Christmas Charcuterie Board
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These Christmas charcuterie board ideas are here to provide inspiration so you can create the perfect festive spread! We’ll cover what ingredients to include, ways to make it your own, and how to put it all together!
I love a good charcuterie board all year round (who doesn’t?) but I always want to put in a little more effort and pizazz during the holiday season! Let’s talk about all the fun ways to make your own festive charcuterie.
But first, if you’re trying to think of what you would even serve with a Christmas charcuterie board, I recommend pairing it with a dessert charcuterie board, or these incredible caramelized onion & whipped goat cheese tarts.
🍴 What You Need To Make This Recipe
For this recipe, you’ll need a circular cheese board, cheese knives, ramekins or small bowls, and a honey dipper if you plan to use honey. Here are some of my favorites:
🥐 What Is A Charcuterie Board?
A charcuterie board is a gourmet cheese plate that typically includes a variety of additional ingredients such as cured meats, fruits, and spreads. It’s one of my go-to appetizers for entertaining guests on any occasion from low-key movie nights to lively holiday parties.
A Christmas charcuterie wreath is a fun and festive variation, but if you’d like to start with something a little more simple you can try this easy charcuterie board.
🧀 How To Make A Christmas Charcuterie Board
How To Assemble
Styling a charcuterie board is fun and easy but it can also be intimidating if you don’t know where to begin! I like to start by laying down the ramekins and bowls, or whatever takes up the most space on the board. Then I begin placing the main attractions like the cheese and meat, then finish by using the fruits, seeds, herbs, and other small items to fill in the gaps.
Check out this guide to styling the perfect charcuterie board for more in-depth instructions.
In this next section, we’ll go over what to include if you’re unsure where to start and need some Christmas charcuterie board ideas.
You can find the full list of ingredients I used for my Christmas charcuterie wreath in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but I encourage you to get creative and really make it your own.
Cheese
When picking your cheeses, I recommend choosing a variety of textures and flavors. Having a mix of soft, hard, and spreadable cheeses will ensure that each bite offers something unique.
I suggest: Brie, goat cheese, Wensleydale, cheddar, gouda, Colby jack, mozzarella balls, cheese curds, Havarti, and asiago.
Meats
Slices of cured meat are another great way to add variety (and color) to your Christmas charcuterie board. Naturally, you can omit the meat selection entirely if you prefer to take a vegetarian approach!
I suggest: Genoa salami, prosciutto, pepperoni, summer sausage, calabrese salami. If you want to get fancy, try making a salami rose or a Hot Date (a manchego stuffed and roasted date with prosciutto).
Spreads
I recommend having a combination of both sweet and savory spreads. I used jam, honey, and a bottled harissa and olive spread. If you’d like to make something similar from scratch check out this creamy harissa hummus.
I suggest: Jams, honey, tapenades, dips, pumpkin seed butter or any of your favorite nut butters.
You can either add your spreads directly to your platter or you can serve them in small bowls or ramekins.
Crackers & Bread
Although I usually add crackers and baguette slices to my charcuterie boards, I chose not to this time around since I was sharing it with a friend with celiac disease. However, I strongly recommend having crackers or bread to make use of all those spreads!
I suggest: Water crackers, breadsticks, multigrain crackers, toasted baguettes, pretzels, crostini, and croissants.
Fruits & Fillers
This is the fun part! While fresh fruit can certainly be part of the main event, it can also be used to fill in the little gaps to make your board look fuller and more complete. Seeds, nuts, and even candies can also be used for the same purpose. Oh, and don’t forget about the salty accents like olives and pickles!
I suggest: Pears, apples, figs, berries, dried fruits, nuts, holiday chex mix, chocolate, olives, and cornichons.
To give your Christmas charcuterie board a wreath effect, garnish with pine branches, fresh rosemary sprigs, mint leaves, sage, flowers, or your favorite fresh greens.
🤷🏻♀️ FAQs
There are a variety of fun ways to decorate your charcuterie board for Christmas. You can use a round platter garnished with greens in order to create a wreath-like effect, or you can use a rectangular platter and construct a Christmas tree out of your cheeses, meats, crackers, and fruits. You can also add to the Christmas theme by using seasonal fruits and greenery such as cranberries and pine needles to decorate your charcuterie board.
When making a Christmas cheese board, you’ll want to include a variety of savories, sweets, and garnishes that represent the holiday season. For example, you can use festive cheeses and meats such as cranberry Wensleydale or cured ham. You can also use spreads and fruits that capture the flavors of the holidays such as a spiced apple jam along with pears and oranges. Don’t forget to garnish with festive greenery such as pine branches, rosemary, mint, and sage.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- I do my best to evenly distribute each ingredient so that anyone can easily grab their favorite elements no matter where they’re sitting. Try to avoid putting all the cheese on one side, all the meat on another side, etc. Spread them all out so everything is accessible!
- Nut Thins and multiseed crackers are a great alternative to regular crackers for anyone with a gluten sensitivity!
- You can make your charcuterie board up to 3 hours in advance when covered with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge. However, the sooner you can serve it, the fresher it’ll all be.
Love these Christmas charcuterie board ideas? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe
Christmas Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
cheeses
- cherry goat cheese
- green onion cheddar
- asiago
- smoked gouda
- champagne cheddar
- colby jack
- honey sriracha cheddar
- garlic dill cheese curds
meats
- summer sausage
- calabrese salami
fruits
- pear
- blackberries
- cranberries
spreads
- raspberry jam
- honey
- harissa & olive spread
other
- cerignola olives
- cornichons
- roasted pepitas
- semi-sweet chocolate
crackers (optional)
- nut thins
- water crackers
garnishes
- rosemary
- pine branches
- lavender
- mint leaves
- sage
Instructions
- Begin with a circular platter or board as the base for your Christmas charcuterie wreath.
- Add desired spreads to small bowls or ramekins and place on the board.
- Begin laying down the cheeses, meats, and crackers (if desired). Try to spread each item throughout the board for easy access when sharing.
- Use fruits, olives, seeds, chocolate, and any other small items to fill in the gaps in the board.
- Garnish with green accents such as pine branches and fresh herbs to decorate and complete the charcuterie board.
Notes
-
- I do my best to evenly distribute each ingredient so that anyone can easily grab their favorite elements no matter where they’re sitting. Try to avoid putting all the cheese on one side, all the meat on another side, etc. Spread them all out so everything is accessible!
-
- Nut Thins and multiseed crackers are a great alternative to regular crackers for anyone with a gluten sensitivity!
-
- You can make your charcuterie board up to 3 hours in advance when covered with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge. However, the sooner you can serve it, the fresher it’ll all be.
- I didn’t calculate the nutritional facts for this post because it really all depends on what ingredients are chosen and how much each person eats, so if that’s something you care about you will have to calculate the information based on your own variation.
