An Italian charcuterie board is typically a combination of olives, vegetables, peppers, cheese, meats, breads, fruits, crackers, etc. Commonly referred to as mezze, tapas or antipasti, the items used are wide and varied.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Much like an Italian antipasto platter, an Italian charcuterie board is comprised with what is seasonally and locally available.
You will love the flexibility of this Italian charcuterie board. It's a template for you to shop from and plan your own unique charcuterie ideas from.
Charcuterie boards are freeing, as you can opt for whatever is in season or locally available. You can slice meats and cheeses up in advance, pulling together a masterpiece right before your guests arrive.
Everything from cherry tomatoes, mini mozzarella, vegetable crudites, and any manner of cheese, cured meats, pickled vegetables, all have their place on any charcuterie.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Ingredients for a Charcuterie Board
- Best Cheese for Charcuterie Boards
- Best Meats for Charcuterie Boards
- Best Crackers for Charcuterie Board
- How to Make an Italian Charcuterie Board
- Serving Suggestions
- Related Recipes
- Substitutions
- Variations
- Equipment
- Storage
- Tips for Success
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Food Safety
- Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
- 📖 Recipe
- Connect with Smells Like Delish!
Ingredients for a Charcuterie Board
Below is a charcuterie board shopping list for what is on mine. You can adapt your ingredients to create your own unique charcuterie board ideas based on this list.
- Sopressata - Spiced hot or regular, but thin. You can also use Salami.
- Capocolla - Sweet Copocolla to counter the spicy Sopressata.
- Spanish Manchego cheese - Sliced thin.
- Soft Goat Cheese - Herbed or Plain, you will top it with some Fig Preserve or Blackberry Preserves.
- Walnuts - Fresh cracked, candied walnuts, or preserved walnuts will be perfect.
- Burrata Cheese ball - Get the large one, as it will be a focal point on your Christmas charcuterie board.
- Artichoke antipasto - Marinated artichokes in jars, steamed fresh artichoke hearts, or even canned artichoke hearts
- Figs - fresh, quartered.
- Roasted Red Peppers - drain well after removing from the jar, and slice into strips.
- Marinated Olives - Use mixed green and black seasoned olives.
- Marcona Almonds - Mix into your marinated olives.
- Red Seedless Grapes - Or for a real treat, Champagne grapes.
- Crusty bread and crackers - Set some toasted or fresh slices of breads and crunchy crackers nearby your Christmas charcuterie board.
- Garnish - any leafy herbs like fresh basil, rosemary sprigs, or even a few snips from your Christmas tree.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Best Cheese for Charcuterie Boards
Some of my favorite cheese for charcuterie boards: Spanish Manchego, Gorgonzola crumbles, Smoked Gouda, Singleton's Sage Derby, Kerry Gold Grass Fed Reserve Irish Cheddar, and Beer Cheese Milk Stout.
For more "Italian" cheese options, consider: Fontina slices, mini Mozzarella balls, Auricchio Stravecchio, Sottocenere al Tartufo, and Asiago Stravecchio.
Best Meats for Charcuterie Boards
There are many different meats that can be used for a charcuterie board, but some are better than others. Salami, mortadella, and prosciutto are all excellent choices and they are most common on charcuterie. Other meats such as meat pâté, sopressata, salami, prosciutto, and pepperoni add additional flavor and dimension.
Best Crackers for Charcuterie Board
The best crackers to layer with meat and cheeses, as well as spread with soft cheese and meat pâté, are a selection of water crackers, artisan crackers, crostini rounds, rye crisp crackers, wholegrain crackers, and La Panzanella Croccatini Crackers.
How to Make an Italian Charcuterie Board
This recipe is more of a charcuterie board template for you to create your own unique charcuterie board ideas. If you need to make a small charcuterie board, just reduce the portion sizes of the ingredients.
Prepare the Goat Cheese dip
- Mix your soft goat cheese with any herbs or citrus zest, as your taste prefers, or just use plain. Add to a small bowl and top with some Fig preserve or Blackberry preserves. Garnish with fresh or candied walnuts.
- Drain the marinated seasoned olives and mix with the Marcona almonds. Add to another small bowl.
Next, drain the marinated artichokes and slice them into smaller strips and add to a small bowl. Repeat with the jar of roasted red peppers.
Slice cheese and meats
- On both ends of your charcuterie platter, lay thin slices of Capocolla and Sopressata meats in a fan shape, overlapping slightly.
- Slice the Manchego cheese into small slices. Add the slices of Manchego cheese below the meats.
Tuck in a sprig of garnish here and there. Quarter the fresh figs and add above the slices of cured meats.
Create the Burrata Centerpiece
- Center the large burrata ball in the middle of the cheese slices, with cheese and meats radiating from the burrata to the end of the platter on both sides.
- Add your marinated olives blended with the Marcona almonds on the right and left sides of the centered burrata cheese ball.
- Garnish with sprigs of fresh basil and rosemary. Serve with crackers (see our Best Crackers for Charcuterie Board).
Serving Suggestions
Serve your Italian charcuterie with antipasto forks or toothpicks, spreading knives for the centerpiece burrata ball, and the small bowl of goat cheesed dressed with jam.
