Whip up a simple kid-friendly charcuterie board and enjoy minimal cleanup and less time in the kitchen — perfect for relaxing summer days (or whenever you need a quick meal everyone will love).
Over the past 10 summers, we’ve invested much time, energy, and money into our outdoor spaces — landscaping, multiple decks, a patio and basketball court area, fire pit, play structure, trampoline, pool, outbuilding, furniture, more landscaping, etc.
Throughout it all, we’ve kept our main goals in mind — enjoying the simple sweetness of summer days at home with our family, as well as hosting and entertaining a variety of friends, family, and neighbors during the warmer months (we prefer entertaining outdoor versus indoor).
We’ve successfully ticked off almost all our landscaping projects to date… and for the most part, we are thrilled with how everything turned out.
We’re not finished with the pool area yet — but here are a few pictures of the yard.
Needless to say, we spend A LOT of time outside!
And when we’re outside, it’s REALLY hard to get the kids back inside for meals (especially when they’re swimming).
As a result, our summer routine has been to eat both lunch and dinner outside almost every day.
I often plan a slow-cooker meal or something grilled for dinner (both require much less time in the kitchen).
For lunch, we enjoy what our kids call “meat and cheese”, but what the more sophisticated Pinterest world calls “a Charcuterie Board” (pronounced shär KŌŌ derē).
What’s a Charcuterie Board?
Basically, it’s a really fancy (and old) term for a big tray or platter of meats, cheeses, nuts, fruits, veggies, crackers, dips, spreads, pickles, etc.
You can literally put almost anything you can eat with your hands on a charcuterie board and call it a meal!
Of course, it’s kinda fun to create a pretty presentation, but I can speak from experience that the food tastes just as good without a fancy tray.
Examples of Charcuterie Board Foods
I try to include a variety of flavors and textures for each of the different categories below — but that’s not necessarily what I have in my pantry, so (as always) just use whatever you can scrounge up!
Meats:
- Salami, prosciutto, or other deli meat (rolled up with toothpicks if you want to be fancy)
- Sliced summer sausage
- Sliced or cubed pepperoni
- Beef jerky sticks
- Sushi (if you’re really fancy — we are not!)
Cheeses:
- Sliced cheeses
- Cubed cheeses
- Hard cheeses
- Spreadable cheeses
- String cheese or other cheese sticks
- Mini Baby Bell cheeses
Fruits:
- Grapes (these are SO simple)
- Cherries
- Whole berries
- Apple and pear slices (dip in Sprite to keep them from turning brown)
- Pomegranate seeds
- Dried fruit — craisins, raisins, apricots, dates, etc.
NOTE: super juicy fruits like melons, stone fruits, and pineapples don’t work well — also, I never include bananas.
Veggies:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Baby carrots and sugar snap peas
- Sliced cucumbers and peppers
- Any other raw veggie you like, cut into bite-size chunks
- Pickles (or any pickled veggie)
- Olives
Crackers, Nuts, Seeds, Bread:
- Wheat Thins, Ritz, Saltines, Club, or any crackers you have
- Tortilla chips
- Pretzels (we love the long rods)
- Pub mixes (like Chex Mix)
- Veggie Straws, Goldfish, Cheese-Its
- Crusty bread or breadsticks
- Small sandwich chunks — depending on how hungry we are
- Mixed nuts
- Pistachios
- Sunflower and pumpkin seeds
Dips:
- Hummus or ranch for the veggies
- Fruit dip or yogurt for the fruit
- Guacamole and salsa for chips and crackers
- Jams and jellies to spread on crackers
- Spinach, artichoke, and cheese spread for bread and crackers
Other:
- Anything else your family enjoys that is easy to eat with your hands!
How I Assemble Our Charcuterie Boards
I use a big wooden tray I found from a thrift store years ago and line it with wax paper. Then I pile it high with whatever foods I have cut up and ready to go in the fridge and pantry and carry the goods outside to my hungry tribe.
Sometimes we all eat directly from the tray. Other times I get a bit fancier with paper or plastic plates!
This tray is very similar to mine… and here’s a link to more trays and cutting boards that should work well.
I try to section off the foods with smaller bowls, cups, or food storage containers — nothing super fancy, but it helps with presentation and it keeps the different types of food organized on the tray.
Since I usually keep a variety of fruits, veggies, meats, and cheeses cut up in the fridge (read more about that here), it only takes a few minutes for me to compile a big tray of favorites for a super simple summer meal or snack.
I let the kids pick and choose what they want to eat (friends and neighbors often stay to eat as well) and surprisingly enough, they usually keep munching away on the fruits and veggies until everything is gone!
This is all good in my book… but my favorite part of serving charcuterie board meals is that there’s little to no clean-up afterward — just toss the wax paper and put a few spoons and knives in the dishwasher.
Then it’s back to the pool we go!
Other Charcuterie Board Ideas
Breakfast: fruit, mini muffins, scones, pastries, donut holes, hard-boiled eggs, sausage balls, bacon-wrapped sausages
Dessert: mini cookies, mini cupcakes, fudge, chocolate dipped pretzels and marshmallows, chocolate dipped fruit, biscotti, etc. etc.
After School Snack: I often make a smaller board for the kids when they get home from school — I include fewer options and smaller quantities, but it’s still a hit.
Movie Theater: a variety of popcorn, peanuts, and candies — great for at-home movie nights.
Holiday: all foods of a certain color (red, white, and blue or red and green, or red, white, and pink) — this could also work for a sports theme too.
