Who doesn’t love charcuterie? Some call it ‘grown up cheese and crackers’, some call it a meat and cheese platter, but one thing we can all agree on: it’s the ideal snack in every way!

With my friends at the wonderful Weddingstar Inc. (who also sponsored this post), creating your best charcuterie board ever has never been easier. In this post you’ll learn step by step how to build your board, including full, detailed shopping lists for both the ingredients and the serve ware pictured here! All 3 boards shown above, as well as the cheese knives, are courtesy of Weddingstar.

Bookmark this post so you’ll always have the perfect guide to charcuterie, right at your fingertips!

Read on, for your ready-made ingredient shopping list:

INGREDIENTS

CHEESES

Choose a variety of cheeses with different flavours and textures, including hard, semi-hard, soft, crumbly, and mild, sharp, earthy and tangy.

Cheddar (along with a classic sharp orange cheddar, try something flavourful, like applewood smoked, carmelized onion, or marbled merlot)
Havarti
Parmigiano
Emmental
Gruyere
Gouda
Brie
Camembert
Boursin (my favourites for a cheeseboard? Classic Garlic & Fine Herbs, or Cranberry & Pepper!)
Goat (try a flavoured option, or roll a plain log in dried fruit and nuts)
Roquefort (Bleu)
Gorgonzola

MEATS

Choose a range of cured and fresh deli meats, taking care to include different flavours and spice levels.

Pepper salami
Genoa salami
Soppressata
Calabrese
Mortadella
Prosciutto
Dried pepperoni pieces

CRACKERS AND BREADS

Include a mix of each, with a variety of soft, hard, crispy, and crunchy varieties.

Water crackers
Breadstick crackers or twists
Artisan crisps with seeds and dried fruit
Fresh baguette slices

NUTS AND DRIED FRUITS

Select about 3-4 of your favourite types. Always popular choices? Anything with cashews and pecans!

Mixed salted nuts
Hickory smoked almonds
Candied pecans 
Walnuts
Shelled pistachios
Dried apricots
Dried cranberries

FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Including juicy, fresh fare is a great palate cleanser among the saltier, richer foods.

Grapes (looking to impress? Get more than one colour!)
Strawberries
Blackberries
Apples
Pears 
Heirloom carrots (usually come in a variety of colours, like orange, purple and yellow)
Heirloom cherry tomatoes (usually come in a variety of colours, like red, purple, yellow and green)
Mini sweet peppers

HERBS

They look beautiful and smell divine – chances are if they are included, your guests will add them to their ‘cracker sandwiches’!

Rosemary
Thyme
Sage
Mint
Oregano

JAMS AND JELLIES

Sweet, mild, spicy, savoury… these are a must for any board!

Red pepper jelly
Apricot jam
Blueberry jelly
Honey
Candied jalapeños
Tomato chutney
Olive tapenade
Hummus

PICKLES AND OLIVES

The more, the merrier! Choose a range of flavours from sweet, spicy, oily, and garlicky!

Pickles (try Gherkins/cornichons)
Pickled asparagus
Pickled beans (the spicy ones always go over well!)
Olives (green, kalamata, or sundried black are excellent choices)
Sundried tomatoes
Pearl onions

SWEETS AND CHOCOLATES

Need we say more? More is more, when it comes to sweets!

Chocolate covered pretzels (or yogurt!)
Caramel filled white chocolates
Peanut butter cups
Chocolate covered fruit or nuts
Solid chocolate mini hearts

The perfect charcuterie board starts with… the perfect board!

Personalized Wooden Round Cutting & Serving Board With Handle – Modern Couple

Weddingstar has an ample selection of personalized boards for every home.

Personalized Wooden Cutting & Serving Board With White Handle – Signature Script, Personalized Wooden Rounded Rectangle Cutting & Serving Board – Signature Script, Personalized Wooden Paddle Cutting & Serving Board With Handle – Blush Wreath Initial

Personalized Round Marble & Wood Serving Board – Geo Monogram

Round Marble & Wood Serving Board, Personalized Round Marble & Wood Serving Board – Rustic Love Monogram

This wood and slate combo is a stunning choice, and even comes with utensils!

Personalized Wood & Slate Serving Board Set – Mr. & Mrs.

