How to Make a Cheese and Cracker Board

If you're having a party, you need to know how to make The Ultimate Charcuterie Board. This classic cheese board has a crowd-pleasing mix of fruits, meats, breads, nuts, condiments, and other favorites.

For other popular party dishes, you can try our shrimp tempura and Napolean cake.

Ultimate Charcuterie Board with an assortment of meats, cheeses, fruit, nuts, bread, crackers, olives, jams, and honey.

The ultimate charcuterie board- cheese board

The ultimate charcuterie board, or cheese board, is just what you want to serve if you are having people over. Comprised of a flavorful combination of cheeses, meats, fruits, nuts, breads, crackers, and condiments, there are limitless combinations for your guests to snack on. A charcuterie board also makes a beautiful centerpiece on your table, colorful and brimming with tasty treats. While there is a lot of variety to be found on cheese boards, they are fairly easy to put together and are a great addition to other traditional appetizers.

So what exactly is a charcuterie board?

A charcuterie board, which is pronounced shaar- KOO- tuh-r ee, originated in France. It translates to "pork-butcher shop," and was mostly a board of pork products. But nowadays, these boards are made up of a variety of cured meats and other ingredients like fruit, cheese, and flavor enhancers. They are meant to complement each other and create delicious pairings based on taste and texture. Everyone loves a good grazing board because there is usually something for everyone. The combinations that can be put together optimize flavor to create a really enjoyable and exciting assortment of foods.

Where to begin

Choose your board

Size- Typically, boards are 9×13, or can be as big as 12×18.
Wood- If you decide to use a wood board, then teak, maple, cherry, olive, and acacia woods are best. You want to choose a non-porous wood to avoid the absorption of unwanted flavors.
Marble- Marble is also a good choice of board because it is hard and impermeable, not to mention has a smooth clean look to display your ingredients.

Get pretty jars and bowls

Size- Look for bowls and jars that about the same size and have an opening wide enough to accommodate utensils.
Design- This is a personal choice, but try to stay consistent so the board does not look messy.

Find tiny utensils

Butter knives- for cutting cheeses or meats
Spoons- for jars/bowls and picking up nuts
Forks- for picking up meats, fruits, and cheeses

What kind of cheese is on a charcuterie board?

The cheese on a charcuterie board should vary from soft to hard and offer a variety of flavors. Aged cheddar, Smoked Gouda, Plain cheese curds, Edam, Beecher's Flagship, Boursin garlic herb spread, Smoked mozzarella, and Fromager D'Affinois are some great choices. Blue cheese and goat cheese are also quite commonly used too.

Cheeses for Ultimate Charcuterie Board, including aged cheddar, plain cheese curds, Edam, smoked gouda, fromager d'affinois, Beecher's flagship, Boursin garlic herb spread, and smoked mozzarella on a white background.

Best meats to use

For the best cured meats to add to your board, try Genoa salami, Prosciutto, Soppressata, Nola salami, Peppered salami, and Spanish-style chorizo. The meats should complement the flavors of the other ingredients on your cheese platter.

Meats for Ultimate Charcuterie Board, including Genoa salami, prosciutto, soppressata, peppered salami, Nola salami, and Spanish-style chorizo, on a white background.

Best fruit to add to a cheese platter

Fruit adds a delicious sweetness to cheese platters, which offsets the saltier meats and cheeses. Some of the best fresh fruits to include are Grapes, Strawberries, Pears, Apples, and Blueberries. For dried fruits, add Dried apricots, Figs, Dried tart cherries, and Golden raisins.

What type of crackers pair well

For crackers on a charcuterie board, Sliced French bread, Rosemary crackers, Raincoast crisps, and Whole-wheat crackers all pair well with the other ingredients.

Close up of an Ultimate Charcuterie Board, including an assortment of meats, cheeses, fruit, nuts, olives, jams, breads, and crackers.

What else can I add?

