From parties and Instagram posts to magazine covers and influencer videos, charcuterie boards are trending – and for good reason. These fun and easy platters offer infinite personalization, flavor, and texture opportunities. Select your plate, board, or platter, and start building!
Here are some ideas to help you create a healthy board to please palates:
Fill Your Board with Fruit
Seasonal fruit offers a sweet way to add color and texture to your board. Consider berries, cherries, apricots, peaches, melons in warmer months, figs, pears, and apples when temperatures cool.
Dried fruits like cranberries, figs, and raisins add sweetness and texture. Check food labels for added sugars to keep your board healthy.
Tip: To prevent cut-up apples, pears, and pineapples from browning, soak them in a mixture of two tablespoons of honey to one cup of water for five minutes before plating.
Bring on the Veggies
As with fruit, vegetable options are nearly endless. Fresh crudités like carrots, bell peppers, pink radishes, and celery are classic choices, along with snap peas, green beans, and cucumbers.
Stack lettuce leaves on your platter to make wraps for an added twist. Boston bib, romaine hearts, and chard provide a sturdy structure and healthy doses of vitamins and minerals. See our recipe for Crunchy Chicken Salad wraps!
Pick Your Proteins
If meat is a must, look for low-sodium and low-fat items. For healthier fare, include more of these options:
Sliced chicken or turkey breast (good use for leftovers!)
Hardboiled eggs
Edamame
Roasted chickpeas
Nuts, such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts
Cooked shrimp drizzled with lemon
Choose Your Cheese
Cheese provides protein, calcium, vitamins, and other nutrients.
To balance your board, offer more of a lower-fat option like Swiss cheese to offset a high-fat favorite like Brie. Read nutrition labels, and look for light, skim, or reduced-fat cheese varieties.
Aged, hard cheeses like Swiss, cheddar, and parmesan are naturally low in lactose. If you want to avoid dairy entirely, you can also find lactose- and dairy-free cheese.
Go-to Grains
Whole grains have many health benefits. Eating whole grains can lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. So, whether you prefer baguettes, bagel chips, crackers, or pita wedges, look for whole-grain or whole-wheat versions.
Many whole grains are naturally gluten-free, but to be certain, a product should be labeled “gluten-free.”
Beyond Green Garnishes
Instead of – or in addition to – fresh herbs, garnish your board with beautiful edible flowers. Bonus: These beauties are rich in antioxidants, which may reduce your risk for cancer, heart disease, and other conditions. Here are a few to try:
Nasturtiums feature pretty orange, red, yellow, or white flowers and taste peppery, almost mustard-like.
Pansies and bee balm grow in various splashy colors and have a minty flavor.
Nearly all roses are edible. Sprinkle some petals on your platter for a beautiful, velvety texture and taste ranging from floral to gingery.
Where to find them: To be edible, flowers should be grown organically, without chemicals or pesticides. Find edible flowers at farmers’ markets, in the produce – not floral – department at grocery stores, or online. You can also grow your own.
Keep in mind: Not all flowers are edible. Some may even be toxic. So, eat flowers only when you are sure they are edible.
Recipes
White Bean Hummus
This healthy hummus packs a punch of Mediterranean flavor and makes a perfect dip for raw vegetables. It can be served in a colorful cup, making a delicious addition to a charcuterie board. Serves 10.
Ingredients
1 can (15.5–16 oz.) reduced-sodium cannellini beans, drained (reserve 2 tbsp. of liquid)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp. Fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. tahini
1 tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp. sea salt
Chives (about 1 tbsp.) for garnish
Directions
Place all ingredients, except for chives and reserved liquid from the bean can, into a blender or a food processor fitted with a standard blade. Puree until smooth, or about three minutes. If the hummus is too thick, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of reserved liquid. Garnish with chives.
Crunchy Chicken Salad
Add flair to your board with this simple salad that works well in a lettuce wrap or on whole-grain crackers. Serves about 12.
Ingredients
2 cups chunked cooked chicken (leftovers work well!)
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 small onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 small apple, diced (leave the peel on)
1/2 cup grapes, cut in half
1/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
Directions
Put all the ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together. Serve in a colorful bowl for your board.