From winter terraces to summer rooftops, a vegan charcuterie board is an ultimate appetizer for any gathering. It’s an impressive spread that’s dairy-free, and meat-free, making it suitable for everyone gathered around the table. In this post, I show you how to build a beautiful spread and customize it to your liking!
My family has made it a tradition to host an annual holiday party for our neighbors and friends. It’s a simple cocktail party with appetizers, drinks, and loud children running around the house bursting with excitement.
I keep it simple when it comes to the food because I want to enjoy my time at the party, and not feel too much stress with complicated recipes that take me all day to make! I start with a few store-bought appetizers, some of my favorite vegan holiday cookies, a Christmas Punch, and this show-stopping vegan charcuterie board!
It’s quick and easy to put together, and the best thing about it…everything is store-bought! It’s my go-to appetizer for the holidays, or just about any time of year when I have a large gathering of people over for a party.
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What is a Charcuterie Board?
A charcuterie board is an appetizer that is usually served on a wooden board or another flat serving dish. It consists of meats, cheeses, crackers, bread, spreads, olives, and sometimes vegetables. The word “charcuterie” is French, and means cooked meats. It’s a wonderful snacking and grazing board to set out during a party, or for a group to share before the main course. While the meaning of the word, charcuterie, doesn’t seem to fit with a vegan lifestyle, it is possible to create a vegan snacking board that will be enjoyed by all, vegan or not.
Why You’ll Love Building a Vegan Charcuterie Board for Your Next Party!
- Simple and quick to put together
- Uses store-bought ingredients
- Fresh flavors
- Suitable for all diets (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free)
- Assortment of flavors (sweet, salty, savory, and spicy)
- There’s something for everyone.
- Makes an impressive display!
Ingredients You’ll Need
There are many different ingredient ideas that you can choose from for your vegan snack board. While putting your selections together consider using foods with a variety of tastes and textures. This variety will provide a pleasant selection and a balance for your guests to choose from.
The key to any charcuterie board is the broad array of flavors. The wonderful thing about creating your own board is that you can customize it based on what you have available to you in your cupboard or pantry, or your favorite delights. You typically want to choose at least two varieties of each flavor for a large board, and one of each flavor for a small board. Plus something for dipping into all your spreads.
Sweet: Dried fruit, dates, fresh fruit, berries, dark chocolate, sweet nuts, and jams.
Salty: Olives, pickles, pickled vegetables, tapenade, salted nuts.
Savory: Vegan cheeses, vegan cheese spread, hummus, baba ganoush, vegetable spread, baked chickpeas.
Spicy: Spicy nuts, vegan pepperoni, spiced vegetable dips.
Dipping Foods: French Bread, gluten-free crackers, assorted vegetables.
Now let’s get a bit more specific about what to include so you have a wide array to choose from!
Crackers and Bread
Some crackers and bread are not vegan, although most are. Be sure to check the ingredient label before buying. I like to use rice crackers for a gluten-free option, and Orginal Triskets for a whole wheat version.
- Regular Crackers
- Gluten-Free Crackers
- Breadsticks
- French Baguette
- Tortilla Chips
- Pretzels
Vegan Meats and Cheeses
While it’s not necessary to use vegan meats and cheeses on your charcuterie board, there are vegan versions available. You can either make your own or purchase them from the store. I find vegan meat and cheese options at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, although I know more and more local grocery stores are carrying vegan options too.
- Homemade Vegan Pepperoni
- Sliced Vegan Deli Meat (made by Tofurky and Field Roast: ham, turkey, salami, pastrami)
- Homemade Cashew Ricotta
- Vegan Cream Cheese (Violife)
- Vegan Feta (homemade or store-bought)
- Vegan Cheese Spreads (Trader Joe’s)
- Vegan Cheese Slices (Violife, Daiya, Miyokos, Whole Foods)
Dips
These dips can be homemade or store-bought. If buying store-bought tzatziki or pesto check the ingredient label to be sure that it is vegan-friendly.
- Hummus
- Baba ganoush
- Vegan Tzatziki
- Vegan Pesto
- Fruit Jams
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Spicy Mustard
Vegetables
Vegetables are great for dipping and add a nice crunch to your board. Consider using veggies that are stable when set out at room temperature. You can also use pickled vegetables. Use vegetables that are fresh and in season. These are some of my favorites.