To round out your board, add an assortment of jams, nuts, and other items. Some options would be:

Jams- Fig, Plum, and Strawberry jam
Roasted Nuts- Pistachios, Almonds, Pecans
Pitted Olives- Kalamata, Sicilian
Honey

How to assemble a charcuterie board

Assemble the cheeses. Slice or crumble the cheeses and place them as far apart as possible on the charcuterie board to leave room for other ingredients. For soft cheeses, wedge a small butter knife in them for serving.
Place the meats. Then, slice and fold the cured meats. For prosciutto, it is so thin you can just let it drop like a ribbon on the board. For others like the Genoa salami, fold them into quarters and fan them out like a deck of cards. Chorizo can be folded in halves. Peppered and Nola salami should be sliced into thin rounds. Remember to keep your meats separated like the cheeses for a prettier appearance.
Add the olives, honey, and jams. Now fill your bowls or jars with the olives, honey, and jams that you have chosen. Place them in different areas of the cheese board for a balanced look.
Put out the fresh fruit. Slice the pears and place them on the board, along with clusters of grapes, strawberries, and blueberries. Arrange them in separate parts of the board for colorful variety.
Arrange the bread and crackers. Slice the French bread. Then place the bread and crackers around the board, fanning them out as with the meats.
Add the nuts and dried fruits. To fill the small spaces on the charcuterie board between the other ingredients, place small handfuls of the nuts and dried fruits. This will give your board a very full and abundant look.

Let the board reach room temp. Before serving, let the board sit out for about 1 hour to reach room temperature. This will give it optimal flavor. Then enjoy!

Close up of an Ultimate Charcuterie Board, including an assortment of meats, cheeses, fruit, nuts, olives, jams, breads, crackers, and honey.

Watch How To Make It HERE!

CHEESES

▢ 1 wedge Fromager d'affinois
▢ 1 wheel Smoked Gouda
▢ 1 block smoked mozzarella
▢ 1 wheel Edam cheese
▢ 1 block Aged cheddar
▢ 1 package Boursin garlic herb cheese spread
▢ 1 block Beacher's flagship cheese
▢ 1 box Beacher's plain cheese curds

CURED MEATS

▢ Prosciutto sliced
▢ Genoa Salami sliced
▢ Soppressata sliced
▢ Spanish style chorizo sliced
▢ Nola salami sliced
▢ Peppered salami sliced

FRESH AND DRIED FRUITS

▢ 1 1/2 cup cotton candy grapes
▢ 1 1/2 cup red seedless grapes
▢ 8 Strawberries
▢ 1/4 Bartlett Pear
▢ 1/4 cup Blueberries
▢ 1/4 cup dried apricots
▢ 1/4 cup golden raisins
▢ 1/4 cup dried tart cherries
▢ 8 Dried figs

Start with the cheeses

You want to start off by slicing up the cheeses and arranging them on a large wooden or marble cheese board. Make sure to scatter them as far apart from each other to make room for all the other ingredients.
Depending on the cheese, some may need to be crumbled like the Beacher's flagship cheese. Other cheese that is soft and spreadable like the fromager d'affinois or garlic herb spread will need to have a small butter knife wedged into it for serving.

Add the meats

Next, begin slicing and folding your cured meats. You want to start with the biggest pieces such as the prosciutto. It's super thin so all you need to do is simply let them drop in a ribbon right onto the serving board.
Now fold up the Genoa salami, and soppressata into quarters and fan them out beside each other like a deck of cards. The Spanish chorizo is a bit smaller so all you need to do is fold it in half and lay them out the same way.
For the peppered and Nola salami, use a sharp knife to slice them into thin rounds and lay them out onto your cheeseboard. Always make sure to spread your meats in sections apart from each other. It looks so much prettier that way!

Add the olives, jams, and honey

Now you can begin filling your marinated olives, jams, and honey into small bowls or mini glass jars. Try to stay consistent with the type of bowls you use. If you use a bunch of different types, it could look messy.

Fresh fruit

Once your condiments are arranged on the board, begin adding the fruit (clusters of grapes, strawberries, sliced pear, and blueberries.

Crackers and bread

Dried fruits and nuts

The last and final step would be to add the dried fruit and nuts. The reason we add these last is that once you reach the end of a charcuterie board assembly, you're left with tiny spaces to fill. Small things like pistachios, almonds, pecans, and small dried fruit fit perfectly in all those little pockets.
Before serving, you want to let your charcuterie board ingredients come to room temperature for about 1 hour for optimal flavors.

Snap a photo of it and tag me on Instagram @simplyhomecooked or use the hashtag #simplyhomecooked so I can see it and feature it!

Author
Recent Posts

Dina

Hi, I'm Dina, so glad you stopped by! I believe life is too short for bad coffee and boring meals. With my easy to follow step-by-step recipes, you'll be surprised at how quickly a wholesome and delicious meal can come together. I hope you find something you enjoy!