Charcuterie Board
How to make a charcuterie board in minutes that eliminates all of the guess work! This board pairs your favorite lusciously rich cheeses, peppery cured meats, sweet fruits, roasted nuts, and briny favorites like olives and cornichons into an epic sweet and salty symphony that has something for everyone. Best of all, cheese and meat boards can be as simple or as elaborate as you like – they’re the endlessly customizable appetizer that’s always a hit!
Servings 12 servings
Ingredients
Cheeses (scale up or down as desired)
- 16 ounces hard/semi-soft cheeses pick 2-3 (Manchego, Gouda, Havarti, Gruyere, Cheddar, White Cheddar, etc.)
- 8 ounces soft cheese (Brie, Camembert, or Goat Cheese)
- 12 ounces fresh marinated mozzarella balls
- Optional for larger board: 8 oz. spreadable cheese (Herb Cheese Spread, Triple Cream Cheese like Bourgogne sold at Costco, Cheese Balls)
Meats (scale up or down as desired)
- 8 ounces salami (Genoa salami, Soppressata, etc.)
- 2 ounces prosciutto
- 2 ounces dried coppa
Pickled Items: (optional/pick your favs)
- 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 1/3 cup pitted green olives
- 1 cup cornichons or baby dill pickles
Spreads and Condiments (eyeball the amounts)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup fruit jam
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- Dips/spreads as desired (Caramelized Onion, Bacon Jam, Pepper Jelly, etc.)
Fruit (swap in your favorites/in season fruit as desired)
- 2 cups grapes
- 2 cups strawberries
- 1 cup dried fruit like apricots
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1 apple or pear, sliced
- Other ideas: melon balls, pineapple chunks, tangerine slices, kiwi slices
Nuts and Nibbles
- 1 cup salted nuts (Pistachios, Cashews, Walnuts, Pecans, Peanuts and/or Mixed Nuts, etc.)
- 4 oz. chocolate bar(s), broken into pieces (I like Chocolate Raspberry)
Crackers and Toasts:
- 8 ounces crackers (choose 2-3 varieties)
- 1 baguette, sliced (brush with olive oil and baked at 400˚F for 6-8 minutes)
Instructions
- Note: The ingredients and measurements are just guidelines - make this board your own! Scale up or down as needed; add/or swap out ingredients. There is no right or wrong as long as you have a variety of textures and savory, salty, sweet flavors.
- Select the board: If you don't have a very large board/platter, use whatever you do have! Use platters, cookie sheets, cutting boards, etc., and pair as many as you need to together. If your board(s) isn't large enough to fit all of the items, add what ingredients you can, then restock as needed.
- Cheeses: Space out the cheeses on the board. Slice hard and semi-hard cheeses into squares, triangles, cubes, etc. and fan them out. Cut a few wedges into the brie. Place mozzarella balls in a bowl.
- Meats: Place the meats next the cheeses they pair well with, leaving space around the brie for nuts, berries, and honey. Fold the meats in a variety of patterns (I fold in half, then in half again) or fan them out.
- Pickled Items and Spreads: Add your pickled items, jellies, honey, spreads, dips, etc. to bowls and ramekins. Add them to the board next to items they pair well with (i.e. honey and jam next to brie, olives next to mozzarella).
- Fruit: Note, I don't measure any of the fruit, just fill in the spaces as needed. Slice or cube the fruit and cut the grapes into portions so they are easy to grab. Place the fruit next to the fruit they pair well with (i.e. berries around soft cheeses/brie, apples next to Gouda/cheddar).
- Nuts and Nibbles: Add pistachios, pecans and/or walnuts around the brie or soft cheeses. Other nuts like peanuts and cashews can be placed in any spaces. Add any extras like chocolate squares.
- Add crostini and crackers: Arrange the crackers and crostini in any empty spaces. The platter is usually bursting at this point, but you can usually squeeze the crackers in around the borders of the platter. You can also serve extra crackers/bread in a separate serving dish.
- Add serving utensils: Add spoons, knives, mini forks, toothpicks, etc. to the spreads, honey, dips, olives, pickles, etc. You may also wish to label the meats and cheeses.
Video
Notes
Prep Ahead
Meats and cheeses dry out quickly, so I recommend assembling the board no more than 3 hours in advance without the bread and crackers. Once assembled, wrap the board tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to enjoy. Brie, however, is best removed from the fridge one hour before serving. Alternatively, you can prepare items ahead of time:- Cheeses: slice, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate days in advance.
- Meats: fold/shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate days in advance.
- Fruit: wash, pat dry and refrigerate. Apples and pears can be sliced a few hours in advance and either submerged in apple juice or a water/lemon juice bath. Rinse and pat dry before serving.
- Spreads and condiments: transfer to serving dishes, cover and refrigerate up to days ahead of time.