Add a bowl or basket of variety crackers or sliced bread rounds to complete your Italian charcuterie board!
Add to your appetizer table. Some additional items to serve are our Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rolls, Cherry Tomato Bruschetta, and Savory Puff Pastry Bites.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Related Recipes
Substitutions
I've provided a list of best cheese for charcuterie boards, but you can really use ANY cheeses you have on hand or love. Likewise with the cured meats and crackers, use what you love or try something new on my lists.
Variations
Here are some unique charcuterie board ideas for you to play around with and execute on your own. Use our charcuterie board template to shop for and prepare the components of your own charcuterie board ideas.
- Christmas Charcuterie Board - Lay out your Christmas charcuterie board in the shape of a Christmas tree! The burrata ball would be terrific at the top of the tree in place of a star.
- Dessert Charcuterie Board - A Dessert charcuterie board is a completely delicious idea! Set up sliced fruits, cookies and slices of pound cake around cheesecake dips, chocolate dips, and other complementary items. Perfect for kids parties! Give yours a theme, like Cookie Monster Charcuterie board, etc.
- Small Charcuterie Board - For small gatherings you can reduce the size of the ingredients or just opt for a few of the charcuterie board selections. Try two cheeses, two meats, and a bowl of dip and a few olives to make a small charcuterie board for 2 to 4.
Equipment
Most of what you need for any charcuterie platter you probably already have. A platter the size you want, small bowls, spreading knives, antipasto forks, etc. Here are a few suggestions:
Storage
Store your prepared Italian charcuterie board in the refrigerator until ready to set out to serve.
For leftovers, separate the meats, cheeses, fruits, and other components into separate baggies. Use them for small charcuterie boards during the week, sandwiches, or toss into salads. All the components will last for several days.
Tips for Success
- Our Fig Preserve recipe above it great, but as a time saver buy it ready made in the store.
- Slice your cheeses and meats up a day ahead and store in baggies. Prepare the individual components the day before and you can put this Italian charcuterie board together at the last minutes before your guests arrive.
Frequently Asked Questions
The texture of all the components will get changed with freezing. It's better to use the leftover cheeses in salads. Use the sliced meats for sandwiches, and toss the olives, red peppers, and other items in fresh salads. You will enjoy this more than freezing.
No, that is what is so liberating about a charcuterie. Pick a theme... then look for components that complement your theme. Pretty anything goes that is meat, cheese, pickled, fruit, or vegetable. Same with breads and dips!
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
📖 Recipe
Italian Charcuterie Board
Equipment
- Long rectangular Charcuterie board 36" x 12"
- Round Charcuterie Board 19" diameter
- Small Charcuterie Board perfect for 2 - 4 people
Ingredients
- 3 oz Capocolla thinly sliced
- 3 oz Sopressata thinly sliced, sweet or spicy
- 4 oz Manchego sliced in thin pieces
- 4 oz Goat Cheese softened
- 2 oz Fig Preserve
- 3 tablespoon Walnuts Fresh cracked, candied walnuts, or preserved
- 1 large Burrata get the large cheese ball
- 8 oz Marinated artichokes drain the oil off
- 6 Figs fresh, quartered
- 6 oz Roasted Red Peppers drain and slice in thin strips
- 4 oz Marinated Olives get green and black mixed, drained
- 4 oz Marcona Almonds mix with the olives
- 1 lb Grapes red seedless or mini champagne
- 16 oz Crackers mix of varieties
- Rosemary sprigs or Garnish, you can use any fresh herbs.
Instructions
- Mix your soft goat cheese with any herbs or citrus zest, as your taste prefers, or just use plain. Add to a small bowl and top with some Fig preserve or Blackberry preserves. Garnish with fresh or candied walnuts.4 oz Goat Cheese, 2 oz Fig Preserve, 3 tablespoon Walnuts
- Drain the marinated seasoned olives and mix with the Marcona almonds. Add to another small bowl. Next, drain the marinated artichokes and slice them into smaller strips and add to a small bowl. Repeat with the jar of roasted red peppers.8 oz Marinated artichokes, 6 oz Roasted Red Peppers, 4 oz Marinated Olives, 4 oz Marcona Almonds
- On both ends of your charcuterie platter, lay thin slices of Capocolla and Sopressata meats in a fan shape, overlapping slightly.3 oz Capocolla, 3 oz Sopressata
- Slice the Manchego cheese into small slices. Add the slices of Manchego cheese below the meats. Tuck in a sprig of garnish here and there. Quarter the fresh figs and add above the slices of cured meats.4 oz Manchego, 6 Figs
- Center the large burrata ball in the middle of the cheese slices, with cheese and meats radiating from the burrata to the end of the platter on both sides.1 large Burrata
- Add your marinated olives blended with the Marcona almonds on the right and left sides of the centered burrata cheese ball. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary and grapes. Serve with crackers.1 lb Grapes, Rosemary sprigs, 16 oz Crackers
Notes
- Our Fig Preserve recipe above it great, but as a time saver buy it ready made in the store.
- Slice your cheeses and meats up a day ahead and store in baggies. Prepare the individual components the day before and you can put this Italian charcuterie board together at the last minutes before your guests arrive.
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