Easy and Elegant Meat and Cheese Board

A meat and cheese board is an easy and elegant way to elevate an appetizer from basic to gourmet.  Our favorite simple charcuterie board is filled with meats, cheese, veggies, olives, fresh fruit, crackers and more! Perfect for game day entertaining to holiday parties or late night snacking to dinner with the family!

As we move into the entertaining season, you may be making plans for having guests over. Hosting a gathering can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be a headache.

I have partnered with Dietz & Watson to show you my favorite go-to food spread for any size gathering. A simple meat and cheese board paired with a favorite wine or beer really goes a long way to creating an impressive food spread. And the best part is, a charcuterie board can be the main course or an appetizer.

If you’ve never put together a meat and cheese board or a charcuterie spread, you may be wondering what exactly you will need.

Well, the secret is……… there’s no right or wrong way. When it comes to making a cheese board, the possibilities are endless. Whether you’re pulling together a simple meat and cheese board or charcuterie plate,  simply use what you love and ENJOY! 

This post is in partnership with Dietz & Watson. All views, opinions, and love of meat and cheese are all my own. Thanks to the brands, and readers, who help support TidyMom.

My friends at Dietz & Watson sent me a box full of their premium meats and cheeses and I couldn’t wait to dive in!

Both of our girls were home and the weather was perfect for sitting out on the deck enjoying our first taste of fall.  Everyone picked out their favorites then we had a great time putting our board together.  We laughed and caught up while we chopped and created something beautiful.

Didn’t our meat and cheese board turn out pretty?

For this board we used:

• Dietz & Watson Fontina Cheese Snacks
• Dietz & Watson Yellow Cheddar Cheese
• Dietz & Watson Buffalo Wing Cheddar Cheese
• Dietz & Watson Prosciutto Panino Sticks
• Dietz & Watson Hot Salame Panino
• Dietz & Watson Baby Genoa Pepper Salame
• Dietz & Watson Italian Dry Salame
• Dietz & Watson Classic Beef Jerky
• Dietz & Watson Seasoned Olives
• Dietz & Watson Sweet Horseradish Pickles
• Dietz & Watson Black Forest Ham
• roasted red pepper hummus (or jam or mustard)
• fresh veggies (we used cucumber slices)
• fresh fruit (we used red grapes, figs, pear slices, and blackberries)
• assorted crackers, pretzels, and toasted baguettes

I often use a round or rectangular wood serving tray, but you can use a cutting board, platter or even a small sheet pan to make meat and cheese boards. Honestly, no one will really even notice what you have used once you have it’s piled high with deliciousness.

Remember,  the key to a wonderful meat and cheese tray is for it to look overflowing. If you’re hosting a larger crowd, have some small plates for guests to place their food on – it’s a great way to get them to mingle and not hover over the food! Of course, a charcuterie tray makes a great centerpiece for a smaller crowd to sit around and enjoy along with the conversation.

Meat and cheese boards can be as fancy as you’d like, but most of the time, our boards are pretty simple and still look elegant. Pour some wine or beer and share the board with friends or family.

With a selection of favorite cheeses and some sliced meat, you can’t go wrong.

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As you see,  it really is so easy to lay out an impressive spread that looks elegant and tastes amazing.