Getting ready for the big game? Whether you’re prepping snacks for football Sunday, or putting together a Super Bowl food spread, good eats are an integral part of the experience. This game day charcuterie board is the ultimate party appetizer for your watch party!
No matter the occasion, grazing boards are a great option for any get together! This game day charcuterie board is built with easy and accessible ingredients, so there is something for everyone to enjoy.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
So easy to make! Putting together a beautiful cheese board requires some cutting, and arranging, but nothing you can’t handle!
Ready in under 30 minutes. Giving yourself 20-30 minutes to prep your board will ensure you do not feel rushed, and will give you enough time to artfully arrange all of your ingredients onto your cheese platter.
Ingredients for Our Meat and Cheese Board
The best cheese boards have a variety of cheeses (I recommend at least 2-3), crackers (I recommend at least 2 kinds), cured meats (if you are not making a vegetarian cheese board), and several sweet and savory accompaniments with a variety of textures for your guests to mix and match and enjoy together.
Below outlines what you’ll need to add to your charcuterie board shopping list to make the exact board shown in the photos.
Cheese
The cheese I used are all from Burnett Dairy, one of my favorite Wisconsin cheese makers, but you can definitely find similar cheeses from other brands!
- Cheddar Gruyere (Wood River Creamery)
- Roasted Red Pepper & Cracked Peppercorn Cheddar Gruyere (Wood River Creamery)
- Cheddar (I used Northwoods Cheddar by Wood River Creamery)
Other cheeses that would be delicious on this football charcuterie board include: mild, medium, or sharp cheddar, gruyere, gouda, colby jack, or pepper jack.
Meat
- Summer Sausage
Produce
- Carrots
- Red Bell Pepper
- Sugar Snap Peas
Crunch
- Ritz crackers
- Pretzels
- Spicy Chili Naan Crisps
- Lightly Salted Almonds
Dip
- Light Dill Dip
- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
A great alternative to the dill dip on this snack board would be ranch dip (like the homemade ranch dip). There are tons of hummus flavors you can choose from as well, other great options would be original, toasted pine nut, or a spicier variety. You could also add a spinach artichoke dip to this board (yum).
Step-By-Step Instructions
Select your serving tray or board. Optionally, line it with parchment paper (I like to do this for easier clean up, and to reduce the likelihood of staining wooden boards).
Add cheese. Cut cheeses into a variety of shapes and place across multiple sections of your board, leaving room to fill in between cheeses with other board items
Add meat. Place the summer sausage into a “river” running through the board (as shown in the photos), or in multiple sections around the board
Add bowls for dips / small items. Add bowls the veggie dip and hummus and fill with the designated ingredients
Add fresh veggies. Place peppers, carrots, and pea pods in multiple sections around the cheese tray.
Add crackers, pretzels, and crisps. Stack crackers in various sections of the board. As you can see in the photos, I placed the crackers in multiple positions for visual interest.
Fill in any gaps with nuts. Cover the rest of your board with the salted almonds. The goal is to completely cover your tray!
Charcuterie Board Accessories
While you can create a lovely cheese platter without special trays, boards, or other accessories, having a few of these items can elevate your cheese board experience. Below is a list of simple charcuterie board items to add to your entertaining line-up:
- Wooden charcuterie board – these come in a variety of shapes and sizes, select a board that you find beautiful!
- Cheese knives – great to have out for guests to use to cut cheese and meats into smaller pieces, or use to spread dips. There are lots of great sets like these cheese knives or this set of cheese knives
- Small bowls – for serving spreads and dips, nuts, pickles, and more! I have a mix of upcycled jars that I’ve saved from various products, and small bowls like these.
Cheese and Meat Board Expert Tips
Have extra ingredients ready to replenish your board! Having extra cut up veggies, extra crackers, more cheese blocks, and an extra log of summer sausage on hand will allow you to easily refill your game day charcuterie board as ingredients get eaten up throughout your event.
Cut the cheeses into different shapes for visual interest! Not only does cutting your cheese into various shapes make for a beautiful board, it can also help your guests tell the cheeses apart.
Want to make this vegetarian cheese board? Skip the summer sausage. You can easily make this into a vegetarian appetizer by removing the summer sausage on this football charcuterie board and filling in the open space with additional cheese, crackers, nuts, and dips!
Want to make a small charcuterie board? No problem! Select a smaller serving board and fill it in with a reduced amount of each item. We love doing at home date nights with fun cheese boards, and the ingredients outlined in this post would be great for a small cheese plate.
Drink Pairings for This Game Day Charcuterie Board
In classic football fashion, this game day grazing board is excellent paired with your favorite beer! For those who do not imbibe, have sparkling water in a variety of flavors to enjoy alongside this delicious snack board.
Love This Recipe? Try One of These Appetizer Recipes Next!
Game Day Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 1 block cheddar gruyere cheese, cut into slices*
- 1 block roasted red pepper & cracked peppercorn cheddar gruyere cheese, cut into slices*
- 1 block cheddar cheese, cut into slices*
- 1 log summer sausage, cut into slices
- 3-5 medium carrots, cut into sticks
- 2 bell peppers, cut into slices
- sugar snap peas
- Ritz crackers
- mini twist pretzels
- spicy chili naan crisps
- lightly salted almonds
- 1 container light dill dip
- 1 container roasted red pepper hummus
Instructions
- Select your serving tray or board. Option to line it with parchment paper.
- Add cheese. Cut cheeses into a variety of shapes and place across multiple sections of your board, leaving room to fill in between cheeses with other board items.
- Add meat. Place the summer sausage into a “river” running through the board (as shown in the photos), or in multiple sections around the board.
- Add bowls for dips / small items. Add bowls the veggie dip and hummus and fill with the designated ingredients.
- Add fresh veggies. Place peppers, carrots, and pea pods in multiple sections around the cheese tray.
- Add crackers, pretzels, and crisps. Stack crackers in various sections of the board. As you can see in the photos, I placed the crackers in multiple positions for visual interest.
- Fill in any gaps with nuts. Cover the rest of your board with the salted almonds. The goal is to completely cover your tray!
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