There are so many fun and creative ways you can use charcuterie boards to simplify meal prep during the summer months… and all year long!
These kid-friendly charcuterie boards are some of our family’s favorite simple meals (especially poolside in the summer!)
Nora says
Your yard looks beautiful. So rewarding after all your hard work and you can enjoy with the kids! You are so ambitious-love seeing pictures and explanations of all your projects. It’s fun to see what the latest project is! Keep up the great posts on your blog! By the way, you mentioned growing out your hair… it looks really nice!!
Andrea says
Thanks Nora 🙂
I’m loving the yard… not so much the longer hair (but I’m giving it until September!)
Kim says
Your property is just gorgeous!!!!!
I don’t think I recognize the room you and Clara are sitting in on the woven sofa. A project room I missed?
Happy summer!
Belated happy birthday!
Happy anniversary!!!!!
Andrea says
you’re so perceptive, Kim 🙂
That’s our outbuilding/poolhouse and I’ve never officially shared it on the blog yet! We’ve actually done a lot of renovation in there over the past 2 years… but we’re not even close to finished with what we’d eventually like it to be. However, I plan to share the inside once the pool deck and landscaping are officially finished!
Chris says
Ah! my guess was right. 🙂 I’ve noticed it in two blog posts lately. 🙂
Andrea says
haha — so smart 🙂
carol says
Happy Anniversary to you and Dave.
Enjoy the plans you have made to celebrate.
Bonnie'sMama says
Andrea,
You may have already seen this book, but for fun theme ideas and gorgeous photography that makes me SO HUNGRY, you’d love the book Beautiful Boards, an amazing book about charcuterie. I’d like to see if I could replicate all the boards in the book, letting my children pick one for their birthdays and other holidays.
I’m sure you’re enjoying vacation, but I do miss your videos.
Andrea says
I’ve never heard of it but I’ll need to check it out from the library — thanks 🙂
Fran says
Beautiful yard and yummy charcuterie board…..Happy Anniversary and enjoy your week and 4th of July ❤️
Andrea says
Thanks so much, Fran!
Tracy Garrabrant says
The yard is beautiful!! All your hard work has certainly paid off.
Andrea says
Thanks Tracy! It’s been many years, but things are finally starting to fill in really nicely. I can’t wait to share once we’re completely finished with the pool area!
Beth says
Love your charcuterie boards. A definite for this weekend with company and grands!
Andrea says
oh yes, these are great for guests — everyone can pick and choose what they like best!
Patti Painter says
Your home is looking beautiful this summer, I can see and hear how much you enjoy it and your family. Hope you have a fabulous break next week. God bless you.
Andrea says
Thanks Patti! We do really enjoy being outside!
Susanne says
Back when my kids were little we called this a “snack supper” and everyone loved it!
Andrea says
yup, that sounds about right!
Nicole says
This could be my solution to an after-school snack!
Andrea says
definitely! This “meal / snack” is always a HUGE hit whenever I break it out!
Christine says
Our kids are teenagers now, but when they were younger and were having ‘fussy’ times at meals, or when we were in a hurry,or we wanted a casual meal, we served what they called a ‘buffet’ plate. Very similar to yours, except we just assembled it for them, from what ever we had in the kitchen. Leftovers, small bowls of soup or pasta, crackers, cheese, fruit etc. and they loved it! The ‘buffet’ plate became a staple in our household for quite a few years!
Andrea says
I love this “buffet plates”! easier to say, than Charcuterie — that’s for sure!
Debbie says
Kids and adults love charcuterie boards! I’m liking the pbj mini sandwiches on your board.
Andrea says
yes, honestly… Dave and I love this type of meal too!
and the mini sammies are always a big hit with our tribe! 🙂
Carrie says
This is probably a silly question, but what kinds of meats do you use?
Andrea says
any type of meat really — we usually do summer sausage, salami, pepperoni bites, beef jerky, etc. but I’ve also done chicken nuggets, little chunks of grilled chicken, ham and cheese roll-ups, sausage links, and more.
Carrie says
Thank you so much!
Jenny says
This was my one of my daughter’s favorite meals/snacks, too! She called it “plate”, I guess because I would fix it for her on a plate she liked. Now it would be “crudites and charcuterie”!! Fancy!
It was foods I always had in the house and was never the same twice. It was a good way to make vegetables fun, and use up small amounts of stuff.
Andrea says
haha — that’s funny! Our kids just call it “meat and cheese” even though that’s only one small part of the meal.
Rhonda says
I took this idea a while back when I had a birthday party for our 8-year old, and the friend-list at the party at our house became fairly large (usually most can’t make a summer party – but this time all 12 girls could come!) We ordered pizzas and then I made a tray like this – it really made the food prep easy. Thanks for the suggestion!
Andrea says
sounds like a super fun party!! Nora will be having her first “friends birthday party” this fall — so I’m already trying to come up with ideas of what we can do, foods to eat, etc.
Rhonda says
I’m sure you have a lot of ideas! We rented a bouncy house from a local family that owns one, had water balloons (won’t probably go well in Michigan in the fall), and giant balloons. Good luck!
Maria says
This is a great idea – especially for my picky eaters as the charcuterie has such a large variety of food. I especially like that it’s so easy to put together. Thanks for sharing! Also, the pictures of your kids eating are so cute – they really do look like they enjoy their food.
Andrea says
Yup… always something for everyone (and any diet). This is basically my go-to appetizer when I have to bring something — it can accommodate vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, peanut-free, Keto, whole 30, etc. Everyone loves it!