A red, white and blue charcuterie board is an easy party food when kids are part of the summer holiday barbecues. They can be simple and involve no cooking (leave that for the grill!) and be made with your favorite fruits, veggies and treats.
This patriotic charcuterie board is designed primarily for kids, but can easily be altered to include foods that adults love (or that your kids love). You can check out my guide to making an everyday kid-friendly charcuterie board for some more inspiration. From hot chocolate boards, pancake boards, french toast boards, to s'mores boards, there is a snack board for every occasion!
Table Of Contents
Tips For Making Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Boards
- Charcuterie boards are a fantastic way to get kids to eat healthy party foods rather than only sweets and carb-loaded snacks. Cutting foods into shapes, like the watermelon into stars, make eating healthy foods as fun as eating the candy.
- Customize the foods based on what the kids like. If you don't know, that's okay. Most kids like lunch meat, cheese, and simple everyday fruits, plus fun stuff like pretzels and crackers, and candy.
- Use small bowls to give the board definition and character.
- How hot will it be? Be cautious about chocolate on your board if you are placing it outside and you live in a seasonably hot location.
- The ages of the kids. Kid-friendly charcuterie boards should be spice free (and probably nut free too in case of any allergies). Depending on the kids' ages, watch out for choking hazards, like grapes and crackers that are too hard.
- Pick a theme and stick to it
Ingredient Suggestions
For this charcuterie board, you'll need an assortment of fruits, sliced deli meats, cheeses, and fun snacks like pretzels and candy. Here is what I used to make this beautiful patriotic snack board:
Fruits and Veggies
- Watermelon
- Red grapes
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Red apple slices
- Grape tomatoes
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
Use a star shaped cookie cutter to make watermelon stars, which will be a hit with the kids.
Fun Snacks
- Yogurt or white chocolate covered pretzels
- Crackers
- White chocolate bar, cut into pieces
- Mini marshmallows
- Red, white and blue m&ms
If you need to purchase a charcuterie board, this is one of my favorite circular boards. The handles make for easy transporting from one location to another. If you'd like a rectangular snack board, this one here is a great option. If you don't have time to buy a board or are on a tight budget, use a large cutting board.
Recipe
Patriotic Charcuterie Board
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1 cup raspberries
- 10 watermelon slices, cut into stars
- 2 red apples, sliced
- 1 cup red grapes
- ½ pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 8 ounces genoa salami
- 8 ounces pepperoni slices
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 8 oz mozzarella pearls
- 1 cup white cheddar cubes
- 1 cup white chocolate, cut into pieces
- 8 ounces crackers
- 8 ounces yogurt covered pretzels
- ½ cup mini marshmallows
- 1 cup red, white, and blue m&m's
Instructions
- Arrange serving bowls on your board. Place in opposite corners so they are separated by diagonal lines.
- Arrange foods around the bowls first, then fill in the remaining empty spaces. Keep similar colored foods together.
- Fill the serving bowls with candies and small fruits and veggies.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Katie Youngs says
I will be making this for my family this 4th of July! It's so beautiful!
Toni says
This is such a fun idea! My kids loved it too!! Thanks for sharing!