How To Make a Festive Christmas Charcuterie Board
As a chef who has been making holiday charcuterie boards for more than 20 years, I have lots of tips and tricks to help you make a beautiful board that abounds with fantastic flavors.
I’ll share my go-to meats, cheeses, and designs that will make it easy for you to build a lovely board for your holiday party or dinner. From salami flowers to the perfect accents for the holiday season, you’ll have everything you need to make a festive Christmas charcuterie board.
Festive Christmas charcuterie board with lots of red, green, and white
Christmas Charcuterie Board Recipe
One of the best parts about any charcuterie board? It is fool-proof, because each one is different. Here’s one of my favorite charcuterie board quotes:
“Charcuterie boards are like snowflakes—each one is unique.”
And although that means you don’t need a recipe per se, I will share how I make my Christmas charcuterie boards so that yours will impress at any holiday gathering! We’ll make the following:
Christmas Wreath Boards
Christmas Tree Boards
Rectangular Christmas-Themed Boards
Christmas Charcuterie Board Ingredients
No matter what size or shape meat and cheese tray you prepare for this special season, the basic ingredients and process are the same. And, of course, the color scheme will be mostly red, green, and white.
You can prep your meats and cheeses a day ahead if you wrap them in plastic wrap.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A variety of meats
A variety of cheeses
Accompaniments
Crackers
Cheese knives/utensils
Decorative items
Quantities
Quanties will depend on how you are serving your board. Is it for a large Christmas party or an intimate dinner for two? Will a meal be following it, or will the board be dinner? I find that for an appetizer board, estimating 2–3 oz. of cheese and 1–2 oz. of meat per person suffices.
I like to add a flameless candle in the center of the charcuterie wreath.
Charcuterie Boards
A traditional charcuterie board is a wooden board, like a large cutting board. But you can use a slate, glass, or ceramic platter in any shape you’d like.
Round boards can be made into wreaths, triangles can be Christmas trees, and rectangles can easily be made super festive.
Charcuterie, aka Meats
French food fact: Charcuterie is the French word for preserved and cured meats. Therefore, no holiday charcuterie board would be complete without a selection of your favorite meats.
A selection of different types of cured meats will make your board more interesting.
How Many Meats?
Choose a variety of meats in different shapes with various tastes. For a really large board, you can opt for two from each category below, but the average board has two or three meats in total.
Choosing Your Meats
Meats provide the majority of the red for your board. Here are some great options.
Cured Hams and Beef: Prosciutto, capicola (coppa), Serrano ham, Iberian ham, Black Forest ham, and bresaola.
Salamis and Sausages: Finocchiona, Genoa, soppressata, mortadella, pepper coated, Calabrese, and chorizo.
Spreads: Nduja, pâté, and rilette.
Chef Denise Picks
My personal favorites lean towards an Italian charcuterie board: Prosciutto (a staple from Emiglia-Romagna), Finocchiona (a Tuscan specialty), Calabrese salami or coppa (usually spicy with an appealing orange color), and pâté (of course; I love French food too).
Rolling salami around cheese helps give dimension to your holiday board.
Presentation Tips
In addition to small piles of meat, display at least one meat in a different way. Fold your choices into different shapes, wrap some around cheese sticks, roll a slice of meat with a thin slice of cheese, or make salami roses.
To make salami flowers: Simply lay out the salami in a horizontal line with each piece overlapping slightly. Fold the entire row of salami in half, from top to bottom, and then roll the entire row up. To vary the look of the flowers, instead of folding the salami in half, fold over just a third.
Cheese
Your Christmas charcuterie board should also have a variety of cheeses. I usually recommend using different textures, colors, and flavors.
However, if you’re a stickler on your holiday color scheme, you may want to stick to white cheeses like white cheddar, brie, and goat cheese. I prefer to mix it up a bit more.
You can’t go wrong selecting delicious red, green, and white items for your Christmas board.
Just considering French and Italian cheeses, you already have thousands of choices. There are also some fun Greek cheeses. And in the U.S., Wisconsin is famous for delicious cheeses, and California has some awesome creameries too.
How Many Cheeses?
Choosing one hard cheese, one soft cheese, and one blue cheese is a good start. If you have an extra large board, consider adding a semi-soft cheese and/or an additional hard or soft cheese.
Choosing Your Cheeses
Some delicious cheeses for a holiday cheese board
Hard Cheeses: Gruyere, Manchego, cheddars, aged goudas, Midnight Moon, Gloucester, and Grana Padano.
Soft Cheeses: Brie, Camembert, Delice de Bourgogne, Epoise, Burrata, Brillat-Savarin, Humbolt Fog, Mozzarella balls, Port Salut (semi-soft), and St. Andre.
Which is better, Camembert or Brie cheese? Read Camembert vs. Brie.
Blue Cheeses: St. Agur, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Blue Shropshire, Cambozola, and Roquefort.
If you are having vegetarian guests, consider making a separate cheese board without any meats.
Don’t forget little forks and cheese knives!
Chef Denise Picks:
I favor a French cheese board because France makes the creamiest cheeses. So, if the triple cream Delice de Bourgogne is available, that’s where I start. I like mini brie wheels as a runner-up.
Burrata, fresh Mozzarella balls, and Port Salut are different enough that they each make a good option as a second soft cheese.
At our family gatherings, some type of blue cheese is required. During the holidays, I like the Stilton with cranberries from Trader Joe’s.
For hard cheeses, I pick Gruyere, Gloucester, and/or Midnight Moon for slicing and Grana Padana or aged Gouda for cubing or crumbling.
Presentation Tips
Cheeses naturally lend themselves to different presentations. Hard cheeses work well sliced or cubed.
