Hosting this holiday season? An elegant and festive Christmas Charcuterie Board is the easiest way to wow your guests, no cooking required.
As someone who throws holiday dinners every year, I've refined how to build a board that looks elegant and travels well. Combining a colorful mix of meats, cheeses, and more is the easy, no-cook route to dish out a festive party platter. With decades of entertaining under my belt, I can vouch styled charcuterie boards are one of the easiest ways to impress your guests while keeping prep simple and low stress for the hostess.
Below, you'll find our very best suggestions for what to put down on your board for an extra delicious spread, how to assemble it, plus simple ways to make it look like it came straight out of a magazine. And, if you're planning for a holiday party, don't miss our roundup of 35 Best Christmas Snacks for more company-worthy holiday appetizers.
Looking for more awesome Christmas party recipes to try this holiday season? Bookmark this bold and spicy Texas Trash party mix in your internet browser!
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Christmas Charcuterie Board
- Festive Colors | This board was built with Christmas colors at top of mind for a fun and festive board that features red, green, and white displayed in an elegant way that subtly says "holiday charm."
- No Cooking Required | None of the items on this board require any cooking, keeping your prep time below the 20-minute marker.
- Crowd-Approved Selections | I've served this board at multiple Christmas gatherings and it always gets devoured. We're not putting things on the board solely for looks; they actually taste good too!
Ingredients for a Christmas Charcuterie Board
For an extra special, Christmasy board, think in red, green, and white! It's the colors that make this board so very perfect for holiday parties and gatherings.
Meats and Cheeses
Let's begin with charcuterie board basics -- the cheese and meats. Feel free to choose a few different types of meats and/or cheeses for your board. For this board, in particular, the cheeses you will find present are fresh mozzarella, aged cheddar, and brie.
Fresh mozzarella was strung onto small skewers along with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil leaves for an extra Christmas-y look.
If you plan to copycat this idea, you can easily elevate the flavor of your skewers by drizzling them with a store-bought balsamic reduction and a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper once in place!
A yellow or orange cheese would have detracted from the look of our board, so instead, an aged white cheddar went down.
Other white, semi-firm cheeses you might like for a Christmas charcuterie board are Fontina, Havarti, or Gouda. These cheeses are all mild in flavor and well-liked! Note, good, high-quality cheeses are typically found near the deli section of your grocery store.
As you can see, the brie got a Christmas time makeover with a spread of raspberry jam, sprigs of Rosemary, and fresh cranberries on top. You could also do something similar with a log of goat cheese or top off either with a homemade cranberry sauce. Last year, I assembled this board for a crowd and the brie was the first to vanish — everyone loves it!
For our meats, we took the simple route -- three different types of salami.
Other easy-to-find cured meats you might consider using for your board are prosciutto, soppressata, and mortadella.
Fruits and Vegetables
Grapes are a great addition to your charcuterie board. A mix of red and green grapes, cut into tiny snack-sized clusters works well, and a sliced red pear made for a nice seasonal touch. Partridge in a pear tree, anyone? A totally fitting addition to a Christmas charcuterie board!
Dried fruits like cranberries, strawberries, and/or kiwi would also work on this holiday cheese board!
A small white bowl off to the side housed green olives, and the veggies were also kept in line with the red, green, and white color guidelines! Sliced cucumber, red radishes, and red cherry tomatoes surround a bowl of hummus for dipping.
Bread, Crackers & Nuts
When you are choosing crackers or bread for your Christmas charcuterie board keep in mind that it is best if these items are neutral in flavor. This allows the other ingredients like meats or cheeses to shine!
However, an exception was made for rosemary crackers because of their pretty green (and festive) speckle.
Water crackers, wheat crackers, and sliced baguettes are excellent choices for charcuterie boards.
Next, candied pecans. While this little nibble does not fall into the red, white, or green color category, it is a Christmas-time staple in the south and a welcomed addition to any southern Christmas charcuterie board!
Our easy Praline Pecan recipe would also be a great addition!
How to Arrange Your Christmas Charcuterie Board
Although cutting boards are commonly used for charcuterie boards, you'll find a board or serving platter that has an edge or a lip on it especially handy when it comes to building your selections. You can use that lip to prop up and fan out items beautifully.
Whenever I am arranging a charcuterie board, I always begin with the largest items first. Oftentimes, this consists of items that will be housed either in a bowl or on a small plate.
