Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
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This festive Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board is always a show stopper! Loaded with a colorful assortment of fresh fruits, savory meats, and a variety of cheeses, it’s the perfect appetizer for your next holiday party.
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
There’s nothing I love more for parties than a fun charcuterie board. They’re always fun, easy and of course, delicious! So what better way to kick off the holidays than with a charcuterie Christmas tree?
With a variety of meats, cheeses, and fresh fruits artfully arranged in the shape of a Christmas tree, this fun appetizer is always a party favorite. I also love that it doubles as beautiful centerpiece, which adds a decorative touch to any holiday spread.
The best part is that this charcuterie tree is super easy to make with simple store-bought ingredients. For an extra homemade touch, you can serve it alongside some of my popular warm appetizers like Sausage Balls, Jalapeno Poppers or any of these delicious Charcuterie Board Dips.
Why We Love This Recipe
- Festive design: The beautiful colors and festive Christmas tree shape is a fun twist on a regular meat and cheese board.
- Variety of foods: With a mix of fruits, meats, cheeses, and snacks, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
- Great for holiday parties: The bite-sized foods make it simple for guests to grab and enjoy while standing around visiting.
- Creative presentation: The creative presentation adds a decorative touch to any holiday appetizer table.
Ingredients
- Fruit: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, Cutie oranges, green olives
- Meat: salami, honey ham
- Cheese: Brie, pepper jack cubes, cheddar cheese cubes
- Garnish: Fresh dill and sage leaves
- Assorted square and round crackers/pretzels/chips
- Pumpkin seeds (optional)
You’re also going to need a board. You can go with a traditional cutting board or get fancy with a holiday themed one. If you’re bringing this to a party, it might be fun to make a personalized board and leave it behind as a hostess gift.
How to Make A Charcuterie Christmas Tree
Step 1. Start by laying out the frame for the Christmas tree. Arrange fresh dill in a tree
shape on a large cutting board, serving platter or any food-safe wooden board.
Step 2. Take your ham and fold each piece in half, then fold like an accordion. Place two to three folded pieces on a toothpick. Repeat until you have 6 toothpicks (12 folded pieces of
ham).
Step 3. Take the salami and fold one piece in half, then roll it up like a cinnamon roll. Wrap two more folded pieces around the first rolled up salami. This will look like a rose. Repeat
with the remaining salami until you have 8 rolls.
Step 4. Next, take three of the ham toothpicks and press them together to make a garland shape. Place on the lower third of the dill tree. Take the remaining three toothpicks and press together to make a garland shape, then place on the 2nd third of the dill tree.
Step 5. Place the 8 rolls of salami around the tree (three on the bottom third, three on the middle third, and two on the top third).
Step 6. Using a cookie cutter or a sharp knife, cut one of the pepper jack pieces into a star shape and place it at the top of the tree.
Step 7. Cut your brie wheel into even triangles and place them around the board.
Step 8. Add blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries to some of your empty spaces.
Step 9. Place cutie oranges (3-4 halves) as shown and fill in some of the empty space with the pepper jack and cheddar cheese cubes.
Step 10. Next, add small clusters of green grapes.
Step 11. Fill in empty spaces with green olives.
Step 12. Add sage leaves around the board.
Step 13. Fill in any extra space with fresh sage sprigs.
Step 14. Add your favorites pretzels, chips, and crackers around the tree.
Serve and enjoy.
Variations and Substitutions
- Fresh fruit: You don’t have to stick to my ingredients…use any of your favorite fresh fruits. Strawberries, apple slices, or kiwi taste great and add more color too.
- Meat: Feel free to use a variety of meats like pepperoni, prosciutto, or even cooked bacon strips for extra flavor.
- Garnishes: Fresh rosemary sprigs make excellent garnishes, but you can also use fresh thyme or parsley for a pop of green. Edible flowers and fresh cranberries also add a decorative touch.
- Cheese: Experiment with other cheeses. Gouda, Colby Jack cheese, Monterey Jack, Havarti, or mini mozzarella balls are good options. You might also want to include some blue cheese or goat cheese for added variety.
- Tree trunk: To create a tree trunk, stack up some pecan halves or even use a small pecan-crusted log of cheese.
