This Christmas Charcuterie Board is the perfect holiday appetizer for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day gatherings! It's filled with a variety of meats, cheeses, fresh fruit, nuts, crackers and more to create a holiday charcuterie board you'll want to make all season long.
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📋 What is a Charcuterie Board?
The word "charcuterie" is a French term, referring to the preparation of the meat products typically included on the board. If you haven't seen one before, a charcuterie board is essentially a visually appealing meat and cheese platter that is also typically served with an assortment of fresh fruits, nuts, crackers, breads, spreads, and other finger foods.
It's often served as an appetizer or snack, particularly at holiday gatherings, parties, or events in which finger foods would be both convenient and a great way to satisfy guests until the main course.
The best Christmas charcuterie boards include a wide range of ingredients, flavors, textures, and colors. Once you put together your first charcuterie board for your Christmas party or upcoming holiday party, you'll be hooked!
If you're looking for more holiday-inspired charcuterie boards, you have to try my Spooky Halloween Snack Board and my Holiday Rice Krispie Treats Dessert Board (filled with sweet treats!) next.
🛒 Christmas Charcuterie Board Snack Recommendations
Meats and Cheeses
- Creme brie - I used an 8 ounce double creme brie as the tree topper. Creme brie is higher in fat compared to regular brie and is extra soft and creamy, perfect for spreading on crackers.
- Jelly - Topping the brie with a raspberry or strawberry jelly adds both sweet and tangy, as well as creamy flavors, and allows the tree topper to pop!
- Cheeses - In addition to brie, I like to use an array of additional cubed cheeses and cheese wedges ranging from soft to hard cheeses. I recommend aged cheddar, whiskey maple gouda, havarti, Monterey Jack, rosemary asiago, parmesan, gruyere, or pecorino romano. Use your family's favorite kinds of cheese. You do not need to use all of these.
- Meats - Sliced meats are ideal for charcuterie boards because of their convenience and ability to be presented in a visually appealing way. I used a mixture of salami, pepperoni, and prosciutto, but again, use your favorites.
Fruits and Veggies
- Fruits - Fresh fruits such as sliced apples and pears pair well with the savory meats and cheeses. I also like to use pomegranate seeds, grapes, and small oranges such as clementines or mandarins for variety and visual interest.
- Veggies - Sliced mini cucumbers are mild enough to pair well with all of the meats, cheeses, and fruits and provide great texture and freshness to the charcuterie board.
- Olives - Both Kalamata olives and green olives would be delicious.
- Fresh sprigs of rosemary - While optional, fanning fresh rosemary around the perimeter of your charcuterie tree helps enhance the look of the holiday board and can even be used as a drink garnish!
Crackers and Nuts
- Nuts - Any nuts of choice will do - I recommend pistachios, almonds, or cashews for an additional buttery crunch!
- Crackers - Provide an array of crackers in different shapes, sizes, and textures. The best grazing boards have lots of options!
⁉️ Ingredient Substitutions and Alterations
Above I've listed all of my favorite ingredients to include in my Christmas charcuterie board recipe, but please use these snack recommendations as a guide. Feel free to replace any ingredients your family doesn't like with ingredients they love.
For example, if grapes and clementines aren't desired, swap them out with your favorite dried fruits or other fresh berries. You can even replace some of the cubed and wedge cheeses with mozzarella balls, a tapenade, or a fig spread.
As long as you are following the shape of a Christmas tree, your grazing board will be a hit at your upcoming holiday party!
📓 How to Make a Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
- Choose your board. The first step in making any gorgeous charcuterie board is carefully choosing a large board or platter that can accommodate all of the ingredients while leaving enough space for arranging them in the shape of a Christmas tree. If you are serving an extra large crowd, you can even place a large piece of parchment paper down on the serving table and build your charcuterie board directly on top.
- Prepare the tree topper. Scoop some of the top layer out of the brie cheese. Spread jam on top. Place at the top center of your board. Using a star-shaped cookie cutter, cut a star out of apple or pear and place it in the center of the jam.
- Create the tree trunk. At the base of the board, centered with the brie, spread enough crackers to create the base of the Christmas tree. Adjust the width of your tree trunk based on the size of your tree. I used dark dried fruit and nut crackers to resemble the dark color of the tree bark. You can also use pretzel sticks for this.
- Arrange bowls. If using bowls for smaller items, place them around the board, keeping in mind that you want a triangular shape in the end. Fill bowls with smaller items, like nuts and olives.
- Start with larger items first. Cut cheese, fruits, and vegetables in different shapes. Using the larger cheeses, meats, and fruits, start to arrange them scattered around the board for best visual interest. Use the photos of my board as a guide.
- Keep to the triangular look. A Christmas tree is wide at the bottom and pointed at the top. Add more ingredients towards the bottom of the board and make it narrower as you work your way up.
- Decorate with additional fruits, nuts, veggies, and olives. Scatter the colorful fruits, veggies, nuts, and olives throughout the board, filling any remaining gaps as needed.
- Create the outline of a Christmas tree using the fresh rosemary sprigs. Stick the sprigs under the meats, cheeses, and fruits that line the perimeter of the board. Point the rosemary slightly downward at an angle to create the Christmas tree look.
