How To Make A Burger Toppings Charcuterie Board
Looking for a unique and fun way to jazz up your burger bar? This toppings charcuterie board is the perfect way to put out all the condiments and fixings so your guests can build their own burger. Plus, you can make it ahead of time, transport it easily and fit everything into one compact space. What’s not to love?
I love to host cookouts during the summer.
Which usually involve a build your own burger bar of some sort. (Much easier than trying to put everyone’s burger together for them!)
However, I used to struggle with how to make the burger bar look good and still be functional.
Bottles of condiments aren’t all that pretty.
And carrying out all kinds of plates with various toppings on them was a bit of a pain.
Especially when it came to refilling them. Which I always had to do because I didn’t have enough space to put out all toppings at once.
Then along came the charcuterie board craze. And the solution became immediately obvious.
A burger board!
Except instead of a board, I decided to make mine on a baking sheet.
That way there’s no expensive boards to buy.
And the lip keeps the burger fixings from falling off the side while transporting the board from the fridge to its final resting spot.
Plus, they don’t take up a lot of space.
So, if I’m having a big party, I can put out two or three of them and not have to worry about refilling them.
Keep reading to get the step-by-step details on how to make your own burger toppings charcuterie board.
Ingredients
Here are all the burger toppings I included on my board:
- Produce: 1 head romaine lettuce (any kind of lettuce will work), 2 large tomatoes, 1 large onion, 1 avocado, a slice of lemon
- Cheese: 10 slices cheddar cheese (pepper jack or American cheese also work well). I like to buy pre-sliced cheese because it usually comes in the perfect size to fit on top of a burger. But you can slice it yourself. Or grate it if you prefer.
- Pickled food: 1 small jar of dill pickles, 1 small jar of sliced sweet pickles (also known as hamburger pickles). You could also use jarred peppers such as banana peppers or pepperoncini.
- Condiments: ketchup, mustard, relish, store-bought or homemade guacamole. You could also use BBQ sauce and mayonnaise if you prefer.
Of course, the great thing about a charcuterie board is you can put anything on it you want to. So feel free to add or swap some things out if I missed your favorite topping.
Supplies
For my “board”, I actually used a 13″ x 18″ baking sheet covered in a layer of parchment paper.
It’s a good size, is easy to cover and carry, and the lip prevents the hamburger toppings from falling off the side.
Plus almost everyone has one, so you don’t need to buy anything special.
You’ll also need 3 or 4 small bowls (depending on how many condiments you want to serve).
I like to use ramekins for this. (I got my white ones* from World Market). They’re inexpensive and the perfect size.
How to make a burger charcuterie board
This burger board can serve about 10 to 12 people without needing a refill.
Prep work
The first step to making your charcuterie board is to wash and slice all of the vegetables.
You want everything on the board to be the right size so your guests can just pick them up and put them on their burger. (Having to cut things in half while trying to balance a hamburger and bun on a plate is awkward.)
- Wash the lettuce and remove the tough centers. Then break up the leaves so they are a good size to fit on a burger.
- Peel the onion and cut it into thin slices. You could also dice it if you prefer.
- Wash the tomatoes and cut them into slices. Slicing them horizontally (around the middle of the tomato) instead of vertically (from top to bottom) makes nicer looking slices.
- Peel and slice the avocado. Squeeze some lemon juice over the top of them to prevent them from turning brown.
- Cut dill pickles in half lengthwise.
Put the board together
The general philosophy for creating a charcuterie board is to figure out where your hard elements (such as bowls) are going first.
Then place the biggest toppings on the board and work your way down to the smallest.
Step 1: Bowls
With that in mind, start by laying out the bowls for your condiments. I put two in each corner diagonal from each other.
If you’re only doing 3 condiments, you could put one on each end and one in the middle.
For 5 or 6, create a diagonal line all the way across from one corner to the other.
Step 2: Lettuce
Use the lettuce to cover one corner of the board.
Add a couple of layers since people often use a lot of it on their burgers.
Step 3: Cheese
In the other corner, stack your cheese slices.
I like to put them on the diagonal so they fit right into the corner of the baking sheet.
Step 4: Tomatoes
In the middle between the two, arrange your tomato slices.
It usually works best to put the biggest slices on the bottom and then fill in any gaps with the smaller ones on the top.
Step 5: Onions
Arrange the onion slices across from the tomatoes.
Fill in the space right up to the cheese, but leave a little room on the other side for the pickles.
Step 6: Dill pickles
Fill in the space between the onions and the corner of the baking sheet with sliced dill pickles.
Add some more on the other side of the bowl to balance them out.
Step 7: Avocado
Arrange the avocado slices around the second bowl on the other corner of the board.
Leave a little room behind them (on the cheese side) for the sweet pickles.
Step 8: Sweet pickles
Fill in the gap behind the avocado slices with sweet pickles.
If you have any other spots on your board that are looking a little bare, you can add a few slices of these pickles there, too.
Step 9: Condiments
The last step is to fill the bowls up with your condiments.
One thing that you may notice is missing? The burgers and buns.
That’s because I don’t like to put them on the board.
The buns usually end up getting soggy from the moisture in the other ingredients.
And it’s really hard to keep the burgers hot when they’re on a board with cold veggies.
How to store
If you are making this ahead of time, put the whole board together except the condiments.
Then cover it with plastic wrap or foil, and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Fill the condiments just before putting the board out.
I wouldn’t do this more than a few hours ahead of time, since it’s hard to keep the vegetables looking fresh longer than that.
How to serve
Serving this charcuterie board is super simple since you can easily carry it to wherever you have your burger bar set up.
Add spoons to each of the condiments.
And provide at least one pair of tongs so people can grab their toppings without using their fingers. You can also use forks for this, but tongs are easier to use.
If you are setting up a buffet, make sure to have plates and napkins available. Then serve your hamburger patties and buns on a separate tray right beside the charcuterie board.
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Charcuterie boards
Burger Toppings Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce washed
- 12 slices cheddar cheese
- 2 large tomatoes washed and sliced
- 1 large onion peeled and sliced
- 1 small jar dill pickles sliced
- 1 avocado peeled and sliced
- 1 small jar sweet pickles
- condiments such as ketchup, mustard, relish, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, ranch dressing and guacamole
Equipment
- 1 Baking sheet
- parchment paper
- 4 small bowls or ramekins
- knife
- 4 spoons
- tongs for serving
Instructions
- Cover the baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Place 4 bowls on the diagonal between two baking sheet corners.
- Fill one of the remaining corners with lettuce that has been cut to a size just big enough to fit on a burger.
- Fill the other corner with the cheese slices.
- Arrange the tomato slices in the middle between the cheese and the lettuce.
- Add onion slices on the opposite side of the board from the lettuce, beside the cheese.
- Arrange dill pickle slices around the bowl in the corner between the lettuce and onion slices.
- Place avocado slices around the second bowl at the other corner of the board.
- Fill in any gaps with the sliced sweet pickles.
- Pour condiments into the bowls.
- Serve with spoons in each of the condiment bowls and tongs for picking up the other toppings.
Notes
- Feel free to substitute any other toppings that you like to eat on your burger.
- All of the toppings should be cut to a size that is easy to fit on a burger.
- Don’t put buns and burgers on the board. The buns tend to get soggy from the other ingredients on the board. And it’s hard to keep the burgers hot on a plate of cold veggies.
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
This post was originally published on July 20, 2022 but was updated with new content on March 19, 2024.