If you have a party to plan, chances are you’re looking for ways to serve fun party food to your guests. It’s easy to make a gluten free, dairy free charcuterie board! A charcuterie board is a great way to serve a variety of meats, veggies, fruits, olives, and more!

It seems like charcuterie boards are a party staple lately, doesn’t it? Everywhere I look I see another variation on this food trend.
One thing you may have noticed about charcuterie boards is that traditionally, they include a lot of allergens. Dairy, nuts, wheat, sesame…you name it. There are usually quite a few food allergens on a typical snack board.
I love this casual way to present appetizers at a party, so I thought I’d share some ideas about how to make a charcuterie board that’s free of gluten, dairy, nuts, sesame, and more.
Guess what? Even though this board is allergy friendly, you will not miss out on a thing! There’s a wide variety of colors, flavors, and textures on this snack platter.
Key Ingredients
Please remember to call and check to be sure any ingredient is safe for your particular dietary needs.
- Salami – You can use a variety of salami and other cured meats on your board. Some brands to look into are Boar’s Head, Creminelli, and Applegate. If you are worried about nut cross contamination, you may want to avoid Applegate salami. All three of these companies are very responsive to allergen questions. You could also do pepperoni, ham, or turkey on your snack platter.
- Olives – Green olives, black olives, or Kalamata olives are all great choices. A couple of brands to check out are Pearl Olives and Lindsay Olives.
- Pickles – Dill pickles, sweet pickles, and gherkins are all good choices to add to your spread. One brand to check into is Mt. Olive pickles. You can also make your own refrigerator dill pickles or sweet pickles.
- Fresh Vegetables – You can add any fresh veggies that you like to your tray. Try baby carrots, red peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, or any other vegetable that you like.
- Fresh Fruit – I like to include fruits that are in season when I make up a charcuterie board. In the winter, that might be oranges, clementines, grapes, apples, and pears. In the summertime, strawberries, blueberries, melon, and kiwi would be good choices.
- Bean Dip – Many traditional snack platters include dips like cheese dip or hummus. An allergy friendly alternative is homemade bean dip like this red pepper bean dip or this white bean dill dip.
- Dried Fruit – If you like dried fruit, you can add some dried cranberries, cherries, prunes, or dates. Be sure to make sure these are free from cross contamination from nuts or other allergens.
- Gluten Free Crackers – If you can’t find a brand of crackers that works for your particular dietary needs, try making your own gluten free crackers.
- Dairy Free Cheese – There are many different brands of dairy free cheese. You could include cheese slices or cubes, it’s up to you. I did not include any cheese on my tray, because there are so many other delicious options, and it didn’t seem necessary.
- Chips – If you’re serving a bean dip, including potato chips or tortilla chips is a good idea so your guests have something to dip.
- Chex Mix – If you’re in need of a little more crunch, try adding small bowls of nut free Chex mix to your platter.
How to Assemble a Charcuterie Board
It’s easy to assemble a beautiful charcuterie board. You will need a tray of some type – it could be a large tray with handles, a wooden cutting board, or even a cookie sheet.
You can cover the tray with parchment paper or butcher block paper if you like, but it’s not a necessity.
You will need some small bowls if you are serving things like olives, dip, or Chex mix.
Once you’ve chosen your tray, start laying out all of the food. If you are serving some foods in bowls, you may want to place those on the tray first. Then you can arrange your meats, fruit, veggies, pickles, crackers, chips, and everything else.
Remember to have fun! Be creative as you arrange your charcuterie board.
Variations
There are lots of ways you could vary this concept. A dessert charcuterie tray is fun – try cookies, graham crackers, marshmallows, fruit, candies, melted chocolate, and caramel sauce.
You could do themed trays for different holidays. Try orange and black foods and different candies for Halloween. Or a selection of pink and red fruits and chocolate for Valentine’s Day. The possibilities are endless!
Beverage Suggestions
You can serve a variety of drinks to go along with your snack tray. Try sparkling water, punch, citrus infused water, or a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
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Recipe
Gluten Free Dairy Free Charcuterie Board.
A charcuterie board is a fun way to serve appetizers to your guests. Learn how to make a colorful, delicious spread that's gluten free and dairy free.
Ingredients
- piccante salami or a different variety
- sopressata salami or a different variety
- dill pickle spears
- gherkins
- green olives
- Kalamata olives
- white bean dill dip
- baby carrots
- red peppers sliced
- grapes
- apple slices
- navel oranges
- homemade Chex mix
- gluten free crackers
- potato chips
Instructions
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Line your wooden board or tray with parchment paper if desired. Place the small bowls around the tray.
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Put whatever you like in the bowls – olives, dip, Chex mix, and pickles can all go in bowls.
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Slice the salami, and place the slices around the bowls.
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Layer the other ingredients around the tray. The grapes could go in the middle, the veggies could go near the bean dip, etc. Be creative and place things the way you want to.
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Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition facts will vary based on the ingredients that you choose.
Feel free to make this smaller or larger depending on the size of your party.
D
We made this the other night and it was so fun for a gathering.