While I love to cook and try out new recipes, when the school year hits, I am all about a few easy dinners in our rotation to make life a little bit easier. One of my favorite weeknight dinners is "create your own charcuterie board night."
This no-cook dinner is quick, easy, and has something for everybody — plus it will satisfy even your pickiest of eaters!
We always make sure our charcuterie boards have a protein, carb, color, and something sweet! Want to give it a try? Here's how to make a charcuterie board at home that the whole family will love:
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Protein:
If my kids don't have protein with their meals, they don't stop asking for snacks until the next meal rolls around. I always have them add their protein first — so I know that it will be a filling meal for them. For the meats, try to use a variety of thickness and cuts to keep it interesting. Personally, I love salami sliced thin, but prefer pepperoni a bit thicker.
Here are some protein ideas:
- Deli turkey
- Varied hard cheeses (we love cheddar and Manchego)
- Spreadable cheese
- Tuna (Try this yummy Apple Harvest Tuna Salad recipe from Safe Catch)
- Pepperoni
- Salami
- Meat sticks
- Nuts
- Marinated mozzarella balls
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Carbs:
I think we can all agree that the best part of a charcuterie board is the carbs that come with it. Making your own at home is no exception! In my opinion, I find that choosing a cracker without a ton of flavor works best, so that you can taste all of the different flavors on the plate. These are our favorite carb sources:
- Crackers
- Round pita chips
- Homemade crostini
- Crusty bread
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Color:
I always make sure our boards have some "color," as colorful foods tend to be more nutritious. Some of our favorite ways to add color on our boards are:
- Carrot chips
- Gherkin pickles
- Grapes
- Apple slices
- Pear slices
- Dried fruits like apricots, dates, and raisins
- Olives
- Berries
- Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with salt and pepper
- Pickled green beans
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Something sweet:
Is there anything better than a salty and sweet combo? I love adding a little something sweet to my plate just for that flavor combination!
- Jams
- Red pepper jelly
- Honey or honeycomb — if you haven't tried it, honeycomb is an amazing addition to a charcuterie plate. Like honey, it is best to buy local, but it can be hard to find.
- Dark chocolate (sounds weird, but a piece of dark chocolate drizzled with an amazing olive oil on a slice of cheese, sprinkled with some flaky salt is a flavor extravaganza — seriously, just try it.
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Extras:
I always like to add something extra to a board to make it feel a little more special. Here are some ideas for charcuterie extras:
- Dip it. This could also be a sneaky way of getting in more veggies or protein too.
- Add some kid favorites. If you have a picky eater, it can help to add a couple of kid favorites to the board too. Heat up some chicken fingers or add grilled cheese — whatever will give your child something familiar to eat, while exploring some new tastes as well.
- Pick a theme. if you're celebrating a holiday, birthday, or are just feeling festive, try to come up with a theme for your boards.
- Use cookie cutters. Cut up cheese, meats, and even some fruits into fun shapes using cookie cutters.
- Separate foods. If your kids don't like their foods to touch, use cupcake liners to separate the foods.
Erin Michael is the publisher of Macaroni KID Plymouth, Mass.
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