Charcuterie Board Trends
Last updated on Jan 19, 2024Corrinn McCauleyCharcuterie is a favorite among consumers, but most restaurants don’t capitalize on its popularity. 76% of consumers who have tried charcuterie reported either liking or loving it, but only 4.9% of menus in the U.S. offer charcuterie as of 2023. While a traditional charcuterie board might not suit your establishment, charcuterie trends expand on the classic meat and cheese board and offer formats and ingredients appropriate for almost any foodservice setting. From portable charcuterie to vegan options, we provide the top charcuterie trends so you can find a format and ingredient list that works for you.
Shop All Charcuterie BoardsCharcuterie Trends
Charcuterie is more than a food trend, its origins date back to 15th century France. However, the way people serve it, and the ingredients they favor, evolve. Offer the latest charcuterie board trends to attract customers, earn profits, and access new market segments.
1. Charcuterie Cones
Charcuterie cones are handheld charcuterie boards served in disposable cones. For food trucks and other off-premise dining businesses, charcuterie cones are an economical single-serve charcuterie option because disposable paper cones are more affordable than buying dozens of mini charcuterie boards or serving charcuterie in jars.
How to Make Charcuterie Cones
Check out our charcuterie cone video for a step-by-step tutorial.
Making charcuterie cones is easy once you know how to layer the ingredients inside the cone. Follow these simple steps to create a sumptuous charcuterie cone presentation.
- Dried fruit and nuts go first because they create a stable base for toothpicks.
- Cheese elements are usually larger and should go in second. Consider threading hard cheeses and marinated mozzarella balls onto toothpicks.
- Meats have multiple arrangement options. Cut hard salami into nuggets and roll or fold your prosciutto. Thread deli meat onto sticks and stand them in the cone.
- Olives and pickled items are essential to any charcuterie presentation. Tangy, acidic pickled ingredients balance the rich meats and cheeses.
- Fresh fruit pairs sweet with savory. Slide thin slices of pears and apples into the cone, and thread toothpicks with fresh berries.
- Fresh vegetables are a healthy, gluten-free alternative to crackers. Add cucumber and sweet pepper slices to accommodate alternative diets.
- Grains are a beloved choice for those who tolerate them. Items like cheese straws, crackers, and mini breadsticks add height to your charcuterie cone, creating a pretty plume.
- Fresh herbs are a decorative finishing touch for charcuterie presentations.
2. Vegan Charcuterie Board
You may wonder how to make a vegan charcuterie board when the key ingredients of a traditional charcuterie board are meat and cheese. Thankfully, with a few slight adjustments, you can make a completely vegan charcuterie board. The market is full of high-quality vegan cheese varieties that can replace dairy cheese. Skip the meats and increase the number of fruits, crackers, and spreads. Add plant-based proteins like eggplant bacon, roasted chickpeas, and smoky mushroom jerky.
Vegan Charcuterie Board Ideas
The perfect vegan charcuterie board includes at least one salty, savory, sweet, and spicy item along with a dip. Make your vegan charcuterie board by selecting a vegan item of each flavor profile. We offer some vegan charcuterie board element suggestions below.
- Salty Vegan Charcuterie Elements - pickled vegetables, olives, tapenade, salted nuts, edamame
- Savory Vegan Charcuterie Elements - hummus, seitan bacon strips, smoked tempeh, vegan cheese
- Sweet Vegan Charcuterie Elements - candied nuts, dried/fresh fruits, jam, chocolate
- Spicy Vegan Charcuterie Elements - kimchi, harissa, vegan pepperoni, Moroccan spiced roast chickpeas
- Dipping Vegan Charcuterie Elements - cucumber slices, mini bell peppers, radish slices, different breads, crackers
3. Breakfast Board
Perfect for brunch service, breakfast boards borrow the classic charcuterie presentation style but use breakfast foods instead of cured deli meats and cheeses. You can either arrange a variety of your favorite breakfast foods on a board or you can choose a specific theme for your brunch board. Popular breakfast board themes include mini pancakes or waffle breakfast boards. Breakfast charcuterie is a fun way to upgrade your continental breakfast presentation at your hotel or bed and breakfast.
How to Make a Breakfast Board
All you need to make a breakfast board is a board/platter and the items you want to serve. In standard charcuterie style, you’ll want to place the items on your board in order of largest to smallest. We offer a few suggestions for how to make a breakfast board below.
- Arrange grains - mini pancakes, mini waffles, mini croissants, french toast sticks, mini cinnamon rolls, mini scones
- Place bowls of dips - Nutella, maple syrup, jams, nut butters, honey
- Add proteins - slices of bacon, breakfast sausages, deviled eggs, black pudding
- Fill spaces with fruits - banana slices, berries, kiwi slices
4. Jarcuterie
Jarcuterie is an individual serving of charcuterie layered in a cute jar or disposable cup. Mini mason jar charcuterie is a popular choice. The 'charcuterie in a jar' trend was born out of the pandemic to prevent cross-contamination, and it has captured the hearts and stomachs of charcuterie lovers ever since. Jarcuterie is the perfect portable appetizer for catered events because they allow people to graze while they mingle. The jars offer a more upscale look than disposable cones.
