Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board

This Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board how-to has everything you need to create a professional-looking cheese board in your home for just $60! All of the ingredients come from Trader Joe’s and the step-by-step instructions will show you exactly how to put them together to create a beautiful board for your Thanksgiving or holiday table. 

Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board

You guys! I am SO EXCITED to share this post with you!! Della of Plenty Cville and I came together to document her process of creating the perfect cheese board. Thanksgiving is days away, and I promise you can copy this board step by step and confidently serve it for your big day. (And all the holidays and parties beyond!) Looking at a finished board, it’s hard to know how much of everything to buy, so we have done all the hard work for you and have everything from your shopping list to details on exactly how to cut the cheese (har har har) and arrange each group of ingredients into beautiful layers. Once you get the hang of the formula and method, you’ll be able to design your own boards using whatever ingredients you desire.

Our board features three different kinds of cheeses and three different meats (that come in a pack!) plus four kinds of crackers. You can choose any style of crackers you like. Plus we’ve included candied oranges, fresh fruit (apples and grapes), fig preserves, dried fruit, nuts, and fresh herbs for a little something extra. And the best part? The entire board cost only $60 from Trader Joe’s!

Your Shopping List

Yup, everything comes from Trader Joe’s! The ingredients don’t look as fancy in boxes right? But all assembled your guests will think this is the board of all boards. Pro tip: don’t tell them you got it from Trader Joe’s. You won’t use ALL the crackers, nuts or fruit, on the board, but you can also keep a stash to the side to replenish if needed.

What To Include:

• Manchego cheese
• Unexpected Cheddar cheese
• Triple Cream Brie cheese
• Fig butter or other preserves (Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter is also amazing!)
• Truffle marcona almonds (you’ll use half) (6 oz)
• Bag of dried apricots (you’ll use half or so – save the rest)
• 2 colors of grapes (get the mixed grape container)
• One honeycrisp apple
• Sweetened Dried Orange Slices (5 oz) (these are SO good, but you can also use fresh oranges)
• Trio of Spanish meats (6 oz)
• Fresh sage
• Fresh rosemary
• Stone ground wheat crackers
• Pistachio Pomegranate Crisps
• Cheddar CheeseSticks
• Pita Bite Crackers

There’s an extra goat cheese in there that we decided not to use, but of course you can mix and match any cheeses like blue cheese or an herbed or fruity goat cheese. Try to choose three different styles and flavors of cheese so you’ll have variety. You can also consider adding little bowls with hummus or more savory options like marinated artichokes or olives. A little bowl of chocolate covered nuts or a few dark chocolates is also a nice touch!

How To Put Your Thanksgiving Cheese Board Together

Gather Your Equipment, Prep Fruit, Unbox Crackers

Della likes to do her chopping and prep on one board and assemble on the serving board. That way the serving board stays nice and neat. So you’ll need two cutting boards, cheese knives, and a few prep plates to corral ingredients.

How To Slice And Roll Thanksgiving Charcuterie

• Keep the brie whole
• Cube the cheddar
• Slice the manchego in triangles and stack vertically. Once you have a tower, you can turn on its side to be seen as zig zags on the board.
• Roll oval meats into cigars
• Fold circular meats into “flowers”

Assembly

Once everything is all unwrapped, washed, cut, you can start assembly!

1) Begin by anchoring the board with the cheeses.

2) Add meats as a winding river around cheeses, turning rolled “cigars” up vertically.

3) Add fruit. Stand grapes up as much as possible so the stem is up in the air. Place piles of dried fruit around. Anchor corners with oranges slices (I think these are soooo pretty!) and thinly slice apples to display in a fan.

4) Add crackers in groups and bunches, like fans, dominos and piles. Note how the breadsticks are halved and standing up as much as possible.

5) Filling remaining empty spaces with nuts.

6) Make a dent in the brie and pour on preserves.

7) Add fresh herbs in remaining spaces. If you need to transport board, you can put rosemary vertically or use the knives to keep plastic wrap from smushing the board.

And there you have it!

Your guests will be ready to dig right in!

Special thanks to my gal Della for sharing her creative process with us! If you’re local and want to order a custom board, you can email Della through her website.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

More party ideas:

• 10 Make Ahead Toothpick apps
• First Birthday At the Vineyard
• Bedazzled Goat Cheese
• Little cheese board for kids
• Homemade goat cheese