Patriotic Charcuterie Board- Nourishing and Simple. Looking for a super simple, balanced idea for your next patriotic holiday? I have awesome inspiration for you. This is ideal for your 4th of July or Memorial Day get-together. This appetizer board is the perfect board for snacking.
If charcuterie boards are your thing, let me share some of my other seasonal favorites. My hot cocoa charcuterie board is a family and friends must-have during the winter months. Or my fall-themed board is another go-to for fall weather. A breakfast charcuterie board is the perfect snacking board for your weekend breakfast or brunch. If you are not feeding a crowd, maybe a smaller charcuterie board is in order?
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💭 Why Make This Board?
- For one thing, it is so easy to put together. I purposefully designed this recipe to be low maintenance. I don't know about you but we generally have a lot of family in town for the holidays and I don't want to be tied to the kitchen. I put this charcuterie board together in under 10 minutes.
- This board is beautiful because of the bold red, white, and blue colors. This is pretty to serve and will add to your holiday decor.
- It is made to feed a crowd. You can always downsize, but if you have family and friends over, this is a perfect size.
📋 Where To Start
There are a few things to consider when you start planning your board:
- When considering what size board to use, you first need to know, what size crowd are you feeding? If it is going to be a good-sized crowd either go with a big board or 2 medium-sized boards. Smaller crowd, smaller board. I always prefer to overshoot if needed. Nothing worse than running out of food! Amazon has a lot of choices for platters. I also love shopping at TJ Maxx or Marshalls too. Target is another place with great platters.
- Is there anyone who is coming that has allergies or intolerances? It is important to be a good host and take those concerns into consideration. I will sometimes even make a smaller platter if I know I have someone coming with allergies that shouldn't mix with my other food choices.
- Food. The board is important, but the food is so much more important. I love to have a good mix of textures and foods. Fruits and vegetables. Soft and crunchy. This not only adds beauty but also interest to the platter.
- Prep ahead anything that you can. You don't want to spend the 30 minutes before the party stressed and working. Do ahead what you can! Be mindful of your time!!
Red Foods
There are a lot of red foods to choose from! I used strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, salsa, and radishes. You could also use watermelon, beets, red candies, raspberries, grapes, pomegranates, dragon fruit, red bell peppers, red potatoes, etc.
Another thought for the red section would be your salami and sausages. I didn't add any to mine, but they would add great color to your board.
White Foods
I think the white section is a great place to add in cheeses. There are so many white cheeses you can use. I used sliced provolone, cut in quarters, and cheese sticks (my youngest loves them!). This is also where I added the ranch dip and fruit dip, both are white. I also used cauliflower, mushrooms, and bananas.
Other options could include jicama, white potatoes, white dragon fruits, apples without skin, and coconut. I included my recipe for Lemon Mascarpone Dip below.
Blue Color
A large portion of my blue section was blue corn chips. I just love these and wanted to make sure they had plenty of space on the board. There are plenty of other great options too!
I used blueberries, but you could also use concord grapes, blackberries, plums, dried plums, purple carrots, purple asparagus, and purple potatoes.
You will notice I also cut out small stars from the provolone. I have a nesting set with several sizes.
💭 Top Tips
- Make sure to get the freshest fruit and vegetables possible. This will really make the board. If you have wilted and old fruits and vegetables, it really will not be as good.
- I kept my board simple, but you can certainly get more elaborate if you want. Add in a variety of cheeses and salami to dress it up a bit and add more variety.
- You can also add candies to the board. I didn't, but know you can.
- Small flags on the board would have also been really cute. I laid my board on flag bunting for my display, but the flags on it would have been cut too.
- I used a star-shaped cookie cutter, but you can also cut out the stars with a knife if you want!
- The possibilities of red, white, and blue are numberless. There are so many options. I would suggest heading to the store with a list, but also wander around and see what you can find. There are new seasonal foods every year that they come up with.
🍹Drinks To Serve
Are you looking for cooling and refreshing drinks to serve with your board? Let me share some of my favorite non-alcoholic recipes.
- Raspberry Mojitos are so refreshing, as are blueberry and blackberry mojito mocktails! I love this fruit, lime, and mint combination.
- Or maybe you are looking for something a little creamier and a little more tropical? How about a virgin pina colada?
- One drink I really love when the weather heats up is strawberry pineapple aqua fresca. It is so good!!
Creamy Lemon Mascarpone Dip
Ingredients
- 8 ounces mascarpone
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a bowl. Blend until smooth and creamy. You don't want to overmix it as the heavy cream will curdle.
- Mine took about 2 minutes to be creamed and light and fluffy.
- Serve with your favorite fruits and cookies. It is a simple appetizer tray, or even a tray at your next brunch. You will love how simple it is to make!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!