The key is to place the heaviest-looking items down first and begin building around them with smaller, more lightweight items.
In the case of this Christmas appetizer board, the bowls housing the olives, hummus, and candied pecans went down first, along with an 8-ounce wheel of brie and a small plate housing the mozzarella skewers.
Once the larger items were in place, fruits, sliced cheeses, folded salami, and sliced vegetables were used to fill in the spaces.
Once all of the items are in place, feel free to add in fresh herbs like basil for a pretty green pop or even sprigs of trimmed rosemary for a festive Christmas tree kind of vibe. If you love to host, be sure to check out our recipes made for entertaining!
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
- Make-Ahead | You can slice and assemble meats, cheeses, and dried items up to 24 hours in advance. Store everything in airtight containers; don't assemble until just before serving. Add fresh herbs and fruits just before serving.
- Storage | Store leftovers in an airtight container for up 2 days.
What to Serve With a Christmas Charcuterie Board
Christmas Dinner | If you're hosting, Christmas dinner this festive appetizer makes an excellent starter. Pair it with something festive like our cranberry mimosas or mulled wine. Then, follow it up with a lovely green salad course, your favorite holiday main and side dishes, and a sweet ending. Keep dessert simple with festive Christmas cookies or stop the show with a stacked red velvet cake.
Holiday Party | If you're hosting (or attending a holiday party), you'll want to add more finger foods and dips to the menu to round out your holiday cheese board. Roasted shrimp with cocktail sauce and goat cheese toast would make for an elegant addition. For something more casual, Reindeer chow and cream cheese sausage balls are always a favorite.
FAQs for Your Christmas Charcuterie Board
After years of making this board for holiday parties, I've found a large board or platter, about 18x24 inches is ideal. This gives you space to layer everything beautifully, without having to overbuy just the fill the board.
You can prep dry ingredients, meats, and cheeses the night before. Don't add anything fresh or "wet" (like jam and sliced fruit) until the day of.
Arrange the board in clusters of red, green, and white, and use pretty herbs like basil, thyme, rosemary, or mint to give it a fresh and elegant look.
6 More Board Ideas You'll Love
- Dessert Charcuterie Board
- Halloween Charcuterieie Board
- Thanksgiving Snack Board
- Meat and Cheese Tray
- Summer Sausage Platter
- Warm Weather Cheese Platter
Dessert Charcuterie Board
Halloween Charcuterie Board | Perfect For Parties!
Thanksgiving Snack Board
Meat and Cheese Tray
How to Make a Cheese Platter with Summer Sausage
Warm Weather Cheese Platter | Entertaining Ideas
Christmas Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package Cigliegine mozzarella balls
- 1 ½ cup cherry tomatoes, separated
- ⅓ cup basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons balsamic reduction (optional)
- 8 ounce wheel of brie
- 2 tablespoons cherry, raspberry, or strawberry jam
- About 4 sprigs of rosemary, cut into 2-3" pieces (optional)
- 3 cranberries (optional)
- ⅓ cup green olives
- ½ cup garlic-flavored or regular hummus
- ⅓ cup candied pecans
- 4 ounces White Cheddar Cheese, sliced
- 8 ounces sliced salami
- ½ baguette thinly sliced on a bias
- 2 cups green and red grapes, mixed
- ½ English cucumber, thinly sliced on a bias
- ¼ cup sliced radishes
- ½ package (2.5 ounces) water crackers
- ½ package (2.5 ounces) rosemary crackers
Instructions
- The items listed above are merely a suggestion. Feel free to get as creative as you like when it comes to adding to your Christmas Charcuterie Board. Think of the colors you want on your board and find food that matches them, include a variety of textures, and avoid any items that fight with one another flavorwise.
- Have ready a large, round or rectangular serving board or cutting board.
- To make the mozzarella skewers, alternate adding the mozzarella balls, tomatoes, and basil leaves onto a short skewer. Then, stack the skewers on a small plate, and place on the board. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- To assemble the brie, place the brie on the board and spread the jam across the top. Top with small sprigs of rosemary and cranberries, if desired. Place on the board
- Place the olives, hummus, and candied pecans in individual, small bowls and add to the board.
- Then, add in the remaining elements as you'd like, fanning out items like crackers, pears, salami, and cucumber slices. Serve and enjoy!
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