Fall Charcuterie Board

10/1/2019

I was asked to make something "fall-like" with fruit for an open house fall event last weekend for two different houses. They were already planning on having cookies and donuts so I decided on making a charcuterie board to also include some savory options with the fruit. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out what kind of things to put on a board and how to make it look pretty so I wanted to show you how I did it so you can use it as inspiration to make your own! It is October now...it's the perfect time to start making these for parties!

I ended up spending around $135 to make the 2 different boards and that included the trays and dishes I needed for them. I think it ended up something like $45 for the food on each tray - and the trays were huge and could definitely feed a crowd. I started my shopping at Tuesday Morning where I picked up the trays and dishes. I also bought most of the non-fruit/cheese/meat items there. The rest of the food came from Aldi and the mini gourds/pumpkins were from Sprouts. Feel free to mix and match any of the items below to add your own unique spin!

Shopping List for 2 Large Fall Charcuterie Boards

2 large bamboo trays with edges (so everything doesn't fall off during transport)
2 mini bowls
4 small ramekins
4 small gourds/pumpkins
8 oz bag of Fancy Cashews
8 oz bag of Turkish Dried Apricots
8 oz jar Apple Butter
13 oz jar Pumpkin Orange Fruit Spread
16 oz container Candy Corn
4 oz container Maple Meringues
8 oz Bite Size Dry Salami
5 oz Oktoberfest Salami
16 oz Smoked Uncured Ham
8 oz Creamy Havarti Cheese
7 oz Irish Vintage Irish Cheddar Cheese
7 oz Double Creme Brie
7 oz Soft Ripened Camembert
8 oz Parmesan Cheese
12.5 oz Cornichons with Herbs
2 large cucumbers
8 oz blackberries
8 oz raspberries
4 lb red seedless grapes
2 lbs green seedless grapes
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
4.25 oz gluten-free crackers
16 oz wheat table crackers
8.5 oz woven whole wheat crackers

To make the trays, I started with the meat. I folded each piece in half, and then in half again so it looked prettier and then arranged them in the bottom left and right side of the tray. Next, I cut and spaced out the cheese in 3 different areas around the board by laying them down in a circular pattern. I added in the 3 dishes to help balance everything out. Next, I placed the red grapes on the tray in a wavy pattern with the green grapes on the bottom. I tried to tuck in some of the grapes to fill up the big void spaces on the tray. I added the cucumber slices on the upper left side of the board and then filled in all of the holes with the blackberries and raspberries. I lined the top and bottom of the trays with the cashews and apricots and then filled the bowls with the candy corn, pickles and fruit spread/apple butter. I then put the gourds and rosemary in the corners and even added little sprigs on top of the brie/camembert and cheddar/havarti. I ended up using additional dishes that I had on hand to lay out the crackers and maple meringues.

While the trays were pretty similar, each one had their own unique cheeses, salami, jams and gourds. It took me about an hour to assemble both trays (which I did the night before) and then I just tightly saran wrapped the trays and kept them in the fridge until it was time to go (or 30 minutes before serving). Everything still looked perfect and made for an easy, yet elegant looking snack on the day of the event!

They seemed to be a hit, they looked beautiful and most of the food was gone by the end of the day! These trays are so great to bring to events, parties or just to have at home on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Eve before the main dinner! Tag me in your post if you decide to make one, I can't wait to see your own little twists!

Note: You can use whatever crackers you want - I chose gluten-free crackers for those who needed them and regular whole-grain for everyone else. For the dairy, you could choose dairy-free cheese options or replace them with nut butter and avocado. Since you can design these however you want, nobody has to feel left out with a charcuterie tray!

BONUS: To make preparing this even easier, download the Prepear app and you can access this recipe (along with all of my others) and order all of these items through Walmart!