Easy to assemble and no cooking required, this Summer Charcuterie Board is the perfect summer recipe. Itโs wonderful for entertaining and BBQs, and it makes a wonderful date night recipe as well. This recipe is gluten-free as written, but you can also serve it with your favorite crusty artisan bread. And youโll enjoy all the summer board variations possible with a variety of fruits and veggies. Youโll find some of my favorite options listed below for different combinations to try!
We love a good charcuterie board, which seems to be the catchword for anything you want to throw on a board these days. A true charcuterie board is focused on cured meats, while a cheeseboard is focused on cheese.
Thereโs no need to get dragged down in detail; letโs just put lots of yummy things on a serving platter and start enjoying!
Charcuterie boards are the perfect easy-to-assemble appetizer when entertaining. But they are also our absolute favorite way to have an easy date night with no cooking required.
Youโll find all my tips below and variations for different ingredients to use. Plus, we love making a meal out of a charcuterie board by adding grilled chicken for a little bit more protein.
Itโs not exactly authentic by any means, but once you get the hang of assembling a snacking board, I think youโll come to love it as well. Just vary the textures and ingredients, and itโll be a success.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Charcuterie โ a mix of your favorite cured meats is all you need. You can go simple with 1-2 or more if you have access to variety. We like a mix of Genoa salami, capicola, prosciutto, and either peppered salami or something spicy like soppressata.
- Cheeses โ the recipe below includes marinated mozzarella and herbed goat cheese. These are both great, but you can keep it simple too. Cheddar, gouda, soft cheese like brie cheese, soft goat cheese, blue cheese, or any cheese you love works here.
- Seasonal Fruit โ strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries are all good early in the summer season, followed by cherries, stonefruits like peaches and nectarines, as well as melons all work on this platter. Grapes are really refreshing and available most of the summer. You can also use preserves like fig jam or berry jam.
- Vegetables โ tomatoes and cucumbers are our favorite things to add in the summer along with grilled mini sweet peppers. These are sometimes called gypsy peppers in the grocery store.
- Crackers โ or crusty bread like baguette slices would work great. Our favorite gluten-free cracker is the sea salt almond crackers by Blue Diamond. They have a subtle flavor that adds to the cheese and meat rather than competing with it.
- Fresh herbs โ and/or edible flowers arenโt necessary but add a nice touch. I like basil particularly because it goes well with all the other summer ingredients listed. You can make a delicious โsandwichโ out of a cracker, meat, cheese, and a basil leaf. So theyโre not just for garnish. Chives are also a nice touch. I have thyme and marjoram, as well as parsley, in my herb garden, so I just add whatever looks nice. Donโt worry about adding to your grocery list as an added expense unless youโre really looking to make an impressive board!
- Extras โ add a drizzle of honey over gorgonzola or goat cheese. Try adding nuts like pistachios or smoked almonds, or some fancy olives.
How to make this recipe step by step
Step 1: If desired, start by making the marinated mozzarella balls, and herbed goat cheese.
Choose 2 to 3 cheeses and 2 to 3 kinds of cured meats or more for your board. Then, start assembling them on a platter.
Step 2: From there itโs nice to add seasonal veggies and fruit to your serving platter.
Our favorites are tomatoes and cucumbers for veggies plus sweet mini peppers. For fruit, we start the summer out with berries, then move on to cherries, stonefruits, and melons.
Step 3: After youโve added your fruit and veggies to the serving platter, finish it off by adding your favorite crackers and garnishing with fresh herbs, if desired.
Ways to Serve this Summer Charcuterie Board
- Try serving your next charcuterie board on your largest serving platter or look for a large enamel tray which is very durable and you can see in the above photo. We love to take these charcuterie, trays everywhere we go outside.
- To add depth to whatever platter, tray, or board you choose use small bowls and small wood cutting boards to help divide and elevate.
- Add grilled chicken to your board for extra protein and to turn it into a full meal
- I have many peppers on hand I like to grill them along with the chicken to add to the board. Mini peppers pair exceptionally well with marinated mozzarella, goat cheese, cheddar, and pretty much any soft spreadable cheese like brie.
- When tomatoes are in season, youโll find me adding a small Caprese salad to one end of the board, and when melons are in season, we always have prosciutto-wrapped melon on our charcuterie boards
Tip: Traditionally cantaloupe is used for the classic prosciutto wrapped melon here in the States. But we also have Tuscan melons that blow cantaloupe right out of the water! If you canโt find Tuscan melons in your area, just look for whatever is ripe and has a flowery sweet smell.
