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How to Make a Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board

July 13, 2017 By Katie Moseman 1 Comment

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This kid-friendly charcuterie board shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.  All opinions are mine alone. #GetCheesy #CollectiveBias

Pack a charcuterie board in a lunchbox with these kid-friendly options.  Pair meats, cheeses, spreads, and crackers for your little one to enjoy.

Charcuterie board with prosciutto, maple ham, salami, and cheese

How to Make a Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board

Let’s get one thing straight before we get started.

How to pronounce charcuterie: shar-COO-ter-ee.

I’ll admit; before I looked it up, I wasn’t quite sure.  But now I know—the emphasis is on the “coo” sound.  You learn something new every day.

Charcuterie boards are all the rage.  They’re appearing on trendy restaurant menus across the country.  They’re French.  They look cool.  They sound cool.  Despite this (or perhaps because of it), many people are intimidated by what is essentially a cold meat plate.

Closeup of kid friendly charcuterie board with meat, cheese, pretzels, and jam

Now that you know how to pronounce it, let’s define it.  Charcuterie is the branch of French cooking that deals with smoked, cured, and cooked meats.  Examples include ham, bacon, sausage, and meat spreads such as pate.

A charcuterie board traditionally includes charcuterie meats plus complementary accompaniments such as bread, crackers, chutney or fruit spread, and cheese.

There’s no hard and fast rule regarding what to include or exclude, although it’s ideal that all the elements of the board are well-balanced in terms of flavor; no single ingredient should overwhelm any of the others.

I’m a firm believer that high-quality food is just as suitable for children as it is for adults.  Children may have more selective palates, but there’s no reason they can’t enjoy the good stuff along with the grown-ups.

It’s this philosophy that inspired me to make a kid-friendly charcuterie board that can easily be packed up in a lunch box.

Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board Ingredient Ideas


Cheese

One of my favorite brands, Organic Valley, has excellent cheese options that are very kid-friendly.  I picked up Organic Valley American Singles, Mozzarella Stringles, and Colby Jack Stringles at Publix to add to this charcuterie lunch box.  All Organic Valley cheeses are certified organic and never use antibiotics, synthetic hormones, toxic pesticides or GMOs. Most of the cheeses are also vegetarian friendly.

On your next trip to Publix, you can save $1.25 off any Organic Valley cheese with this coupon offer.

Organic Valley Cheese Coupon

Package of Organic Valley Mozzarella Stringles

Package of Organic Valley American Singles

The American Singles are natural American cheese, not processed cheese.  I like to know that I’m packing better-for-you organic ingredients in my kids’ lunches.

These organic cheese selections will complement the rest of your charcuterie board ingredients.

Package of Organic Valley Colby Jack Stringles


Meat

For the meats, I suggest pairing a slightly sweet meat, like a sweet ham, with a salty meat, like prosciutto or pepperoni.  Get a few ounces sliced fresh from the butcher shop and try a few combinations for yourself.

You can wrap a piece of meat around a cheese stick for a fun and easy-to-nibble presentation.

  • Maple ham
  • Honey ham
  • Smoked ham
  • Prosciutto
  • Pepperoni
  • Salami

Prosciutto, maple ham, salami, and cheese on a wooden charcuterie board


Fruit Spread

For the fruity spread, there are many options.  You can go with a safe bet, like strawberry preserves, or try a more savory fruit chutney.  Or you can include both and let your kids try them out.  You may be surprised to find that they like new flavors as much as familiar flavors.

  • Strawberry preserves
  • Fruit chutney
  • Blackberry jam
  • Apple butter

Bread

There are lots of options for bread.  A little crunch is ideal as a textural contrast to the creamy cheese and soft meat.

  • Pretzel sticks or rods
  • Crackers
  • French bread rounds
  • Toasted bread “chips”
  • Crunchy Spanish breadsticks (also called “picos”)
  • Homemade or store-bought croutons
  • Pita chips

Stack a piece of cheese, a piece of meat, and a dab of fruit on a cracker.  Building a bite is almost as fun as eating it!

Cracker with American cheese, salami, and strawberry jam on a charcuterie board

 

Once you have all your ingredients, it’s simple to pack them in a lunch box.  A lunch box with little compartments makes the food as appealing to the eye as it will be to the palate.  I measure my ingredients so that there’s a balance between flavors and so that there’s enough meat to go with the cheese, enough spread to accent the crackers, and so on.

Closeup of kid friendly charcuterie board with meat, cheese, pretzels, and jam
5 from 1 vote
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Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board Lunch Box

Pack a charcuterie plate in a lunch box with these kid-friendly options. Pair meats, cheeses, spreads, and crackers for your little one to enjoy.

Course Appetizer
Cuisine French
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2
Calories 419 kcal
Author Katie Moseman

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce sweet ham sliced
  • 1 ounce prosciutto sliced
  • 1 ounce salami or pepperoni
  • 1 slice American cheese such as Organic Valley American Singles
  • 1 ounce mozzarella cheese such as Organic Valley Mozzarella Stringles
  • 1 ounce cheddar cheese such as Organic Valley Cheddar Stringles
  • 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves
  • 1/2 cup crackers or pretzels, or something similar

Instructions

  1. In separate containers or a lunchbox with compartments, pack up the meats in one compartment, the cheese in another, and then the preserves and the crackers each in their own compartment.  Refrigerate or use cold packs to keep cool.

Nutrition Facts
Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board Lunch Box
Amount Per Serving
Calories 419 Calories from Fat 243
% Daily Value*
Fat 27g42%
Saturated Fat 11g69%
Cholesterol 65mg22%
Sodium 1073mg47%
Potassium 140mg4%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Sugar 11g12%
Protein 17g34%
Vitamin A 335IU7%
Vitamin C 1.7mg2%
Calcium 307mg31%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

You can find Organic Valley cheese in the cheese aisle at Publix.

Organic Valley Cheese packages in the cheese aisle at Publix

Grab this coupon to save $1.25 off any Organic Valley cheese.

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Comments

  1. Alana

    July 13, 2017 at 10:24 am

    5 stars
    I never thought of making a charcuterie board for kids! I think mine would enjoy this.

    Reply

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