Creating a beautiful charcuterie board filled with meat, cheese, fruit, and nuts is easy. Let me show you how. It's a perfect appetizer for a holiday party.
How gorgeous is this decadent holiday charcuterie board? Wouldn't you love serving this at your holiday party?
My parents host a big Christmas Eve party every year for all our friends who don't have family in the area. Everyone is asked to bring an appetizer to share along with a white elephant gift. This year, I am bringing this gorgeous platter filled with meat, cheese, fruit, nuts, and more.
If you have never put together a charcuterie board, it's simple, but I will share some tips so your board looks spectacular.
Ingredients
The beauty of a charcuterie board is that you can choose your favorite ingredients to add. For this holiday board, I wanted pops of red, green, and cream colors.
Below is a list of the items I used to create this Christmas charcuterie board.
- Blue Diamond Gourmet Almonds
- Garlic, Herb, and Olive Oil Almonds
- Rosemary and Sea Salt Almonds
- Pink Himalayan Salt Almonds
- Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins
- hard salami, prosciutto, summer sausage, and turkey jerky
- prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella cheese logs
- Asiago, Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic, and Padano, creamy Gouda cheese wedges and chunks
- olive oil and herb-soaked feta cheese cubes
- white cheddar cheese slices cut into Christmas trees
- soft cheese wheel, fig goat cheese log, cranberry goat cheese log, creamy roasted red pepper goat cheese spread
- Lingonberry preserves
- feta cheese stuffed olives
- dried apricots, green grapes, and pomegranate
- sprigs of rosemary
So let's talk about how you can assemble one of these amazing appetizers for your holiday party.
Instructions
- Start out by choosing a nice solid cutting board on which you will create your platter.
- Your party guests will be cutting cheese directly on the board so be sure to use a sturdy board.
- The board may get quite heavy if you have to move it so a sturdy board will be very helpful.
- Then place bowls of flavored almonds on the board. If you have a star-shaped bowl, it adds a nice visual element to your board.
- Begin building groupings around the bowls.
- Add blocks, wedges, logs, pieces, and rounds of cheese.
- It's nice to have a variety of soft and hard cheeses.
- Choose flavors of cheese that will pair well together and don't have overly robust scents.
- Roll and fold up thin pieces of prosciutto and salami and cut summer sausage into thin slices.
- Arrange next to and in between the bowls of nuts and cheese.
- When you arrange the cheese on the board leave some room to snuggle in the pieces of meat but make sure that your guests can easily remove the items they want to snack on.
- To make the prosciutto look a bit like flowers, fold it in half lengthwise then fold in one end forming a point, then roll.
- For a holiday touch cut some slices of cheese into holiday shapes like Christmas trees and place them around the board.
- Add fruits like pomegranates, grapes, and dried apricots for flavor and color.
- Be sure you pat dry any fruit you have washed before placing it on the board.
- Olives also add color and another flavor note to a charcuterie board and they pair beautifully with meat, cheese, and nuts.
- Be sure to place your olives in a bowl or they will roll around as other items are removed from the board.
- The oil or the brine from the olives will also affect the items placed next to the olives if you do not place them in a bowl.
- Creamy cheese spreads, preserves, and any cheese that has been soaked in olive oil and herbs, like the small cubes of feta cheese I used, are also best served in small bowls.
- Don't forget to leave room on your charcuterie platter for stacks of crackers or Nut Thins.
- I placed them around the edges so they were easy to grab.
- Be sure to have bowls or plates filled with more crackers set next to where your party guests will be eating. Inevitably, people will fill their plates with more meat and cheese than crackers, and they'll want more crackers as they are enjoying their snack.
- To add a festive holiday touch place sprigs of rosemary, which look like pine tree branches, around the edge of your board.
- Be sure to set cheese knives, small tongs, and small spoons next to the board along with appetizer plates and napkins.
- Many people might feel awkward just grabbing things with their hands, so serving utensils is a must!
- I could not have a party without my tongs. Seriously, they are the best investment you can make if you like to host parties. Not only can party guests easily grab what they want off a charcuterie board, but they can also hold onto the wedge of cheese with the tongs so they can easily cut off a wedge to place on their plates.
Tips for making a beautiful charcuterie board:
- Use a nice variety of meat, cheese, nuts, fruit, and crackers which all have different textures and shapes.
- Add pops of color and balance it on the board.
- Notice the deep reds and subtle greens throughout the board? They are balanced well with the lighter cream-colored cheeses.
- Make sure the colors of all your items are complementary. I tried to add some wax covered cheese to my board but the bright red just looked funny up next to the more subtle hues.
- Make sure to allow for varying sizes and heights on the board as this will add visual appeal from all angles.
- Fill the board but be sure things aren't piled up so high that they will fall into other items.
- Cut or chunk cheese into different shapes and sizes for a nice visual appeal. Don't add one big wedge of cheese if it overpowers the platter. Instead, cut that wedge into smaller wedges or slices.
Also, be sure your board looks nice from every angle especially if you will serve it on a table or island that isn't up against a wall.
This is just an example for you to follow. Change it up and add your favorite ingredients.
What would you put on your charcuterie platter?
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Rose says
This looks so amazing! We're hosting a party next week and this is on my list of things to make! Thanks Beth - Merry Christmas!
Beth says
Merry Christmas to you too, Rose! I hope you have a wonderful holiday party.
The Partiologist says
Your charcuterie board is divine and I've had those Almonds, which are delicious all alone!
Beth says
Thank you! It was really fun putting together this charcuterie board and the Blue Diamond Almonds were a bit hit.
Louise J. says
Great info to do this correctly. Thanks Beth.