Simple Kid Friendly Charcuterie Boards

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Cheese Boards are excellent for weekend snacking and make great simple kids party food and are loaded with a wide variety of fruits, veggies, cheeses and meats. These also make great after school snack trays! Even adults will love it!

Building a simple charcuterie board that adults and kids alike will love is a simple and easy thing to do! It is not hard to create a platter that is varied in texture, color, and flavors that seems fancy but is really easy to make!

These are great at parties, get togethers, and also work great as easy meals and snacks! They are so great for any time of day or any occasion! Plus they are easy way to add a variety of fun ingredients to your kids meals.

Click here for more information on how to raise kids who love to eat great food! 

What do you tools do you need to build a kid charcuterie board?

You don’t need anything fancy to make a simple charcuterie board for kids!

• Use a large rimmed baking sheet (affiliate link) or extra large platter.
• You can use small bowls or ramekins to hold ingredients like pickles, jelly or hummus.
• Add small spoons or knives to help with dipping and spreading.

These trays also work awesome as after school snack trays (but smaller sized), and I often fix something similar when I am trying to make dinner but my children are about to die from starvation (their exaggeration, not mine). Adding a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses means that even if they fill up on their “snack” and are too full for dinner I know that they still ate a balanced meal and got some good nutrition down!

The trick to making a beautiful charcuterie board is to vary your items – space out items that are the same size, shape or color with different items to give your tray visual appeal.

For example – don’t place cherry tomatoes and grapes beside each other because they are both roundish.

If you want to add something that is juicy or watery (think pickles) or small (nuts or pomegranate arils), place them in a small bowl on the tray. These make amazing options for simple kids party food!

What to Add To A Kids Charcuterie Board

The key to making a good charcuterie board is to have a good selection of all different kinds of things. Pick 2-3 different options from each of the categories below. Make sure that all the items are pre-cut into bite sized pieces and ready for snacking (no sharp cheese knives on these boards, please!).

Building an easy and family friendly cheese board is really all about choosing a wide variety of finger foods and arranging them on a large tray together.

Looking for a simple way to expand how your kids eat? Check out How to explore the sense of taste with kids!

Which cheeses are good for a kid-friendly cheese tray?

Pick milder cheeses (a super stinky blue may not be the best choice unless you know your kids really enjoy it!). Pick 2 to 4 cheeses in both yellow and white coloring, and cut them into a variety of shapes (cubes, slices, sticks, etc).

Avoid varieties that have strong flavors, but do go for different textures, colors, and flavors.

• Cheddar Cheese – both white and yellow sharp are great – get a good quality!
• Edam
• Havarti
• Gouda
• Mild Goat Cheese
• Gruyere
• Fresh Mozzarella (try serving marinated mozzarella balls!)
• Asiago
• Brie
• Provolone
• Fontina

*Tip: The flavor of cheese is best when it is room temperature! Allow your cheese to warm up for 30 minutes on the counter before assembling your platter.

Which fruit goes on a charcuterie platter?

Go for a variety of colors, textures and crunch level in the fruit. Cut them into different shapes and sizes to add even more visual variety.

• apple – get a crispy apple like a Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or a good green. Dried apple chips are also a fun addition because they are crispy
• pear slices
• grapes
• dried apricots
• berries like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or quartered strawberries
• pomegranate airils

What kinds of veggies to add to a charcuterie board?

Make sure the items are small sized so they are perfectly grab-able and dip-able.

• cherry tomatoes
• sliced cucumbers (we really like those little persian ones!)
• sweet snap peas
• baby carrots or carrot sticks
• baby kosher pickles
• slices of sweet mini peppers (the orange, yellow and red ones)
• vegetable pate

Which meats should be on a charcuterie board?

• salami
• sliced and quartered sections of summer sausage
• a good quality jerky
• rolls of deli meat like turkey or ham
• proscuitto
• sliced deli ham or turkey

Fun Extra Stuff to Add

• Nuts – almonds, walnuts or pistachios
• Something to dip like ranch dressing, french onion dip, or hummus. Also think about savory spreads like mustard!
• Sweet things to drizzle like honey, lingonberry preserves, fruit butter or chutney or wojapi sauce. A cream cheese fruit dip is also great.
• Don’t forget the crackers, pretzel chips and slices of baguette!
• Crispy roasted chickpeas.
• Chocolate is always acceptable!
• Olives!

Other recipes that make great kid friendly party food are Easy Cheese Dip  and Mini Pizza Bites!

Charcuterie Board Tips

• Using a platter or tray with edges is key to helping contain everything!
• Use different types of crackers in different shapes and textures to offer a variety.
• Make it a game with your kids to see which cheese and meats are paired best with the different items.
• Charcuterie boards are best when served immediately after assembling. You can prep things ahead a little by cutting the cheeses, readying fruits and sides, etc that you want. But wait to assemble until you are ready to eat.