How to Make a Gluten Free Dairy Free Charcuterie Board.

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.
• Chicken Salad – Another protein choice would be homemade chicken salad, which would be great for spreading on crackers or serving with chips.
• 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.
• Pickled Vegetables – You can include pickled cauliflower, red onions, red peppers, carrots, or green beans.
• 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, apricots, or dates. Be sure to make sure these are free from cross contamination from nuts or other allergens. You can find dried fruits that are safe from Gerbs Allergy Friendly Foods.
• 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. I do like a vegan cheese ball, though!
• 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.
• Pretzels – There are some brands of gluten free pretzels that could be a nice addition to a charcuterie board. Some brands to consider are Savor by Suzie or Snyder’s of Hanover (they have a gluten free line as well as regular pretzels).
• Popcorn – Anytime you can add anything sweet and salty, I’m all for it! Try adding small bowls of homemade kettle corn to your spread.

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.