Valentine Charcuterie Board

Who says Valentine’s Day has to be all sugar and chocolate? This valentine charcuterie board is loaded with cheeses, meats, and all things red, white and pink. Plus a heart-shaped cheese ball covered in juicy pomegranate seeds for the prettiest (and tastiest) centerpiece.

I confess that I was never a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. Then I had kids and I started to celebrate every holiday with them with zest and zeal! From homemade valentine cards to sweet heart shaped treats and class parties, we did it all.

Now that my kids have gotten older, we celebrate a little differently. My daughter and her friends throw Galentine’s Day parties, give each other small gifts and basically snack all night. Now I can totally get behind that!

After creating a spooky and fun Halloween charcuterie board, I decided to try my hand at making a festive valentine charcuterie board. Since most of what is already out there is very sugar filled, I decided to create a valentine’s day charcuterie board that was more savory with just a touch of sweet.

I styled two different boards, one in on a round wood tray and another on a rectangular board. Which do you like more?

Laura says :

Why this recipe works

• Totally Customizable: Go sweet or savory, keep it gluten-free, make it vegan, or go full keto.this Valentine charcuterie board is all about building it your way.
• Easy Peasy: Short on time? Store-bought cheeses, dips, and treats work perfectly. This board can be as homemade or as shortcut-friendly as you want.
• Extra Festive: Heart-shaped snacks and a red, pink, and white color palette make this board instantly Valentine’s Day ready (hello, pomegranate heart cheese ball!).
• Serve It Your Way: No heart-shaped board required. Use any platter, tray, or cutting board you already own and let the food do the decorating.

Ingredients needed

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You can add whatever you like to your valentine charcuterie board, from simple to over the top! Feel free to add as much or as little sweet treats as you like.

I am sharing what I used for my own board, but please follow your own rules and add your favorite items.

• Dip: I usually include a dip of some kind on my boards. For this board, I made my red pepper hummus, but you can also use a plain or garlic hummus. If you want something pink, try beet hummus.
• Cheese ball: I used my recipe for pomegranate cheese ball for the heart shaped cheese “ball.” You can also use a couple packs of boursin cheese. If you can’t find pomegranate in February, cover your heart with chopped dried cranberries.
• Brie: We love baked brie (brie en croute), but for this board I kept it simple and left out the puff pastry. I cut out a heart and spread in some raspberry jam. Instead of baking the brie, I warmed it in the microwave to soften it.
• Chips and crackers: There are a variety of heart themed crackers and treats you can find this time of year. From heart crackers to pretzels shaped as X’s and O’s to heart shaped veggie snacks. You can also use cookie cutters to cut out heart shaped toasted baguette slices, pita bread or lavash.
• Meats: I made a rose using salami slices. You can also cut up heart shaped pieces of hard dry salami, softer cotto salami, prosciutto, serrano ham, mortadella or sopressata. I added pepperoni sticks.
• Fruits: I always add fresh fruit to the my boards. I kept it simple by used red strawberries and raspberries. You also add red grapes or slices of red apples.
• Vegetables: To keep with the color scheme, I used jicama and rainbow carrots I found at Trader Joe’s. You can also use cherry or grape tomatoes, bell pepper slices and radishes.
• Olives: Round out all the sweet and savory with something sour and salty. I usually add olives, chopped pickles or artichoke hearts to my boards. But since I found heart shaped pasta at Trader Joe’s (you can also find it at discount stores like Marshalls, TJ Max and Home Goods), I made a Greek pasta salad using sundried tomatoes instead of fresh.
• Dried fruits and nuts: If you like, add some raisins, dried cranberries, cashews, pistachios or almonds to fill in any gaps you have in your board.
• Sweets: I included heart shaped chocolates and pink strawberry pocky sticks for a touch of sweet. You can also add regular or white chocolate covered strawberries, heart shaped jelly beans or conversation hearts.
• Flowers: It is Valentine’s Day, so glam up your charcuterie board with a few flowers like chamomile, pansies and roses.