FAQโs
Besides the usual meat and cheese, I like to focus on summer-only produce to put on a summer charcuterie board. Peaches, berries, melons, vine-ripe tomatoes, etc., are wonderful on charcuterie boards, along with fresh herbs and edible flowers. Also soft fresh cheeses like goat cheese are even more welcome in the summer for their light texture and flavor.
Going beyond the basics, itโs fun to add more unusual ingredients to a charcuterie board like hot honey, flavored nuts, or fancy olives. Things you can find at a Farmerโs Market can add a really nice touch. We like to add local huckleberries, local produce, and locally produced cheese whenever possible. I buy a locally made herbed sheep cheese that is like Boursin, and itโs a wonderful addition.
Storing leftovers
- To store โ Store all leftovers separately in airtight containers for up to three days. The fruits and veggies donโt always keep well leftover. Also, if your charcuterie board has sat outside, you might want to keep the leftovers if it has been warm for too long
- Make aheadโTo make this recipe even easier, you can make a few things ahead, such as the marinated mozzarella balls and herb goat cheese. If you want to add grilled mini peppers or extra protein with grilled chicken, both can be done ahead and served cold as well.
Tips & Tricks
- If you live near an Italian market, it is a wonderful source for all varieties of charcuterie. In most markets Iโve been to, you order in grams, and I tend to order between 50 and 100 g of each cured meat so that I have a nice variety. Keep in mind that there are about 450 g in a pound, and that will help you know how much to order depending on how many you are feeding.
- Keep this charcuterie board as simple as what you have on hand, or go all out for special occasions. Either way, there is plenty to enjoy!
- This is our favorite dinner on the hottest days of summer. I just assemble a few bites of cheese and cured meats, surrounded by plenty of fresh fruit and veggies along with some chicken or a steak off the grill. It makes for the simplest supper.
Dietary Options & Substitutions
- Dairy-free โ dairy-free is a bit tricky with this recipe as many dairy-free cheeses arenโt that great eaten plain. However, Kite Hill cream cheese can be used in place of goat cheese in my herb goat cheese recipe below.
- From there, add any other dairy-free cheese you love, or keep it simple with just the cream cheese along with the other ingredients listed.
Recipe Inspiration
I really hope you enjoy this Summer Charcuterie Board! If you do get a chance to make this recipe, Iโd love to hear from you in the comments.
Summer Charcuterie Board
INGREDIENTS
- 1 recipe Marinated Mozzarella
Herbed Goat Cheese:
- 1/2 cup fresh soft goat cheese
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1 tbsp minced fresh chives
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Charcuterie Ingredients:
- 18 ounce bag mini sweet peppers - about 12
- 3-4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1 small Tuscan melon - or cantaloupe
- 1/4 cup Reduced balsamic vinegar
- 8 ounces brie cheese - 1 small wheel
- 4 ounces aged cheddar - slices
- 8-10 ounces thinly sliced mixed salami - I used genoa, peppered salami, and coppa
- 1 small cucumber - sliced, 6 ounces
- 1 pound Crackers or crusty bread - I used gluten free crackers
- 2 cups cherries - grapes, berries, or stone fruit
- 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
- Sprigs of fresh herbs: chives - basil, and thyme
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix together all the ingredients for the marinated mozzarella, and refrigerate at least 8 hours, overnight is even better. Let the mozzarella sit at room temperature to melt the olive oil for about 20 minutes before serving.
- For the marinated goat cheese, mix/mash together all the ingredients until combined. Serve it immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before serving.
- Grill the mini sweet peppers over medium heat until softened with grill marks. They can be added directly to the cheese board or refrigerated until serving.
- Place all the the prepared ingredients onto a large platter(s) or a large board thatโs food safe. Scatter a few sprigs of herbs in and around the different ingredients and serve immediately.
My favourite way to entertain! What a spectacular platter. And yes, I discovered Tuscan cantaloupe this year and weโve been devouring it. This is gorgeous!
Itโs so delicious, itโs hard to get any other kind of melon now!
If I could only dive into that photo right now! The photography is exceptional I can almost taste it. Truly inspiring.
Thank you, I definitely appreciate it because I spent so much time fussing with different ingredients until it looked just right to the camera. Itโs easy to make it look good to your eyes, but the camera is so much fussier!