/Christmas Charcuterie Board
UncategorizedDecember 3, 2024

Christmas Charcuterie Board

This Christmas Charcuterie Board has a red, white, and green theme for a festive spread! Follow the step-by-step instructions to learn exactly how to put it together to create a beautiful board for your holiday events. 

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A Red, White, and Green Christmas Charcuterie Board!

My Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board has been such a successful post year after year, and it’s one of my favorites of all time on the blog!

I dreamed up this holiday charcuterie board ingredient by ingredient until I had a red, white, and green theme going. We eat with our eyes, so the festive colors of this Christmas Charcuterie Board bring out the merry in us all. 

Call it an abundance board, a charcuterie board, or a grazing board – it’s perfect to set out at a holiday gathering and enjoy all day. After you finish reading this tutorial, you’ll be able to create it yourself to take to a holiday party or set out for nibbling on Christmas Eve.

If you have leftovers that didn’t fit on your board, you can serve them on Christmas Day. 

zoom in of charcuterie board ingredientszoom in of charcuterie board ingredients

charcuterie board from the back sidecharcuterie board from the back side

I’m sure you guys have some ideas for even more ingredients you could add!

The key to a beautiful cheese board is to fill in all the spaces so it looks plentiful and abundant! 

cheese board from above zoomed out on a dining tablecheese board from above zoomed out on a dining table

Once again I made this step by step so you could see how everything comes together. It’s really quite easy!

I followed the simple technique of anchoring with the cheeses and cured meats, following with fruit and crackers, and ending with the smaller pieces like nuts and herbs. You could even assemble it in a tree shape if you’d like. 

zoom in of red peppers, almonds, and sliced manchego on a cheese boardzoom in of red peppers, almonds, and sliced manchego on a cheese board

Once you get the hang of the technique, you’ll be able to design your own boards using whatever ingredients you choose.

Christmas Charcuterie Board Ingredient List

christmas charcuterie board groceries ingredients laid outchristmas charcuterie board groceries ingredients laid out

Cheeses

I used the same trio as last time: a triple cream brie, a sharp cheddar, and a firm manchego.

I think it’s always great to have one to serve with preserves (a goat cheese log rolled in rosemary would also be especially festive!), one to cube, and one to slice.

Come to think of it – the manchego could have been dressed as little Christmas trees if I’d turned the triangles 90 degrees!

Meats 

A trio of Spanish meats will give you some variety. I could have used two of these because the meats go fast!

Look for one that has two different shapes – long prosciutto and little salami rounds. 

Fruit

Fresh fruit, thinly sliced, and dried fruit.

Pomegranates are especially festive, as do plump dried cranberries or cherries.

Green pear, red apple, either kind of grapes, berries – stay in your color theme and there are tons of options!

Vegetables + Dip

I added red and green peppers and cucumbers to my board plus a vibrant green vegan kale pesto for dipping. A white herby ranch or cream cheese-based dip would be great too!

Crackers

The little red beet crackers were perfect for my theme! I also love the little toast-shaped crackers for the holidays. Regular white-ish crackers will do too.

I skipped the yellow cheese straws for this year. 

Nuts + Olives + Decor

You can’t have a cheese board without truffle almonds!

A tin of holiday nuts would serve you well here – smoked almonds, cashews, candied pecans, etc.

I tucked sprigs of rosemary from my garden and used a fig spread to decorate the brie. 

Something Sweet

I think for a holiday board a little sweetness really rings true to the season. While dark chocolate almonds would have been nice, they didn’t fit my color scheme! 

So instead I used peppermint meringues from Trader Joe’s! Little perfect clouds of seasonal surprises on top added the perfect festive touch. 

Graham crackers or Christmas cookies would be a nice touch too. 

charcuterie board on a table with red berries in a pitcher and a stack of platescharcuterie board on a table with red berries in a pitcher and a stack of plates

Your Shopping List

Many of these can be found at Trader Joe’s. Otherwise look for similar products at other grocery stores.

  • Block of sharp white cheddar
  • Triple Cream Brie
  • Block of aged manchego
  • Package of charcuterie meats
  • Fig & Olive crisp crackers 
  • Box of assorted crackers
  • Red beet crackers 
  • Truffle or smoked almonds
  • Green olives
  • Red and green bell peppers
  • Cucumber
  • Pesto for dipping
  • Raspberries
  • Pomegranate
  • Red grapes
  • Green pear
  • Dried cranberries or cherries
  • Dried Fuji apples
  • Peppermint Meringues 
  • Fig preserves
  • Fresh rosemary

The Video!