Super creamy soft cheeses can be left in a wedge or wheel (cut the top off the wheel).
Some cheeses are so creamy, cutting their top off is the best way to serve them.
Semi-soft cheeses can also be left in a wedge or wheel. I like to cut wheels into small wedges and leave them in the wheel shape.
Burrata can be left whole. I like to put it on a bed of micro greens. Mozzarella balls can be sprinkled about.
Accompaniments
In addition to meats and cheeses, I like to add a few tasty items that bring even more flavors to the assortment and also make the board more beautiful. Most of these can be purchased from your local grocery store, especially if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby.
A sample of red, green, and white accompaniments
Seasonal Produce
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the easiest way to add pops of color to your holiday-themed charcuterie boards, especially if you’re looking for reds, greens, and whites.
Red grapes, green grapes, raspberries, strawberries, dragon fruit, grape or cherry tomatoes, celery, and mini peppers are all great additions.
Pickled and Marinated Vegetables
Small bowls of roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, cornichons, watermelon rinds, and giardiniera are a great way to fill in holes and add dimension to your board.
Capri Skewers
These cute finger foods comprise the classic Christmas colors—perfect for any holiday platter or board. Leave them naked, or drizzle with olive oil or balsamic reduction.
Capri skewers add a festive touch to any holiday board.
Spreads
Little bowls or jars of sweet fig jam, balsamic vinegar, or honey (truffle honey, please!) pair well with cheeses.
Dried Fruits and Nuts
Roasted nuts like almonds, cashews, and pecans can be put in small bowls or displayed in small piles. As far as dried fruits, I prefer small items like cranberries, raisins, and cherries to larger ones like dates and prunes.
Bread and Crackers
I recommend three types of crackers or breads for the average board. Use different shapes and flavors. If the board is for a meal, I always include some baguette slices.
Some people prefer to keep the breads and crackers in a basket on the side; that also works just fine!
Finishing Touches
A gorgeous charcuterie board is all about the final touches. This is the really fun part—transforming your board from functional to fabulous.
Fresh herbs like basil, rosemary, and sage add green accents. Red pomegranate seeds, edible flowers, and even mini-candy canes are perfect for the Christmas season.
Pomegranate seeds are an easy way to add some holiday cheer to your board.
Pro tip: Complete your board with its main elements, then add these more decorative garnishes.
Utensils
Don’t forget the utensils! Place cheese knives, little forks, spoons, and toothpicks on or near the items that need them.
Designing Your Holiday Charcuterie Board
Designing your Christmas board can be so much fun. Below are some tips for making different holiday-themed boards.
Holiday Wreath Charcuterie Board
Use fresh rosemary sprigs to make a Christmas charcuterie wreath.
A design in a quintessential holiday shape, a Christmas charcuterie wreath can be formed uniformly, or more willy nilly.
Rosemary sprigs at the edges will evoke a wreath-like feel no matter which method you choose. Stick the sprigs slightly underneath the meats and cheeses and make sure you spread them around the periphery of the whole board.
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
What’s more Christmasy than a Christmas tree charcuterie board?
If you don’t have a triangular board, you can lay out the meats and cheeses in the shape of a Christmas tree on a rectangular or round board.
This can be a really easy Christmas charcuterie board by alternating rows of meats, cheeses, and accompaniments into a tree shape. But mixing it up can also work nicely.
You can use a star cookie cutter to cut out a few pieces of cheese to place on the charcuterie Christmas tree. Add a few pomegranate arils. At the bottom of the tree, a celery stalk or a small bundle of fresh rosemary make a great tree trunk.
Rectangular Christmas Board
A large Christmas charcuterie board with lots of variety.
Holiday shapes are fun, but I actually prefer making a rectangular-shaped festive charcuterie board. For holiday parties, I use a big board made of wood that measures 16” x 22”. But I’ve also used a small square platter for just my husband and me.
I get the best results by starting with the cheeses, then the meats, then the crackers, and then the accompaniments. Lastly, I add the garnishes.
Don’t try to be symmetrical, just keep filling in the spaces with the next group of items, varying shapes and colors as much as possible.
Serving Your Christmas Charcuterie Board
Whatever time of year, if I’m having guests, I’ll usually make a cheese and charcuterie board. But boards are extra fun for the holidays.
Prepping Your board
Prepping the day before your event is a great idea if you will be crunched for time. Just cover each individual item in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.
You can slice cheeses, make meat piles and meat rolls, and even prepare salami roses.
You can also fill any little bowls with jams, marinated veggies, or whatever you choose and cover each one in plastic wrap.
When To Assemble
Start assembling charcuterie boards an hour to an hour and a half before you want to serve them. Even if it won’t take you that long to prepare your display, you’ll want the cheeses to be at room temperature when your guests arrive.
Perfect Appetizer
Whether it’s for a Christmas dinner or a Christmas party, everyone loves a festive board.
And as the host, you’ll appreciate that everything can be done before your guests arrive so that you can immerse yourself in the festivities.
Perfect Lunch or Dinner
Yes, usually meat and cheese trays are considered appetizers in the States.
Similarly, in Europe, they’re a big part of happy hour in Milan, and I’ve enjoyed them during aperitivo while visiting Bologna.
But I’ve also ordered them for lunch in Parisian cafes and at restaurants in Nice, France. In Italy, they were some of the best cheap eats in Rome. So, if some of the best foodie cities in the world can serve charcuterie for a meal, you can too!
For more holiday recipes, you might like:
Christmas Candy Recipes
Christmas Fudge Recipes
Christmas Truffles Recipes
Mexican Cookies
Greek Desserts
Italian Christmas Desserts
Italian Christmas Cookies
Sugar Cookie Truffles
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