Condiments for a Charcuterie Board
Condiments for a Charcuterie Board complete your cheese board! Let’s pair our favorite condiments with a variety of cheeses for your dinner parties!
The best charcuterie board is one that is loaded with a good meat selection, all types of cheeses, and lots of savory condiments.
You’ll love this post if you’re looking to elevate your ordinary cheese board, or if you’re looking to explore different types of cheese with the right sauces.
Your taste buds will thank you for all the great food tips you’ll learn in this post!
Condiments for Charcuterie Board
First, let’s settle on one thing: a classic charcuterie board is just cured meats. It’s a french word that means cured meat
Charcuterie Ingredients:
- Genoa Salami
- Capicola
- Prosciutto
- Mortadella
- Pepperoni
- Soppresata
However, in America when we say “That’s a good charcuterie board!” it’s probably referring to a board filled with meats, cheese of all kinds, and lots of fun toppings.
The perfect charcuterie board consists of items that can make up the main course! So you don’t have to serve dinner… you can just graze!
Let’s start with a big board. You want enough space to hold everything you want!
You can find all kinds of shapes and sizes of beautiful boards these days! The size of your board depends on how many people you are serving, and what charcuterie board ideas you’re going with.
Need some Cheeseboard inspiration? Check out these 45 Cheeseboards that will BLOW Your Mind!
Condiments for Hard Cheese
Hard cheeses like pecorino romano, sharp cheddar, aged cheddar, and other sharp cheese flavors pair well with sweet flavors of sweet jams!
Aged White cheddar plus lemon curd is delicious! One of the fun ways I like to pair my favorite cheese is with whole-grain mustard and a soft roll. Slather the roll with the mustard, then top with a heft slice of white cheddar… it’s one of my favorite things!
If you’ve ever had Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar you’ve got to try this combo: use a gingersnap, and spread a dollop of lemon curd on it. Top with a piece of Unexpected Cheddar, and you have a great thing in your hand! Paired with a Chablis white wine, it’s a very popular choice at parties!
Pecorino Romano goes well with balsamic vinegar and black pepper. Another way to serve this nutty cheese is by swirling olive oil on top with lots of black pepper cracked on top!
Terrapin Ridge Farms makes delightful jams and spreads with bold flavors that are a delicious accompaniment to hard cheeses! Their tangy mustard blends are perfect dips by themselves!
Manchego cheese is lovely with a slice of quince paste on top. A little goes a long way, since the quince paste is on the super sweet side.
Aged meats pair perfectly with the hard type of cheese.
Condiments for Soft Cheese
What is soft cheese?
Goat Cheese – goat cheese pairs well with sweet fig spread, like this one here. It’s also delightful with a drizzle of sticky, tangy balsamic glaze! One of the easiest ways to make goat cheese look “exciting” is to drizzle a balsamic glaze on top. It’s the visual appeal you want on a cheese plate!
Cream Cheese – this is a very cost-effective way of creating a cheese platter. Top with a savory sauce like honey mustard and serve with pretzel chips. Or, spread caramelized onion jam over top for a great flavor combo! The other favorite is using a jar of pepper jelly on top of the cream cheese and serving with Wheat Thins! Yum.
Blue Cheese – this tangy, stinky cheese is best with honey, and if you’re into truffles, use truffle honey! It’s amazing! Pair it with dried fruits like dried cranberries or dried apricots and it’s delightful. You could also drizzle maple syrup on top.
Fresh Mozzarella – this doesn’t need a lot! I like to pair it with a Tomato Salad for a Caprese feel!
Serving a Cheese Board
Every board should have lots of different textures, with new flavors for people to explore.
Other items to include:
Fresh Fruit – fill in any extra space with berries, grapes, or fresh figs! It’s a great way to fill in the gaps, as well as good cheese pairings!
Fresh Veggies – I love having cucumber slices, celery, and carrots on a board.
You could have small bowls of savory dips that use sour cream as a base. This Green Onion Chip Dip is a savory dip that pairs with a lot of finger foods!
A few briny flavors like roasted red peppers, pickles and pickle relish, and olives are great to have on the board.
No board is complete without fresh bread, crackers, and all the “vessels” that cheese and pairings go on. In my Amazon Store I have all my favorites, so you can just add them to your cart. Don’t skip the Artisan Crisps or Toast for Cheese. These are the perfect cracker for cheese, and it tells you on the box what they pair best with.
Don’t forget the cheese knives! I’ve started collecting all fun kinds of cheese knives. But, having “real” cheese knives is super helpful when serving a big cheese board. Nothing is more annoying than when your guest is trying to cut the cheese, but the fancy-cute-on-theme cheese knife doesn’t work… Functionality over form, friends!
Charcuterie Board Tips:
If this is your first time making a charcuterie board with condiments choose the best cheeses that YOU like!
The food ideas that sound yummy to you are the best way to narrow down all the different levels of board ideas — there are SO many to choose from!
I highly recommend The Cheeseboard Deck! You flip through the cards and choose which board you want to create. Then, this is the best part, take the card WITH you to the store! The back of the card has your grocery list, so you won’t come home without everything you need!
Meg does all the curating of savory flavors with that much cheese or sweet condiments with mild meat ideas! You can also choose the right size board for your gathering.
This also makes the perfect gift for a wedding present, birthday gift, Christmas present, Mother’s Day, etc. If you know someone who likes to make boards, then this is the gift for them! I like to put it in a basket with a small board, some cheese knives, and maybe a jar of whole grain mustard, preserves, and a sweet topping.
It makes for a very fun gift idea for that person who has everything! It also works great for a gift to take to your host when staying overnight somewhere, or just going to a friend’s house for dinner.
Another book that is fun to have on hand is That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life. This uses a “cheese by numbers” method, and you can follow all her pro tips for creating the most gorgeous, delicious boards!
Other Boards to Try:
Individual Cheese Boards – when you don’t want to share, this is your board!
Viral Butter Board – while this trend is dying for sure, it’s a fun take on it. a Steak Butter Board is perfect for date night at home, maybe even for Valentine’s Day?!
Shrimp Taco Board – use your air fryer to cook up a bunch of shrimp for a taco board! Lay out everything you want for your tacos, and serve it up! This dinner idea took under 30 minutes to make, which is great for those busy nights when you want to spend some quality time with your family!
BLT Sandwich Board – this is still a favorite Sunday lunch idea! Fill a board with all the BLT fixings, and have people make their own.
Save this to your favorite Cheese Board Board on Pinterest!