Cheese boards and charcuterie boards are one of my favorite simple, yet impressive things to serve when I’m hosting. And let’s be honest, they also make a dang good snack! If you want to shake things up a bit from your regular board, try a Mediterranean charcuterie board, full of flavors from the sun-soaked southern coasts in Europe with some middle eastern flair.
Charcuterie boards are super easy to pull together, look pretty on a table, and they’re always a crowd-pleaser. In today’s post I’m sharing exactly what you need to create your very own Mediterranean charcuterie board, and how to assemble it. Get ready for all the dips, feta cheese, and fun Mediterranean fare!
Mediterranean Charcuterie Board
Unlike a regular charcuterie board that often showcases a mix of cured meat and cheeses from all over, a Mediterranean charcuterie board focuses solely on ingredients from that region.
Mediterranean cuisine is a unique blend of culinary flavors spanning from the southern parts of European countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, and Greece, to the Middle East.
Picture a delightful medley of traditional charcuterie players like succulent prosciutto, savory salami, and spicy chorizo. But it doesn’t stop there! You’ll also find Mediterranean-inspired cheeses like creamy feta, tangy halloumi, rich blue cheese, or velvety goat cheese. But for me, a Mediterranean charcuterie board really comes to life with the other accompaniments. We’re talking marinated olives; fresh fruit like figs, tomatoes, and grapes; crispy cucumbers and radishes; and dips like hummus and tzatziki.
Are you hungry yet?
How to Make a Charcuterie Board, the Mediterranean Way
Ingredients
The great thing about a Mediterranean charcuterie board is that there are so many ingredients and flavor profiles that you’re likely already familiar with, most of which you can easily find at your local grocery store.
Since the Mediterranean consists of such a vast number of countries and variety in food, there’s really no wrong way to assemble your board so long as you have some staples of the region in there.
I leaned into less of the cured meats and cheeses vibe and more middle eastern bits. Don’t feel like your board has to match mine, it’s purely here for inspiration!
Here are several ingredients and items you can include in your Mediterranean board:
- Spreads and dips: Hummus, tzatziki, baba ganoush, feta dip
- Fresh fruits and vegetables: cherry tomatoes, fresh figs, Persian cucumbers, grapes, radishes, persimmon, chickpeas, fresh or marinated olives or artichoke hearts
- Dried fruits: dates, dried apricots, dried figs, sundried tomatoes
- Mediterranean accompaniments: spanakopita, kibbeh, tabbouleh, grape leaves, mini kebabs, falafel
- Nuts: pistachios, walnuts, almonds
- Soft cheeses: halloumi, feta, mozzarella, goat cheese
- Meats: thin slices of prosciutto, Spanish chorizo, Bresaola
- Pita bread or crusty bread
Instructions
Here are a few styling tips and assembly instructions for the perfect charcuterie board with a Mediterranean twist.
Step 1: Start with bowls
Regardless on the type of grazing board I’m making, each one always starts the same way.
First, I decide which board I want to use based on how many people I’m feeding. You don’t have to have anything overly fancy. In fact, the board I used for this charcuterie board is just a simple wooden cutting board.
Then, I place a small bowl or two (or in this case, three!) to “anchor” my board. Small bowls work as focal points on you board, but also house items like dips, spreads, and any other small ingredient like olives or chickpeas that need to be contained.
Step 2: Larger items go first
After I have my bowls down, I like to place larger food items on my boards before anything else. This ensures that they have a spot on the board so that I don’t run out of room piling up other smaller food items first.
Usually I lay down meats and cheeses, but for this board, it means spanakopita and middle eastern meatballs known as kibbeh go first (both in the Trader Joe’s frozen section).
From there, you can start to add in smaller sized things like cucumbers, pita bread, and tomatoes.
As you work through styling your board, try to be mindful of color. I like to break up ingredients and give them a couple spots on the board so that everything feels balanced. You can also see in the photos here that I did this with the cucumbers to break up the green of the vegetable.
Step 3: Garnishes and small food items
Once you’ve built out the bulk of the board, use your smallest food items and to fill in any gaps for the appearance of an abundant board. I like to use easy to grab nuts, and tiny fruits. For this board my items included pistachios, cubed feta, and dill as garnish.
I love using herb sprigs as garnish; it’s one of my favorite board styling tips because fresh herbs always add that finishing, photogenic touch. Don’t forget to drizzle some olive oil on any hummus or dips. I added a few chickpeas and za’atar spice to mine!
Serve with cheese knives or small forks if needed, or just dig in!
Looking for More Board Ideas?
Or, if you want to skip a board all together, try these fun, individual charcuterie cups!
