How To Build a Charcuterie Board – Everything You Need! | Wayfair (2024)

Charcuterie boards are a perfect way to entertain friends and family with grab-and-mingle snacks. It's understandable why they're so popular. They're classier than putting out chips and dip, they can feed a crowd, and there's no cooking involved!

1. Decide What You'd Like to Include

Go for a variety of colors, textures, shapes and, of course, flavors. Choose a couple of items from each category:

• Meats:Prosciutto, pepperoni, salami, dry sausage, and other cured meats are usually the stars of the show.
• Cheese: Experiment with different shapes, and go for a selection of hard and soft, sharp and mild cheeses.
• Breads: Thinly-sliced baguettes, breadsticks (which look great standing in a small glass), and a selection of crackers are good options.
• Spreads/dips: You need something to put on all those crackers, like hummus, tzatziki, and spreadable cheese. Place these strategically in small ramekins on the board.
• Fruit/veggies/nuts: Grapes are a popular charcuterie inclusion, but you can also add berries, dried apricots, thin slices of apple, etc. On the veg side, think celery sticks, radishes, and snap peas. For nuts, any variety will do: almonds, peanuts, pistachios – yum!
• Savory snacks: Olives, lupini beans, and pickles add another layer of salty flavor and texture, and when placed in small dishes, they help to visually break up the board.

2. Choose Your Board

You can go with a classic wooden cutting board or a cheese board, or change things up by using a lovely platter, serving tray, or even a lazy Susan. Just be sure that whatever board you go with is big enough to hold your main ingredients. For bigger shindigs, you can use multiple boards. Learn more about your board choices below:

Cheeseboards

Cheeseboard sets are a smart buy for anyone who's into the charcuterie craze. There are usually built-in grooves to easily line up your crackers or pile in some peanuts, and many come with a hidden compartment for cheese utensils.

Serving Platters

Using other types of serving platters and trays is a creative way to serve up charcuterie treats. A flat, rectangular tray works really well, providing border walls to prevent spillover of all the meat-and-cheese goodness. Place a couple of round boards at either end of your table setup, or choose one with a handle to more easily transport your board from room to room.

Lazy Susans

Why put out a boring, stationary board that everyone has to walk around when there's the option to spin and serve your charcuterie? We especially love using a lazy Susan for fruit and nut-focused boards, since all the colors look so pretty as it turns.

3. Prep Your Ingredients

Trim, slice, roll, or fold your meats and cheeses, and cut your fruits, and veggies for easy grabbing. The right knives and tools will make this job a cinch. Keep reading for our recommendations:

Cheese Knives

Anyway you slice it, a shiny cheese knife set contrasts beautifully with the colorful food items on your charcuterie board. And, of course, they're functional, too, ensuring that guests can shave off the perfect-sized bites to taste.

Bread Knives

Every charcuterie board needs some delicious bread, and a quality bread knife will help ensure that your slices are cut to the optimal thickness.

Fruit & Vegetable Tools

Radish roses and perfectly uniform pear slices, anyone? With the right tools – from peelers to mandolines to paring knives – you can really up your fruit and veggie charcuterie presentation game.

4. Get Your Ingredients & Accessories Ready to Plate

Add any dips and condiments into small serving bowls, and provide cruets if needed. You can even create roses out of salami using a wine glass (Google it – it's easy!). And you'll want to provide small appetizer plates for your guests to eat their charcuterie on.

Condiment Dishes

You need something to corral those olives trying to escape off the board! Small serving dishes add more color and depth to your board while also keeping wet ingredients away from dry ones.

Cruets

Many traditional charcuterie items taste even better with a little flavored EVOO or balsamic vinegar on top. Place cruets next to the board so gets can drizzle away.

Appetizer Plates

When you've worked so hard building the perfect charcuterie board, the last thing you want is guests fumbling with flimsy paper plates or napkins. Stack up some elegant appetizer plates that they'll enjoy filling (and refilling).

5. Start Building

Place the largest items on the board first (like your bowls, and if you're including a wheel of cheese), and then use your creativity to fill in the spaces. You can try making a symmetrical pattern or use a free-flowing set up. Fan out your crackers, stack your meats into a pyramid, line up your cheese slices like little soldiers (even label them, if you wish) – the choice is yours! Last but not least, present your perfect charcuterie board and accompaniments on top of a lovely table runner.

Cheese Markers

If you want to make sure guests know their Boursin from their brie, you can add cute food markers to label the selections. It can help differentiate soppressata from capicola, too.

Table Runners

A chic table runner is the perfect foundation for your charcuterie work of art. You can use on your dinning table or even on a countertop.

Tip!
Even though classic charcuterie boards involve meats and cheeses, there are lots of creative boards you can present for your guests' grazing pleasure. Try dessert boards with a variety of s'mores ingredients and dips, or a pancake breakfast board with berries and syrups.

Now that you know how to build a charcuterie board, the only ingredients left to add are loved ones to gather around the table. Bon appetit!

Article by Dawn Papandrea.