Step-by-step directions

1. Heart shaped cheese ball. Mix the ingredients of your cheese ball until smooth. Place it on a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap it up and shape it into a heart. I used a heart shape plate to help shape it, but you can easily use your hands.

• Chill. Chill until firm then press it all over with pomegranate arils. Do make sure that the arils are dry or they won’t stick to the cheese. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

2. Heart brie. Carefully slice the top off the brie wheel. Using a small cookie cutter or pairing knife, cut out a heart from the top piece.

• Spread strawberry or raspberry jam over the brie wheel and place the top piece over the jam. Spoon jam into the heart opening.
• Chill until ready to serve. To warm, microwave in 15-20 second intervals until softened to desired liking.

Expert tips and recipe FAQs

Here are more tips on assembling your valentine snack board:

• Start with the big items first. Use bowls roughly the same size as place holders if you are waiting for something to bake or cool.
• Keep it dry. Be sure that your fruit, veggies and meats are patted dry before adding them to the board. Anything wet should be in a bowl.
• Use any board. You can use any shaped cutting board or tray for your valentine’s day charcuterie board, so don’t think it must be heart shaped.
• Shop the dollar store. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on themed bowls or valentine’s decorations. The Dollar Tree and 99-cent stores have cheap holiday items and you can get small packages of candies, nuts and crackers.

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Valentine Charcuterie Board

Laura Bashar

This Valentine charcuterie board is the perfect balance of festive and savory, featuring a heart-shaped cheese ball covered in pomegranate arils, plus more cheeses, meats, and all things pink, red and white. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate love without going full dessert board.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Additional Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs

Course Appetizers

Ingredients

  

Cheese ball ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 5 oz goat cheese
• 4 oz shredded white cheddar cheese
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 4 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs
• 1 pomegranate seeded

Remaining Ingredients

• 8 oz brie wheel
• 3 tablespoon raspberry jam
• ½ cup roasted bell pepper hummus
• 8 oz sliced salami
• 4 oz fresh raspberries
• 8 oz fresh strawberries
• 1 cup pasta salad
• 2 oz crackers
• 2 oz pretzels
• 8 baby carrots
• 8 jicama sticks
• 8 chocolate hearts

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Instructions

 

• To make your cheese ball, blend cheeses, garlic and herbs until smooth. Place it in a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap it up and shape it into a heart.
• Chill until firm then press pomegranate arils all over it . Do make sure that the arils are dry or they won’t stick to the cheese. Chill until ready to serve.
• For the brie, carefully slice the top off the brie wheel. Using a small cookie cutter or pairing knife, cut out a heart from the top piece.
• Spread strawberry or raspberry jam over the brie wheel and place the top piece over the jam. Spoon jam into the heart opening. Chill until ready to serve.
• To warm, microwave in 15-20 second intervals until softened to desired liking.
• To assemble your valentine charcuterie board, start with the big items first. Use bowls roughly the same size as place holders if you are waiting for something to bake or cool.
• Add the crackers, chips, meats, fruits and vegetables directly on the board or in small bowls.
• Fill the small holes remaining with more fruit, candies or flowers.

Notes

Don’t feel like making a cheese ball? But one at the store and shape it into a heart. You can also use one or two packages of boursin cheese for the cheese ball. Don’t have pomegranate? Cover you cheese heart with chopped dried cranberries.

For meats, you can also use hard dry salami, softer cotto salami, serrano ham, mortadella, sopressata and/or dried chorizo.

You can make or use store bought hummus. You can also use salsa.

Use any assortment of crackers, pretzels or breads. They can be heart shaped or not, up to you.

Other fruit options include red apple slices and red grapes.

Other veggie options include cherry or grape tomatoes, bell pepper slices and radishes.

You can also add some raisins, dried cranberries, cashews, pistachios or almonds to fill in any gaps you have in your board.

For a touch of glam, add a few flowers like chamomile, pansies and roses.

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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