Christmas Charcuterie Board (Festive Tree Shape)
Here’s how to make a festive Christmas Charcuterie Board using real food ingredients like fruits, cheese, aged meats, and olives. Delight your friends and family with this delicious holiday snack spread that can be adapted for different food allergies if necessary.
Festive Charcuterie Board Appetizer
Whether you’re throwing a party or just having friends over, it’s always fun to have something special to offer as a snack. Grazing boards with healthy options on a wooden board are a great thing for family gatherings or a Christmas party.
This Christmas Charcuterie Board has something for everyone, plus it’s in the shape of an adorable Christmas tree.
Christmas Charcuterie Board Benefits
- Nutritional Balance: This type of charcuterie board provides a balanced mix of macronutrients and micronutrients. Fruits and vegetables contribute vitamins and antioxidants, cheeses offer calcium and protein, while aged meats provide protein and essential fats. Olives are a good source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. See my related article on “Eating healthy at the holidays.”
- Dietary Flexibility: Such a board caters to various dietary needs and preferences. It can easily be adjusted for those following specific diets like keto, gluten-free, or vegetarian, by selectively including or excluding certain items.
- Mindful Eating and Portion Control: Offering a variety of foods in smaller portions encourages guests to try different items and eat mindfully. This approach can prevent overeating, which is common during holiday feasts, and allows for enjoyment of a range of flavors without excessive calorie intake associated with Christmas parties.
Key Ingredients
- Celery makes the trunk or base of the Christmas tree.
- Salami slices (or pepperoni) make the yummy base of the tree. Cured meats or your favorite meats are part of a traditional charcuterie board, but you can always substitute them with vegetarian ingredients if you have guests who are vegetarian or vegan.
- Cheese or apple add a bright color as part of the tree.
- Additional foods like olives, red grapes or green grapes, and pomegranate seeds add Christmas colors, nutrition, and even more festive spirit to fun food holiday themed charcuterie boards. The fresh fruit is a nice balance to the different meats and veggies.
- Pineapple makes a great food for the star on top.
Please see the full recipe card at the end of this post for the exact measurements.
Special Equipment
Rectangular cutting board
You can use a wooden or plastic cutting board as the base of your Christmas charcuterie board. Just be sure that the board is clean before putting food on top of it.
Cookie cutter or paring knife
You’ll also need a star-shaped cookie cutter or a sharp paring knife to cut the pineapple into the shape of the star.
Recipe Steps
Choose your favorite ingredients and make your tree as festive as you’d like! It’s very quick to lay this out as guests start to arrive.
Step One
Lay your cutting board on a working surface.
To make the tree shape with the ingredients, start at the bottom. Place the celery stalk to make the trunk of the tree. Then, layer the salami to make the base of the tree.
Step Two
Next, make layers using the cubed cheese (or apple), olives, more salami, and then the grapes at the top.
Step Three
Use a star cookie cutter to cut out the pineapple star. Or, use a sharp paring knife to cut out the star shape. Place the pineapple star at the top of the tree.
Step Four
Finally, use the fresh rosemary sprigs to stick out from the sides of the tree layers. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds on top of the rosemary. The pomegranate seeds are the Christmas tree decorations on your charcuterie tree!
I hope you agree that this Christmas tree charcuterie board is an essential part of the holiday season and perfect of holiday parties. This beautiful board can also serve as an ice breaker as guests gather around it.
Recipe Tips
- If you want to prep this ahead of time, you can cut all of the fruit and vegetables and store them in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap up to 3 days before serving.
- Then, just before serving, create the Christmas tree shape using your ingredients.
- After your party, dissemble the tree and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- This recipe is very forgiving! You can use whatever types of colorful fruits, veggies, and cold cuts that you like. Just be sure that you present items that are bite-sized and not too messy to eat with your fingers. Don’t want a cheese board? Substitute cherry tomatoes or whatever else you like instead of a cheese platter.
- Want a holiday dessert recipe? Try this adorable Christmas Tree Cake. This board would also be cute served with Candied Orange Slices.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, of course! Just replace any animal-based items like salami and cheese with plant-based ingredients from the grocery store such as apple, pineapple chunks, jicama cubes, crackers, chips, pretzels, or whatever you like. You can also use different shapes and seasonal colors of fruits or finger foods to stick with the Christmas theme. See my recipe for a Vegan Charcuterie Board.
Other great options for holiday gatherings include a wreath or snowman. Feel free to get creative as that’s the best part about putting together a grazing board. You can also make a dessert board using sweets and treats.
More Holiday Recipes You Might Like
- Homemade Peppermint Patties
- Pomegranate Mocktail with Ginger and Orange
- Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
- Grinch Fruit Kabobs
- Healthy Hot Chocolate
- Non-Alcoholic Brunch Punch
Don’t Miss These Holiday Party Recipes!
Christmas Charcuterie Board
Here’s how to make a festive Christmas Charcuterie Board using real food ingredients. Delight your friends and family with this delicious holiday snack spread.
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 3-inch celery stalk
- 1 4–ounce package sliced salami
- 1 8–ounce package white cheddar cheese, cut into bite-sized cubes (you can substitute chopped apple if you want a dairy-free or plant-based option)
- 1 10–ounce jar green olives, drained
- 1 cup red grapes
- 1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
- 1 fresh pineapple, skinned and sliced into 1-inch tall slices (one of these will be used for the star on top of the tree)
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish
Instructions
- Lay a clean cutting board on your countertop. The board should be rectangular in shape.
- To make the tree shape with the ingredients, start at the bottom. Place the celery stalk to make the trunk of the tree.
- Then, layer the salami to make the base of the tree.
- Next, make layers using the cubed cheese (or apple), olives, more salami, and then the grapes at the top.
- To make the pineapple star, lay one slice of the fresh pineapple on a separate cutting surface. Use a star cookie cutter to cut out the pineapple star. Or, use a sharp paring knife to cut out the star shape. Place the pineapple star at the top of the tree.
- Lastly, use the fresh rosemary sprigs to stick out from the sides of the tree layers. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds on top of the rosemary to replicate Christmas tree lights or decorations.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you want to prep this ahead of time, you can cut all of the fruit and vegetables and store them in an airtight container up to 3 days before serving.
- Then, just before serving, create the Christmas tree shape using your ingredients.
- After your party, dissemble the tree and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- This recipe is very forgiving! You can use whatever types of colorful fruits, veggies, and cold cuts that you like. Just be sure that you present items that are bite-sized and not too messy to eat with your fingers.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Holiday
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 4.7 g
- Sodium: 538.4 mg
- Fat: 17.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.9 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 9.2 g
- Cholesterol: 40.8 mg
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition. She is a top wellness and food blogger with nearly 10 million annual visitors to her site. Carrie has an incredible story of recovery from chronic illness and is passionate about helping other women transform their health. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
Super tasty and super adorable!!!