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Don’t let those gorgeously arranged meat-and-cheese trays intimidate you! Creating the perfect keto charcuterie board is super easy and, honestly, super fun. With these basic tips, you’ll always have a perfect party appetizer to wow your friends and family.
What Makes This Appetizer So Good
- Charcuterie (pronounced shar-KOO-tuh-ree) boards are so easy to throw together, and they’re SO pretty. A keto charcuterie board can easily be the show-stopper on your snack table. I love how versatile they can be – just swap out the accents and decor and they’ll work for any season, any occasion, and any holiday.
- This specific grazing board is keto-friendly, sure, but it’s full of delicious ingredients that absolutely everyone will love, whether they follow a low-carb lifestyle or not. Who doesn’t love meat, cheese, fruit, and chocolate?!
- Yes, there’s some assembly required here, but you don’t actually have to do any cooking! You’re welcome to make your dips and sauces at home if you want, but you can also stick with store-bought options to make your life easier.
- A charcuterie board can fit any budget. It just depends on the components you choose!
Key Ingredients for the Perfect Board
Whatever you like! That’s the true beauty of a charcuterie board – it can be full of all your favorite snacks. A good rule of thumb is to work in categories. Your goal is to have a wide variety of colors, textures, and flavors.
My Must-Have Grazing Board Components
Dips & Sauces – Something creamy, something spicy, and something sweet are always good options! You want to choose flavors and textures that will compliment the meats, cheeses, and crackers. Jams, mustards, dips, spreads, salsa, and hummus would all work well on a charcuterie board. For the holidays, try a little cranberry relish.
Cheeses – Unless you just REALLY love or REALLY hate a certain type of cheese, I recommend having 3 categories of cheeses. A hard, crumbly cheese (like parmesan or aged cheddar), a soft cheese (like brie or goat cheese), and a really soft, spreadable cheese.
Meats – Charcuterie means cold cuts or deli, so your board won’t be complete without meats! That’s especially true with a keto charcuterie board. Prosciutto, salami, pepperoni, soppressata – any sort of cured meats will work.
Vessels – Keto crackers, keto cheese chips, cucumber slices, celery stalks, carrot sticks, lettuce cups, radish coins, pickles, bacon chips. Anything with a little crisp and a little crunch to help you transport those sauces and other components from the tray to your mouth.
Accents – I promise you, they might seem a little extra, but accents make a huge difference visually. Plus, they give you a great variety of textures that you don’t really get from the meats and cheeses. I like to use small fruits, nuts, and chocolate on my charcuterie boards.
Decor – Again. Seems extra, but totally makes a difference. Like I mentioned before, a fun thing with charcuterie boards is that a simple change in decor can take a board from summer to winter in no time. For a Thanksgiving or Christmas charcuterie board, include sprigs of rosemary, sugared cranberries, figs, or toasted pecans for a festive touch.
Chef’s Tips
- Don’t let the process frustrate or overwhelm you! Charcuterie boards are all about arranging and then rearranging things until you get the look you want.
- Start with the bowls, then fill in from there. If you start with your bowls (or ramekins, or cups) then you’ll be sure to have enough space on the board for them. I typically place the cheeses next, since they take up a large amount of real estate on the platter.
- Place your vessels, accents, and decor last. They’re mainly fillers – yup, even the vessels. The dips, cheeses, and meats are the real stars of a keto charcuterie board.
- Slice and cube the cheeses while they’re cold! Trust me, way easier to do this while they’re cold and fairly solid than when they’re room temperature and super soft.
More Party Foods & Apps You’ll Love
- Cranberry Salsa
- Addictive Hot Crab Dip (Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free)
- Blini for Caviar (and Other Toppings)
- The BEST Cranberry Brie Bites EVER
- Valentineโs Dessert Board
- Bacon Wrapped Dates Recipe
- Shrimp Cocktail
- Christmas Dessert Grazing Board
- Keto Buffalo Chicken Dip
Perfect Keto Charcuterie Board
Equipment
- large serving board, platter, or baking sheet, or smaller trays and bowls
- Small bowls, cups, or ramekins
- Serving utensils (cheese knives, cocktail forks, toothpicks, etc.)
Ingredients
Suggested Dips & Sauces
- 4 ounces creamy herb dip store-bought or homemade
- 3 ounces keto jam homemade or store-bought, like Good Good brand
- 2 ounces whole-grain mustard
- other dips as desired
Suggested Cheeses
- 3 ounces manchego
- 3 ounces brie
- 3 ounces goat cheese
- 3 ounces blue cheese
- 3 ounces fresh parmesan
- 3 ounces aged cheddar
Suggested Meats
- 4 ounces salami rolled or formed into roses
- 4 ounces prosciutto folded
- 4 ounces pepperoni stacked
- other cured meats as desired
Suggested Vessels
- 4 ounces keto crackers
- 24 cheese crisps one batch from this recipe
- 24 bacon chips one batch from this recipe
- 2 radishes thinly sliced into discs
- 2 cucumbers thinly sliced into discs or cut into spears
Suggested Accents
- ยฝ cup mixed nuts cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.
- 12 ounces cornichons
- โ cup blueberries or blackberries not too many
- โ cup cranberries fresh or dried
- 1 starfruit peeled, sliced
- 1 tablespoon goldenberries physalis/ground cherry
- 1 keto chocolate bar roughly chopped into large pieces
- ยฝ cup keto chocolates like Lily's chocolate caramels or chocolate almonds
Suggested Decorations
- flowers
- leaves
- fresh herbs
- dried fruit
- sprouts
Instructions
- Begin by placing bowls, cups, and ramekins of dips and sauces on board, then place cheeses. Arrange folded and rolled meats on board, then fill in empty spaces with vessels, accents, and decor. Rearrange components as needed to achieve desired look. Serve keto charcuterie board at room temperature.
- Components: Everything listed in the ingredients here are just suggestions – feel free to make any substitutions or adjustments you like! Just try to include something from each category to cover all the bases. You don’t have to include this many components. If you have a large board, you can double up ingredients as needed to fill out the space.
- Cheeses: Cut the cheeses into slices, cubes, and wedges while they’re cold for ease, but serve them at room temperature for the best tastes and textures.
- Texture: For visual texture, use a combination of cheese slices, cubes, and wedges. Also, roll, fold, and stack the deli meat, or form some into roses.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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