How to Make a Dessert Charcuterie Board

This simple dessert charcuterie board is the easiest weekend snack ever! Perfect for movie nights, backyard barbecues, or a girls getaway - this dessert board will quickly become your new favorite snack!

You Will Love This

• It's the easiest way to feed a crowd! Whether you've got friends coming over to share some wine on the patio, or a hungry family that's gearing up for movie night, this dessert charcuterie board has something for everyone!
• It's the best way to clean out the fridge! This dessert board is the perfect way to use up all those odds and ends of snacks and treats that you've got in the fridge and cupboard. Before you head to the grocery store to buy ingredients for your board, browse your pantry and refrigerator first and see if there's anything fun hiding in there that you can use.
• If you loved this dessert board, check out my other appetizers like baked spinach and artichoke dip, cheese street corn dip, and 10-minute smoked salmon dip.

Dessert Charcuterie Board Rules

• The first rule is, there are NO rules! Try to use a variety of ingredients so your dessert board includes many different flavors and textures. But remember, just because it's a dessert board doesn't mean that every single thing on it has to be sweet! You'll want to include some cheeses and other salty snacks to balance out the sweets too.
• It is important to think about how the ingredients of the dessert board are going to work together or how they can be eaten together.
• I also like to think about the colors of the board and how everything will look together. A board made up of mostly monochromatic items isn't going to look as visually appealing as a board that has a variety of colors. Remember that you eat with your eyes first, so it's important to create spread that is visually appealing as well as delicious!
• Below I'll share with you my best tips and tricks for creating the perfect dessert board!

Fruit and Cheese

I love to use flavorful cheeses that pair well with fruit as the base for my dessert charcuterie boards. Some of my favorite fruit and cheese pairings include:

• Brie with fig jam
• goat cheese with blueberries
• Gorgonzola with red grapes
• Fontina with raspberries
• aged cheddar with blackberries
• Manchego with dried cranberries
• smoked Gouda with apple slices
• Burrata with sliced peaches
• Ricotta with sliced strawberries

This doesn't mean that you need to arrange the dessert board with these cheeses and fruit assembled into bites or even that you need to place them next to each other. You just want to think about how all the ingredients are going to interact on the board together and what ingredients will give you a delicious flavor combination.

My go-to's for dessert charcuterie are sliced Brie with fig jam, goat cheese with fresh blueberries, and burrata with sliced peaches.

Keep in mind that you can also use dried fruit instead of fresh fruit depending on what's in season.

Crunchy Elements

I like to add a crunchy element to add some textural variety to the mix. For this, you can use your favorite homemade cookie recipe or you can keep it simple with things like:

• graham crackers
• shortbread cookies
• wafer cookies

Something Salty

With all the sweet elements on this charcuterie, it's fun to include a few salty items too. Some of my favorite salty things include:

• crispy crostini
• popcorn
• pretzels
• butter crackers
• pistachios
• roasted peanuts

Sweet Treats

Obviously sweet treats are the main component of a dessert charcuterie board. But personally, I don't like to add things that are overly sweet to the board. Some of my favorites include:

• marshmallows
• Reese's peanut butter cups
• chocolate covered strawberries
• candied pecans
• caramel corn
• Hershey kisses
• Oreo cookies
• donut holes
• toffee brittle
• chocolate covered pretzels
• sugar cookies
• chocolate truffles
• mini donuts
• macaroons
• meringues
• brownie bites
• mini chocolate cookies
• homemade fudge
• mini cakes
• dark chocolate bars

Dips, Sauces, and Spreads

I love to include something sweet to dip the crackers or cookies in. Some of my favorites include:

• Dunkaroo dip
• Nutella chocolate dip
• peanut butter or another nut butter
• vanilla or chocolate frosting
• marshmallow fluff
• strawberry cream cheese
• Cool Whip
• Hershey's chocolate sauce

Accompaniments

Honestly, you can add anything you want to this dessert charcuterie board. Some of our family's favorite additions include:

• candy
• jam or jelly
• marinated mozzarella
• marinated feta cheese

The Best Board to Use

The best board for a charcuterie board is whatever board you have! Feel free to use something that may not traditionally be used for a cheese board! Some of my favorites include:

• rimmed baking sheet
• old cutting board
• large serving platter
• round drink tray

Instructions

#1 - Start with anything that's in a small bowl, like Nutella, Dunkaroo dip, a bowl of peanuts, caramel corn, etc. Place the various bowls across the board, spacing them unevenly and randomly throughout. These are going to act as your anchors and will give you a good starting point to add everything else around.

#2 - Add any wedges or large pieces of cheese. These will also act as the anchors that you put everything else around.

#3 - Next add any sliced cheeses, sliced fruits, and berries.

#4 - Then add your crackers and cookies.

#5 - Finally, pile on anything else that you've got to fill in the little spaces that are left. This is the perfect time to add candy, popcorn, and fresh or dried fruit.

