Kids Charcuterie Board 

Turn all your kids’ favorite snacks into a kids charcuterie board pretty enough even grown-ups will want to eat it! 

We grown-ups love our charcuterie boards! But stinky blue cheese, spicy meats, and Kalamata olives aren’t always at the top of every toddler’s list of favorite foods.

So I had the idea of a kids charcuterie board, modeled after the popular Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board from a few years back, that is packed with my children’s favorite foods! 

This board for kids would be great for a family-friendly party or after school snack.

Boards make such great party food because there is a little something for every palette! And rather than making 5-7 different dishes, you get to just put all the ingredients on one. You could make a few smaller boards to scatter around or per sibling pair if you’re worried about germ sharing. Another fun board idea: a dessert board for a movie night! 

Kids Charcuterie Board 

I started the planning process by making a list of all the kid-friendly foods I could think of, making sure to include a variety of food categories and flavors: sweet, salty, crunchy, fresh, dried, dippy. 

Some kids love cheese and some kids love cucumbers, and there is a little bit of everything involved! Most of the ingredients I would consider healthy. I added the chocolatey trail mix and animal crackers to lure them in! Super fun : ) 

Kids love animal crackers, but you could use any of the alphabet-shaped cookies too! 

I picked up a few extra fresh ingredients from the store, but most of them came directly from our pantry. Snacks are more fun when presented in colorful ways, amiright? 

How To Make A Kids Charcuterie Board

Step one: procure ingredients

I shopped at stores and my pantry for a mix. I focused on fresh fruits and vegetables, added some proteins, kid friendly cheeses, and whole grain crackers, and filled in the cracks with trail mix, raisins, and Goldfish!

*Be mindful of choking hazards for younger kids*

Shopping List

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Orange
• Apple
• Carrot chips
• Cucumber
• Block of sharp cheddar cheese
• Package of pepperoni (not spicy!)
• Package of hummus
• Jar of mini pickles
• Goldfish
• Dried pea crisps
• Pretzel sticks
• Wheat square crackers
• Trail mix
• Raisins
• Animal crackers

Step two: Prep the fresh ingredients

Wash your fruit and slice as artfully as you can! Super-thin slices are great for little hands, and I recommend peeling the cucumber before you slice it. I used carrot chips for fun! 

Step three: Cube and stack the cheese and pepperoni

Slice half of the cheese block and stack into “flowers.” Cube the rest! Stack the pepperoni into neat towers. 

Step four: Put any liquid or dippy ingredients in small bowls like hummus, peanut butter, etc. 

Step five: Begin with a dry cutting board and anchor with bowls

Step six: Add the cheese cubes in a pile and arrange the rest of the meat and cheese evenly around

Step 7: Spread around fresh fruit and vegetables

Step 8: Fill in gaps with crackers, dried peas, pretzels, trail mix and Goldfish

Step 9: Top with animal crackers!

Kids Charcuterie Board Tips

Wash hands well!

Needless to say, little hands can be very grubby. Since your kiddos will be reaching in, make sure they wash “tops and bottoms” and “all around our hands now” to get them “nice and clean” 😆 

Always use two cutting boards when making a cheese board

Do your prep work on one and then arrange and serve on another. It will keep your board clean and dry for design!

For picky eaters, keep foods from touching

You can still use the board idea but put everything in little tiny bowls if you have picky eaters who don’t like their food to touch. Even a muffin tin is a great idea for a variety of snacks all in on tray. Use silicone muffin cup liners if you’d like to make it so kids can lift the foods out. 

Have on hand:

• Napkins (!) or little plates for the dips if you want.
• A bowl for discards such as foods, such as the tops of the strawberries or foods that only get one bite taken out of them. Birch didn’t understand at first that you couldn’t put a discarded cucumber back on the board!
• Extra ingredients to refill if needed.
• Hand sanitizer (in addition to the pre-meal wash) and wet wipes for sticky hands after if you’re not easily able to rinse. 

Other Ingredient Ideas

• PB&J tea sandwich triangles 
• String cheese
• Halved grapes
• Blackberries
• Freeze-dried berries
• Yogurt-covered raisins
• Mini sandwich crackers
• Veggie chips
• Pirate’s Booty
• Turkey + cheese pinwheels
• Yogurt dip
• Pear slices
• Cookies or candy (There, I said it!!! Any kid-friendly charcuterie board needs a little sweet 🙂 )

Get more than one meal out of your board

After we had had our fill, I packed up the snack board and we enjoyed it again a few hours later when appetites were back!

What did my kids think?

Birch was THRILLED with all the choices and rotated through them all (except he didn’t care for the pickles!). He loved the smorgasbord of foods just for him. I think recognizing his favorites was key. I didn’t toss in too many new things (except for the pickles!)  

Mazen was a bit more particular about the board in general but enjoyed some cheese, crackers, fruit, and M&Ms out of the trail mix. Surprisingly he’s my pickier eater for certain things! His dream pre-teen board would have included Doritos and BBQ chips – ha!

What snacks would your kids like best?!