- Sliced English Cucumber
- Sliced Bell Peppers
- Carrot Sticks
- Celery Sticks
- Radishes
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Snap Peas
- Green Beans
- Broccoli Florets
- Cauliflower Florets
Fruits
Add a combination of fresh and dried fruits. Your fruits will bring a sweet component to your charcuterie board. Use fruits that are in season to bring the best flavor.
- Apple Slices
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Dried Apricots
- Fresh Figs
- Dates
- Dried Cranberries
- Kiwi Slices
- Fresh or Dried Plums
- Green or Red Grapes
Pickles and Antipasti
These store-bought canned items bring a ton of flavor and color to your board. They add some spicy and savory elements to your board.
- Baby Gurkin Pickles
- Pickled Carrots
- Carmelized Onion Chutney
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Sundried Tomatoes
- Artichokes
- Hearts of Palm
- Olives
Nuts and Sweets
Nuts are naturally sweet. When roasted they can add a salty element. You can also find nuts that are spiced for heat. Don’t forget, you can also add some dark chocolate, or vegan truffles for added elegeance.
- Spicy Cashews
- Almond Slices
- Walnuts
- Dark Chocolate Squares
- Vegan Truffles
- Salted Peanuts
- Sunflower Seeds
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Mixed Nut Assortment
How to Make a Vegan Charcuterie Board
Step 1: Start with a wooden board or another flat surface such as a marble board or serving tray. Your platter can be round or square. Depending on the number of people you want to serve, consider the size of your serving tray. Use a larger tray for a large gathering, or a small board for a small gathering. When placing your snack selections on the serving board, you want the board to look bountiful. Therefore the size of your board is dependent on the quantity of food you plan to serve.
Step 2: Place your largest selections on the board first. Start in the middle of the board with your larger bowls first. Arrange them in a diagonal or an “S” shape.
Step 3: Next, add the smaller bowls filled with nuts, dried fruits, jams, or cheese rounds.
Step 4: Fill in the empty spaces with your dipping selections. This is when you’ll add vegetables, fruit slices, gluten-free crackers, and sliced bread.
When to Serve a Vegan Charcuterie Board
There are so many occasions when a plant-based snack board is just the thing to bring a special spark to your menu. Here are a few ideas for creating a customized charcuterie board based on some of the most popular holidays and the four seasons!
Holiday Ideas
Christmas: With the Christmas season, consider a board with the holiday colors of red and green! Choose red peppers, cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, snap peas, sliced cucumbers, red and green apple slices, vegan pesto dip, salsa, and assorted bread, and crackers for dipping.
New Year’s Eve: When I think of New Year’s Eve, I think of all the things that sparkle. Add a bit of pizazz to your board by adding a combination of sweet and savory foods. Make it extra special with some vegan chocolate truffles, and champagne-infused strawberries! Place your vegetables into a design to spell out the new year!
Valentine’s Day: How about a Valentine’s Day dessert board? Add dark chocolate squares, fresh strawberries, chocolate-covered strawberries, raspberries, warm chocolate dip, and vegan shortbread cookies for dipping. Add your favorite fresh fruit, a sweet vegan vanilla yogurt dipping sauce, chocolate-covered pretzels, jam, salted and sweet nuts, or nut butter.
Birthday: Create a beautiful birthday board with vegan chocolate cupcakes, vegan funfetti cupcakes, and fresh fruit.
Seasonal Ideas
Winter: Use seasonal produce. Since winter is the season for sturdy vegetables, and fruits consider adding celery, carrots, cucumbers, and bell pepper slices. When it comes to fruit use fresh oranges, sliced apples, and grapes. You can also sub in more pickled vegetables and dried fruit since most fruits and vegetables are not in season during this time.
Spring: More produce becomes available in the spring. Add fresh apricots, apples, kiwis, and strawberries. For the vegetable, selection add asparagus, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and radishes.
Summer: Now is the time when you get to be as creative as you like with your fruit and vegetable selections. It’s the best time to add fresh cherry tomatoes, summer squash, beets, and green beans. Berries, melons, and stone fruits are in season so be sure to add blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and peaches.
Fall: It’s the harvest season, so before we head closer to the winter months, there is still a lot of delicious produce in season. Add fresh figs, grapes, mangos, pears, pineapple, and apples galore! It’s also the season for all things pumpkin! This is a great time to prepare a vegan pumpkin dip, and pumpkin butter, and add some pumpkin seeds for crunch.
Expert Tips
- Keep it simple! Use a combination of store-bought and homemade foods, or go with all store-bought ingredients.
- Use a variety of textures. Consider crunchy foods like crackers and nuts that pair well with soft dips and cheeses.
