How To Build a Charcuterie Board

I’m excited to partner with Simply 7 Snacks, a Texas based company that makes sure every ingredient in their snacks is simple AND delicious.. As always, all opinions are my own.

Charcuterie boards have become super popular in the past couple years. Some of my favorite local restaurants have the best boards and it’s so fun to order exactly what you want from a wide variety of meats, cheeses, spreads, etc. BUT what’s even more fun is making your own board at home! Not only are your options completely endless, but you can incorporate a lot more fruits, veggies and fun things to dip in your different spreads!

Charcuterie boards are also THE BEST thing to serve at a party or holiday gathering. What’s better than serving up a huge tray of food that will feed a crowd, but you don’t actually have to have a recipe to follow? I’m excited to share some “tips” on building a board, but just know that there isn’t a right or wrong way with charcuterie!

There also isn’t a right or wrong chip to serve with your beautiful board, but I want to tell y’all all about Simply 7 Snacks. They quickly became my favorite chip brand a couple years ago after learning about their 7 Simple Standards. Their gluten free chips only have clean ingredients you can actually pronounce, have zero grams trans fat, no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors and are simply delicious. Did y’all catch all that? Clean chips that actually taste good and don’t have a bunch of wonky things you’re worried about your kids or yourself eating! That’s what you call WINNING and Simply 7 snacks are my go-to chip to include when serving charcuterie for friends and family!

So let’s talk about 5 easy steps to building the perfect charcuterie board!

1.) Select at least 5 different protein sources, including a variety of animal and plant protein sources (unless of course you or your guests are vegetarian/vegan). Some options include prosciutto, salami, pepperoni, ham, turkey, dried sausage, hard or soft cooked eggs, assorted cheese cubes (muenster cheese is my fav!), hummus and nuts.

2.) Select at least 5 different fruits and veggies, including ones ideal for dipping! Cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, tomatoes, assorted berries, grapes, peach and pear slices. Pickled vegetables and roasted fruit also make for an especially nice touch!

3.) Include some healthy fats. Olives, a variety of nuts (pistachios, cashews, macadamia nuts, and walnuts, just to name a few), hummus and avocado (sliced or mashed) are excellent healthy fats to make your board extra hearty!

4.) Include a variety of fun and flavorful dippers, like Simply 7 chips. With 24 different chip options, they have everything from lentil to quinoa to kale to hummus to veggie chips! There are numerous flavor options, but my three favorites are the Quinoa Sea Salt, Quinoa Barbeque and Lentil Jalapeno. I love having a balance of mildly flavored dippers and some bold options. I’m not usually a huge fan of jalapeno, but they nailed the flavor!

5.) Serve more than you need and serve with wine. Okay, maybe you don’t have to have wine, but I would highly recommend it ;). Definitely serve extra though because it’s hard to predict how much people will eat AND the leftovers are seriously perfect for bento box lunches for both kiddos and adults!

If serving charcuterie for a large gathering, you may want to consider having multiple boards based on food preferences or allergies. For the most part, your guests will probably just pick and choose what they want, but if you know someone has a nut, dairy or egg allergy, I would suggest having a separate board or bowl for those ingredients. And if you’re looking for better-for-you dippers that are allergy-friendly, you can rest assured that all of Simply 7 Snacks are free of the top 8 allergens! None of their chips have GMO ingredients, they have many vegan-friendly options AND their snacks have up to 18% less calories, 30-50% less fat and more vitamins than standard potato chips. Like I said earlier, WINNING.

I hope y’all are more excited than ever to build your next charcuterie board! Happy eating, happy entertaining and happy Fall! Follow me on Instagram for more charcuterie inspiration! <3 Shannon

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18 Responses

Catherine Brown says:
September 27, 2018 at 12:11 pm
What a beautiful board! I love this great mix of salty, sweet, savory, crunchy, soft… and all so flavorful! Perfect for easy entertaining. 🙂
Reply
1. Shannon says:
  September 29, 2018 at 11:23 pm
  Thank you, Catherine! Exactly! Definitely a crowd pleaser 🙂
  Reply
Kara Lydon says:
September 28, 2018 at 9:21 am
These are so popular in restaurants right now, would love to put together my own! Yours looks amazing!
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1. Shannon says:
  September 29, 2018 at 11:22 pm
  Thank you, Kara! Yes, they are! Such a fun and easy trend to make at home though!
  Reply
Stacey Mattinson says:
September 29, 2018 at 7:27 pm
Beautiful charcuterie board! I’ll have to check out those Simply 7 snack chips! They look delicious. I’m always looking for new ones to try!
Reply
1. Shannon says:
  September 29, 2018 at 11:22 pm
  Thanks, Stacey! I think you’ll love them!
  Reply
Emily Cooper, RDN says:
September 30, 2018 at 6:17 am
What a great spread! I need to have you over for my next party 😉
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1. Shannon says:
  October 3, 2018 at 10:16 am
  Thank you! Haha, you got it ;).
  Reply
Amy Gorin says:
October 3, 2018 at 2:50 pm
This is perfect for entertaining! Thanks for sharing!
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Whitney E. RD says:
October 4, 2018 at 11:50 am
What a beautiful spread! I love all the color and the gorgeous presentation 🙂
Reply
1. Shannon says:
  October 4, 2018 at 2:18 pm
  Thanks, Whitney!
  Reply
Kelly Jones says:
October 4, 2018 at 1:48 pm
I’ve never thought to add hard boiled eggs to this type of board/app platter! Good idea!
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1. Shannon says:
  October 4, 2018 at 2:17 pm
  Thanks, Kelly! Yes- one of my favorite ingredients!!
  Reply
Abbey Sharp says:
October 4, 2018 at 2:06 pm
I love charcuterie boards! Also loving these tips! Thanks for sharing!
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1. Shannon says:
  October 4, 2018 at 2:16 pm
  Aren’t they the best?! So glad you found the tips helpful!
  Reply
Katey Davidson says:
October 4, 2018 at 3:09 pm
My boyfriend and I love making these boards! Thanks for sharing your tips! 🙂
Reply
1. Shannon says:
  October 5, 2018 at 4:47 am
  So glad you found them helpful! Thanks for stopping by, Katey!
  Reply
EA The Spicy RD says:
October 8, 2018 at 8:22 am
Beautiful charcuterie board! I definitely need to get on this trend-it would be such a fun and easy way to serve dinner!
Reply