A Thanksgiving charcuterie board has a different job from an everyday one. It has to keep people happy while the turkey finishes, without filling them up before the biggest meal of the year. That means less meat, more fruit, nuts and pickles, including a small bowl of pickled white shimeji or king oyster that guests will ask about.
Here is what to put on a Thanksgiving board, seven ideas from a harvest board to a turkey-shaped board for the kids, how much to buy when dinner follows, and how to make it ahead so it is ready before the oven gets busy.
What to put on a Thanksgiving charcuterie board
Cheese
Three is plenty: one soft, like brie or a cranberry goat cheese; one aged, like a sharp cheddar or Manchego; and one with personality, like a smoked gouda or a blue. Take them out of the fridge an hour before so they taste of something, and cut a few slices of each to start people off.
Meat
Two at most: prosciutto and one salami. Before a big dinner, this is where to hold back.
Fall fruit
Sliced pears and apples tossed in a little lemon juice so they don't brown, figs, red grapes, pomegranate seeds and dried cranberries. Dried apricots and figs fill gaps and never brown.
Nuts and something sweet
Candied pecans, walnuts or roasted pumpkin seeds, and a small dish of honey, fig jam or cranberry sauce.
Crackers and bread
Two kinds, one plain and one with seeds or herbs. Add them last so they stay crisp.
The 3-3-3-3 rule
If you want a formula, this is the popular one: three cheeses, three meats, three starches like crackers or bread, and three accompaniments like fruit, nuts and pickles. Before Thanksgiving dinner, drop to two meats and let the fruit and pickles do more of the work.
Pickles
The item that keeps a rich board from tasting all the same. Cornichons do the job. Pickled mushrooms do it with more to say, because they are savory as well as sharp, and they sit beautifully next to the cheddar and the pears. Use two kinds for contrast:
- White shimeji, in pale clusters, is the light, bright thing on a board of heavy ones, and it pairs with soft cheeses and prosciutto.
- King oyster, in thick coins with truffle oil, is the showpiece. It is at its best next to an aged cheese and walnut bread.
A small bowl of each covers a board for six to eight. For a board with real variety, mix jars in a Build Your Variety Pack: white shimeji and king oyster for the board, and crimini for the relish tray or the Bloody Marys the next morning.
"Bought these for a small cheese board and everyone kept asking where the mushrooms were from. The crimini were the first jar we finished."
— Chris M., Golden Grove customer
7 Thanksgiving charcuterie board ideas
1. The harvest board
Aged cheddar, brie and smoked gouda; prosciutto and one salami; sliced pears and apples, figs, red grapes and candied pecans; pickled mushrooms and cornichons in small bowls; sage and rosemary in the gaps. Lay it on a long board in a loose diagonal, with the darkest colors in the middle. If you only make one board, make this one.
2. The turkey charcuterie board
A pear on its side for the body, two peppercorns for the eyes and a small triangle of cheddar for the beak. Behind it, fan crackers, cheese slices and folded salami in curved rows for the tail feathers, alternating colors so each row stands out. Children love it, and it takes ten minutes.
3. The relish tray
The Midwestern Thanksgiving classic: crisp vegetables on ice, olives, pickles, pickled beets, pickled mushrooms and a dish of cheese spread, served before dinner. It is lighter than a charcuterie board and easier to make. Here is how to make a relish tray.
4. The cranberry brie board
A whole brie in the middle with cranberry sauce spooned over the top, surrounded by apple slices, pecans and crackers, with a bowl of king oyster for something savory. Warm the brie for ten minutes in a low oven first if you like it soft and spoonable.
5. The pumpkin board
Orange cheeses like aged cheddar and mimolette, dried apricots and clementine segments, arranged in a round pumpkin shape with a pretzel rod for the stem and a few sage leaves beside it. Fill the gaps with salami folded into quarters and a small bowl of pickled crimini.
6. The day-after board
Cold sliced turkey, cranberry sauce, sharp cheddar, pickles, pickled mushrooms and good bread. The best lunch of the long weekend.
7. The pie and cheese board
Small wedges of pie beside a sharp cheddar and a blue, with apple slices, honey and a few candied pecans. A dessert board that still has something savory on it.
How to lay out a Thanksgiving board
- Choose the board. A long wooden board for a crowd. Bigger than you think: a crowded board looks generous, an overfilled one is hard to eat from.
- Place the bowls first. Pickled mushrooms, cranberry sauce, honey and anything else wet, spaced apart so brine never reaches the crackers.
- Add the cheese. Large pieces at opposite corners, a few slices cut to start people off.
- Add the meat. Fold salami into quarters or ruffle prosciutto into loose ribbons, in rivers between the cheeses.
- Fill with fruit and nuts. Grapes in clusters, sliced pears and apples, pecans and pomegranate seeds in the gaps.
- Finish with crackers and herbs. Crackers along the edges, sprigs of rosemary and sage tucked in last.
How much to buy when dinner follows
Before Thanksgiving dinner, plan on about 2 to 3 ounces of meat and cheese combined per person. That is less than it sounds, and it is on purpose: the board should take the edge off, not replace the turkey.
- 6 guests: about 1 lb of meat and cheese, and 1 jar of pickled mushrooms.
- 12 guests: about 2 lb, and 2 jars of different varieties.
- 20 guests: about 3 lb, and 3 jars.
What not to put on a Thanksgiving board
- Too much meat. Dinner is the main event.
- Anything that needs a knife and fork. A board is finger food.
- Wet things straight on the wood. Brine and juice travel and soften the crackers. Use small bowls.
- Very spicy or very garlicky dips. They follow people to the table and fight the turkey.
- Crackers set out too early. They go soft next to fruit and cheese. Add them last.
Make it ahead
- The day before: buy everything, toast the nuts, and slice and wrap the hard cheeses.
- An hour before guests arrive: take the cheese out of the fridge and lay out the board. Bowls first, then cheese, then meat folded loosely around them.
- Last: drain the pickled mushrooms for five minutes and add them straight from the fridge, then slice the apples and pears.
Don't leave the board out for more than two hours. On a long day, set out half and refill from the fridge.
Order in time for Thanksgiving
Orders usually ship within one to two business days and arrive three to five business days after that, so for Thanksgiving, order by the middle of November. A 2-Pack is the right size to bring to someone else's table, and a Build Your Variety Pack covers the board, the relish tray and a jar for the host.
Thanksgiving charcuterie board questions
What should I put on a Thanksgiving charcuterie board?
Three cheeses, one or two cured meats, fall fruit like pears, apples, figs and grapes, nuts, honey or cranberry sauce, two kinds of crackers, and something pickled, like cornichons and pickled mushrooms.
What is the 3-3-3 rule for a charcuterie board?
Three cheeses, three meats and three starches, often with three accompaniments too. Before a big dinner, use fewer meats and more fruit and pickles.
How far ahead can you make a charcuterie board?
Prepare the parts the day before and lay out the board an hour or two ahead. Add the crackers and the pickled mushrooms at the last minute.
How do you make a turkey charcuterie board?
Use a pear for the body and fan crackers, cheese and salami behind it in curved rows for the tail. Peppercorns make the eyes and a small piece of cheddar the beak.
The short version
Go light on the meat and generous with fall fruit, nuts and pickles. Put pickled mushrooms in small bowls, add them last and cold, and don't leave the board out more than two hours. For the pickles that go with all this, read the best pickles for a charcuterie board, and when you are ready, build your pack.