How to Build a Charcuterie-Free Tasting Board

You can build a full, satisfying tasting board with no cured meat at all. The trick is to replace what salami usually does, which is salt, savor, and chew, with briny olives, pickles, marinated vegetables, seasoned nuts, and a sharp mustard or mostarda. A reliable formula is three cheeses, two sweet things, two savory or briny things, something crunchy, and something to dip, with dried fruit and a square of chocolate to finish. Below is that formula, a rule-of-thumb shopping amount per guest, three example boards, and the products from our makers that fill each slot.

The short answer: start with 8-Year-Aged Cheddar from Cheese Brothers, pair it with Blake Hill's Caramelized Fig with Pear & Honey, and bring the salty, savory side with Oliveri Pitted Leccino Olives in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add crackers and a dip and you have a board.

The formula: 3 + 2 + 2 + crunch + dip

Think of the board as slots to fill. If every slot is covered, the board tastes balanced.

• 3 cheeses: one firm and sharp, one mild and semi-firm, one soft or spreadable.
• 2 sweet: a jam or preserve plus honey, or one of those plus dried fruit.
• 2 savory or briny: olives, pickles, marinated vegetables, or a mustard. This is where the salt that cured meat usually supplies comes from.
• Crunch: crackers plus a seasoned nut.
• Something to dip: a spread or bruschetta topping that guests can scoop onto crackers.
• Optional finish: dried fruit and a dark chocolate bar broken into squares.

The cheeses

8-Year-Aged Cheddar

A 5 oz aged white cheddar from Cheese Brothers in Kiel, Wisconsin, aged eight years for a nutty, tangy, sharp flavor. This is your firm, sharp cheese, and it gives the board the bold, savory weight that a salami would otherwise carry. About $13.

Plain Farmstead Gouda

Smith's Country Cheese, a New England farmstead creamery, makes this smooth, semi-firm gouda with a creamy, slightly sweet flavor and a clean finish. The maker suggests it as the anchor of a cheese board, and it is the easygoing middle cheese that everyone reaches for. About $10.

LaClare Fig & Honey Goat Cheese

A 4 oz log of fresh Wisconsin goat cheese blended with figs and honey, made by LaClare and sold by Keystone Cheese. It is soft and spreadable and leans toward dessert, so it fills the soft-cheese slot and doubles as a sweet note. It is perishable and ships early in the week. About $8.

The sweet side

Caramelized Fig with Pear & Honey

Blake Hill Preserves, a family-run maker in Vermont, makes this cheese-pairing jam with Turkish figs, pears, and pure honey. The maker recommends it with brie, gorgonzola, and triple creme, and it is just as good next to the aged cheddar. About $10.

Creamed Honey

The original, unflavored creamed honey from Pearl Honey Spreads, whipped to spread like a soft jam. Because it stays put, it is easier to serve on a board than runny honey, and the maker lists cheese boards and sharp cheddar among its pairings. About $13.

Figs, Golden, Organic

Dried California golden figs from Country Life Natural Foods. They are sweet and honeyed with a slightly nutty taste, and the product listing marks them vegan. Halve a few and tuck them next to the cheddar. About $12 for the 12 oz bag.

The savory and briny side

Oliveri Pitted Leccino Olives in Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pitted Italian Leccino olives packed in extra virgin olive oil instead of brine, from the Oliveri family in Piemonte. The ingredients are olives, olive oil, and salt, and the listing describes them as naturally vegan. Pitted olives are easier for guests to eat off a board. About $14.

Bread and Butter Pickles

Small-batch pickles from Miss Kim's: thin cucumber slices in a sweet, tangy vinegar brine with turmeric and celery seed. The maker suggests them on a board as a palate cleanser between rich bites, and pairs them with aged cheddar. About $5.

Raspberry Mostarda

Blake Hill made this mostarda with Jasper Hill Farm: raspberries with spicy mustard and a touch of red pepper. It covers sweet and sharp in one jar, and it gives a meatless board the tangy, mustardy bite people expect next to cheese. About $10.

Crunch and something to dip

Sea Salt Biscuit Crackers

Crisp, buttery, biscuit-style crackers finished with sea salt, from Charleston's Callie's Hot Little Biscuit. You get two 4.5 oz bags, and the maker notes they are sturdy enough for soft cheeses and spreads. About $15.

Organic Einkorn Sourdough Sea Salt Crackers

Jovial Foods makes these einkorn crackers with a 24-hour sourdough process and no commercial yeast. They are a clean, salty base for cheese and dips. About $6.

Everything Bagel Cashews

Organic cashews dry roasted with everything bagel seasoning by Grandy Organics, made in small batches in Maine. Garlic, sesame, and onion make them do some of the savory work that meat would. About $10 for an 8 oz bag.

Famiglia Crispino Artichoke Bruschetta Spread

A silky spread of Calabrian artichokes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and herbs from Famiglia Crispino in Calabria, Italy. Spoon it into a bowl for dipping, or follow the maker's tip and stir it into goat cheese for a quick dip. The listing marks it vegan. About $13.

