A Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board is visually stunning and tastes delicious. Consisting of cheeses, salted meats, olives, breadsticks, crackers, or whatever your heart desires! Your guests will be impressed with your artsy food display and their taste buds will be tantalized.

Holiday Appetizer

If you aren’t sure what to serve at a holiday gathering, consider a festive charcuterie board. Charcuterie boards can consist of whatever you please. If you haven’t invested in one yet, you use any platter or purchase a specific charcuterie board with all the things. However, most people expect to see cheese on a charcuterie board. Because let’s face it, cheese pairs well with just about everything. And who doesn’t love cheese?

For Thanksgiving appetizers, a huge hit is always a cracker and cheese platter with different varieties of crackers, and, of course, cheeses. I always loved serving my cheese plates with pepperoni and olives to give it more of an appeal.

Nowadays, charcuterie boards are so trendy and have really allowed cheese plates to be taken to a whole new level of awesome. I love to turn a regular cheese plate into a fantastic display of salted meats, sweet treats, bringing in spreads, and of course the basics of crackers and cheeses. And for this yummy Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board, this is anything, but a basic appetizer.

Cheeses

The cheese is the standout on any charcuterie board. I love to mix up different colored cheeses as well as different tasting cheeses. A must have is always an Extra Sharp NY Cheddar Cheese. The sharper, the better! Seeing that this is a white colored cheese, I love adding in an orange color like Cheddar Cheese and/or Monterey Jack Cheese which is a marble color cheese. Seeing that I’m a huge fan of Gouda cheese (also an orange-color), I felt compelled to include this cheese into the amazing Thanskgiving Charcuterie Board.

These are my favorite ways to select the perfect cheeses. However, if you prefer different cheeses or a different way of organizing your platter, go for it! Other amazing offerings are brie, blue cheese, flavored cheese (buffalo, habanero, etc etc etc).

Salted Meats

Salted meats are probably everybody’s favorite types of meat. Well, maybe not their absolute favorite because a great steak surely beats pepperoni and cheese! I should rephrase my statement to say that salted meats are everyone’s affordable types of meat.

Salted meats can mean a few different things. Back in the day, people would preserve meat with salt or brine in order to extend the life of meat. After refrigeration came about, salting meat was not as widely used as before. However, there are still many types of meat that we know and love today that are cured with salt such as the popular meats called pepperoni, proscuitto, salami, chorizo, and bacon.

Any of these meats would add an amazing taste and texture choice on a Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board. These salted goodies are not the healthiest choices of meat, but for a holiday appetizer, they will be eaten in small quantities and are, therefore, perfectly fine to indulge in! Further, these aren’t salted meats that guests eat on a regular basis. What better day to dig into delicious meats with yummy cheeses and all the other must-haves than on Thanksgiving?? The biggest eating day of the year!

Additional Pairings

Besides cheese, crackers, and meats, you can offer whatever sweet, spicy, savory items you desire! Mixing and matching is ideal as it gives your guests plenty of options that they will love. Let’s face it, not every person has the same tastes as everyone. Therefore, variety is key for the perfect Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board!

Some other delightful offerings to add to your cheese, crackers, and meat board could be:

• Olives
  • Black
  • Kalamata
  • Spanish
  • Stuffed olives
• Spreads
  • Fig
  • Hummus
  • Flavored Cream Cheese
• Crackers
  • Triscuits
  • Wheat Thins
  • Breadsticks
• Veggies
  • Roasted Red Peppers
  • Artichokes
  • Marinated Mushrooms
• Fruit
  • Cranberries
  • Figs
  • Apples
• Nuts
  • Walnuts
  • Almonds
  • Pecans

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Fourth Of July Charcuterie Board

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Caramel Martini

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Fig and Goat Cheese Pizza

Fourth of July Charcuterie Board is the perfect platter to serve at your holiday barbeque. How many times have you thought, what can I bring that will stand out, is easy to make, and won’t take a long time to make? If you are like me, you probably do it for every party you attend!

This fourth of July charcuterie board is absolutely adorable and 100% practical. Everyone loves to eat fresh fruit, especially in the summer time. But who wants to make a huge fruit salad? Not me! Cutting up all those giant melons is a pain in the butt. Not to mention, a large fruit salad costs a small fortune! With this festive tray of red raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mini marshmallows, and cheddar cheese, you can put a little of something for everyone to enjoy.

What is a Chaucuterie Board?

I only heard of the phrase charcuterie board recently. Yes, I’m extremely late to the cheese board party which is a bummer because I’m a huge fan of cheese boards! These days you don’t want to just serve cheese and crackers, rather, you want to provide your guests with a charcuterie board that is filled with cheese, crackers, and lots of other yummy goodies!

So what is a charcuterie board? Charcuterie is a French word for cured meats. The French have always featured charcuterie boards dating back to the 15th century. A typical French charcuterie board contains a few different (salty) meats, slices of baguette, a few cheeses, a couple of spreads for the bread, and possibly some grapes as well. In the last few years, charcuterie boards have exploded in the US and consist of a variety of different ingredients that can range from the traditional charcuterie board to desserts, and even holiday themed boards. The possibilities are endless and it’s a lot of fun to get creative with the accompaniments. If you are looking for a board that has everything you need, check out this Magnetic Cheese Board that comes with serving utensils.

Ingredients Needed

You could serve whatever you prefer with your fourth of July charcuterie board. I choose a variety of berries that showcase the American flag colors of red, white, and blue. However, if you might also want to add some fresh figs, watermelon, a dipping cup of vanilla yogurt. Whatever you would like to add, do it. This is a creative way to serve food. You are in charge : )

Here is what I used for my fun holiday platter:

• 1 pint Blackberries
• 1/2 pint Blueberries
• 1/2 quart Strawberries
• 1 pint Raspberries
• 1 cup Mini Marshmallows
• 4 oz Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese sliced

When To Serve

You can serve a charcuterie board at a variety of times, some ideas for when to serve this yummy cheese and fruit plates are:

• An appetizer for a party
• Light lunch
• After-school snack for kids and their friends
• Potluck dish
• Dessert

Making Your Platter

Making this cheery plate is super easy to do. There is no cooking involved. Honestly, this is so easy that you it really won’t take longer than a few minutes, but that will depend on how detailed you want to go with this.

All you need to do is clean the berries, cut some cheese, and let your creativity take control! You could get really fancy and arrange the berries, cheese, and marshmallows to mimic the American flag. Wouldn’t that be cool?

Here is what you need to get started:

• Divide each ingredient in half.
• Place raspberries together, then blueberries, then cheese, etc alternating colors across a chaucuterie board.
• Take the other half of ingredients and alternating colors, fill in the chaucuterie board so that it is filled.

Charcuterie boards have become popular because they make an impressive statement at a party, yet they are very easy to prepare. Guests gawk at the dramatic display of meats, cheese, crackers, fruits, nuts, etc. And you know what? This is one dish that will not have leftovers! It’s great to have happy guests with full bellies, however, if you are looking forward to a late night snack after your guests leave, you probably won’t be digging into this delicious platter.

More Party Food

If you can’t get enough ideas for what to bring to your next bbq, check out some of my tried and true recipes for different foods. These are easy to make and delicious! Bring yummy dishes that differ from what everyone else is bringing. Stop buying cookies at the grocery store and wow your family and friends with your culinary skills!