Simple Cheese Board (Beginner Charcuterie) - Crazy for Crust (2024)

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What should be in a Simple Charcuterie Board for Beginners?

The biggest difference I see between myself and my non-blogging friends is when it comes to charcuterie cheese boards. When I look at these photos, I think that this board is nice, but pretty basic. This cheeseboard, while fantastic, isn’t anything special. I mean, I’m not Mary or Holly or Averie.

However, whenever my friends come over and they see my cheese boards, they think they’re fantastic.

Anyway, after a mom’s night last month, a few of my friends begged me to tell them my “secret” to making the perfect cheese board. I’m pretty sure they wanted more in depth than throw cheese on a plate, so that’s why I decided to write this post.

To me, making a cheese board is all about balance: salty, creamy, sweet, soft, crunchy. If you check all the boxes you’ll have the perfect easy appetizer that doubles as dinner!

What kind of cheese do you put on a charcuterie tray?

I’m sure there are rules somewhere about this, but my opinion is: put cheese on your cheese tray that you like to eat.

Head to the deli/specialty cheese section of your grocery store for all these picks.

• Dubliner – this is always on every single cheese tray I make. It’s made by Kerrygold and it’s wonderfully nutty. It has the consistency between cheddar and parmesan. Most grocery stores have it in the specialty cheese aisle (even Walmart and Target).
• Sharp Cheddar – I love a nice sharp cheddar. My favorite brands are Tillamook and Cabot.
• Parmesan or Asiago – you can often find flavor infused wedges with pepper or rosemary or wine.
• Gouda or Gruyere (optional) – I often include Gouda when my daughter will be joining us. It’s one of the only specialty cheeses she (and lots of kids) likes.
• Medium Cheddar is important to have if you’re having kids. Or Colby, but cheddar is better. I love Tillamook!
• Brie or Goat cheese (or something soft and spreadable).
• You can even put stronger cheese, like blue cheese, if you want it.

I like to try and cut each cheese in a different way (cheese cubes, cheese slices, some wedges, etc) so they’re distinguishable. I also love mixing hard cheese and soft cheeses.

What kind of meats do you put on a cheese tray?

Again, this is like the cheese: use what you like. Here are my suggestions:

• Salami, for me, is a must. It’s often the only meat I put on my charcuterie tray, because it’s a universal meat. I often use regular salami and peppercorn salami on my trays (one for the adults and one for kids).
• If you want to be a little fancier, try prosciutto, mortadella, or sopressata.
• You can use thinly sliced meats or stick salami that you cut into chunks.

Vegetables and Fresh Fruit

I always like to add a few kinds of raw vegetables to my charcuterie. My two favorites are carrots and cucumber, but snap peas or celery go well also.

Cheese and grapes go well together, so I usually ad a few bunches of grapes as garnish.

My favorite crackers for a charcuterie board:

The cheese and meat are the backbone of the tray. I always add them to the board first. Then I add my vegetables. Then, think about the following:

Crackers. Crackers and cheese are important. Just get about 2-3 different kinds of crackers, but you don’t need to put a ton on there. You’ll notice I don’t have many; you can always add more but believe me, you probably won’t need to unless you have lots of kids. Adults are weird and don’t eat tons of carbs with their meat and cheese.

• Pepperidge farm “Trio” crackers
• Water biscuits (such as Carr’s)
• Something gluten-free, like a Nut Thin or something similar

Other Ingredients on a Simple Cheese Platter

Other items to add to your board:

• Olives and/or mini pickles, for a salty bite. I love a mix of green and black olives.
• Nuts!My favorite to use are Marcona Almonds (get them at Trader Joe’s) but mixed nuts, almonds, cashews – anything works
• Honey – I love drizzling honey on my cheese!
• Jam or mustard or other dips
• Chocolate – chocolate and cheese pair well together. Get a dark chocolate bar and just break pieces to fill in the board.
• Dried Fruits go great on charcuterie platters too

How to assemble a cheese board:

That’s everything that goes into one of my easy cheese boards. My rule of thumb is that it should seem messy but it’s really not.

1. Add your cheeses spaced around your board.
2. Add your salami or other meat in a few different places.
3. Place bowls of olives or honey or jam down the middle.
4. Add crackers and vegetables in large open spaces.
5. Place bunches of grapes, nuts, and chocolate in all the cracks.

It really is SO easy to make this on your own.You’ll never buy a cheese plate from the grocery again!Believe me, serve this cheese tray as an appetizer and people will be wowed.

What can you use as a charcuterie board? What else do you need?

• Usually you’ll use a large wood board or cutting board or even a platter, large plate or tray.
• The type of board you see in these photos (or, rather, don’t see) is from Target. They have several options that are fantastic prices. Check out the kitchen aisle to grab a few.
• Check out Ross, Home Goods, or TJ Maxx. They often have them cheap!
• Amazon has some great options, just search “wooden serving tray”.
• Want to splurge? Buy a Boos Block!
• Small bowls are perfect for holding olives or dips