How to Plan the Ultimate Charcuterie Board

Updated onOctober 12, 2023

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Planning the ultimate charcuterie board can seem intimidating the first time. There are so many cheeses, deli meats, fruits, nuts, and treats to choose from, so I’m breaking it down for you to make shopping easier. Let the feasting begin!

Charcuterie board with mix of specialty meats, cheeses, salty snacks, savory treats, crackers, fruit, preserves, pickled foods and more.

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What is a Charcuterie Board?

Here’s the official definition of “charcuterie”:

Charcuterie is a delicatessen specializing in dressed meats and meat dishes.
–Merriam Webster

What I’ve put together for my holiday feast would be considered a charcuterie and cheese board in the most technical sense.

Call it whatever you like! Your guests will love grazing on this mix of sweet and savory treats!

Charcuterie Board Essentials

Charcuterie board ingredients are limited only by your imagination! It just depends on your guests and whether their tastes lean more toward the foodie or toddler side.

Charcuterie tray with brie, crackers, fig preserves, cornichons, pretzels and other fruit and crackers.

For my charcuterie tray, I’ve included a mix that would entertain any holiday crowd, including both grown-ups and kiddos. It’s perfect for a Thanksgiving table, Mother’s Day brunch, bridal shower, or other special occasion.

You can also create holiday-themed grazing boards depending on the time of year. My favorite theme is this Halloween charcuterie board that includes sweet treats along with traditional savory snacks.

The best charcuterie board (any time of year) will have some combination of the following categories:

Cured meats or sausage
Cheeses
Olives or cornichon pickles (or both)
Crackers or crostini
Bread or toast
Mustard, relish, or pepper
Fruit
Nuts
Fruit jams or preserves
Sweet or savory dips (yogurt, hummus, or caramel)
Salt and pepper

To give readers a sense of the possibilities, I threw in a smorgasbord of snacks for my antipasto tray.

At the end of this post, I’ll include my charcuterie board recipe to print for your next gathering.

Charcuterie Board Tray Options

In my case, I already had a large round wooden tray I owned that worked to contain smaller dishes inside. It’s 28.5″ in diameter to give you a sense of the size, but sadly it’s no longer available.

You can find a similar one here.

Large wood charcuterie board with serving trays and servingware before placing cured meats and cheeses on tray.

I used one elevated cake stand and two other main platters to display my appetizers. For the sauces, preserves, and pickled items, I strategically placed ramekins and small bowls. I like the modular aspect of this tray arrangement, so I can move pieces around as needed.

You can also place items directly on the board using parchment paper or by seasoning the wood with mineral oil and beeswax in advance.

To accompany the tray, you’ll want to have plenty of spoons, cheese knives, and tongs.

How to Make a Charcuterie Board

Placing items on a charcuterie board is part art and part science. I’ve broken down my thought process below in the hopes it will help you arrange your own large charcuterie board.

Start with a Cheese Assortment

Three is always a magic number in design, right? The same goes for cheeses.

Charcuterie board with cheeses, crackers, grapes, mozzarella balls, olives and deli meats.

If you’re going to pick three kinds of cheese to feature, the conventional picks include some combination of the following:

Soft cheese: Brie, Camembert
Aged cheese: Cheddar, Gouda
Hard cheese: Manchego, Parmigiano-Reggiano
Blue cheese

For my board, I also included marinated fresh mozzarella balls, since these are always a hit with kids and adults alike. Asiago cheese and provolone are also great options for a cheese board.

Arrange Charcuterie Meats

If you’re new to fancy deli meats, I suggest sticking with slices of salami, prosciutto, and coppa. Chorizo or pepperoni can also work depending on your theme. You can fold round slices of meat to form a cone shape and then create a “meat river” (or series of rivers) from one end of the tray to the center.

Food Republic has a great article on essential cured meats with more than you’d ever want to know.

Add Bread or Crackers

Next to the meats and cheeses, you can add a selection of crackers, baguettes or baguette slices, or melba toast. Follow the rows of meat to create an attractive pattern, or create pockets of bread on the tray to draw the eye and create symmetry.

Add Fruits (Fresh and Dried)

Adding seasonal fruits to a charcuterie tray really serves to bring out the flavors of meats and cheeses and add some acidity.

Raspberries, blackberries and green apple slices with honey on cake stand in charcuterie board.

You can include fresh sweet berries, like raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and blackberries along with tart green apples to create flavor variety. I also love adding a little honey for dipping.

Adding dried fruits like apricots, cranberries or currants can also create interesting textures and richness to your charcuterie tray.

Tip: Help your guests grab smaller portions of grapes by cutting the bunch into smaller bundles of 3-5 berries.

Fill in with Nuts

Hands down, my favorite nuts for entertaining are Marcona almonds, but you can add walnuts, pecans, or regular almonds to the mix.

Mixed berries, nuts, dried cranberries, honey and green apple on cake stand.

You might notice I filled in the empty space on my tray with mixed nuts (in shell) and gourds just for visual interest.

(Plus, I got nostalgic thinking about shelling nuts around the dinner table as a kid, and I wanted my kids to have that experience this holiday season.)

Add Dips, Relishes and Preserves

For a really powerful flavor, you can pair cured meats with whole grain or dijon mustard as well as olives and cornichons.

Any kind of chutney, tapenade, or olive oil dipping sauce also works well on a charcuterie plate.

Fresh figs, fig preserves and brie with crackers on charcuterie board.

On the sweeter side, you can add fruit jam or try my homemade strawberry fig preserves to accompany the cheeses.

Include Sweet Snacks

As you’ll notice, I created two “hemispheres” on my board: one sweet and one savory. Try adding chocolate-dipped nuts and yogurt pretzels to satisfy guests with a sweet tooth.

Garnish with Herbs or Flowers

To add a final natural element to your charcuterie platter, you can include garnishes of fresh herbs or edible flowers. I placed some rosemary strategically around the meats and cheeses.

Putting it All Together

Here are a few more charcuterie board images for your viewing pleasure. Don’t hate me if you get a little hangry.

Brie cheese, chocolate covered nuts, yogurt covered pretzels, crackers, figs and fig preserves on charcuterie tray as appetizers.

Charcuterie tray with various meats, cheeses, pickled foods, dips, preserves, crackers, nuts, fruits and honey.

Charcuterie tray with grapes, crackers, Manchego cheese, olives and deli meats.

Where to Find Charcuterie Board Ingredients

When creating my charcuterie plates, I always try to use ingredients found in a typical supermarket. There’s no need to go to a specialty store for these items.

The most difficult and important elements of a charcuterie board are the meats and cheeses (and to a lesser extent, bread), so focus most on those items.

If you need a beverage option to accompany your charcuterie board, try my latest holiday punch recipe!

Shop the Look

For your convenience, I’m including links to get you started with a wood charcuterie board and other entertaining essentials that might come in handy this holiday season.

Pin it for later!

Charcuterie board ideas with meats, cheeses, crackers, olives, preserves, nuts, honey and more.

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