Holiday Charcuterie Board (with Aldi Cheese Board Ideas)

If you’re looking for a simple appetizer for the holidays, you can’t go wrong with a charcuterie board. For the host, they’re awesome because all you have to do is buy a bunch of ingredients and arrange them on a board or platter, and guests love them because they’re customizable and fun. I mean, it’s like a giant snack board — who doesn’t love that?!

Today I’m sharing with you an Aldi Holiday Charcuterie Platter with Homemade Cranberry Salsa that only cost just over $20 and took 15 minutes to put together . I’ll also share several Aldi cheese board ideas — it’s one of the best places to buy affordable speciality cheeses.

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What You Need to Make an Aldi Holiday Charcuterie Platter

• A charcuterie board or platter. Here I used a pizza pan, but this wooden board on Amazon is a step above and more authentic and so is this slate one. If you want to put something on your ultimate wishlist, I am in love with this French cheese board on Etsy. I gathered 12 of the best in one post: Best Charcuterie Boards For Sale on Amazon and Etsy — check them out!
• Cured meats. I will check on the exact brand the next time I go to Aldi, but my store always stocks a package of three cured meats (salami, soppressata, and capocollo) put together, and it’s perfect for a charcuterie platter.
• 2-3 Cheeses. Here I used Specially Selected Aged Reserved White Cheddar Cheese and Happy Farms Preferred Camembert.
• 1-2 Crackers or Bread. I used both Savoritz Butter & Wheat Entertainment Crackers.
• 1 Sour Thing. I used a specialty package of marinated kalamata olives, and I have to say, I’ve never liked olives, and I couldn’t stop eating these. So good.
• Cranberry Salsa. My Cranberry Salsa totally makes this platter with its festive color and bright flavors. It’s made with homemade cranberry sauce (although you can sub the canned stuff).
• Fillers. Here I used grapes, and I could have filled in more spaces but wanted to leave some room for getting to the cheeses.

How to Assemble a Charcuterie Board

1. Place cheeses on the board first so you can work around them.
2. Then add anything in bowls or jars.
3. Add your charcuterie (the meats). I like to either lay them in rows with each piece folded or to make little roses with the meat.
4. Lay down your dippers in rows (or possibly on a separate board).
5. Use your “fillers” (nuts, fruit, chocolate) to fill in spaces.
6. Take a picture and dig in! 🙂

PS. Is it driving anyone else crazy that my rows of meat are crooked? Let’s just address that elephant in the room.

Aldi Cheese Board Ideas

A lot of people consider Aldi to be just a frugal place to shop, but because of its European influence, it has all kinds of products that go great on a charcuterie or cheese board. I bought every single ingredient from my holiday charcuterie board at Aldi.

Here are a few other products you may want to look for next time you’re planning a charcuterie board with Aldi ingredients:

1. Specially Selected Aged White Cheddar Cheese — this cheese packs a punch, and yet, 8 kids ate it up at my husband’s birthday party.
2. Blackberry Spread
3. Goat Cheese — so affordable and good. Would be great with some Cranberry Salsa poured on top and eaten with crackers.
4. Cranberry Cinnamon & Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese — I’m pretty sure these are seasonal cheeses, but they look great.
5. Panine Tray — charcuterie meats wrapped around mozzarella cheese. Yum.
6. Blue Cheese — I’m not a big blue cheese fan, personally, but a lot of people like to include them on their charcuterie and cheese boards.
7. Sea Salt Caramels — sometimes it’s nice to have a little something sweet on your board, and these caramels are amazing.
8. Cranberry White Cheddar Cheese — another seasonal cheese

Charcuterie boards are a lot of fun to make, and they’re a great way to feed a crowd. Make a batch of Cranberry Salsa, head to Aldi to buy ingredients, and put together your own Aldi Holiday Charcuterie Board!

If you like charcuterie boards, you’ll love… 13 of the Best Charcuterie Boards for Easy Entertaining and 41 of the Best Homemade Charcuterie Ingredients.

Also, DOWNLOAD my FREE Charcuterie Cheatsheet — it lists everything you need for every board you make! Sign up below!