The BEST Easy Charcuterie Board Ideas

The BEST Easy Charcuterie Board Ideas will give you ideas on how to build the perfect platter for your next gathering or family meal. Special occasions are easy to host with meat and cheese platters.

If you’re looking for more delicious recipe ideas, Slow Cooker Raspberry Balsamic Glazed Meatballs and The Best Cheese Fondue Recipe are definite crowd pleasers. 

“My last supper would be a charcuterie smorgasbord with every kind of meat, and sauces to dip them in.”

Kelis

What’s a Good Charcuterie Board?

I love easy charcuterie boards, and there’s something so fun about having a little bit of everything to satisfy every craving in one sitting.  Salty, sweet, spicy, and tart are all explosions of flavor that you can find in one spot.

They are the perfect way to throw something together for a gathering, and it looks like you went to a lot of trouble.  Everyone loves them!

I wrote a blog post on Hygge Family Dinner Traditions to Start Tonight, and one of the things I mentioned was occasionally putting together a charcuterie board instead of dinner.

One of the questions I always get is What to put on a Charcuterie Board? Of course, I had to do the “research” and taste test some of the things I described.

Finding out what works best on your easy charcuterie board menu comes down to personal preference.  This post will give you inspiration to find ideas that work for you.

How Much Food Should You Plan for Your Charcuterie Board?

As a general rule of thumb, if you are serving a charcuterie board and other food, you should plan on having 2-3 ounces per person. If the charcuterie board is the main meal, 5-6 ounces of food should be enough.

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Creating a Simple Charcuterie Board

A charcuterie board makes the perfect appetizer for any gathering you may have. The first thing to do is to is determine the amount of guests that will be eating.

The number of people will determine how large your charcuterie board will be or if you need multiple boards to display all the food. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Will you need a small, medium, or large board to hold all your food?
• Small bowls might be needed to hold some food items. Do you have enough room to place them on your board?
• Would you rather do several small charcuterie boards or one epic charcuterie board?

Here are the Easy Charcuterie Board Ideas

1. Charcuterie Board Meats

An array meats is the perfect place to start with your charcuterie board. Offer a variety of flavors and different textures of meat to satisfy all your guests.

Cured hard sausages are just some of the meats you can include on your platter. (Thinly sliced or cubed.)

You can choose from are Italian dry salami, Capocollo, Chorizo, Diced Pancetta, Genoa salami, Mortadella, pepperoni, Serrano ham, prosciutto, pork and beef summer sausage, Country ham, and Sopressata.

You can find some of these ideas at the deli meat counter in your local grocery store.

2. Charcuterie Cheese Ideas

What are the best cheeses for a Charcuterie Board?

Serve a Variety of Cheeses

A delicious cheese board offers various cheeses for your guests to choose from. Plan on a minimum of three different kinds of cheeses with various flavors and textures. You can have slices of cheese, cheese cubes, cheese wedges, and spreadable cheeses on your platter.

Mild and strong cheeses should be kept apart so the odors and flavors don’t mix together. Adding a herb sprig like rosemary or thyme on the serving board will help offset the odor of strong cheese.

If the cheese is left out in room temperature too long, the cheese will “sweat” and become dry. Only take the combination of cheeses that you think will be eaten within two hours of the guests arriving.

Kind of Cheese

Your board should have a variety of textures of cheese like hard, semi-soft, and a creamy cheese using different milks.

Hard Cheese

Gruyere, cheddar cheese, Asiago, Pecorino Romano, and Parmigiana-Reggiani are my top choices for firm cheese.

Semi-Soft Cheese

Homemade basil marinated fresh mozzarella, Stilton, provolone, Gouda, Gorgonzola, and Roquefort are my favorite semi-soft cheese ideas.

Soft Cheese

Homemade pimento cheese, feta (goat cheese), phyllo baked brie, and chèvre are just some of the soft cheese choices.

You can change up your charcuterie board with focusing on one country or state and showcasing their top selling types of cheese.

Cheese Knives

Different knives go with different kinds of cheese. For example, if your easy charcuterie board has soft cheese displayed, a simple butter knife or dinner knife will work. A paring knife or fork-tip knife is the perfect choice for semi-soft cheese and a Scandinavian cheese slicer and server is wonderful for hard cheese.

3. Charcuterie Board Breads and Crackers

Rustic baguette slices, crostini, grilled bread, pita chips, butter crackers with sea salt, toasted sourdough bread, and bread sticks are just some of the ideas you can use.

