Breakfast Charcuterie Board Ideas
Over 100K home chefs have used this simple guide to build a beautiful Breakfast Charcuterie Board. It’s the perfect combo of charcuterie, cheese, and classic brunch items like eggs, toast and bacon.
Bring A Bit Of European Flair Home With Breakfast Charcuterie
When you think of a charcuterie board, you might think of a cocktail party, a light dinner or even an afternoon snack. But we also think of breakfast!
Charcuterie as breakfast food is quite common in Europe, and we think we should celebrate that here in the United States, too! So today, we’re combining the European breakfast traditions of cheese, cured meats, fruit and honey with American Brunch Menu classics like eggs.
Read on to learn how to build an epic Breakfast Charcuterie board perfect for a weekend brunch or holiday gathering.
Why You’ll Love These Breakfast Board Ideas
- There’s something on this board to please everyone. Fans of both sweet breakfast and savory breakfast will love this!
- Lots of the elements are make-ahead friendly, so if you’re hosting, you can enjoy the morning with your guests instead of spending it in the kitchen.
- Ideal for Mother’s Day, Christmas morning, New Year’s Day or just making any weekend feel special.
What You’ll Need For A Breakfast Charcuterie Board
A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.
- cheeses – you’ll want a hard cheese, a soft and creamy cheese, and maybe a blue cheese for your brunch charcuterie board. More on this below!
- charcuterie – we went with prosciutto here, but salami, capicola and Iberico ham are all great ideas as well.
- breakfast meats – not quite charcuterie, but the board wouldn’t be complete without some bacon (either Oven Bacon, Oven Turkey Bacon or Air Fryer Turkey Bacon) or sausage links (our Oven Baked Sausage is the easiest way to make it).
- yogurt parfait fixings – We pulled a few simple ideas from our Yogurt Bar, including Greek yogurt, granola and honey.
- hard boiled eggs – it is breakfast, after all!
- fresh fruits – we used Cara Cara oranges because they were in season when we made this, as well as perennial favorites, strawberries and blueberries. Blackberries and raspberries are also good here.
- croissants and/or toast – we used sourdough toast and croissants here, but you can use whatever bread you like best.
- mini Belgian waffles – the frozen Eggo brand of mini waffles work great! Mini pancakes are good, too.
- jam, jelly or preserves – for spreading on the toast, croissants, and even the waffles. We used apricot and raspberry jams here.
- olives – we like these in the morning just as much as in the evening, so they’re here!
Shopping For Breakfast Cheese
We’re always a big fan of going to an upscale grocery store (the kind with a CHEESEMONGER, which is just fun to say) and simply telling said cheesemonger what we’re making and when we’re serving it, and they are always SO helpful.
Ask for “breakfast cheese,” and the cheesemonger won’t even blink an eye that you’re eating cheese for breakfast, they’ll simply point you in the right direction.
For almost every Charcuterie Board Idea we make (breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner!), we like to have:
- A mild, hard cheese. We suggest a nice Parmigiano Reggiano, but cheddar is always good, too.
- A soft and creamy cheese. A log of goat cheese is an easy, delicious option. You can often find these at your cheese counter already drizzled in honey or rolled in blueberries, which would be great for a breakfast board. Another good idea for this category is brie.
- [OPTIONAL] A crumbly blue-style cheese, like Gorgonzola, Maytag blue cheese, Roquefort or Stilton cheese. We didn’t include a blue in our board this time, but we often do. Just depends on our budget and how many people are joining us to eat the board. Wine Enthusiast has a very comprehensive guide to blue cheese that might help you with selecting, storing and serving blue cheese for your breakfast board.
How To Assemble A Breakfast Board
1. BOWLS. Start by placing anything in small bowls (yogurt, granola, jams, honey, olives) on a large cutting board.
2. BIG, THEN MEDIUM, THEN SMALL STUFF. Continue by placing some of the larger items like the toast, waffles, croissants, and some of the meats and cheeses. Then, add medium sized stuff like the oranges and hard boiled eggs. Finish the board by filling in any empty space with small stuff like the berries.
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Home Chef Tips For A Brunch Charcuterie Board
- Keep cold items like yogurt and cut fruit in the fridge until right before serving. You can build the brunch board with empty bowls as placeholders for those items, and then add the filled bowls later.
- If you have less adventurous eaters joining you, consider labeling the less obvious items (flavored jams, unique cheeses, etc.) to help everybody feel comfortable and confident that they’re choosing a great plate of food.
- Don’t forget the drinks! Break out the Champagne And Orange Juice for mimosas or make all the Bloody Mary Garnishes for bloodys. And fresh juices and coffee, of course. Choose at least one and preferably all.
More Breakfast Platter Ideas
- French toast sticks with maple syrup
- mini cinnamon rolls
- mini muffins
- mini scones
- mini bagels with cream cheese
- sliced veggies
- nut butter, like peanut butter, almond butter or Nutella
- edible flowers or fresh herbs, for garnish
- crackers
- smoked salmon
Breakfast Charcuterie Board Ideas FAQs
The 3-3-3-3 rule is a guideline that will help you create a visually beautiful and flavorfully balanced charcuterie board. It suggests three types of meat, three types of cheeses, three types of carbohydrates (breads, crackers, etc.) and three types of accompaniments (mustard, honey, pickles, olives, etc.).
The 3-3-3-3 rule is a helpful starting point to keep in mind but don’t be afraid to customize based on your preferences and the size of your gathering!
A breakfast board is a great way to present a variety of brunch and breakfast items in a low-stress way. It’s perfect for holiday gatherings, brunch parties and bridal and baby showers.
If you want to expand beyond the board and make an entire breakfast grazing table, add a variety of sweet and savory items, like pastries like croissants or danishes, Vegetarian Quiche or Breakfast Muffins, waffles or pancakes, and fruit salad.
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Breakfast Charcuterie Board
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Ingredients
- 3 cups Greek yogurt
- 1 cup granola
- ⅓ cup honey
- ½ cup jam or preserves any flavor
- ½ cup assorted olives
- 8 slices toasted bread or croissants
- 8 mini Belgian waffles warmed
- 8 ounces assorted cheeses
- 4 ounces prosciutto and/or salami
- ½ pound Oven Bacon
- ½ pound Oven Sausage
- 8 hard-boiled eggs halved
- 2 cups assorted fruit berries, orange slices, etc.
Instructions
- Start by placing anything in a bowl (yogurt, granola, honey, jam, olives) on a large cutting board.
- Continue by placing some of the larger items like the toast, croissants, waffles and some of the meats and cheeses.
- Then, add medium sized stuff like the hard boiled eggs and oranges.
- Finish the board by filling in any empty space with small stuff like the berries.
Beautiful! Love to make after dinner cheeseboards. Will be sure to make a breakfast cheese board at the weekend. Thanks! : )
Thanks so much, Heather. Enjoy your breakfast cheese 🙂