Grazing boards or charcuterie boards have grown so much in popularity over the past few years and for good reason! They are completely customizable, the variations are endless, and they are a super low maintenance party food. But on top of all of that, they can also be absolutely beautiful!

Today, we’re going to be showing you a few fool proof ways to build a Simple Holiday Grazing Board for your holiday gatherings this month! Let’s go!

Grazing Board Basics

When building your holiday grazing board, there are a few key things to remember:

1. Know your basic elements. Grazing boards typically have a few key items in common: cheeses, cured meats, nuts, fresh and dried fruits, and crackers. If you include most of those things, your board is already a success. But the options are really endless!
2. Variety is everything! This is your chance to try out a few cool or random items that catch you fancy at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. You can build your board off of standard items like brie, almonds, crackers, honey but then add in something more seasonal or out of the ordinary!
3. Go for different textures! This is especially important for the cheese element. Pick a variety of hard, medium, and soft cheeses to hit all your bases. My personal favorites include a creamy brie, a sharp cheddar, maybe a tart goat cheese, and blue cheese crumbles. This covers a wide spread of flavors and textures!

If You Build It

Now, that you’ve got your ingredients down, let’s talk about building this beauty!

Part of the appeal of a grazing board is how beautiful it looks all splayed out. You can really make this as large as you’d like depending on the size of your crowd!

Keep it simple by filling a nice size tray with your grazing elements or go all-in and cover your whole table top! (We recommend covering your table with butcher paper to make it relatively mess-free!

When starting to build your board, we recommend starting with your meats and cheeses. Why? Because these items are much less likely to move around. They’ll allow you to create a little more structure for your crackers, nuts, and fruits to sit against without sliding all over the place.

Also, don’t forget to add in a few small dipping bowls for local honey, jam, and even olives. These items are usually best self-contained so they don’t make a huge mess.

Make It Holiday

If you’re creating a grazing board for the holiday season, why not find a few ways to make it extra festive?

• Include seasonal flavors and ingredients like cranberries, rosemary, cinnamon sticks, and chestnuts.
• Make a dessert grazing board with all different types of holiday cookies and candies! This could be so cool for after a meal!
• Include holiday decor like ribbon weaving throughout your board, mini bottlebrush trees, or even shatterproof ornaments in various sizes! (Just be sure to give them a good wipe down before placing next to food.

Honestly, we love grazing boards because… they’re basically fancy adult lunchables. You can customize your board to include almost anything and that is a perfect party opportunity to make a statement!

So tell us, do you enjoy grazing boards? Have you made one before? What is your favorite ingredient to include?