20 Best Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board Ideas

I’m excited to share these Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board ideas with you all today. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays as I get to spend time eating delicious food with my favorite people.

One of my favorite ways to welcome company into the home is with a good drink and snacks. As you may have noticed, charcuterie boards are a favorite of mine as they offer a variety of morsels for all tastes.

What is a charcuterie board?

Charcuterie is a display of cured meats. As charcuterie boards have grown in popularity, they have included selections of meats, cheeses, crackers or bread and other accompaniments that pair well with these items.

Such accompaniments might include olives, nuts, fruit, honey or preserves, spreads and other items. A charcuterie board has become a broader word for “cheese board” and you may find lots of variations, even including those containing sweets like my popular Halloween Charcuterie Board.

What is typically on a charcuterie plate?

Choosing what to put on a charcuterie board can vary as widely as peoples’ tastes but a good variety includes the following:

• Cured meats.
• A variety of cheeses.
• Nuts.
• Fruit.
• Dried Fruits.
• Crackers and/or small slices of bread.
• Jelly, Jam or Honey
• Olives or Cornichons

How long before a party should you make a Charcuterie Board?

You can assemble your Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board up to 24 hours before your get-together. Be sure to wrap your board with plastic wrap before storing it in the fridge and remove it 30 minutes before serving your guests.

What are 5 things to avoid on a Charcuterie Board?

Stinky cheese, fruits that brown easily, spicy foods, boring or bland foods, and cooked vegetables should be avoided on a charcuterie board. Being aware of any possible food allergies of guests is important when creating your Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board.

How to Make a Charcuterie Board

 

For this Thanksgiving charcuterie board, I added a good mix of meats and cheeses, nuts and dried fruits, dips and spreads, and accompaniments like olives, crackers, and cheese straws.

Cynthia at What a Girl Eats does a terrific job of explaining what a charcuterie board IS and ISN’T and how to make one correctly. The board she creates in her post How to Make a Charcuterie Board is gorgeous.

If anyone is going to teach us How to Assemble a Charcuterie Platter Like a Pro, you’d think it’d be a chef, right? Chef Markus of Earth, Food and Fire shares this tasty charcuterie board as well as some great tips for choosing ingredients, laying them out and how much to buy!

 
Cup of Zest blogger, Michelle shares a Fall Meat and Cheese Board Step-by-Step with her followers. She walks readers through all aspects of assembling a well-rounded board.
 

 
This gorgeous board comes from Julie at Frolic & Fare. She shares How to make an autumn inspired charcuterie board on her blog. I love how rustic (yet delicious) it looks.
 

Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board Ideas

I love these stunning boards by Kristina from the Tasty Oven. She shares a terrific post on Thanksgiving Appetizer Charcuterie Boards with lots of great tips. Just look at all the tasty goodness she packs into her boards!
 

This Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board from Smack of Flavor is gorgeous and I love how Sam breaks down all her ingredients. The sky is the limit when it comes to what to include, but Sam shares some good basics. 

I love the tips Shinee of Sweet + Savory shares in How to Make an Epic Charcuterie and Cheese Board.  She has great ideas and tips to create a tasty charcuterie board.

You can’t get much more autumn than this beautiful Fall Charcuterie Board from Sabra at This Mom’s Menu. I love her use of cookie cutters to shape the cheese, the unique grapes and her addition of a few sweets.

Here’s another stunning board from Sara at Dinner at the Zoo. She shares The Best Charcuterie Board and offers up a “complete guide” to putting together a diverse board just in time for the holidays.

Chef Not Required is the name of  Lee-Ann’s blog and she proves it with her post Top 10 Tips for the Perfect Grazing Board. Her charcuterie board it lovely and colorful and I’d be proud to serve it in my home. 

Charcuterie Boards are a great option for AFTER the big meal as well. Joleen of Love, Joleen shares how she pulled one together with some leftovers and goodies for guests who were staying with them as part of her post Everything You Need to Host a Small Thanksgiving Dinner.

Cheese Board Ideas

Though “Charcuterie” literally means meat, you can still assemble a terrific appetizer or grazing board sans the meat. Check out these beautiful boards:

 
Jessica’s Autumn Cheese Board is gorgeous and perfect for vegetarians with a great variety of fruit, cheese crusty baguette. You could easily add a couple of your favorite meats to make it a true charcuterie if you wished.
 

 
Christine, who blogs at Jar of Lemons shared a terrific post on How to create a Fall-Inspired Cheeseboard. I love how all the components look on her marble board. I’d love to join her for a conversation, glass of wine and a few nibbles!
 

 

 
Jillian at Food, Folks and Fun shares a lot of great information on the cheese aspect of assembling a cheese or charcuterie board in her post Cheese Platter Basics.
 

 
This Holiday Cheese Charcuterie Board has a couple of pieces of meat on it but I am sticking it in this category because its mainly cheese. Gwynn has a couple of delicious sounding recipes that would be terrific to be included on future boards.
 

Why do they call it a Charcuterie Board?

Charcuterie is derived from French which quite literally means “flesh cooked” describing the cured meats it represents. Recently charcuterie as been used broadly to describe snack boards featuring a variety of meats, cheese and other accompaniments.

How to pronounce Charcuterie

It’s French! and its pronounced “shaar·koo·tr·ee”. 

Did you know Charcuterie doesn’t always have to be ON A BOARD? Molly at Vanilla Bean Cuisine shared these adorable French Jarcuterie! What a fun idea for a party, just grab a jar and start mingling!
 

I hope you found some great inspiration to create your own Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board.

If you love to create tasty charcuterie boards, then you don’t want to miss this Rainbow Cheese board, festive Patriotic Charcuterie Board or my Holiday Charcuterie Board.

 

 

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today! For more inspiration, follow me on Instagram,  Pinterest,  LIKEtoKNOW.it,  Facebook,  and Twitter.

This post was updated on November 4th, 2024.

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Jennifer is a decorator, professional chef, and mom of six who shares recipes, home design, entertaining, travel, and family. A Better Homes and Gardens Stylemaker, Jennifer’s work can be seen in Better Homes and Gardens, Cottages and Bungalows Magazine, American Farmhouse Style, Oprah Magazine, Country Living Magazine, and At Home in Arkansas Magazine.

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