Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
This ultimate show-stopping Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board recipe idea creates a stunning and tasty holiday party centerpiece. Nothing brings instant holiday cheer like this Christmas charcuterie board shaped like a Christmas tree loaded with best grazing snack foods.
For more holiday party food ideas try my Christmas wreath charcuterie board, pecan bacon cheese ball, jalapeño popper cheese ball and cranberry jalapeño dip.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & we’ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
Best Christmas Charcuterie Board Idea
Start your next holiday gathering with this holiday-themed Christmas board food to help set the best festive party atmosphere this season.
Arranging your favorite assorted deli meats, cheeses, fruits, crackers and nuts in the shape of a Christmas tree is sure to impress guests and become an instant conversation starter.
With my simple easy step-by-step instructions you can create your own special Christmas snack grazing board, inviting your guests to interact and choose their own food pairings.
For more Christmas party snack ideas try my pigs in a blanket, little smokies in crockpot, best devilled eggs and easy baked chicken meatballs.
Ingredients
- Deli Meats – assorted salami, and Prosciutto ham
- Olives – black olives, manzanilla olives
- Cheese – Brie, mozzarella balls, Boursin, pepper jack, Colby jack
- Crackers – use your favorite assortment
- Pretzel Twists and Rods
- Assorted Sweet Nuts
- Chocolate Covered Nuts
- Dried Apricots
- Fresh Fruits – apples, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapes
- Mixed Berry Jam – for filling the brie cheese round star cutout or use cranberry sauce
- Honey – for drizzling over the cheese
- Fresh Rosemary – optional garnish for decorating
- Large Serving Board – make sure your board is big enough or use grazing table paper sheets or runners to lay out your tree design on
- Star Cookie Cutter – is optional to make a cutout in the brie to fill with jam or cranberry sauce
Substitutions & Variations: Any assortment of sliced meats will work like pepperoni, chorizo, ham, kielbasa or assorted meat trays. Use favorite combination of cheeses or spreads like sharp cheddar, gouda or a cheese ball. Vary the crackers with different shapes, flavors and textures for more options. Fresh sprigs of rosemary works well for creating the tree, but fresh sage, thyme or even parsley can be used. Add fruit like pears, strawberries, cherries, and pomegranates or use fresh vegetables such as carrot sticks, cucumber, celery, or bell peppers.
Handy Charcuterie Board Tips!
I find it helpful to have a sketch or a clear idea in mind before starting, especially when creating larger spreads. Make the board just before serving for freshness. I like to buy extra ingredients and refill the board or table as needed. Most importantly have fun with your board and add some of your favorites!
How To Make Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
STEP ONE – Prepare the cheese. Cut the pepper jack and colby jack blocks into 1-inch cubes. Use a star cookie cutter to make a star shape in the brie cheese. Remove the center of the star and then fill with cranberry sauce, jam, or honey.
STEP TWO – Use a sharp knife to cut the pretzel rods in half. These will be used for the tree trunk.
STEP THREE – Prepare the salami roses. Layer the salami into a curved line and fan it out. Roll it and then use a toothpick to keep it together. Make the roses big or small by rolling different amounts of slices. Repeat with the remaining salami.
STEP FOUR – Once the cheese, pretzel, and salami roses are prepared, lay down a large sheet of grazing table paper. Then make an outline of the bottom of the tree with the fresh rosemary. You can continue to adjust the tree as you go along. Stack the pretzels underneath to make the trunk. You can use a food safe twine to hold it together if desired or just carefully stack them. Place the brie round at the very top where the star would go. This will give you an idea of how big you want the tree to be.
STEP FIVE – Add the Boursin cheese spread and sliced meats to the board. I like to space them all out and put them on opposite ends, just zigzagging them down the tree.
STEP SIX – Add the crackers and pretzels around the board in different places.
STEP SEVEN – Add the cubed cheese and sliced brie, just slowly starting to fill up the open spaces.
STEP EIGHT – Add some mozzarella balls and olives around the edges.
STEP NINE – Start adding fresh fruit to the remaining open areas and then fill the gaps with nuts and dried fruit.
STEP TEN – Adjust and top the sections off with more ingredients if needed to make it look fuller and to even out the tree.
STEP ELEVEN – Add more herbs on the bottom and insert some off to the sides. Continue to adjust until it looks just right!
STEP TWELVE – Serve with some extra jam and honey. Enjoy!
Storage Instructions
For food safety if perishable items like cheese and meat have been out for more than 2 to 3 hours it is best to discard them. Please refer to the USDA food safety tips guide.
