Breakfast Charcuterie Board (European Breakfast Platter)

Enjoy a European breakfast platter for a change with this Breakfast Charcuterie Board. A perfect combination of sweet and savory, there’s something for everybody on this breakfast board.

With Mother’s Day coming up, most people assume moms will enjoy an elegant brunch including things like sweet potato breakfast casserole or a smoked salmon platter.

And the truth is, I would be totally happy if somebody served me that brunch (and they often have on Mother’s Day). But you guys know I love a snack board, whether it’s a football charcuterie board, an epic New Year’s Eve snack board, savory baked brie or even jarcuterie.

So I’m just putting it out there: sometimes, moms want charcuterie. Yes, even in the morning. Give me a glass of champagne and a European breakfast charcuterie board, please!

This breakfast charcuterie board is inspired by European breakfast.

I love how easy it is to find international restaurants in most major cities in the United States now. With just a phone call or a Google search, you can find authentic Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Indian, Vietnamese and Thai food, and so much more.

However, the one thing I don’t find here very often is a European brunch buffet. The first meal of the day is actually one of my favorite things about vacationing in Europe.

While hotels there typically do also offer American-style favorites like pancakes, brioche French toast, malted waffles, eggs, sausage, and hash browns, they mainly focus on simple small items such as breakfast cheese, charcuterie, fruit (like roasted grapes), honey, savory pastries, maybe small pieces of vegetarian quiche, and sometimes even salad.

I’m not a fan of sweet breakfast (I much prefer something like a savory cottage cheese breakfast bowl or even cream cheese on an English muffin), so this arrangement is really ideal for me.

A cup of espresso, and an individual charcuterie board that I’ve compiled at the buffet, and I’m ready for a long day of sightseeing.

This brunch charcuterie board combines European and American styles on one big breakfast platter.

While everybody enjoys a wine and cheese board or individual charcuterie cups in the evening, I’m spreading the good word of breakfast charcuterie and cheese stateside with this breakfast charcuterie board.

On this breakfast platter, I combined the European breakfast traditions of cheese and honey with American classics like bacon in the oven, eggs (or even egg salad with pickles) and bloody marys.

If turkey bacon is more your speed, check out my tutorials on how to cook turkey bacon in the oven and turkey bacon in an air fryer!

I think there’s something on this brunch charcuterie board to please everyone, and fans of both sweet breakfast and savory breakfast will love this breakfast board.

Breakfast cheese goes so well with homemade apple butter.

The easy homemade apple butter might be my favorite part of this brunch charcuterie board.

Made by simply cooking fresh apples with spices and lemon juice and then pureeing, it’s a versatile spread that pairs with almost everything else on this European breakfast platter.

Mini cornbread muffins with apple butter? Yes! Breakfast cheese smeared with a bit of apple butter? Definitely! Bacon dipped in apple butter? Trust me, just try it. I even love lemon pancakes topped with it!

Psst – if you’d prefer to make apple butter in your Instant Pot for this breakfast charcuterie board, I have a recipe for super easy instant pot apple butter. It’s also lovely on a Thanksgiving charcuterie board.

Some tips for picking out the perfect cheeses for your breakfast board:

Cheddar is great for something like a leftover cornbread breakfast casserole, but let’s get a little fancier for this brunch board, shall we?

I’m always a big fan of simply telling the cheesemonger what I’m making and when I’m serving it, and they are always SO helpful. 

Ask for “breakfast cheese” at your local cheese counter, 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 unique charcuterie board idea I make (breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner!), I like to have:

• A mild, hard cheese (here I used a sheep’s milk French cheese that is very mellow and nutty). If you’re looking for something hard but a little sharper for your breakfast platter, I suggest a nice Parmigiano Reggiano.

• A soft and creamy cheese (here I used a Triple Creme Goat Brie). I love both goat’s milk brie and cow’s milk brief or a brunch charcuterie board. Another great option for this breakfast charcuterie board is traditional goat cheese. Not brie, but simply a log of goat cheese. You can often find these at your cheese counter already drizzled in honey or rolled in blueberries, which would be great for a European breakfast like this.

• A crumbly blue-style cheese (here I used Blue Shropshire, an English cow’s milk cheese with a sharp, strong taste). Other blue cheeses to keep an eye out for are Gorgonzola, Maytag blue cheese, Roquefort and Stilton cheese. Wine Enthusiast has a very comprehensive Essential Guide to Blue Cheese that might help you with selecting, storing and serving blue cheese for your breakfast board.