Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board - Baker by Nature (2024)

This Epic Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board is loaded with fresh fruit, meats, and cheeses and is sure to be the star of your Christmas party! Rosemary sprigs help you make the tree shape, and a star shaped cookie cutter turns a wheel of brie into our shining star at the top of the tree.

Christmas Tree Shaped Charcuterie Board

‘Tis the season for holiday parties! And whether you’re hosting a HUGE blowout, an intimate gathering, or something in between, I highly suggest busting out your cutting board and building a charcuterie Christmas tree!

Charcuterie is one of those “recipes” where you have a lot of freedom! So feel free to use my recipe, ideas, and instructions as a guide, then tweak and play and totally make it your own. Not a fan of soft cheese? Don’t use it! Want to add some baby mozzarella balls? Go for it! Feel like using pretzels instead of crackers for the tree trunk? Be my guest! Hate nuts? Leave em out! Want to add more fresh herbs for decor? Go wild! I think you get the point!

Christmas Cheese Board Ingredients:

• Brie: You’ll want to make sure to grab a round wheel of brie if you want to make the same brie star featured on my charcuterie tree! It’s also crucial your brie is COLD when you make the star cut-out. If it feels too soft when you remove it from the fridge, feel free to pop it in the freezer for a few minutes.
• Cheddar Cheese: Feel free to go as basic or fancy as you want here. But can I tell you a little secret? Cubedorange cheddar is always the first cheese to go on my board! I don’t know why but people are just drawn to it!
• Pepper Jack Cheese: Another crowd-pleasing cheese, this spicy variety literally flies off the board. Be sure to have a backup block in your fridge if you’re serving a large crowd.
• Gouda Cheese: We love adding this to our board because it pairs wonderfully with a variety of meats, fruits, and nuts. But if you’re not a fan, feel free to omit or sub in another cheese.
• Manchego Cheese: With its mild yet deep and tangy flavor, manchego cheese goes wonderfully with olives, crackers, prosciutto, and nuts. It’s one of our favorite cheeses to add to a charcuterie board!
• Blue Cheese: In my humble opinion, every cheese board should include some variety of blue cheese. But if you’re a true hater, or know your crowd won’t touch it, feel free to leave this out.

Christmas Charcuterie Board Ingredients:

• Orange Marmalade: This is what we fill our star cut-out with in the brie wheel. If you’re not a fan, feel free to use another variety of jam or jelly.
• Cured Meats: I suggest serving prosciutto, salami, and pepperoni, but again, feel free to play around here and use your favorite cured meats!
• Nuts: Pistachiosand Marcona almondsALWAYS fly off our charcuterie board. Cashews and candied pecans also make a great addition!
• Fruit: Red Pears, sweet apples (such as sugar bee or Honeycrisp), pomegranate seeds, and mandarins are all great fresh fruit options to add to your board! Feel free to add some dried fruit too; cranberries, apricots, and figs are all wonderful ideas.
• Olives: The world is your oyster when it comes to what olives to choose! I usually just go for marinated mixed olivesto make things easy. But use as many varieties as you’d like!
• Crackers: Use a variety of crackers… and don’t feel like you need to stop there! Other crunchy things such as pretzels and chips make great additions to a charcuterie board.
• Rosemary sprigs: I highly suggest buying plenty of fresh rosemary to help you make an outline for your Christmas tree. While your guests won’t eat the rosemary, it makes the board look so festive, and essentially plays the part of the tree branches. You can always pack it up at the end of the night and pop it back in the fridge, then use it in an actual recipe at a later date.
• Veggies: I love adding a few crunchy things like sliced English cucumber and Stuffed peppadew peppers! Feel free to add more veggies, or skip them entirely if this isn’t your thing.
• Wine: Ok, ok… so this isn’t technically for the board! But if you’re anything like me, you’re going to want some wine to serve with your charcuterie tree! I like having a nice selection of red, white, and sparkling so people feel like they have variety! But know your crowd and buy for their tastes. You could also ask everyone to bring a bottle of wine, so you don’t have to worry about that!

Assembling your Christmas Tree:

1. Use lots of fresh rosemary sprigs to form a rough triangle on a very large cutting board or clean counter top. You’ll use the rosemary as a rough guide for building your Christmas tree board.
2. Use a small 3 or 4-inch star-shaped cookie cutter to make a star shaped cutout in the brie. Fill with orange marmalade and place on the top of your “tree”.
3. Get to work filling your board! Have fun here and don’t take it too seriously.
4. Serve the cheese board at room temperature! This means you don’t want to assemble it too far in advance, or it can become sweaty/unappealing. I suggest surrounding the tree with any additional crackers, wine, or jam/mustards/dips you didn’t want on your actual board.

More Holiday Party Appetizers:

• Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
• Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp with Bourbon Honey Mustard Sauce
• Mussels with White Wine Garlic Sauce
• Antipasto Skewers
• Bruschetta with Rosemary, Roasted Tomatoes, Ricotta, and Prosciutto
• Prosciutto Wrapped Four-Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños

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