If you are ready to impress the special littles in your life, here are the charcuterie board ideas for kids that you need. Whether you want to feed a crowd for a special birthday party or just want a fun after-school snack, we have kid-friendly foods that will work for you.
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What Comes on a Traditional Charcuterie Board
A traditional charcuterie board includes cured meats such as salami, prosciutto, capicola etc, and is served with a variety of cheeses, crackers, crudite (vegetables), and dips. People have really gotten so creative with what kinds of food to include and these have become so popular for special occasions. For a complete list of items to include, check out this post on How Build Your Own Charcuterie Board.
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Tips For Making Food Kid Friendly
- Make foods smaller and cut into fun shapes. Kids trust uniformity. Foods like goldfish crackers and lunchables have conditioned children into trusting small uniform foods. So, in order to appeal to kids, think small bites and fun shapes. See my Mini Cookie Cutter item under helpful supplies.
- Think Color- the best part about a charcuterie board is the variety and that includes color. I don't mean load up with artificially colored foods that will send these kids off into a tailspin. More food with natural bright color like fresh fruit, a variety of cheeses, and color from a few fun dips.
- Dips! Kids love dipping food. So, include spreads and dips such as honey mustard, ranch, BBQ, or sweet spreads like jams, cherry spreads, even fig which goes so well with charcuterie meats and cheeses.
Helpful Supplies and Items to Build Your Perfect Board
Mini Cookie Cutters - this is my secret weapon. A fun way to get picky eaters to dig in is with special shapes.
Small Bowls or small ramekins - just a few on the board to separate loose types of foods like trail mix or olives.
Charcuterie Board options: large wooden cutting board, traditional charcuterie board platter with handles, or smaller boards for individual serving.
How To Build Your Own Kids' Charcuterie Board
To build your perfect kid friendly charcuterie board, start with a theme concept. I have several listed below. Once you have your theme, start pulling together items:
Be sure to include:
- 2-3 meats such as lunchmeat, salami, chicken nuggets, etc
- 2-3 cheeses
- 2 dips or spreads
- 2 types of crackers
- 2-3 seasonal fruits and fresh veggies such as baby carrots, strawberries, grapes, apple slices, pears, etc
- 2 sweet treats to round out the whole board and satisfy that sweet tooth. items like chocolate chips, animal crackers, fruit snacks, mini cookies
How to Lay Out Your board
Choose your board: you can either choose a large charcuterie board or grab a white board to help the colors pop
Figure out what items you want to be the main focal point and place those on the board first.
Fit the other food items, small bowls, and extras around the larger items so there is no empty space.
Big Lunchable
This is a great option for a birthday party or special occasion.
- Tender deli meats and cheeses cut into uniform shapes using mini cookie cutters
- Turkey
- Ham
- Cheddar cheese cubes
- Cream cheese with or without sauce
- Mild salami
- Crackers x 2
- Ranch
- Mustard or honey mustard
- Carrot sticks
- Apple slices
- Sweet mix
- Grapes
Peanut Butter and Jelly Board
A PB&J snack board is perfect for play dates or sleepover when your crew gets hungry!
These fun foods will definitely mix up the usual routine. So many fun combinations! Just make sure you have plenty of milk or water to serve with this one.
- Pb dip
- Mini sandwiches
- Two flavors of jam
- Mini chocolate chips
- Pretzel sticks
- graham crackers
- Nutella
- Pb popcorn
- big marshmallows
- Apple slices
- Strawberries
Finger Foods for Younger Kids
Let's fill those little hands with some fun and healthy snack options. This
- mini muffins
- grapes
- strawberries
- orange slices
- mini corn dogs or ham
- chicken nuggets
- honey mustard dipping sauce or ranch
- crackers
- sliced cheese
- yogurt covered pretzels
Movie Night Board
- buttered popcorn
- movie candy: red vines, Kit Kats, Reeces Pieces, Junior Mints, M&Ms
- chips and dip
- chocolate covered pretzels
- soft pretzel bites
Simple Cheese Board
This is a great way to feed your kids a little snack, especially for a mid-day play date.
- string cheese
- babybel cheeses
- cheddar cheese slices
- cream cheese dip or spread
- goldfish crackers
- grapes
- apple slices
- ritz crackers
Dessert Board For the Whole Family
This is a really fun idea for game night, slumber parties, or special occasions. It's the perfect way to finish a long day with your favorite people. You can also turn this into a fun ice cream board!
- cookies
- chocolate covered pretzels
- mini donuts
- candy like m&m's, red vines, peanut butter cups, and mini bars are a great option
- marshmallows
- brownies
- lemon bars
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