Dark & Salty Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Bar

An 80% dark chocolate from Atlanta bean-to-bar maker Xocolatl Small Batch Chocolate, made with Ugandan cacao, cane sugar, and vanilla-infused sea salt. The maker describes it as plant-based and dairy-free and suggests pairing it with aged cheese. Break it into squares to finish. About $11.

How much to buy per guest

These are rules of thumb. A board served before dinner needs far less than a board that is dinner.

• Cheese: about 2 oz per guest as a starter, 3 to 4 oz if the board is the meal. Without meat on the board, lean toward the higher end.
• Crackers: roughly 5 to 8 crackers per guest, more if you are serving a dip.
• Jam, honey, or mostarda: 1 to 2 tablespoons per guest in total across all jars.
• Olives, pickles, and marinated vegetables: a small handful, about 1 oz, per guest.
• Nuts and dried fruit: about 1 oz of each per guest.
• Chocolate: one or two squares per guest.

For six people as an appetizer, that works out to roughly three cheeses at 4 to 5 oz each, two bags or boxes of crackers, one jar each of jam and honey, one jar of olives and one of pickles, a bag of nuts, and a bar of chocolate.

Three example boards

1. The pantry board

Built entirely from jars, bags, and boxes, so you can stock it ahead and pull it together for unexpected guests. There is no cheese, so it also sidesteps the rennet question below. Use Jovial Einkorn Sea Salt Crackers, Oliveri Leccino Olives, the Artichoke Bruschetta Spread as the dip, Everything Bagel Cashews, Golden Figs, Caramelized Fig with Pear & Honey, and the Dark & Salty bar. Check each label for how to store it once opened.

2. The cheese-forward board

All three cheeses take center stage, with fewer extras so they can shine. Set out the 8-Year-Aged Cheddar, Plain Farmstead Gouda, and LaClare Fig & Honey Goat Cheese with Callie's Sea Salt Biscuit Crackers. Add one jar per cheese: the fig jam by the cheddar, creamed honey by the gouda, and Raspberry Mostarda by the goat cheese. Finish with a bowl of olives for salt.

3. The sweet-and-savory board

Here sweet and briny alternate around the board. Pair the goat cheese and cheddar with Bread and Butter Pickles, Raspberry Mostarda, creamed honey, golden figs, Everything Bagel Cashews, and squares of the Dark & Salty bar. Every bite has a sweet option and a salty one within reach.

How to choose and build a charcuterie-free board

Cover the savory slot first. Without meat, the most common mistake is a board that tastes too sweet. Make sure you have at least two salty or briny items, like olives plus pickles, or olives plus seasoned nuts, before you add a second jam.

Pick cheeses across textures. One firm and sharp, one mild, one soft gives every accompaniment something to play against. Take the cheeses out of the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before serving.

Give every wet item its own bowl. Olives in oil, pickles, jam, and the artichoke spread all belong in small ramekins so they do not soak the crackers. Place those bowls first, then arrange the cheeses around them, then fill the gaps with crackers, nuts, figs, and chocolate.

A note on vegetarian guests: we do not call these boards vegetarian, because many cheeses are made with animal rennet. If you need a strictly vegetarian board, check each cheese's label or ask the maker about the rennet type. For example, the 8-Year-Aged Cheddar lists "enzymes" without saying what kind. Where a product listing states it is vegan, as with the olives, artichoke spread, and golden figs, we have said so above.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make a cheese board without meat?

Yes. Replace the salt and savor of cured meat with briny and savory items like olives, pickles, marinated vegetables, seasoned nuts, and a sharp mustard or mostarda. A simple formula is three cheeses, two sweet things, two savory or briny things, crackers and nuts for crunch, and a spread to dip.

How much food do I need per guest for a tasting board?

As a rule of thumb, plan on about 2 ounces of cheese per guest for a starter and 3 to 4 ounces if the board is the meal, plus 5 to 8 crackers, 1 to 2 tablespoons of jam or honey, and about an ounce each of olives or pickles, nuts, and dried fruit. Adjust for your crowd and whether dinner follows.

Is a board without meat automatically vegetarian?

No. Many cheeses are made with animal rennet, so a board with no meat may still not be vegetarian. If you need a strictly vegetarian board, check each cheese's label or ask the maker about the rennet type, and look for products whose listing states they are vegetarian or vegan.

What replaces salami on a charcuterie-free board?

Combine a few salty and savory items rather than looking for one substitute. Olives in olive oil, sweet-tangy pickles, everything bagel seasoned cashews, and a mustard-based mostarda together supply the salt, chew, and sharpness that salami usually brings, and an aged cheddar adds savory depth.

Can I build a tasting board entirely from pantry items?

Yes. Crackers, olives, a jarred artichoke spread, seasoned nuts, dried figs, a fruit preserve, and a dark chocolate bar make a complete board with nothing from the cheese drawer. Check each label for how to store it after opening, since many jarred items need the fridge once open.

Related

Shop the collections: Cheese, Antipasti & Marinated Vegetables, Dips & Spreads, Dried Fruits, Nuts & Seeds, Jams & Jellies, Honey, Pickles, Condiments, and Chocolate.

More guides: How to Build a Charcuterie and Cheese Board, What Pairs Well With a Cheese Board?, and The Best Jams and Preserves for a Cheese Board.