Super simple and delicious winter Holiday Charcuterie Board for all of your party needs! Nothing is more impressive than a large and beautiful spread of meats, cheeses, and seasonal fruits. Especially when it’s something SO simple and elegant, filled with tried-and-true crowd pleasing bites. There is no better appetizer for the holiday season. It’s so much fun to put together and even better to eat! Be sure to serve this delicious charcuterie board during your New Year’s celebrations or even at Christmas with all your friends and family.

overhead shot of charcuterie board with glass of champagne, forks, rosemary sprigs, flowers, and white napkin

→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Holiday Charcuterie Board

About The Recipe

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday this past weekend.

We actually, believe it or not, took a few days of rest during Christmas. We invited a few close family friends and just enjoyed a day or so without any worries…which was nice! Gave us a bit of a break to really refocus and find fresh ideas leading up to New Year’s Eve and into January!

glass of champagne being poured behind charcuterie board

overhead of charcuterie board on marble counter

This holiday board was actually a spread I made the day before Christmas Eve! My mom and I were working incredibly hard on getting lots of delicious Christmas recipes up for the blog, while also trying to make Christmas dinner. It was a bit of mayhem, but we managed to get through it.

So, to say the least, the holiday mad rush was the inspiration behind this beautiful spread! The things you see on the board are staples in our fridge during the winter, plus a few of our traditional Christmas bakes. Spicy cheese crackers, butter roasted pecans, and even candied almonds to name a few!

It was a great way to use up the last of our Christmas snacks, which is why we wanted to share it with all of you! You can even use your cranberry sauce as a jam for cheese or other fruits.

charcuterie board on marble counter with white napkin, gold ribbon, amd forks

It’s such a versatile and fun board that really uses the things you have in your fridge during the holiday’s. Though, since my mom and I had a last minute run to the grocery store before I concocted this board, we found that pretty much all grocery stores were out of olive mixes. Which, was really upsetting for me because my favorite part of ANY cheese board is a good olive mix.

So, my mom and I made our own! Which was SO worth it. We already had pitted olives and a delicious italian spice mix at home. Just toss that together with a splash of olive oil and it was better than any store-bought mix!

And really, from that moment, this board grew into a wonderfully festive winter spread. We found fresh persimmons in our fridge, alongside berries that are just coming into season, cranberries, and tender figs. We were ecstatic!

So, while my mom started on the prep work for Christmas dinner, I began building this board. It took me about an hour to really style this board exactly how I wanted it. I knew I wanted certain things, but it was just trying to get it from my head to the board was a bit difficult.

close up of figs on board with cheese, other berries, and crackers

Though, I couldn’t be happier with how it came out! Each of the fruits, cheeses, and meats featured on this board hold up for hours at room temperature. The pear nor apple brown when chopped and left at room temperature, the cheese and meat only get more flavorful, and the crackers plus nuts just really finish this board off strongly. Oh! And the cranberry sauce, too.

Why You Should Make This Holiday Charcuterie Board

It’s super easy to make!
Each of the fruits featured on this board are in season right now. Which means you get the most flavor out of each, without any added sugar!
Charcuterie boards are always a crowd pleaser.
Everything on this board works well together.
It’s a great way to use holiday leftovers!

charcuterie board with plates and sprigs of rosemary behind

Equipment Needed

Large Serving Platter or Board
Cutting Board
Sharp Knife
Snowflake Cookie Cutter
Mini Bowls
Cheese Knife

Ingredients

(Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

Assorted Meats
Assorted Cheeses
Seasonal Fruits
Roasted and Candied Nuts
Jam or Honey
Crackers

How To Make A Holiday Charcuterie Board

This is actually very simple! The first step is to prep all of your ingredients beforehand. Buy pre-cut cheese or cut your own into varying shapes and sized. Set out the meat. Wash, cut, and dry your fruit. Place condiments, nuts, and olives in bowls.

Once everything is together, you can start building! I always start with the biggest ingredients and go from there. With this board, I placed my shaped brie (I used a cookie cutter to cut snowflake shape), followed by my bowl of olives, then the bigger slices of cheese, and so forth until I was completely out of room! It takes a bit of re-arranging sometimes, but no matter what you do, this board will always be gorgeous!

side shot of charcuterie board with cranberries, rosemary sprig, gold ribbon, and forks

front shot of charcuterie board with bowl of olives in front, glass of champagne behind, and flowers

The Essentials of a Good Charcuterie Board

The first thing you want to do is make sure you splurge a little on the cheese. Higher quality cheese makes all the difference in a good spread. With this spread, I kept my flavors sharp and creamy. I wanted creamy and nutty notes to go with the nuts and crackers, while having sharp cheeses to compliment the sweet in-season fruits and berries.

Good meat makes ALL the difference. I am, admittedly, very picky when it comes to charcuterie. for this board, I used five varieties. Each complimenting the other, while finding ways to compliment the cheeses, nuts, or fruits surrounding it. I am a black pepper type of gal when it comes to charcuterie. My family loves spicier (red chili flake, cayenne, etc). So, I incorporated all of this into this wonderful spread.

Go to your local market or grocery store and find the freshest fruits and veg you can! Follow the in-season guides because this will ensure the most flavorful board.

Crackerrrrrrrssssssss! Yes. Every good spread has one of some sort. Whether that be a good loaf of sourdough, plain or seasoned crackers. With this board, I used the leftovers of our Spicy Cheese Crackers from Christmas!

Go nuts with the nuts! We used our salted butter roasted pecans and our candied pecans for this recipe though, we used almonds instead! Different nuts compliment different cheeses. We love the sweet creaminess from pecans and the nuttiness from the almonds.

Lastly, think about your crowd. Do they like spicy? Any allergy concerns? Is there a type of cheese that everyone hates? Think about it before assembling your board and buy appropriately!

pulled back shot of charcuterie board with flowers, rosemary sprigs, plates, forks, and glass of champagne

Substitutions

Pretty much everything on this board can be substituted to what you have available. While I highly recommend substituting as little as possible, if there is anything on this board you simply don’t like or have an allergy to, feel free to leave it off or use something else in it’s place.

Expert Tips

Use high quality meats and cheeses for the best flavor profiles.
Cut the cheese while it’s cold for best results. If using a cookie cutter to cut brie, remember that the brie will stick. You will need to gently push each side down slowly to keep it from ripping.
Make sure everything is room temperature before serving. This brings out the flavor!
Enjoy this board with homemade components like crackers, roasted nuts, or candied nuts.
Make sure the fruits you buy are in season. This gives you the best flavors.
We serve this board with our Homemade Cranberry Sauce, but don’t forget serving honey or any other condiment you may like with your cheeses and meats!

When you make this Holiday Charcuterie Board, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

5 from 3 votes