4. Charcuterie Board Fresh Fruit & Dried Fruits

Dried cherries, freshly cut apples, grapes, dried apricots, pomegranate jewels, cantaloupe, honeydew, fresh berries, and figs are just some of the favorite fruits served and will give your charcuterie board the sweetness your guests desire.

5. Charcuterie Board Vegetables

Roasted tomatoes, pickled green beans, antipasto vegetables, pickled red onions, sliced cucumber, marinated artichoke hearts, homemade market pickles, marinated mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, stuffed hot peppers and Italian roasted red peppers will please any palate.

6. Charcuterie Board Dips and Sauces

Whole grain mustard, wildflower honey, chutney, peppered-apple jelly, pepper jelly, creamy hummus, homemade chutney, seasonal jam, pesto, tomato jam, apricot and cherry preservers, sweet and brown mustard, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fig spread are some of the possibilities to include in your board.

One of my favorite recipes to make is my Homemade Olive Tapenade.  

The types of items you serve dictates your choice of dips and additions.  I always have the fig preserves on mine, I find the sweetness balances the saltiness of the other items.

7. Easy Charcuterie Board Additions

Marcona almonds, peanuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, cashews, green and black olives, olive oil, and chocolate bark are just some of the additions you might want to include.

If you’ve never had Marcona almonds, get some.  They are so amazing.

Tips for How to Make the Perfect Charcuterie Board

• Pick out something fun for the board. I love the rustic look, so vintage cutting boards are my personal favorite vehicles to stage your food. You can also use granite, marble or slate as your base board.
• Add sprigs of fresh herbs on the platter here and there for a nice touch.
• Drizzle olive oil on hummus and add a few pine nuts to the top.
• Use cute rustic serving bowls for the dips and sauces.
• Make sure you make little signs for the food that describes each one so everyone knows what they’re tasting.
• Have a variety of flavors on the platter, so all taste buds are happy!
• Make sure you’re aware of any food allergies of your guests before the event.
• When you go on vacation and you visit those quaint country stores, be on the lookout for jams, preserves, olives, etc. from the region so you can relive those happy memories and share them with your guests.
• There’s so many different choices of items to put on your board, you wouldn’t believe it!  Take olives for instance, you can have jalapeño stuffed olives, garlic stuffed olives, anchovy stuffed olives, almond stuffed olives, blue cheese stuffed olives, cream cheese stuffed olives, and Kalamata olives
• If you’re hosting a small party, you can have your guests rate the cheese, meats and dips they’ve tried.
• Prior to the event, check out local stores in your area to see if they have cheese and meat tastings to find the perfect selections for your board.
• You can make salami roses to add a touch of beauty to your easy charcuterie board. See video below. 

• If you’re serving this board as an appetizer, have approximately 2-3 ounces of meat products per person.  If it is served as a meal, 5-6 ounces of meat per person.
• For a fun look, you can have multiple boards on different levels.
• Have little clusters of items. It makes the board more interesting.
• Add pops of color on the board like pomagranate jewels, greens like pickles and purple grapes will add the wow to your arrangement.
• A couple of blooms will also add some color that your guests will love.
• Other charcuterie boards on Instagram had popcorn and pretzels.
• Baked brie makes a stunning display. This baked brie with cranberries, honey and walnuts would tempt anyone.
• I attended an event once that had a charcuterie board on top of an old wine barrel.  It was the perfect way to display their masterpiece.
• After the party, place the leftovers in airtight containers and eat within three days.

Here are some ideas for making your own DIY Charcuterie Board:

1) Olive Wood Serving Board

I don’t know if you know anything about olive wood, but it is amazing. I love the multitude of patterns.  It’s simply stunning. Click on the title to take a closer peek on Amazon.

2) Bamboo Wood Tray with 3 Ceramic Bowls and Cheese Makers 

This is a simple way to serve a charcuterie board with just a few people. Ceramic bowls stay secure in there holes.

3) Slate Cheese Board (you can write on them with chalk) 

Writing on a slate cheese board is a great way to personalize your party and let guests know what they are taste-testing.

4) Slate Cheese Markers (does it get any cuter than these?) 

When you have a variety of cheese to serve, make sure you have slate cheese markers on hand to mark them.

5) Mrs Millers Fig Jam (Amish Made)  

Fig jam is amazing. Add it on top of your cheese and crackers for an amazing appetizer.

We’ve reached the end of Easy Charcuterie Board Ideas.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know in the comments below how you liked the easy charcuterie board ideas.

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