Mediterranean Charcuterie Board

This easy Mediterranean charcuterie board is perfect for your next party. Full of delicious savory snacks, this is a fun take on a traditional charcuterie board featuring all your favorite Mediterranean foods.

Charcuterie boards have taken the food world by storm. From breakfast and dessert boards to more traditional meat and cheese boards, beautiful and delicious grazing platters are everywhere you look on social media. This is one food trend I am totally *on board* with. (I couldn’t help myself. Please don’t leave!! :)).

A giant platter of finger foods is perfect for your next party or family gathering, and is a really fun and simple way to get dinner on the table any regular weeknight. Charcuterie is my go-to alternative to take-out when I don’t want to cook. My family loves it, and I promise yours will too!

This Mediterranean grazing board has something for everyone. With crumbly feta cheese, warm pita bread, juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, sweet grapes, salty olives and savory roasted red peppers, this board has a great variety of textures and flavors. Add some favorite dips, like creamy hummus and tzatziki, and this is sure to be a huge hit.

Looking for more tips to build the best charcuterie board? Check out my articles on the best crackers for charcuterie, the best breads for charcuterie, and the best dips and and spreads for charcuterie. Just have fun with it! There is no wrong way to do charcuterie.

For more Mediterranean inspired appetizers, try my ricotta toast, loaded hummus, or burrata bruschetta.

You Will Love This

• A snack board is the perfect easy appetizer for your next gathering. All the variety means every guest will find something they like!
• Charcuterie can be semi-homemade (make your own dips or crackers), or you can get everything you need for a fun and delicious spread at your local grocery store!

What is charcuterie?

Charctuerie originates in France, and the word literally means “cured meats.” Traditional charcuterie consists of meats and cheeses, often served on a wooden board, and accompanied by a glass of wine. The idea of “charcuterie” has become super popular recently, and is now used to describe any grazing board full of your favorite things. Popular ideas include breakfast charcuterie boards with pancakes and waffles, dessert charcuterie boards with cookies and sweets, and even kid snack boards with things like popcorn, pretzels and goldfish. While these grazing boards are not a true charcuterie board in the traditional sense, they are tons of fun and totally a great idea.

What is a mezze platter?

In the Mediterranean region, a charcuterie board is called a mezze platter. Mediterranean mezze boards contain a wide variety of small dishes meant to be eaten as an appetizer platter or light meal, including meats, cheese, dips, breads or crackers, olives, and dried and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Ingredients

There are a ton of options for making a great charcuterie board. Here, I’ll tell you what I used, and below, I’ll give you a list of alternatives that would be equally delicious!

For my simple Mediterranean platter, I used the following ingredients:

• Hummus: You can use this creamy homemade hummus recipe, or pick up your favorite store-bought hummus
• Tzatziki
• Roasted red peppers
• Warm flatbread
• Feta cheese
• Seedless cucumbers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Grapes
• Kalamata olives
• Serrano Ham
• Calabrese Salami

Instructions

There is no “right way” to lay out your charcuterie board. Just have fun with it! Below are are some of my top tips to help you get started.

Step One: Lay out the largest items on your board first, so you can then fill in around them with smaller items. I usually start with dips or roasted veggies that are served in a small bowl. Putting bowls or large items into a rough triangle formation on your board will help bring some balance.

Step Two: Fill in the space around your bowls with related ingredients. I added crackers and flatbread around my dips, to serve as dippers.

Step Three: Start to fill in the remaining space on the board with small items. Try to add some movement to the board by laying out your ingredients with curved lines.

Don’t be afraid to let your ingredients travel across the board – they don’t all have to be piled in one area. See how my cucumbers and tomatoes are traveling from one side of the board to the other.

Step Four: Once all your ingredients are laid out, look your board over to make sure it looks balanced. Move ingredients as necessary. I always like to create balance by putting like items across the board from each other. See how my two meats are across the board, as well as the two large dips with dippers. It also helps the board to feel balanced if you put like colors across the board from each other. See how my kalamata olives are opposite the black grapes.

Step Five: Serve your beautiful charcuterie board and enjoy!!

Alternative Ingredients for your Mediterranean Mezze Platter

There are tons of delicious Mediterranean foods that would be great for your board. Here are some of my favorite options:

Dips: An assortment of dips is always a fun addition to a mezze platter.

• Beet hummus or roasted red pepper hummus (these would add a great pop of color to your board).
• Greek tahini dip
• Spinach artichoke dip
• Baba ganoush (a creamy eggplant dip)

Vegetables: Fresh, roasted, or preserved vegetables are all a great addition.

• Bell peppers
• Marinated artichoke hearts
• Grilled or roasted asparagus or eggplant
• Marinated beets or beet salad

Fruits: Fresh or dried fruits are perfect for your Mediterranean board.

• Olives: Olives are the quintessential Mediterranean fruit (yes, they are a fruit!). Try green olives, a mix of olives from the olive bar at your grocery store, or even an olive tapenade.
• Dried apricots or dates
• Black, green or red grapes
• Melon, like honeydew or cantaloupe
• Tangerines
• Heirloom tomatoes or cucumber tomato salad
• Fruit spreads with Mediterranean flavors, like fig spread

Bread, crackers or nuts: Don’t forget some breads or crackers for dippers!

• Pita bread or flatbread
• Focaccia bread
• Seed crackers or whole grain crackers

Meat and Cheese: A selection of hard and soft cheese will give your board variety. Some Mediterranean varieties include:

• Feta
• Goat cheese
• Halloumi
• Ricotta
• Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Pecorino