Impress your guests with this easy and festive Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board. Using slices of wedge-shaped cheeses and fresh sprigs of herbs, you can create an adorable and edible Christmas tree that is decorated with fresh and dried fruits, nuts, and ribbons of prosciutto.
Another fun appetizer to make shaped like a Christmas Tree is our Crescent Roll Christmas Tree, so easy to put together and served warm.
Easy Christmas Charcuterie Board
Not sure what to make for an upcoming holiday party? Need something to snack on that’s not a dip? This Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board may be the answer! While it does have several types of cheese (as all good appetizers do!), it’s also loaded with prosciutto, berries, dried fruits, and nuts. All organized in the shape of a Christmas tree for a festive touch on any table.
Charcuterie boards are so great for groups because they offer a little something for everyone and there’s no baking or cooking required. I love that I can just assemble this quickly and let guests grab whatever they’d like. It’s perfect for keeping the hunger at bay before a nice holiday meal but also works on any party appetizer table as well. You really can’t go wrong with charcuterie!
Ingredients Needed
This Christmas charcuterie board is filled with cheese, prosciutto, dried fruits, berries, nuts, and more. Every person is guaranteed to find something they love on this appetizer.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Cheese – For this Christmas charcuterie board, you’ll want wedges of hard to semi-firm cheeses, as well as semi-soft cheese, and mozzarella balls. For the wedges, gouda, cheddar, and manchego are good options while Havarti (plain or dill) is my go-to for cubes.
- Prosciutto – Delicately sweet and salty, we love this cured meat.
- Dried fruits – Apricots, cherries, and figs are great options.
- Fresh grapes – Cut into small clusters.
- Berries – Any mix of berries such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and pomegranate seeds works.
- Nuts – I used a mix of pecans, almonds, pistachios, and pumpkin seeds.
- Herbs – Rosemary, sage, and thyme work well.
- Pretzel sticks – These serve as the trunk of the tree. Great for munching.
- For serving – Serve with assorted crackers, jams, mustards, and condiments as desired.
Easy Variations
One of the best parts about creating charcuterie boards is that you can change up the ingredients, by choosing what’s available or in season. Just make sure to think about how to vary the colors and textures. Once you create the basic shape of your tree, you can fill it in with any ingredients you wish.
Here are a few easy variations for this Christmas tree charcuterie board, to help you create the same shape.
- Create triangle cheese slices. If you can’t find wedge-shaped cheeses such as gouda, you can still create a triangle shape with a rectangle or square block of cheese. Just cut the rectangle or square in half on the diagonal, and then turn on its end and cut it into thin triangles.
- Salami can be used in place of the prosciutto. Ask your deli counter to cut it very thin for you. Just fold the rounds of salami into halves, and then quarters. Then just stack them together and lay across the board like the ribbons of prosciutto.
How to Make a Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
Though this holiday charcuterie may look fancy, it’s super simple to assemble and takes just about 25 minutes to prepare.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Prepare the ingredients. Before assembling, cut the cheese wedges into thin triangles. Drain the mozzarella balls and wash and dry the grape clusters and berries.
- Prepare the platter. Cut out a tall triangle from parchment paper that fits on your cutting board or platter. It will help you shape the tree. Use small pieces of tape underneath to hold it in place.
- Assemble the cheese. Outline the edges of some rows with triangles of cheese, about 3-4 places per side of the triangle.
- Add the grapes and cheese. Begin placing the other items evenly around the triangle, starting with the clusters of grapes followed by the cubed cheese and mozzarella balls. Be sure to space them out evenly, with different colors next to each other.
- Add the prosciutto. Fold the prosciutto in half long ways, then fold it back and forth on itself like a ribbon. Stack them together, in an “S” shape across the “tree”.
- Fill in the tree. Add small “piles” of the rest of the fruits and nuts in the center of the tree.
- Finish the tree shape. Add small sprigs of fresh herbs around the board, and cut a piece of meat, cheese, or fruit to look like a tree. Add pretzel sticks to make the trunk.
- Serve. Serve with small bowls of honey, jams, mustards, and extra crackers.
Can This Be Made in Advance?
You can assemble your Christmas tree charcuterie board in advance. I recommend preparing it the day of, to prevent any of the cheese slices from drying out, but you can do so up to 24 hours in advance. Cover the entire board tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge, then bring close to room temperature before serving.
Tip for Transporting
This Christmas charcuterie board is difficult to transport assembled. If you need to take this to a party you’re not hosting, you can prepare your board, chop all ingredients, wash the fruit, ribbon your meats, and bag them up individually. Bring the ingredients to your party, and assemble them on-site. Assembly will only take a few minutes once the ingredients are prepped.
How to Store Leftovers
Charcuterie is great for parties because all of the items taste good at room temperature and can handle being on display for long periods of time without the ingredient quality suffering too much.
Any items that are left out for over 4 hours at room temperature should be thrown away. If cleaned up within 4 hours, perishable items (meat, cheeses, fresh fruits) should be bagged or packaged up and refrigerated and can be kept for up to 4 days.
More Fun Charcuterie Ideas:
- Italian Antipasto Charcuterie Board
- Chocolate Charcuterie Board
- Mini Deli Sandwich Charcuterie Board
- Beginners Charcuterie Board
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 2- 4 ounces wedges of hard to semi firm cheeses (gouda, cheddar, manchego)
- 4 ounces dill or plain havarti , or other semi soft cheese cut into small 3/4-inch cubes
- 8 ounces container marinated or plain fresh mozzarella balls (cilienge or pearl size)
- 4 ounces prosciutto
- 4 ounces dried fruits (apricots, cherries, figs)
- 16 ounces fresh grapes , cut into small clusters
- 8 ounces berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, pomegranate seeds)
- 4 ounces nuts (pecans, almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds)
- 4 ounces fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme)
- 6-10 pretzel sticks
- Assorted crackers , pretzels, jams, mustards and condiments for serving
Instructions
- For visual help building your tree, there's step by step photos included in the article.To prepare the ingredients: Cut the cheese wedges into thin triangles. Drain the mozzarella balls on some paper towels. Wash and dry the grape clusters and fresh berries.
- Prepare a 12”x18” rectangular board or platter. Using a piece of parchment paper, cut out a tall triangle that fits within your cutting board or platter and place it on the platter to help you form your tree. (You can use small pieces of rolled tape underneath to help hold it in place.)
- Start by using the triangle slices of cheese, outline the outermost edges of some rows of your tree (in 3-4 places per side of the triangle), overlapping the edges of the parchment paper triangle just slightly, making sure the points are facing out and following the shape of your tree.
- Next, take the clusters of grapes, and add them to the board, evenly spacing them around within the triangle. Do the same with small piles of the cubed cheese and mozzarella balls. Making sure to space them around evenly, and keeping in mind color blocking – you don't want to pile two items of similar color together on the board.
- To make a prosciutto garland, fold your slices of prosciutto in half long ways (like a hotdog bun), then gently fold the meat back and forth on itself, creating a small ribbon. Stack these ribbons together, zigzagging it across the tree shape in an “S” shape.
- Continue to fill in the center of the tree using small “piles” of the rest of the fruits and nuts, creating color blocks, making sure to keep the points of the triangular cheese slices peaking out.
- Tuck in small sprigs of the fresh herbs around the board to help reinforce the rustic tree shape. You can also cut a piece of cheese, meat or fruit to look like a star to top your tree. Pretzel sticks, breadsticks, or rectangular crackers make a great trunk for the bottom of your tree.
- Serve this charcuterie board with small bowls of honey, jams, or mustards and extra crackers.
