it up a bit for the sake of art!
FAQs
What kind of meats can I include on a board?
Common charcuterie meats include prosciutto, salami, chorizo, summer sausage, soppressata, and pâté. You can mix and match based on your preferences.
What types of cheeses work well on a charcuterie board?
Popular cheese options for charcuterie boards include brie, cheddar, gouda, blue cheese, and goat cheese. Go for variety, picking ones from different regions and/or that have differing flavors and textures. Include a small cheese knife for easy cutting and serving.
How much should I plan to serve each person?
Plan for about 2-4 ounces of meat and cheese per person. You can adjust this based on whether the charcuterie board is the main attraction or just one part of a larger spread.
Can I prepare the board ahead of time?
Yes, you can prep several components of your board in advance, such as cutting and storing cheese in the fridge and arranging non-perishable items. Be sure to cover them with plastic wrap, so they stay fresh. However, add fresh ingredients like fruits just before serving to maintain freshness.
More Party Food Ideas
Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese
Fiesta Salad
Chicken Meatballs with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Now you’re armed and ready to take on any party that comes your way. No one will guess how simple your delicious charcuterie board was to pull together!
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
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Simple Charcuterie Board
Use these 4 steps to create an elegant yet simple charcuterie board for a light meal or appetizer.
Yield: 2–12+ servings 1x
Prep: 20 minutesTotal: 20 minutes
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Scale:
Ingredients
- 2–3 different cold, cured meats (i.e. prosciutto, salami, summer sausage, chorizo, and pâté)
- 3 different cheeses (i.e. brie, goat cheese, manchego, havarti, aged cheddar, smoked gouda)
- 2–3 types of crackers/breads (i.e. multigrain, artisan, or water crackers, pita chips, thinly sliced baguette)
- 1–2 fresh or dried fruits (i.e. fresh grapes, dried apricots, fresh sliced figs, fresh berries)
- 1–2 fresh or pickled veggies (i.e. baby gherkins/cornichons, olives, pickled vegetables, roasted red peppers, raw veggie sticks)
- 1–2 spreads or dips (i.e. fig compote, apricot jam, orange marmalade, hot pepper jelly, mustards, hummus)
- 2+ nuts and candy (i.e. pistachios, smoked almonds, dark chocolate, chocolate-covered raisins)
- Optional: fresh arugula leaves (for garnish)
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Instructions
- Choose a nice wooden cutting board for the size of your group. Utilize small ramekins or bowls to contain smaller items and spreads. Watch the video for inspiration.
- Start by fanning out slices or rolled pieces of various meats on the board.
- Add in the cheeses. Cut a few first slices and include a cheese knife.
- Fill in the rest of the board with your fruits, veggies, nuts, candies, and spreads. Include little serving spoons for the spreads. Think in terms of including a variety of colors, textures, and heights throughout the board. This is an art, not science, so don’t be too precise and have fun!
- Optional: Fill in negative space with arugula leaves to bring in more color.
Notes/Tips
- If trying to avoid gluten, use gluten-free crackers instead.
- Plan for about 2-4 ounces of meat and cheese per person. You can adjust this based on whether the charcuterie board is the main attraction or just one part of a larger spread.
- Don’t forget to offer interesting and well-paired beverages, especially wine.
© Author: Rachel Tiemeyer
Cuisine:FrenchMethod:No Cook
Rachel Tiemeyer
As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!
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Charles H saysAn easier way to save this recipe is to save it as a pdf (Save as PDF) and then print it later.
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- TJ says
I have never made a charcuterie board – so this article… 5 PILLARS OF THE PERFECT CHARCUTERIE BOARD is great for a newbie…. but I tried to print it for future attempt and it won’t let me. Is there a way of getting the article without all the extra stuff?
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- Rachel Tiemeyer says
I think your best bet is to copy and paste the text into a Word doc and print that. Sorry there isn’t an easier way! When there is no actual recipe, there isn’t a printer-friendly version of our articles.
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- Desty McEwan says
I love to put sliced apples. They go so well with cheese!
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- Rachel says
Great idea!
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