Ready in under 30 minutes, this Easy Valentines Day Charcuterie Board is perfect for a date night or couples evening! The small board for 2 is perfect if you're planning a romantic evening alone. Feeding the whole family or inviting some friends? Go for the large board and feed upto 6-8 people!
I love to use my own homemade marmalade , plum jam or cranberry chutney as an accompaniment for the cheese. The beautiful red color of the cranberry chutney is especially suited to this valentine's day board but feel free to use anything you like!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It takes very little time - The board comes together in under 30 minutes, whatever size you make! How's that for putting together a special evening!
- You can use ingredients you have on hand - You can easily put together a board with what you have on hand in your fridge or pantry. It's actually a great way to use up things that would otherwise possibly go to waste!
- You can unleash your inner creativity - There's no fixed recipe when it comes to creating a charcuterie board so you can go to town and experiment all you like. Try different ingredients, use different items as a board and try to find cute cups and bowls to add some dimension to your board!
- Boards are a fuss free way to host- No plates or cutlery is needed for this type of entertaining. Hows that for easy set up and cleanup !?
- You can accommodate different dietary needs - Hosting a vegetarian? Make a veggie board! Your friend eats gluten free? Make a gluten free board. This is the best way to host people with a variety of dietary restrictions!
The Ingredients
- The Cheeses - Use a combination of cheeses both in terms of texture and taste.
- The Vegetables - In this case use red vegetables in celebration of Valentine's Day.
- The Fruit - Red fruit to symbolize the holiday at hand is the best one to use.
- The Spreads - Any red colored, jam, jelly or sauce to pair with the cheese will work.
- The Crackers - A combination of 2 or more crackers is ideal for a charcuterie board.
- The Nuts - Plain, salted or spiced nuts in any variety add a nice touch to the board.
- The Chocolate - A combination of assorted chocolates on the board adds the perfect finishing touch!
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Substitutes & Variations
Some Ideas For Ingredient Swaps - Depending on the occasion and the group you're feeding you can try some of the following when determining the theme of your board:
- Go with a regional theme when using your cheeses, for e.g. Italian, Swiss, French.
- Try a seasonal theme when choosing your fruits and vegetables. For example berries, pineapple and mangoes in the spring and apples, figs and grapes in the fall.
- Use savory spreads such as hummus, baba ganoush or an olive tapenade instead of sweet ones.
- Dried Fruits instead of or in addition to fresh fruit, such as dried apricots, cranberries or figs work well and you don't have to worry about the juice overflowing and making a mess.
How To Make This Into A Brunch Board - I love brunch boards! It's a great way to serve weekend breakfast, especially if you have company. My 2 favorites are:
- You can make a board with pancakes or waffles as the main item, pairing them with an assortment of fruit, nuts, spreads and some sausages.
- Croissant and breakfast pastries along with some cheeses, spreads, breakfast meats and fruit make for an easy board and beautiful presentation.
How To Make This Into A Sandwich Board - Ready for lunch? An easy way to entertain is to make a sandwich board! This makes a simple sandwich look like an elegant meal and allows your guests to customize it to suit their preferences.
- Lay out an assortment of breads
- Put an assortment of meats
- Set out a selection of cheeses
- Add a few condiments to pick from
And that's all it takes to create a fun themed lunch for friends or family!
Step By Step Instructions To Create Your Board
Here are the step by step instructions on how to make both a large and a small charcuterie board.
Large Valentine's Day Charcuterie Board
- Cut your cheeses into assorted shapes (round, wedge, rectangle) and place them on the board at intervals.
- Place the brie on a plate and scoop out a shallow hole in the cheese. Pour some cranberry chutney onto it.
- Deseed and slice the bell pepper into long strips.
- Cut the cucumber into long strips.
- Wash the tomatoes.
- Place all jars and cups at various locations on the board.
- Put the cut vegetables in the jars and place them on a large board.
- Scoop out the marinated peppers, roasted garlic and nuts into assorted small cups
- Wash and prep all the fruit.
- Cut the Toblerone into triangles
- Lay out the chocolate, berries, tomatoes and crackers in between the containers till the board is full.
- Place spreaders, cheese knives, spoons and toothpicks as needed
Small Valentine's Day Charcuterie Board
- Slice the haloumi and grill with a little bit of olive oil, place in a small jar
- Scoop out the ricotta into a bowl, pour 2 teaspoons of honey and gently swirl in with the tip of the spoon and sprinkle with chili pepper flakes
- Put the sliced peppers and tomatoes in a small bowl
- Cut the marzipan chocolate into small squares
- Wash and put the raspberries in a bowl
- Place the savory biscotti in a jar
- Scatter the jars and bowls on a small board
- Fill up the remaining space with crackers, bread and chocolate
- Put needed spreaders, toothpicks and spoons and enjoy!
