How to Make a Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
Make your holiday parties more special with a Christmas tree charcuterie board. It’s filled with tasty meats, cheeses, and more, all shaped like a tree. It’s perfect for any holiday gathering or as a stunning centerpiece.
This genius food styling hack transforms everyday meats, cheeses, and snacks into a festive centerpiece that’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost. The best part? You don’t need fancy culinary skills to pull this off – just a dash of creativity and my foolproof guide to creating edible holiday magic.
How to Make a Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board: A Festive Holiday Appetizer
Let’s begin with everything you’ll need to create this show-stopping appetizer.
For your board, you’ll want:
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- A variety of cheeses (I love using cubed cheddar, Babybel minis, and brie)
- Cured meats like ham and salami
- Pretzels
- White chocolate
- Tomatoes
- Kiwi jam
- Mini mozzarellas
- Fresh fruits (red and green grapes work beautifully)
- Breadsticks or pretzel rods for the trunk
- Mixed nuts and dried fruits
- A large serving board or platter
- Parchment paper (optional, but super helpful)
Use cookie cutters to create snowflakes or stars in the shape of your choice.
Halve the salami, fold each slice to overlap, and roll it up to form a simple salami rose. Add more slices for a fuller flower.
To form the top of the Christmas tree, unwrap the brie cheese and cut two sections to create a cone shape.
Trim off one-third of the white rind on one side, cut out a Christmas tree shape, and place the cut piece back.
Fill the tree cutout with kiwi jam, and dice the remaining cheese into cubes.
Prepare the board by decorating the handle with ribbon, pinecones, or ornaments. Position the topping in the center at the top, placing a pretzel stick as the trunk. You could also use breadsticks to make the trunk of the Christmas tree.
Above the trunk, add a babybel with a snowflake on wax paper. Arrange folded ham slices around the centerpiece, then form a salami garland.
Scatter cherries and brie cubes around to outline the Christmas tree.
To create a festive Christmas tree effect, surround the garland with pretzels and fill the remaining space with grapes, white chocolate, and mini mozzarella balls.
Add cheese snowflakes and sprinkle “snow”—coconut flakes or coarse salt—at the base for a finishing touch.
Making it Your Own
Here’s where you can get creative! Not feeling the meat? Make it vegetarian with extra cheese and veggies. Got gluten-free guests? Skip the crackers and load up on nuts and fruit instead.
Tuck rosemary sprigs between the layers. These aren’t just pretty – they add an amazing aroma and sell that Christmas tree vibe.
Some crowd-favorite combinations:
- Red and green: cherry tomatoes paired with cucumber slices
- Sweet and savory: dried cranberries nestled next to salty olives
- Texture play: crunchy nuts with creamy cheese balls
Pro Tips for a Picture-Perfect Board
Because these tips will take your board from good to gram-worthy:
- Create height variation by folding meats differently – some rolled, some folded, and some flat.
- Fill those awkward gaps with smaller items like nuts or pomegranate seeds. They’re like the tinsel of your Charcuterie tree creation.
- Use small honey or fig jam bowls as “ornaments” – they double as delicious dipping options.
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
With a charcuterie board, timing is everything. Set it up no more than an hour before guests arrive. Keep backup ingredients ready for easy refills.
Remember: the beauty of a Christmas tree charcuterie board is that there’s no wrong way to do it. As long as you keep the basic tree shape and include a variety of colors and textures, you’re golden. Get creative, have fun, and watch your guests’ faces light up when they see your edible Christmas tree!
Time to Get Your Holiday Party Started!
The Christmas tree charcuterie board isn’t just a Christmas appetizer – it’s a conversation starter that brings people together. And isn’t that what the holidays are all about? The beauty of this festive creation is that it’s completely customizable to your guests’ tastes and dietary needs.
Remember, perfection isn’t the goal here – it’s about having fun and creating something that’ll make everyone smile (and snap pics for their social media). So grab your ingredients, channel your inner food artist, and get ready to be crowned the holiday party MVP!
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
There are festive illuminations outside, trees covered with fluffy snow, and store windows decorated with garlands—all these are signs of the approaching Christmas holiday. It's time to think about the menu for the Christmas table and buy products according to the list. Every hostess at Christmas prepares traditional dishes according to proven recipes and experiments to surprise guests and give the holiday a special charm.
We suggest you prepare a charcuterie board with delicacies in the shape of a Christmas tree. The board looks elegant and has an aged style, and it will be appreciated even by the most fastidious gourmets. We took brie cheese for the top of the Christmas tree and beautifully played it up with kiwi jam. From salami, we formed savory roses, spread ham instead of Christmas tree legs, and added a trunk of stick crackers. Don't forget to add berries, veggies, and mini mozzarellas in the shape of snowballs. Additionally, we decorated the board with cheese, snowflakes, and white chocolate drops.
Ingredients
- 4 slices of thinly sliced ham
- 1 cup light grapes
- 1 cup dark grapes
- 1 cup pretzels
- 12 pretzel sticks
- 1 cup brie cheese
- 1/3 cup white chocolate
- 8-9 cherry tomatoes
- 2 ounces’ salami
- 2 tablespoons kiwi jam
- 12 mini mozzarellas
- 1 babybel
- 2 sliced cheese slices
Instructions
.Using cookie cutters, form snowflakes or stars of your choice.
. Cut the salami in half, fold overlapping, and roll it into a roll. This is the simplest salami rose. The more slices, the more lush the flower.
.Form the top of the Christmas tree. Unwrap the brie cheese and cut off two sectors to make a cone shape. Cut off 1/3 of the white crust side, cut out the Christmas tree, and return the cut section to its place. Fill the Christmas tree with kiwi jam. Cut the remaining cheese into cubes.
.Prepare the board. Decorate the handle with ribbon, pinecones, or balls. Place the topping in the center at the top. At the bottom, place the pretzel stick—the trunk. Above them, lay out a baby bell with a snowflake on wax. Around the center of the centerpiece mirror, the ham is wrapped in half. Arrange a garland of salami. Arrange the cherries and brie cubes. The outline of the future Christmas tree is ready.
Arrange pretzels around the garland. Fill the space with grapes, white chocolate, and mini mozzarella to create a fancy Christmas tree. Decorate the serving with cheese snowflakes and sprinkle “snow”—coconut shavings or coarse salt—on the bottom.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 358Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 976mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 19g
Tonya, this is brilliant and beautiful. I “almost” wouldn’t want to eat it. Lol.
Visiting today from April’s #16,17,18&19
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Wow! This is absolutely beautiful. Pinning! Visiting from Senior Salon Pit Stop linkup.
Beautifully done. Love it and bookmarked it
Thank you for sharing and participating at SSPS 339. See you at #340
This is amazing! What a great food display for Christmas!
Great Christmas appetizer idea! Thanks for sharing at Tuesday Turn About! I’m delighted to be featuring your post at this week’s party!
I wish I was this creative. Thank you for sharing on last week’s #HomeMattersParty. I hope you will stop by again next week, I will be featuring your post.