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Start Your Feast With a Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board
This year, we are grateful for charcuterie boards.
Published: Oct 28, 2024 | Modified: Oct 26, 2026
To make a Thanksgiving charcuterie board, start with a few hard and soft cheeses, add Royal Riviera Pears, cured meats, dried fruit, nuts, and crackers, and finish with something sweet. The whole board takes 50 minutes, including a brie en croûte that bakes while you build.
If Thanksgiving planning has you stretched thin, at least let me help you make snacking easy. This board mixes autumn colors and flavors into a beautiful spread that your friends and family will talk about, and come back for, next year.
The cheese and charcuterie from Harry & David makes creating a cheeseboard easier than figuring out which pie to bake for Thanksgiving. You'll start by adding a variety of hard and soft cheeses to please everyone's palate. While a stellar spread of cheeses is always a staple, I would be remiss to exclude a few items that will put your Thanksgiving charcuterie board on everyone's list of most memorable holiday moments.
One of my favorite parts about this time of year is that we can finally get our hands on the deliciously buttery Royal Riviera Pears. Their sweet flavor and finger-licking juiciness pair perfectly with blue cheese like Rogue Creamery's Bluehorn, which is dense, creamy, and beyond decadent. It's perfect with pears because the sweetness from the fruit brings out the salty, sharp flavors from the cheese. Stack them both on a cracker and then add an extra dose of acidity with a small drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette for a pre-made bite. You'll thank us later.
The pièce de resistance of this board is the Brie en Croute. This hand-trimmed brie is coated in garlic, basil, and pine nuts before being wrapped in a flaky puff pastry crust (making it completely irresistible). Put it in the oven first, since it bakes for roughly 30 minutes at 375° F, until the top of the puff pastry is a toasty brown. Fill up any free space on the board with tasty cured meats, dried fruit, and nuts.
For a final dash of sweetness, add a few mouthwatering chocolate caramel apples and you have the perfectly balanced Thanksgiving charcuterie board.
Serve this delicious feast (before the actual turkey feast) with a bottle of chardonnay.
How to Build a Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board
Here's what goes on this board and the order we build it in.
- Cheese: two cheeses of your choice, plus a blue cheese like Rogue Creamery's Bluehorn for pairing with pears
- Baked brie: brie en croûte, baked until the puff pastry is toasty brown
- Fruit: sliced Royal Riviera Pears and dried apricots
- Cured meat: salami slices
- Nuts: roasted almonds
- Crackers: plenty for the pears and cheese
- Relish: Pepper & Onion Relish in a ramekin
- Something sweet: chocolate caramel-covered apples
- Garnish: fresh herbs like rosemary
- To drink: a bottle of chardonnay
Bake the brie first. While it bakes, set out the relish and two cheeses, add the pears and crackers, layer in the salami and dried apricots, and fill any gaps with roasted almonds and rosemary. Add the baked brie and finish with the chocolate caramel-covered apples. If you're new to building boards, our 6 Easy Steps to Creating the Perfect Charcuterie Board shows how to choose cheeses and arrange meats and dips.
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Bake the brie en croute for roughly 30 minutes or until the top of the puff pastry is a toasty brown.
- While the brie is baking, prepare your charcuterie board by first placing your ramekin of Pepper & Onion Relish and two cheeses of choice on the board.
- Next, add your sliced Royal Riviera Pears and crackers. Layer in your salami slices, dried apricots, and fill any open space with roasted almonds. Don't forget to garnish with fresh herbs like rosemary!
- For a pre-made pear and blue cheese appetizer, thinly slice the pears and place them on top of the crackers. Spread blue cheese over the pear slices and drizzle with vinaigrette
- Once fully baked, transfer the brie to your display board or tray and serve with crackers.
- Add finishing touches with the chocolate-caramel covered apples.
How long does it take to make a Thanksgiving charcuterie board?
About 50 minutes. That's 20 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cook time, and the cook time is the brie en croûte. It bakes at 375° F while you build the rest of the board.
Which cheeses should I put on the board?
Start with a mix of hard and soft cheeses so there's something for everyone. Our recipe uses two cheeses of your choice, a blue cheese like Rogue Creamery's Bluehorn, and a baked brie en croûte.
How do I make a pear and blue cheese bite?
Thinly slice a Royal Riviera Pear and set the slices on a cracker. Spread blue cheese over the pear and add a small drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. The sweet fruit brings out the salty, sharp flavor of the cheese.
What do I use to fill the empty spaces on the board?
Cured meats, dried fruit, and nuts do the job. In our recipe that means salami slices, dried apricots, and roasted almonds, with fresh herbs like rosemary as a garnish.
Should I bake the brie before or after I build the board?
Bake it first. It needs roughly 30 minutes, so you can set out the relish and cheeses, add the pears, crackers, and meats, and then move the baked brie to the board and serve it with crackers.
AUTHOR
Olivia Carney grew up being taught to appreciate each moment shared with friends and family and that every party, no matter how small, deserves good cheese and fine wine. When she's not building cheese boards on @charcuterie.chick, Olivia enjoys being a dog mom and traveling the world.
