Best Charcuterie Boards 2023

Mar 11, 2023

The best charcuterie boards—by which we mean the best serving platters for said charcuterie—should be stylish and attractive, to be sure. But perhaps more importantly, they need to be functional, capable of holding a hefty amount of meats and cheese. Fortunately for shoppers, there are plenty of platters and boards on the market that are equal parts pretty and practical. Our top pick for 2023, the JK Adams Ultimate Marble & Wood Serving Board, features a masterful two-in-one design with an insert you can remove and place in the fridge before serving.

The best charcuterie boards—by which we mean the best serving platters for said charcuterie—should ... [+] be stylish, attractive and functional.

There's a reason we’re focusing on the platter so much: Before determining which types of cheese and meat to display on your charcuterie board, it's critical to select a solid base. "This can be a wooden board, a marble slab or even my new favorite—a shallow bowl," says Marissa Mullen, founder and creative director of That Cheese Plate. "Anything that keeps your cheese and meat in place with easy access for serving and grazing does the trick." Ahead, find the best wood and marble boards to add to your next hosting adventure, petite, value picks, shop our favorite charcuterie boards for easy, breezy hosting.

Food52

Dimensions: 24 x 14 x 1 inches | Material: Cherry wood and marble

This stunning, Vermont-made board features a beautiful 2-in-1 design with a marble platter insert that can be removed easily and placed in the fridge to chill before hosting. Because of this nifty element, when you cover it with cheese, meat and other delicious (and perishable) food items, they’ll stay cold for hours. The cherry wood base also provides plenty of room for overflow so you won't need to worry about cleaning up spilled snacks, and while it does have a natural matte finish, you can feel free to brush it with mineral oil or wax to give it a slightly shiny appearance.

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Crate and Barrel

Dimensions: 24 x 14 x 0.5 inches | Material: Acacia wood

Crate and Barrel makes some of the most popular platters and charcuterie serving boards on the market, but this one tops the list. For starters, it's a jaw-dropping two feet long, providing plenty of room for creamy brie, sharp cheddar, bloomy blue, spicy soppressata, dried fruit, Marcona almonds... Are you hungry yet? The acacia wood is also treated with a helpful food-safe coating, which makes it easy to wipe down once the party's over. And at under $60, the price point is a winner, too.

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Amazon

Dimensions: 13 x 13 x 1.6 inches | Material: Acacia wood, stainless steel and ceramic

It's true: You could simply use a "regular" cutting board or porcelain platter as the base for a charcuterie display. That said, it's this sort of innovative design that might make you think twice. With multiple nooks and crannies for storing cheese knives and ceramic bowls, it's a brilliant way to present and section out your offerings. The board is especially great for beginners who are intimidated by a blank wooden canvas: Those man-made divots give first-time entertainers a handy roadmap for arranging dips, crackers, meats and cheese. Bonus: It includes a set of four matching knives and white ceramic bowls for effortless entertaining.

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Amazon

Dimensions: 12 x 11 x 0.5 inches | Material: Acacia wood

If you’re looking for a small surface on which to build a charcuterie board for one or two, this is the best on the market. It also comes highly recommended from one of the cheese experts to whom we spoke when curating this list. "The boards I love for both shape and good value are from Ironwood Gourmet," says Suzanne Lenzer, author of Graze. "They aren't expensive, but they are really functional and lovely." This petite board is crafted with pure acacia wood, which gives the look of multiple brown hues moving naturally in different directions. The handle makes it easy to carry from the kitchen to your patio or dining room—or even just to the couch.

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Amazon

Dimensions: 17.72 x 12.01 x 0.87 inches | Material: Bamboo

It's hard to believe that this sturdy cutting board made from organic bamboo rings in at under $20. But it's true: The Amazon bestseller is just that great of a find. In general, there's a lot to love about a multifunctional kitchen accessory, and this board fits the bill. Use it as a cutting board for slicing and dicing or cover it with a beautiful assortment of meats, cheeses, fresh fruit and preserved vegetables for a colorful charcuterie spread. The built-in groove is designed to collect juices from meat, but it also acts as a "moat" to prevent overflow.

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Williams Sonoma

Dimensions: 15 x 15 x 1 inches | Material: Olivewood

Olivewood is one of the most stunning natural materials for kitchenware of any kind, and this charcuterie board from Williams-Sonoma is no exception. Its round design makes it easy to style meats and cheeses into a happy hour-worthy display and the raised edge helps to keep everything in its place. "I love when there is a bit of a lip because it keeps all of the yumminess in," says Cortney LaCorte. Plus, unlike some wood boards that can only be wiped clean, this one can thoroughly be rinsed with hot, soapy water (just be sure to not soak it completely, cautions the manufacturer).

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Williams Sonoma

Dimensions: 15 x 15 x 0.75 inches | Material: White marble and striated gray marble

Marble boards are one of the most popular bases for charcuterie boards because they have a modern, elevated look, but the cooling feel of marble is also good for cheese and meat that will likely sit out for hours. That said, shopping for a marble charcuterie board is tricky because many can stain easily (and are subsequently impossible to clean). This one, howeber, is finished with a food-safe lacquer that will prevent pesky stains from forming. What's more, it's completely reversible. One side features a rich, moody gray marble and a bright white marble on the other. A thin gold band wraps around the side, separating the two marbles with polish and pizzazz.

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A charcuterie board is a display of fabulous cheeses, charcuterie, meats and other delicious accouterments, says LaCorte. "Charcuterie" specifically refers to meat such as assorted sliced salami, but the term has expanded to more broadly refer to a serving board topped with meat and/or cheese, jam, dried fruit and crackers. "The French term actually refers to the art of preparing and preserving meats, usually pork, through techniques such as curing, smoking and aging," explains Mullen.

To build a standard charcuterie board, Mullen prefers to start with three to five cheeses, followed by a variety of different meats. "For the produce, I like to add a juicy and fresh contrast to the meat and cheese, like berries, cucumbers, apples and marinated items such as olives and cornichons," she says. Following this method serves two purposes: Your guests will have a variety of options to dig into, but they’ll also have a beautiful, colorful display to look at. "The key to a great board in my mind is one that offers a selection of flavors, textures and colors to keep the eater engaged and excited," adds Lenzer.

Wood and marble are the most common materials for charcuterie boards, and it's easy to understand why: They provide a beautiful, solid base for meat and cheese. But don't stop there, design lovers. "I’ve always loved platters, plates and shallow bowls for my cheese plate creations," says Mullen. "Platters come in all shapes, sizes and colors and are much easier to clean than boards, and large shallow bowls are easy to transport." If you don't yet own the right tray, says LaCorte, don't let that stop you from crafting a delicious spread. "I create a ‘grazing table’ using butcher paper [spread across a countertop or table] as my surface," she says. "The size is customizable based on how many you are serving."

It depends on the size of your gathering—but as a general rule of thumb, choose three to four different meats and three different cheeses, says Lenzer. "[Add] a good smattering of marinated vegetables like artichokes, beans, peppers and olives, or fresh fruit like grapes, figs, pomegranate or even stone fruit," she says. "I always like to have at least three different crispy snacks integrated into the board, too—breadsticks, taralli, crackers, nuts—anything that you can nibble easily and that balances out the richness of the meat and cheese." The experts consulted here agree that when choosing cheeses, you’ll want to select ones that boast different flavor profiles and textures. "You can do a mix of milks—goat's milk cheese, cow's milk cheese, sheep's milk cheese—as well as textures—fresh, soft, hard, blue. The key is to serve a selection for the guests to try," says Mullen.