- Serve immediately. Charcuterie boards are best served while the fruits and veggies are fresh and the meats are still chilled. You can enjoy for up to 2 hours before the meats and cheeses need refrigerating.
🔍 Recipe FAQs
The best way to maintain the freshness of perishable ingredients on your charcuterie board is to be mindful of how far in advance you prepare your festive board.
If you'd like to prepare the board ahead of time, I'd recommend prepping the meats and cheeses for the board, lightly covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating until the event. Right before serving, add the remaining ingredients and fill out the tree.
If you are having a hard time creating the Christmas tree shape, you can start by outlining it with the rosemary sprigs. However, if you simply just start small on top and grow larger towards the bottom, you should be able to create a triangular shape that would resemble a Christmas tree.
When pairing beverages to accompany your cheese platter appetizer, I recommend choosing wines and drinks that suit a variety of cheeses and cured meats. These can include red wines like Merlot or Pinot Noir, or white wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, or Pinot Grigio.
Or, if choosing other beverages, you can't go wrong with a classic seltzer water or festive cocktail, like a Cranberry Gin Cocktail, a Christmas Moscow Mule, or an Apple Cider Martini.
Absolutely! If you're planning on serving this Christmas charcuterie board at holiday parties or family gatherings with a lot of kids, you may want to incorporate kid-friendly finger goods like milder cheeses, plain crackers, baguette slices, and more fruits as opposed to veggies!
Yes, if you prefer to incorporate warm dips and spreads as opposed to cold cheeses, place them in small bowls or ramekins and strategically place them throughout the festive Christmas charcuterie board after warming.
💭 One More Tip
The more variety the better! The easiest way to make a Christmas charcuterie board appealing to all taste buds is to provide a multitude of options. Most deli counters in grocery stores will be happy to cut you a smaller, weighted measurement of your favorite meats and cheeses so you can purchase a wide variety without having too many leftovers. Don't be afraid to ask if they can accommodate you.
🍴 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Christmas Charcuterie Board
Equipment
- charcuterie board
Ingredients
- 8 oz double creme brie
- raspberry or strawberry jelly
- 1.25 pounds cubed cheese - any of your favorites: cheddar, gouda, havarti, monterey jack
- .50 pound Cheese wedges - any of your favorites: asiago, parmesan, gruyere, pecorino romano
- 4 oz (16 slices) salami
- 5 oz (19 slices) pepperoni
- 3 oz (7 slices) prosciutto
- 1 to 2 Sliced apples and/or pears
- 2 sliced mini cucumbers
- 1 to 2 large vines of grapes
- 2 to 3 small oranges, clementines, or mandarins
- nuts - any of your favorites: pistachios, almonds, cashews
- olives
- 2 boxes crackers - different shapes, sizes, and textures
- pomegranate seeds
- 3 (0.5 oz) packages fresh rosemary sprigs
- other ideas: dried fruits, other fresh berries, cherry tomatoes, pretzels, fresh cranberries, tapenade, fig spread, pepper jelly
Instructions
- Carefully choose a large board or platter that can accommodate all of the ingredients, while leaving enough space for arranging them in the shape of a Christmas tree. If you are serving an extra large crowd, you can even place a large piece of parchment paper down on the serving table and build your charcuterie board directly on top.
- Scoop some of the top layer out of the brie cheese. Spread jam on top. Place at the top center of your board. Using a star-shaped cookie cutter, cut a star out of apple or pear and place it in the center of the jam.
- At the base of the board, centered with the brie, spread enough crackers to create the trunk of the Christmas tree. Adjust the width of your tree trunk based on the size of your tree. I used dark dried fruit and nut crackers to resemble the dark color of the tree bark. You can also use pretzel sticks for this.
- If using bowls for smaller items, place them around the board, keeping in mind that you want a triangular shape in the end. Fill bowls with smaller items, like nuts and olives.
- Cut cheese, fruits, and vegetables in different shapes. Using the larger cheeses, meats, and fruits, start to arrange them scattered around the board for best visual interest. Use the photos of my board as a guide.
- Keep to the triangular look. A Christmas tree is wide at the bottom and pointed at the top. Add more ingredients towards the bottom of the board and make it narrower as you work your way up.
- Decorate with additional fruits, nuts, veggies, and olives. Scatter the colorful fruits, veggies, nuts, and olives throughout the board, filling any remaining gaps as needed.
- Create the outline of a Christmas tree using the fresh rosemary sprigs. Stick the sprigs under the meats, cheeses, and fruits that line the perimeter of the board. Point the rosemary slightly downward at an angle to create the Christmas tree look.
- Serve immediately. Charcuterie boards are best served while the fruits and veggies are fresh and the meats are still chilled. You can enjoy for up to 2 hours before the meats and cheeses need refrigerating.
Notes
- Customize the board to your family and guests' liking! Use kid-friendly options if serving kids. Get creative with it.
- Buy meats and cheeses in limited amounts at the deli counter to help eliminate any food waste from way too much leftover meats and cheeses!
Nutrition
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