- Nuts: Add a handful of mixed nuts like almonds, walnuts, or cashews for a little extra crunch.
- Dips: Include a few dips like honey mustard or spicy mustard as a spread for the meats.
- Vegetables: Add some colorful veggies such as cherry tomatoes or cucumber slices.
Recommended Tools to Have on Hand
- Large wooden cutting board or any large, flat serving platter.
- You’ll want to have party picks (frill picks) available to pick up the small item.
- Small tongs to grab the slices of meat.
- Smaller-sized plates are great for serving snacks from the board.
- Parchment paper is great to line your board with. It helps with cleanup.
- Small forks for people to use with the meats and cheeses.
Christmas Charcuterie Board FAQs
The best way to keep your leftovers fresh is by removing them from the board, then storing them separately in airtight containers or freezer bags. They should stay fresh for a couple of days.
Charcuterie is a French term that refers to the casual way of preparing and serving cured meats, like sausages, ham, and pâtés. It can also include a variety of other foods, like cheeses, fruits, nuts, and crackers. It’s basically a fancy way of saying a spread of tasty snacks, usually arranged in a fun and festive way on a board.
Yes, you can assemble the tree a few hours before serving. Just make sure to cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator until right before your Christmas party begins.
If you really want to get a head start, form the meat garland and roses the night before and store them in plastic wrap until you need them. You can also cut your cheeses ahead of time and do the same.
More Holiday Appetizers
- Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
- Cranberry Salsa
- Easy Deviled Eggs
- Maple Bacon Crack
- Mini Cheese Balls
- Bacon Wrapped Meatballs
- Sausage Cheese Dip
- Fried Goat Cheese
- Ham And Turkey Pinwheels
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
Equipment
Ingredients
- Fresh dill for the base
- 12 slices Honey ham
- 24 slices Salami
- 1 slice Pepper Jack cheese for the star
- 8 ounces Brie 1 wheel
- 3/4 cup Blackberries
- 1/4 cup Blueberries
- 1/2 cup Raspberries
- 2 Cutie oranges
- 3/4 cup Green grapes
- 1/2 cup Green olives
- 6 ounces Pepper Jack cubes
- 6 ounces Cheddar cubes
- Fresh sage for garnish
- Assorted crackers/pretzels/chips
Instructions
- Start by laying out the frame for the Christmas tree. Arrange fresh dill in a tree shape on a large cutting board, serving platter or any food-safe wooden board.Fresh dill
- Take your ham and fold each piece in half, then fold like an accordion. Place two to three folded pieces on a toothpick. Repeat until you have 6 toothpicks (12 folded pieces of ham).12 slices Honey ham
- Take the salami and fold one piece in half, then roll it up like a cinnamon roll. Wrap two more folded pieces around the first rolled up salami. This will look like a rose. Repeat with the remaining salami until you have 8 rolls.24 slices Salami
- Take three of the ham toothpicks and press together to make a garland shape. Place on the lower third of the dill tree. Take the remaining three toothpicks and press together to make a garland shape. Place on the 2nd third of the dill tree.
- Place the 8 rolls of salami around the tree (three on the bottom third, three on the middle third, and two on the top third).
- Using a cookie cutter or a sharp knife, cut one of the Pepper Jack pieces into a star shape and place it at the top of the tree.1 slice Pepper Jack cheese
- Cut your brie wheel into even triangles and place them around the board.8 ounces Brie
- Add blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries to some of your empty spaces.3/4 cup Blackberries, 1/4 cup Blueberries, 1/2 cup Raspberries
- Place cutie oranges (3-4 halves) as shown and fill in some of the empty space with the pepper jack and cheddar cheese cubes.2 Cutie oranges, 6 ounces Pepper Jack cubes, 6 ounces Cheddar cubes
- Next, add small clusters of green grapes.3/4 cup Green grapes
- Fill in empty spaces with green olives.1/2 cup Green olives
- Add sage leaves around the board.Fresh sage
- Fill in any extra space with fresh sage sprigs.
- Add your favorites pretzels, chips, and crackers around the tree.Assorted crackers/pretzels/chips
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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