16 Drop-Dead-Gorgeous Charcuterie Board Ideas
When it comes to entertaining, a charcuterie board is a go-to for hosts—and a fan favorite of guests—for good reason. While "charcuterie" technically means a range of different cured meats, these platters go beyond salami and prosciutto, typically featuring various cheeses, crackers, spreads and produce. But what exactly makes them so popular? For starters, they're extremely flexible: you can adjust the ingredients for different preferences, scale up or down the portions based on the number of guests, make them as affordable or pricey as you'd like and can even tie them to a certain theme, like a color or season. But perhaps the main reason is that they require zero culinary skills to assemble. Sure, there's an art to making a charcuterie board look as impressive as the ones you've seen all over Instagram and Pinterest. But don't worry, we're here to give you some charcuterie board inspiration for your next gathering.
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How to Create a Charcuterie Board
Believe it or not, you don't need to be artistically inclined to make a memorable charcuterie board (though it definitely doesn't hurt). It's actually a pretty formulaic process as simple as breaking your board up into categories, then choosing ingredients for each category that complement each other. For instance, charcuterie boards should have soft, easy-to-grab meats on it that are already sliced (like prosciutto or jamón Ibérico) in addition to harder meats that need cutting (like a log of salami or sopressata). Since the harder meats need to be sliced, they're in the same category as hard cheeses, like a block of sharp cheddar or Manchego. Many boards also include soft, spreadable cheeses, like chevre, but you can also swap in any spread or dip to get the same rich, smooth effect, like tzatziki or hummus. Once you have your main meats, cheeses and spreads or dips figured out, it's time to decorate with allllll the accents. We're talking crackers, jam, bread, pickles, fruit, honeycomb and whatever else you fancy. In terms of presentation, you'll need a flat surface to serve everything on, like a pretty wooden butcher block or a marble cutting board. Tiny tags for each component are both cute and helpful, while little bowls and plates used to hold preserves or fruit can add color and dimension to the spread.
Ready to get started?
16 Charcuterie Board Ideas
1. Prosciutto and Fig Salad Board
When you want your first course to make your guests gasp.
3. DAIRY-FREE CRANBERRY ROSEMARY CHEESE ROLL AND CHARCUTERIE BOARD
Yeah, we’re serious.
5. Charcuterie Board Two Ways
One for cheese lovers and another for your vegan friends.
6. Summer Charcuterie Snack Board
We’d have this for our last meal. (Gaby Dalkin, you genius.)
9. the ultimate burrata cheese board
Forget the guests. We’re eating the whole thing.
15. BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHEESEBALL AND CHEESE BOARD
Because you can never have too much cheese.
16. Chocolate Charcuterie Board
Hey, not every board is about the cheese! Watch this video to see how it's done.
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