How to Make Jarcuterie
Follow the steps below to arrange charcuterie in a mason jar and create jarcuterie:
- Lay a base of nuts and dried fruits at the bottom of the jar.
- Thread skewers with jarcuterie elements. Thread prosciutto and melon onto skewers, meats and cheeses, or alternate between pickled vegetables and different types of olives.
- Stand the threaded skewers in the jar using the nut and dried fruit base to hold them in place. You can also stand meat sticks and meat-wrapped mozzarella sticks in the jar.
- Use cocktail forks and stick Edam cheese and marinated mozzarella onto the prongs. Stand the cocktail forks in the jar.
- Insert mini crackers, bread sticks, or veggie straws into the empty spaces.
- Fill gaps with garnishes of fresh herbs sprigs.
5. Dessert Charcuterie
While dessert charcuterie boards are not technically charcuterie, they are a trendy way to serve sweets. A dessert charcuterie board borrows the presentation style of a traditional charcuterie board and offers small bites of treats for patrons to graze on. Enliven your events with holiday-themed dessert charcuterie like a spooky Halloween dessert board. If you want to include meats, use candied meat options on your dessert charcuterie board. Or, skip the protein and load your board with confectionary, the choice is yours.
Dessert Charcuterie Board Ideas
Popular items to include on a dessert board are:
- Dips - Nutella, chocolate hummus, caramel, whipped cream
- Cheeses - whipped ricotta and honey, mascarpone, cranberry goat cheese
- Fruits - fresh berries, banana slices, dried apricots, sliced apples, dates
- Salty Sweets - caramel corn, chocolate-covered pretzels, candied nuts
- Chocolates - truffles (try this ruby chocolate truffle recipe), chocolate bark, chocolate-covered nuts
- Cookies - small, crunchy cookies take the place of crackers on a dessert charcuterie board
- Meat - candied bacon, burnt ends, hot honey glazed pork belly
6. Charcuterie Skewers
Charcuterie skewers are skewers loaded with classic charcuterie board items. They are the perfect cocktail party appetizer tray item because they leave one hand free to hold a wine glass. While they're just now trending in the U.S., charcuterie skewers are a traditional Spanish tapa. Select complementary meats, cheeses, pickled items, and fruits for each skewer. Most guests will not eat the skewered items individually but will chew them simultaneously, so this is your opportunity to create flavor bites.
Charcuterie Skewer Ideas
All you need to make charcuterie skewers are complementary charcuterie elements and skewers to spear them with. The beauty of charcuterie skewers is they allow you to curate flavor bites. Use the following charcuterie skewer ideas to make your own:
- Cantaloupe ball, folded prosciutto, and mint leaf charcuterie skewers
- Marinated mozzarella ball, basil leaf, and cherry tomato charcuterie skewers
- Salami, cheese cube, olive, and pickle slice charcuterie skewers
- Brie bite, date, and apple slice charcuterie skewers
7. Seafood Charcuterie
Seafood charcuterie boards replace cured meats with seafood. You can also use crustaceans and mollusks like clams and oysters on your seafood charcuterie board and feature a bowl of whipped cream cheese topped with caviar for dipping. Whether you’re a pescetarian or looking for a leaner alternative to classic charcuterie, seafood charcuterie boards are a delicious and healthy alternative perfect for the Lenten season or year-round.
Seafood Charcuterie Board Ideas
As with all charcuterie boards, you’ll need to start by choosing a board. Add your items in order of largest to smallest. Use our seafood charcuterie board ideas to inspire your selection. Source sustainable seafood for your board.
- Canned Fish - tinned fish and seafood options like anchovies, mackerel, and sardines
- Mollusks - oysters on the half shell, bacon-wrapped scallops
- Crustaceans - cocktail shrimp, stone crab claws
- Fish - smoked salmon, sushi-grade sashimi slices, caviar
- Vegetables - seaweed salad, marinated cucumbers, tempura vegetables, edamame
- Dips/Spreads - cream cheese, cocktail sauce, mignonette, smoked fish dip
- Crunchy Items - wonton chips, seaweed chips, onigiri
8. Butter Board
Butter boards are a trendy food item popularized by Justine Doiron’s viral TikTok video. They are essentially a layered compound butter artfully displayed on a charcuterie board. While not technically charcuterie, butter boards went viral because charcuterie trended first.
How to Make a Butter Board
Making a butter board is easy, but the results will impress your guests.
- Select the type of butter you want to use
- Style the butter on the board
- Add decorative toppings
- Serve with flavor-compatible breads (like homemade sourdough), vegetables, and fruits
The latest charcuterie trends are the perfect way to upgrade your happy hour specials and attract more customers to your business. Whether you choose to create a brunch or butter board, these trendy charcuterie ideas will help your business stand out on social media. Regularly rotating ingredients can help keep the novelty alive.
