Build a Better Board with Watermelon

Charcuterie boards have changed the entertainment game. Completely customizable and easy to make, boards are a fun way to graze while enjoying a glass of wine or playing a board game. Use the tips below to create the most delightful board!

Getting Started

The first step of building a board is finding your base. While large wooden boards are most common, there are plenty of other options if you are looking to scale down or don’t have a board handy. Cutting boards, large plates or even baking sheets are great options.

Gather Your Ingredients

You can’t go wrong when choosing the flavors for your board! Start with your base ingredient (watermelon!), then mix and match additional ingredients to fit your taste buds or play into a holiday or theme.

Ingredient tips:

• Provide a wide range of options. Think fruits, cheeses, meats, pickled foods, breads or crackers. Anything goes!
• Balance sweet and savory. Sweet watermelon, chocolate, jam and honey balances salty meats and cheeses.
• Vary your textures. Fruit boards are delicious, but taste even better when you scatter in a “crunch” via crackers, pretzels and nuts. Pistachios pair wonderfully with watermelon!
• Lean into a theme! Holiday celebrations? Think winter fruits, spiced nuts and herbs. Having wine night or craving a treat? Make a “dessert” board filled with fruits, chocolate and your favorite sweets. We’ve seen rainbows, breakfast, Halloween and other holidays…if you can dream it, you can board it!

Time to Plate

Placing your ingredients can feel intimidating, but just focus on having fun and getting creative!

Plating tips:

• Bigger items first. We recommend placing the biggest items first, like watermelon wedges or blocks of cheese, since they’re the hardest to fit in later. 
• Contain, contain, contain. Use bowls to hold smaller items, dips and cuts like watermelon balls. Dishes and silverware also add visual interest if you’re going for aesthetics.
• Scatter. Vary texture and flavor around the board by scattering ingredients around the board (instead of keeping all the fruit in one corner and crackers in another).
• Prep! Dice your fruits, slice the cheese, roll the salami. Make it easy to grab and gab. Tip: add toothpicks and silverware to make serving simple. 
• Get creative. Yes, we are talking about salami roses and cookie-cutter fruit shapes!

Now that you’ve got some handy tips and tricks, ready for some inspo? These boards are anything but boring!

Holiday Grazing Board

Nothing serves a holiday party like a loaded board! We started with a festive green dish of watermelon, then surrounded it with our favorite seasonal flavors, including figs (how pretty!), orange slices and hints of cranberry.

 

Dessert Board

You’ll probably want dessert first with this board on deck. It’s made with fruit, nuts, chocolate and coconut chips for a delightful way to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Recipe: Watermelon and Chocolate Dessert Board

Kids Charcuterie Snack Board

This recipe may include “kids” in the title, but we won’t judge if the adults want to get in on this cute snack board. We bet there will be smiles all around after this board is placed on the table!

Recipe: Kid Snack Board

Patriotic Snack Board

Red, white and yum. Watermelon wedges add a refreshing bite alongside traditional charcuterie ingredients, like goat cheese, salted nuts and cured meats.

Recipe: Patriotic Snack Board

Summer Grazing Board

Classic summer snacks, all on one plate. Fruits like watermelon and blackberries are the juicy star of the show, and caprese flavors like tomato, mozzarella and balsamic complement it beautifully.