Wood & Slate Serving Board Set, Personalized Wood & Slate Serving Board Set – Modern Couple

Medium Plain Horizontal Standing Blackboard Sign With Aged Finish

Want to add some personality to your table, or differentiate vegetarian (and eve vegan) boards from traditional ones? Try some chalkboard signage!

Small Vertical Standing Blackboard Sign With Aged Finish, Horizontal Standing Blackboard Sign With Aged Finish – Medium

Grey Wooden Stakes With Open Heart

Want to get extra-fancy with your board? Label your cheeses with Weddingstar’s heart detailed stakes!

Brand new to Weddingstar, the 3-piece gold handled set is breathtakingly beautiful! It makes an excellent addition to any serveware collection, and thanks to the brilliantly shiny gold handles, they are extremely easy to spot when set down by guests. Small touches like these may not be consciously noticed by your guests, but the convenience and ease of your board will be remembered for years to come!

3-Piece Gold Handled Cheese Knife Set

Custom Engraved 3-Piece Gold Handled Cheese Knife Set – Wrap Text Monogram, Custom Engraved 3-Piece Gold Handled Cheese Knife Set – Mr. & Mrs., Custom Engraved 3-Piece Gold Handled Cheese Knife Set – Modern Serif Initial

The personalized options also make wonderful wedding and holiday gifts.

Velvet Table Runner – Navy Blue

Don’t forget to decorate the table beneath your board! A runner in an opulent shade is always a nice touch.

Velvet Table Runner – Champagne Gold, Velvet Table Runner – Ruby Red, Modern Sparkle Sequin Table Runner – Metallic Gold

ASSEMBLY

Now for assembling your board, which can feel like an intimidating task – I have news for you! There is no wrong way to put together your ingredients. In fact, I have found that the more haphazardly you set things onto the board, the better the outcome!

Start with your cheeses. Space things out evenly, and if you have enough space, set the same varieties in multiple places. Slice, crumble, smear, cube; prepare your cheeses in different ways to add interest to the board.

Next, your cured meets. Pile things like prosciutto and mortadella, and roll or fold salamis. Space these out among the board similarly to the cheeses.

Now that the two main events have been added, next I like to place my glassware (and subsequently, jellies and pickled things) on the board.

If it doesn’t fit, don’t fret – you can set small bowls and dips around the board, as well!

Olives can be added directly to the board, just ensure that excess oil or water has been removed for a cleaner look.

Next, add in your fresh fruit and vegetables. This is also where you can incorporate more colour to your board! Make sure to wash/peel and dry any applicable elements so that they are fresh, and ready to eat.

Now that all of your ‘wet’ ingredients are assembled, it’s time for the dry ones. Place crackers and bread around the board, fanning them out as you go.

Don’t forget the nuts! You can find my recipe for candied pecans in this post.

Now for the best part… chocolates! Dot these around the board at will – perhaps just avoid setting these too close to the oily ingredients, like pickles and olives.

The finishing touch: tuck fresh herbs around the board.

And that’s all there is to it!

Charcuterie not only tastes great, it also looks beautiful. An edible canvas!

Of course, what is cheese without wine? Check out these great drinkware and tumbler options from Weddingstar:

Copper Stemless Wine Glass, Copper Stemless Wine Glass – Classic Initials Etching

Using copper drinkware feels as luxurious as it looks.

16 Oz. Navy Metal Stemless Wine Glass, Custom Engraved 16 Oz. Navy Metal Stemless Wine Glass – Modern Serif

Though copper is a timeless choice, Weddingstar just released these gorgeous navy blue options that I am head over heels for!

Large Personalized Wine Glass – Rustic Love Monogram

When in doubt, classic glass with personalized inscriptions is the way to go.

Large Personalized Stemmed Wine Glass – Classic Monogram Engraving, Large Personalized Stemmed Wine Glass Set – Mr. And Mrs. Engraving

Antique Book Favour Box Kit

A few more table decorations to consider, as pictured in this post.

Small Metal Birdcage With Suspended Tealight Holder

Eat, drink, and be merry! Charcuterie, the perfect snack.

Thank you for following along in this DIY tutorial today! If you found something you liked in this post, please give Weddingstar and I a follow on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, to keep up with us for more future lifestyle content. There is always something new and exciting at Weddingstar, and we love to show you how to incorporate them into your everyday life!

xo, Jamie

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