- Be sure to have gluten-free crackers to accommodate all diets.
- Use a colorful array of fruits and vegetables to bring contrast to your board.
- Arrange the large bowls first, then add in the smaller bowls, and finally fill in the board with the foods for dipping such as vegetables, fruits, bread, and crackers.
- Make sure every inch of your board is covered to make it look full and abundant.
- Add a variety of flavors including sweet, salty, savory, and spicy when making your selections. For a small board, add one from each category. For a medium board, add two, and for a large board add 3 from each category.
More Great Vegan Appetizers!
Recipe
Vegan Charcuterie Board
Equipment
- Small Spoons for serving
Ingredients
Salty (Choose 1-3 )
- ½ cup salted nuts cashews, peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios
- ½ cup olives or tapenade
- 8 ounces pickeled vegetables
Sweets (Choose 1-3)
- ½ cup candied nuts
- ¼ cup fruit jam strawberry, orange, apricot, blackberry, raspberry
- 8 ounces dark chocolate squares
- ¼ cup dates
- 12 ounces Fresh Fruit strawberries, grapes, apples, blackberries, raspberries
- ½ cup dried fruit figs, apricots, cranberries, raisins
Savory (Choose 1-3)
- 1 cup hummus
- 1 cup baba ganoush
- 1 cup vegan tzatziki
- ½ cup guacamole
- ½ cup salsa
- ½ cup vegan pesto
- vegan cheese ball
- vegan cheese spread
- vegan cheese slices
- vegan deli meat homemade or store-bought
Spicy (Choose 1-3)
- ½ cup spiced nuts
- 8 ounces vegan pepperoni
- 8 ounces spicy eggplant dip
- 8 ounces buffalo cauliflower
Foods for Dipping (Choose 2-4)
- 10 ounces gluten-free crackers
- 10 ounces whole wheat crackers
- 1 loaf French Baguette thinly sliced
- 12 ounces assorted vegetables carrots, celery, cucumber slices, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, green beans, radishes
Instructions
- Start with a wooden board or another flat surface such as a marble board or serving tray. Your platter can be round or square. Depending on the number of people you want to serve, consider the size of your serving tray. Use a larger tray for a large gathering, or a small board for a small gathering. When placing your snack selections on the serving board, you want the board to look bountiful. Therefore the size of your board is dependent on the quantity of food you plan to serve.
- Place your largest selections on the board first. Start in the middle of the board with your larger bowls first. Arrange them in a diagonal or an "S" shape.
- Next, add the smaller bowls filled with nuts, dried fruits, jams, or cheese rounds.
- Fill in the empty spaces with your dipping selections. This is when you'll add vegetables, fruit slices, gluten-free crackers, and sliced bread.
Video
Notes
- Keep it simple! Use a combination of store-bought and homemade foods, or go with all store-bought ingredients.
- Use a variety of textures. Consider crunchy foods like crackers and nuts that pair well with soft dips and cheeses.
- Be sure to have gluten-free crackers to accommodate all diets.
- Use a colorful array of fruits and vegetables to bring contrast to your board.
- Arrange the large bowls first, then add in the smaller bowls, and finally fill in the board with the foods for dipping such as vegetables, fruits, bread, and crackers.
- Make sure every inch of your board is covered to make it look full and abundant.
- Add a variety of flavors including sweet, salty, savory, and spicy when making your selections. For a small board, add one from each category. For a medium board, add two, and for a large board add 3 from each category.
Nikki
What a beautiful and delicious charcuterie board. I love everything about it. It’s perfect for a party or game day.
Anjali
We made this charcuterie board as an appetizer when we hosted some friends last weekend! It was super easy to make, and everyone loved the variety of ingredients on the board! It disappeared fast and we had no leftovers!
Vanessa
Charcuterie boards are my favorite thing to make when entertaining. Lots of great ideas here so that it is inclusive for my vegan friends as well.
Tara
This guide is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much. I’m bookmarking this for lots of future ideas!
Emily
This was fun to put together, I made a vegan spread for our holiday neighborhood party. Everyone enjoyed it and loved the variety! I’ll be making another one for New Year’s!
Dannii
This would be perfect for a new years eve party. I can’t wait to try it.
Ned
Charcuterie boards are the best and this one is no exception! Thank you so much for sharing!
Gina Abernathy
I love to build charcuterie boards. It’s so much fun adding all of the different ingredients. This board is pretty and makes a great presentation for a party.