Expert Tips
The more you fill your board the prettier it will look and the less you will have to re stock it. In this case I used chocolate to achieve this effect, but you can use any ingredient that works with your theme. Some examples are:
- Meats
- Nuts
- Dried fruit
- Fresh fruit
- Olives
- Vegetables
Recipe FAQS
On average, depending on the number of people you're feeding, you should have 3-5 cheeses. The average is 1 oz. of cheese per person if the board is an appetizer and about 3 ounces if it's a main.
I like to use bowls and cups to seperate my ingredients to prevent the crackers from getting soggy. You can also try and place the crackers away from the fruit and sauces to keep them dry.
Technically, it's not charcuterie if there's no meat on the board. But if you're a vegetarian maybe you can pass that rule! Definitely don't put any overly juicy or mushy fruit on your board though, it's the one thing likely to mess your board up.
You can use any tray, or large dish you have lying around the house to create a charcuterie board. In fact a nice wooden chopping board would work great!
Absolutely! Just add the fruit and crackers at the end but everything else can be placed in position, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated. Take the board out 30 minutes before serving and put the final touches on it and enjoy!
Other Valentine's Day Recipes You'll Love
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Easy Valentine's Day Charcuterie Board
Equipment
- Wooden Board or Tray
- Small bowls
- Small Jars
- Cheese knives and Spreaders
- Small Spoons
- Toothpicks
Ingredients
Cheese
- ¾ round brie large board
- 1 wedge ghost pepper cheese large board
- 1 semi circle mango habanero cheese large board
- ½ block halloumi small board
- whipped ricotta small board (recipe in notes)
Vegetables
- ½ red bell pepper large board
- 1 mini cucumber large board
- 1 bunch small vine tomatoes large board
- ¼ red bell pepper small board
- 6 vine ripened tomatoes large & small board
Fruit
- 1 lb strawberries large board
- 12 oz blackberries large board
- ½ cup raspberries small board
Condiments
- ¼ cup cranberry chutney large board
- ½ cup marinated red sweet peppers large board
- ½ cup roasted garlic cloves large board
Nuts
- ½ cup spicy peanuts large board
- ½ cup salted shelled pistachios large board
Crackers
- ½ package carr's water crackers large board
- ½ package bruschetta toast large board
- 4-6 slices mini pumpernickel toast small board
- ½ package savory biscotti small board
Whipped Ricotta
- ¼ cup ricotta small board (see notes)
- 2 tsp honey small board (see notes)
- ½ tsp red chili flakes small board (see notes)
Chocolate
- 1 small toblerone large board
- ½ package hershey's golden nuggets large board
- 1 package chocolate bark large board
- 1 Small Square Ritter Sport Marzipan Chocolate small board
- ½ Small Package Hershey's Golden Nuggets small board
Instructions
Large Charcuterie Tray
- Cut your cheeses into the assorted shapes if needed and scatter on the board.
- scoop out some of the cheese in the brie at the top to create a shallow bowl.
- Scoop some of the cranberry sauce into the bowl.
- Deseed and slice the bell pepper into long strips.
- Cut the cucumber into long strips.
- Wash and prep all fruit as needed.
- Cut the Toblerone into triangles.
- Place the vegetables in small jars and place on a large board.
- Scoop out the marinated peppers, roasted garlic and nuts into assorted small cups.
- Place all jars and cups at various locations on the board.
- Lay out the chocolate, berries, tomatoes and crackers in between these containers till the board is full.
- Place spreaders, cheese knives, spoons and toothpicks as needed.
Small Charcuterie Tray
- Slice the halloumi and grill it with a little bit of olive oil in a grill pan.
- Place the grilled halloumi in a glass jar on your board.
- Make the whipped Ricotta and place it in a bowl (see notes).
- Put the sliced peppers and tomatoes in a small bowl.
- Cut the marzipan chocolate into small squares
- Wash and put the raspberries in a bowl
- Place the savory biscotti in a jar
- Scatter the jars and bowls on a small board
- Fill up the remaining space with crackers, bread and chocolate
- Put needed spreaders, toothpicks and spoons and enjoy!
Notes
- The Red Spread - I use my cranberry chutney that I make and freeze over Thanksgiving. It's perfect on brie and the red color is just right for Valentines day. Any store-bought red spread will work just as well in its place.
- The Ricotta Spread - scoop out ¼ cup of the cheese in a bowl, add the honey and just gently swirl it in and top it with a sprinkle of the red pepper on top. Sweet with a little kick at the end... It's easy and delicious!
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