This was my first time making a cheese platter. The fancy French name for this is called charcuterie. If you google that shit yo, you can see how it is pronounced. The English name is called delicatessen. On a cheese platter, you can typically find dry or cured meats, aged cheese, dried fruits and nuts, crackers, bread, and dried apricots just to name a few things. For my cheese platter, I used almonds, dried apricots, smoked gouda cheese, an herbed cheese, salami, prosciutto, raspberry pepper jelly, and honey.

Appetizer night is slowly approaching. On Christmas Eve my family usually gets together and everyone brings a different appetizer to share with everyone. A cheese platter is something that is easily transportable and can be made ahead of time. Just keep the crackers off of the platter so they don't get stale if you plan on keeping them in the fridge. What does your family do for Christmas Eve? Do you have any holiday traditions?
Tips for Assembling a Cheese Platter
1. Choose a board. You can use slate, a white plain old boring plate, (that's what I did) or a cutting board.
2. Say cheese! Mix it up with a variety of hard, soft and crumbled cheeses.
3. Add salty and sweet. Pile on Italian meats, dried and fresh fruits and roasted nuts, honey, or even jam!
4. Finish off your cheeseboard with savory crackers, pretzels, or some kind of crispy flatbread.

How to make a Weight Watcher Friendly Cheese Platter
Lots of zero point fruit such as grapes, apples, and oranges
Hard Boiled Eggs
Good Thin crackers
Laughing Cow Cheese, Light String Cheese (If they are square cut them into wedges) (just make sure to weigh the cheese to find the exact amount of points used)
Thinly sliced Ham and 98% fat free Turkey
Nuts and Olives
Cheese Platters are like the grown-up version of Lunchables. Do you remember eating those when you were a kid? I sure do. Now I'm an adult and can make my own version. 🙂 If you're looking for tips on how to lay out each item on the cheese platter, my only tip is to just lay them out where ever you think it will look good. I started off with two kinds of cheese and just kind of placed the items around that. The raspberry pepper jelly I used was the bomb.com and I got that at Cash Wise. You can probably find a similar type of jam at the grocery store you normally go to.
Tips for Serving Appetizers
My family loves to serve appetizers on Christmas Eve. Here’s some tips I’ve learned during the Holidays for preparing or serving appetizers in a large family.
- Have a variety of appetizers available served warm or cold.
- See if there’s other ways to prepare the appetizer so you’re not constantly using the oven in your home or someone else’s. Slow Cookers or Air Fryers are great for this reason.
- Many appetizers can be made ahead of time. See what ingredients in the recipe can be cooked the day before.
- Have plenty of fancy serving platters around to arrange the appetizers on. Dips and fancy spreads look nice on a white serving tray.
More Great Recipes to Try:
- Air Fryer Onion Rings
- Grinder Salad Sandwich - Tiktok Recipe
- Zero Point Cabbage Soup
- Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
- French Fries in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Pickle Chips
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How to Make a Cheese Platter
- Prep Time: 20min
- Total Time: 20min
- Yield: 4-6
Description
How to make a Cheese Platter aka charcuterie board
Ingredients
- Almonds
- Dried apricots
- Smoked gouda cheese
- Herbed cheese
- Salami
- Prosciutto
- Raspberry Pepper Jelly
- Honey
Instructions
- Choose a board. You can use slate, a white plain old boring white plate (that's what I did) or a cutting board.
- Say cheese! Mix it up with a variety of hard, soft and crumbled cheeses.
- Add salty and sweet. Pile on Italian meats, dried and fresh fruits and roasted nuts, honey, or even jam!
- Finish off your cheeseboard with savory crackers, pretzels, some kind of crispy flatbread.
Notes
Please note, I didn't use exact brand names for the products because you may or may not be able to find what I used at your store. Smart points can also vary depending on what and how much of each you use.
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Assemble
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: How to Make a Cheese Platter
Jenna says
For the jelly, you can spread that on the crackers and top it with cheese and meat. It doesn't matter how you arrange the meat either. Just make sure it looks nice.
Chris says
Hi - so how do you arrange the prosciutto on the platter (stacked? Wrinkled in a pile?) and how did people eat the jelly?