Epic Charcuterie Cheese Board on a Budget
Learn how to assemble a show-stopping charcuterie cheese board so you can mix and match items based on your budget.
Cost $50-70
Ingredients
Options For the Olives and Pickled Items
- 1 jar Green Olives Castelvetrano are my favorite, packed in water
- Black Kalamata Olives packed in water
- 1 jar pickled vegetables optional
- olive oil for drizzling on olives
- 1 jar cornichons they look like tiny whole pickles
- Choose 1 or all of these options above! you might not use all of each jar
Options for Dry-Cured Meats
- 8 oz Bite-size salami circles
- 16 oz Salami slices
- 1 package pepperoni
- 1 package proscuitto
- or other dry-cured sausage flavor
- Pick 1 or 2 of these options for your platter
Options for Nuts, Dried Fruit, and Fresh Fruit
- 1 container Mixed Nuts (cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, brazil nuts, etc) you only need about 10-12 ounces
- Or mix and match nuts below, 10-12 ounces altogether
- Pistachios
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Cashews
- Marcona Almonds a bit pricey but so good!
- Dried Apricots
- Dried figs
- you only need about 5-6 ounces of dried fruit
- or a handful of golden raisins
- 2 bunches of grapes less than 1 bag
Jams and Spreads
- 1 jar fig spread
- 1 jar apricot jam
- 1 jar blackberry jam
- honey
- Apple Butter
- honeycomb (it's fancy and a bit pricey but so good!)
- choose 1 or 2 of the above jams or spreads
- 2 Tbsp Stone ground or spicy mustard
Options for Crackers and Bread
- 2 handfuls of crackers
- 1 handful Pita chips
- 1 handful Bagel Chips
- Seeded crackers or gluten free crackers
- 1 baguette sliced
- Choose 1-3 of the options above
Instructions
- Use one extra large platter or wooden board or large cutting board to serve the charcuterie items. A piece of slate tile from Home Depot works too.
- Assemble the cheese board ingredients by placing the items in bowls on the board first.
- Then place the grapes and different items around the perimeter to keep the ingredients from falling off the board.
- If using thin slices of salami, fold them in half, then fold in half again. Line them up in an s-curve, or shape them around the outside of one of the bowls, or line them up in a row.
- You can line up the cheese slices, nuts, dried fruit, crackers or bread, and meats in rows or little piles.
- Cut the brie and any other cheeses that are shaped as rounds into triangles and place them on the platter. Top the brie with jam or honey (and honeycomb) of choice.
- Finish by drizzling the olives with a bit of olive oil if using olives packed in water.
Making the cheese board ahead of time
- If you want to make it ahead of time, make sure you have room in your fridge for the board or platter you are using. Place all of the items except for the nuts, crackers and/or bread on the platter and cover with plastic wrap. Leave room for the crackers or bread and place them on the platter before serving.
- If your platter is too big to fit in your fridge, prepare the cheeses ahead of time by slicing them and top the brie with jam. Then save about 15-20 minutes to style your board before guests arrive.