Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board

Celebrating Thanksgiving with family or friends? Whether you’re hosting or attending a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s always a good opportunity to make a Thanksgiving charcuterie board. Not only will it make your friends and family love you even more for providing a delicious food board, it’s also quite easy to make.

What is a Thanksgiving charcuterie board?

It’s a food board that is centered around the theme of Thanksgiving, a U.S. holiday that commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by English colonists (Pilgrims) in 1621. It also a time to celebrate all the blessings of the past year annually on the 4th Thursday of November. Because Thanksgiving is focused on food and family, you’ll want to make your food board bountiful to make sure everyone has plenty of tasty bites to enjoy.

What goes on a Thanksgiving charcuterie board?

Your charcuterie board is your canvas. You can artfully add whatever food you think is appropriate for your specific guests. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, you can replace traditional red meats with turkey slices and include some traditional Thanksgiving fixings.

savory

sliced turkey: oven-roasted turkey, honey roasted turkey, mesquite turkey, lemon pepper turkey, etc.
artisanal cheeses: brie, gouda, gorganzola, havarti, manchengo, etc.
bread & crackers: small dinner rolls, sourdough slices, hard pretzels, etc.
seasonal & year-round fruits: sliced apples, grapes, figs, mandarins, etc.
seasonal & year-round veggies: cucumber slices, sliced bell peppers, baked sweet potato fries, etc.
nuts: almonds, chestnuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.
dips & spreads: cranberry sauce, mustard seeds, etc.

decor

Besides the food, the decor is a big part of what makes your food display a Thanksgiving charcuterie board.

colors, patterns and textures

These are traditional colors used for Halloween parties which you can incorporate into your board:

orange – represents autumn/fall harvest, pumpkins and early sunsets
brown – represents wheat, fruitfulness, earth
yellow – represents corn, fallen leaves and happiness
red – represents fallen leaves, passion and excitement

Hungry for more charcuterie platters? Find out everything you must know about food boards here!

Kristina Reynolds is the Founder & CEO of Glutto and an alumna of the University of California, San Diego. She writes articles & posts for Glutto Digest with insights from fellow industry experts. Furthermore, she is the author of The Fittest Food Lovers: How EVERY BODY Can be Incredibly Fit and Still Enjoy Food, a collaborative philanthropic book with proceeds going to charities that fight world hunger.