How To Assemble Your Christmas Charcuterie Board

cheeses on a cutting board GIF

cheeses on a cutting board GIF

Step 1: Prep your ingredients on a separate cutting board

  • Unbox crackers
  • Keep the brie whole
  • Cube the cheddar
  • Slice the manchego in triangles and stack vertically. Once you have a tower, you can turn on its side to be seen as zig zags on the board.
  • Roll the longer meats into cigars
  • Fold circle meats into “flowers” by folding in half and folding in half again
  • Wash and slice fruits and vegetables into thin slices or strips
  • Pour vegetable dip into a little bowl

cheese board ingredients prepped for stylingcheese board ingredients prepped for styling

Step 2: Arrange cheeses evenly across the board.

cheeses on a cutting boardcheeses on a cutting board

Step 3: Add meats in curved line around cheeses, arranging the longer rolls as vertical as possible

cheeses and meats on a cutting boardcheeses and meats on a cutting board

Step 4: Arrange bowls of dip and olives

cheese, meats, and green olives with pesto dipcheese, meats, and green olives with pesto dip

Step 5: Add fruits and vegetables all around board

half finished charcuterie board with fruits and veggies filled inhalf finished charcuterie board with fruits and veggies filled in

Step 6: Decorate with crackers in stacks and rows

crackers added to cheese board gapscrackers added to cheese board gaps

Step 7: Fill in edges and holes with nuts, dried fruit and herbs

adding nuts and herbs to the cheese boardadding nuts and herbs to the cheese board

Step 8: Add preserves to brie and meringues on top!

finished cheese board with cheese, meats, fruits, veggies, nuts, dips, crackers, meringuesfinished cheese board with cheese, meats, fruits, veggies, nuts, dips, crackers, meringues

If you’re taking your board outside or need a germ-safe way to share this, consider mini to-go containers like this Picnic Charcuterie Board.

Just divide up and pack everything inside of a holiday themed to go box or holiday tin and enjoy one per family.

Leave a cheese board on your friends’ doorsteps instead of cookies this year!

holiday cheese board from the sideholiday cheese board from the side

Charcuterie Board Making Tips

Use a separate board for prep as for serving

When you cut your cheeses, fruits, and fold meats, you’ll get the board dirty so keep one for prep and one for serving. 

How to cut triangle cheese for a charcuterie stack

Turn the manchego on its side and slice into triangles. Then stack them vertically. Once you have a tower, you can turn on its side to be seen as zig zags on the board.

How to fold and roll meats

  • Roll oval meats into cigars
  • Fold circular meats into “flowers”

Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board meats and cheeses on boardThanksgiving Charcuterie Board meats and cheeses on board

Board Size

If you don’t have a large enough board, you can put two smaller cutting boards together or use a large tray or platter.

Taking The Board To A Party

If you need to transport board after assembly, you can use the knives to keep plastic wrap from smushing the board. And you can put the whole board inside of a large tray with sides to prevent it from shifting in the car. A large shallow box would work too. 

Use bowls for spreads

If you’d like to add a dip like a beet hummus, use a small bowl and put it down early with the cheeses. 

Christmas Charcuterie Board

This Christmas Charcuterie Board has a red, white, and green theme for a festive cheese board spread! Follow the step-by-step instructions to learn exactly how to put it together to create a beautiful board for your holiday events. 

Keyword cheese, fruits, meats
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • Block of sharp white cheddar
  • Triple Cream Brie
  • Block of aged manchego
  • Package of charcuterie meats
  • Fig & Olive crisp crackers
  • Box of assorted crackers
  • Red beet crackers
  • Truffle or smoked almonds
  • Green olives
  • Red and green bell peppers
  • Cucumber
  • Pesto for dipping
  • Raspberries
  • Pomegranate
  • Red grapes
  • Green pear
  • Dried cranberries or cherries
  • Dried Fuji apples
  • Peppermint Meringues
  • Fig preserves
  • Fresh rosemary

Instructions

  • Prep your ingredients on a separate cutting board. Unbox crackers. Cube the cheddar. Slice the manchego in triangles and stack vertically. Once you have a tower, you can turn on its side to be seen as zig zags on the board. Roll the longer meats into cigars. Fold circle meats into “flowers” by folding in half and folding in half again. Wash and slice fruits and vegetables into thin slices or strips. Pour vegetable dip into a little bowl

  • Arrange cheeses evenly across the board.

  • Add meats in curved line around cheeses, arranging the longer rolls as vertical as possible

  • Arrange bowls of dip and olives

  • Add fruits and vegetables all around board

  • Decorate with crackers in stacks and rows

  • Fill in edges and holes with nuts, dried fruit and herbs

  • Top brie with preserves and meringues on top!

cheese board from above with pitcher, candles and platescheese board from above with pitcher, candles and plates

MORE PARTY IDEAS:

More Charcuterie Board Ideas:

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