It is best to store your meats, cheeses, olives and fruit in the fridge to keep fresh until ready to prepare the board and then serve immediately. Store any leftovers if ok by wrapping the meats, cheese, olives and fruit all separately in the fridge for up to 2 days.
PrintChristmas Tree Charcuterie Board
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 16 to 20 servings
Description
This ultimate show-stopping Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board recipe idea creates a stunning and tasty holiday party centerpiece. Nothing brings instant holiday cheer like this Christmas charcuterie board shaped like a Christmas tree. It’s loaded with everyone’s favourite grazing foods like meats, cheeses crackers, fruit and nuts.
Ingredients
- Sliced salami (Gallo Salame thin sliced light Italian dry salami, 7 ounce package)
- Sliced salami (Gallo Salame thin sliced peppered salami, 6 ounce package)
- Sliced prosciutto (Del Duca cured prosciutto, 6 ounce tray)
- Salami wrapped mozzarella (Fiorucci Hard Salami and Mozzarella Panino, 6 count)
- Prosciutto wrapped mozzarella (Formaggio Cheese Prosciutto and Mozzarella Wrap, 7 count)
- Brie cheese round (President Brie soft-ripened cheese, 8 ounce round)
- Brie cheese wedge (President Brie cheese, 7 ounce triangle wedge)
- Boursin spreadable cheese (Boursin garlic & herb cheese puck, 5.2 ounce)
- Marinated fresh mozzarella balls (Great Value, 12 ounce tub)
- Fresh mozzarella pearls (Belgioso mini snacking cheese pearls, 8 ounce tub)
- 8 ounce block Pepper Jack cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 8 ounce block Colby Jack cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 10 ounce jar stuffed manzanilla olives
- 6 ounce can pitted medium black olives
- 1–2 apples, cored and sliced
- Fresh raspberries
- Fresh blackberries
- Dried apricots
- Red and black grapes
- Assorted round crackers (Toasteds Variety Pack, 12 ounce box)
- Assorted tray of sweet nuts and chocolate covered nuts
- 3 cups pretzel mini twists
- 12 pretzel rods, cut in half, for the tree trunk
- 1 cup mixed berry jam, for filling the brie cheese round
- 1 cup honey, for drizzling over cheese
- Fresh rosemary, for creating and decorating the tree
Instructions
- Prepare the cheese. Cut the pepper jack and colby jack blocks into 1-inch cubes. Use a star cookie cutter to make a star shape in the brie cheese. Remove the center of the star and then fill with cranberry sauce, jam, or honey.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the pretzel rods in half. These will be used for the tree trunk.
- Prepare the salami roses. Layer the salami into a curved line and fan it out. Roll it and then use a toothpick to keep it together. Make the roses big or small by rolling different amounts of slices. Repeat with the remaining salami.
- Once the cheese, pretzel, and salami roses are prepared, lay down a large sheet of grazing table paper. Then make an outline of the bottom of the tree with the fresh rosemary. You can continue to adjust the tree as you go along. Stack the pretzels underneath to make the trunk. You can use a food safe twine to hold it together if desired or just carefully stack them. Place the brie round at the very top where the star would go. This will give you an idea of how big you want the tree to be.
- Add the Boursin cheese spread and sliced meats to the board. I like to space them all out and put them on opposite ends, just zigzagging them down the tree.
- Add the crackers and pretzels around the board in different places.
- Add the cubed cheese and sliced brie, just slowly starting to fill up the open spaces.
- Add some mozzarella balls and olives around the edges.
- Start adding fresh fruit to the remaining open areas and then fill the gaps with nuts and dried fruit.
- Adjust and top the sections off with more ingredients if needed to make it look fuller and to even out the tree.
- Add more herbs on the bottom and insert some off to the sides. Continue to adjust until it looks just right!
- Serve with some extra jam and honey. Enjoy!
Notes
Storage instructions:
For food safety if perishable items like cheese and meat have been out for more than 2 to 3 hours it is best to discard them. Please refer to the USDA food safety tips guide.
It is best to store your meats, cheeses, olives and fruit in the fridge to keep fresh until ready to prepare the board and then serve immediately. Store any leftovers if ok by wrapping the meats, cheese, olives and fruit all separately in the fridge for up to 2 days.
You will need fresh rosemary sprigs for creating the tree, a large serving board or grazing table paper and a star cookie cutter, to make a cutout in the brie to fill with jam to make this recipe.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American