Christmas Tree Charcuterie (Easy Christmas Themed Appetizer)

If you’re looking for an easy Christmas themed appetizer, we have the perfect make-ahead recipe that’s sure to please– a Christmas Tree shaped meat and cheese board (also called a Charcuterie.) Whether you serve it at a party, as a snack, or as part of a Christmas brunch, this festive meat and cheese board is always a crowd-pleaser.

Speaking of crowd-pleasing recipes for Christmas, our cocktail recipe for Santa’s Little Helper punch is popular and much loved! Plus, everyone adores these delicious 4 ingredient cocktail meatballs that cook in the crockpot— which means they’re a cinch to make.

The hardest part about making this Christmas Tree Charcuterie board is pronouncing ‘charcuterie’, ha! I remember when charcuterie boards started to emerge on menus, my friends and I were sitting at a restaurant in Charleston trying to pronounce it after a few glasses of wine and were quite unsuccessful. Thankfully we’ve got it down now, but when in doubt calling them ‘meat and cheese boards’ is totally cool. (wink!)

What Do You Put On a Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board?

The beauty of this is you can use whatever you think your crowd will love! When we serve it geared towards kids, we include milder cheeses and meats plus lots of grapes and fruit they will eat. When it’s being served to an adult-only crowd, you can be more adventurous. Here’s some ideas so you can get creative!

• cheese cubes
• cured meats
• grapes
• kiwis
• nuts
• olives
• dried fruit
• crackers
• jelly or jam
• rosemary as a garnish

Most of these can be purchased at any grocery store, but we also love browsing Trader Joe’s for inexpensive and fun ingredients for our charcuterie. I’ve heard Aldi’s has an awesome and budget-friendly cheese selection as well. If you have local specialty shops, add some local flavor to your board too!

What Can You Use as the Serving Tray for the Charcuterie Tree Appetizer?

Use what you have! Or, if you plan to make charcuterie boards often, get a cutting board or cheese board to use just for making charcuterie so it stays in great shape. The one thing to keep in mind is to make sure it’s big enough to fit the ‘tree’ shape. Here’s some fantastic options for serving pieces for your charcuterie tree:

• cheese board
• cutting board
• round platter
• oval platter
• slate board
• serving plank

How to Make the Charcuterie Christmas Tree Appetizer

Step One: Wash all vegetables, fruits and herbs. Cut the majority of your cheese into cubes, and cut one into a rectangle as a ‘trunk’ and one into a star for the topper. Here, we’ve used cheese cubes, grapes (red and green), salami, and rosemary sprigs.

Step Two: Assemble the ingredients in a tree shape starting with the star on top and going towards the bottom. Once the layers are all there, tuck sprigs of rosemary around the sides. Add the cheese trunk.

Step Three: Serve with toothpicks and enjoy!

Looking for pretty platters and serving boards for your Christmas appetizer tree? Here’s a few of my favorites!

TIP: customize your Christmas Tree Charcuterie to your peeps– I know mine don’t ever eat olives, but grapes go super quick. When we serve it to kids we don’t use spicy meats, but some adults like flavors that are a little more adventurous.

I hope you love this festive snack and appetizer idea as much as we do. Happy holidays, my friend!

What would you put on your Christmas Tree Charcuterie? Any favorite finds from Trader Joe’s or Aldis to share?