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

• The beauty of this dessert board is that it's the perfect make-ahead dish! You can prep this a day or two in advance and then pop it in the fridge until your event.
• Think about how each ingredient is going to do in the fridge before you prep the dessert board. Crunchy things like caramel corn and pretzels take just seconds to dump into a bowl and will not hold up well in the fridge. I'd recommend adding them last minute just before serving the board.
• However, things like cheeses, fruits, Dunkaroo dip, and chocolate are going to refrigerate beautifully. Just make sure that you wrap your dessert board thoroughly with saran wrap before popping it in the fridge so that nothing dries out.
• Then about an hour before serving, remove your dessert charcuterie from the fridge and let it sit on the counter. 60 minutes is the perfect amount of time to let the cheese come to room temp and ensure that everything has the best flavor.
• Store any leftovers in the best place for them. Crunchy things like crackers, pretzels, etc. will be best in an airtight container in the pantry. And refrigerated items can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Tips

• When deciding how much of each ingredient to add to the board, keep in mind when and how you'll be serving it. If you're bringing it out after a large dinner party, you can probably keep the servings a bit smaller for each person. If you're adding it to an appetizer spread that your friends will be grazing on all night at a party, you may want to add a bit more for each person.
• Don't stress over the presentation! The more random and organic the dessert charcuterie board, the more beautiful it will be! Keep in mind that starting with the bowls/jars of ingredients and large wedges of cheese will help you know where to put everything else. But don't worry about placing things symmetrically or evenly. Just let it happen organically and it will no doubt be beautiful!

Themed Dessert Boards

No one loves a themed party more than I do and your guests will *love* a themed dessert charcuterie board as well! Here are some ideas!

Halloween

Include bite-size candies, orange slices, black licorice, white chocolate bars,3 and anything else that reminds you of this spooky holiday in your dessert platter.

Birthday Party

Try my easy funfetti dip recipe and include some mini cupcakes too! Anything with sprinkles is fun to add to a birthday-themed board.

Christmas

Look for chocolate-covered pretzels with red and green sprinkles, red and green M&M, or peppermint-flavored candies. Cut your wedges of Brie cheese into mini Christmas trees. Check out my holiday grazing board for some inspiration! This is also the perfect spot for those delicious homemade (or store-bought!!!!!) Christmas cookies, sugared cranberries, and candy canes! Citrus fruits would also be great on a Christmas dessert board.

Chocolate

Find out your guest's favorite chocolate items for a chocolate-themed board. Think chocolate wafer cookies, peanut butter cups, chocolate shortbread cookies, chocolate-covered pretzels, etc. Stick with a variety and make sure to include some chocolate items that aren't super sweet also.

Valentine's Day

Anything heart-shaped is always fun for a Valentine's Day board. You can cut your wedges of cheese into hearts and add some of those conversation hearts for nostalgia.

Easter

There's always a plethora of egg-shaped candies around the Easter holiday. Try adding a variety of sweets from chocolate eggs, to Peeps, to jelly beans!

Mother's Day

I love to serve a charcuterie alongside my easy breakfast quiche for Mother's Day. Include things like mini blueberry muffins, mini waffles, fresh fruit, and whatever mom's favorite chocolates are!

New Year's Eve

Chocolate-covered strawberries, Ferrero Rocher gold-wrapped chocolates, and mini cupcakes with gold sprinkles are all a fun way to ring in the new year!

Super Bowl

Try to find football-shaped chocolates and include a variety of handheld snacks like caramel corn.

Baby Shower

Find out the shower's theme colors (like pinks, blues, yellows, greens, etc.) and include as many different candies/treats/snacks in that color as you can.

Movie Night

Add everyone's favorite candy along with buttered popcorn, licorice, and Skittles, and settle in on the couch for a fun family night.

What to Serve with Dessert Charcuterie

• Wine: This is an obvious choice, right? I like to serve a dry white and a medium body red with my dessert boards. This will cover the bases for most of those who enjoy a glass of wine. And give you enough variety to pair well with the different ingredients on the board.
• Champagne: A bottle of bubbly is the perfect pairing with a dessert board, especially if it's a New Year's themed board!
• Sparkling Water or Sparkling Juice: I love to include something for those who prefer not to imbibe in alcohol and this usually includes Spindrift sparkling water or some type of sparkling juice. This is also fun for any kiddos that might be at the party!

How many sweets and treats should I plan per person?

• When making a traditional charcuterie board, I recommend serving 3-5 ounces of meat and cheese per person. But it gets a little trickier when you're serving such a wide variety of items on a dessert board.
• It may be easier to measure items for the dessert board in cups. So for example, if you're making a board for 8 people, I'd recommend having about 1 cup of food per person or about 8 cups total.
• For small things like Christmas cookies, candies, or mini cupcakes, try to have at least 1 for each person.
• And if you don't like getting stuck with leftovers, pick up some inexpensive Tupperware and ask guests to fill it up with their favorites and take leftovers home with them!

How much is a charcuterie board dessert?

• The cost of your dessert charcuterie board will depend on how many people you want to feed. Also, keep in mind when you'll be serving the board. Will it be after a large dinner? Or alongside the appetizers during a party? This will affect the size of your board.
• I recommend planning to spend between $50-$100 on your dessert charcuterie board depending on how large a group you're feeding.
• $50 should be able to create a delicious dessert board for about 12-14 people. While $100 will go far in creating a beautiful board for more like 25-30 people.

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