Why I love this fall charcuterie board with brie
One of the best things about serving a charcuterie board is that everyone gets to eat exactly what they like.
This fall version is filled with Brie, meats, cheeses, fresh fruit, nuts and crackers, so your guests can nibble on their favorites and try different combinations.
I also love how the mix of ingredients brings all of those beautiful fall colors to the table.
It makes an impressive appetizer for a fall party, Thanksgiving or any autumn get-together, and looks pretty enough to be part of the table decor.
And don’t let the long recipe intimidate you. The instructions are detailed because I’ve included exactly where everything goes on the board, so putting it together isn’t nearly as complicated as it might look.
Ingredients
Here is your shopping list (for 12 to 16 for snacking):
- Fresh produce – 2 to 3 bunches of green grapes, 1 lemon, 1 crisp apple, 1 ripe pear, 6-ounce package blackberries, 6-ounce package raspberries, 2 to 3 mandarin oranges, ¼ cup pomegranate arils (optional garnish)
- Dairy – 1 small wheel brie (4 to 5 inches), 4 ounces cheddar cheese cubes, 4 ounces white cheese cubes (Monterey Jack or Swiss).
- Refrigerated Meats – 5 to 6 prosciutto and mozzarella rolls, 12 to 16 salami slices
- Crackers – 30 to 40 round crackers
- Cookies – 8 to 10 maple leaf cookies or other seasonal cookies
- Jarred goods – ¼ to ⅓ cup pumpkin butter, 1 cup green olives, 1 cup mini pickles.
- Nuts – ¾ cup pistachios, 1 to 2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds plus extra for sprinkling.
- Toppings – ½ to ¾ cup caramel sauce (or apple-cider caramel)
- Fresh Herbs – Fresh rosemary sprigs
Substitutions & Additions
- Use Camembert in place of the brie, or swap the cheddar and white cheese for other firm cheeses you enjoy.
- Apple butter works well if pumpkin butter isn’t available and still keeps the board seasonal.
- Soppressata or another sliced cured meat can replace the salami.
- Similarly, you can use another rolled or sliced cured meat and cheese combination instead of the prosciutto and mozzarella rolls.
- Pecans or walnuts can replace the pistachios or pumpkin seeds.
How to make Fall Charcuterie Board With Brie
1 | Prep work
Most of the work in this recipe is getting everything ready to put on the board.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Wash the grapes and remove them from the stems.
- Wash the blackberries and raspberries, then dry them thoroughly. Berries can go bad pretty quickly when they are wet, so be sure to dry them before you put them on the board.
- Peel the clementines and separate them into segments.
- Juice the lemon into a shallow bowl or small plate with a lip.
- Core the apple and cut it into thin slices. Dip both sides of the slices in the lemon juice, then drain or blot off the excess. This helps to prevent the apples from turning brown.
- Core the pear and halve or slice it. Dip the cut pear in the lemon juice, then drain or blot off the excess. Similar to the apples, this helps to prevent browning.
- Fold each salami slice in half, then loosely fold it again. This way the folded slices can stand on end on the board, so it is easier for people to take one at a time.
I like the look of a halved pear on the board, but if you want people to actually eat it, it should be sliced.2 | Create the centerpiece
Place the wheel of brie in the center of the charcuterie board.
This gives you a large focal point to build the rest of the arrangement around, and makes it easier to judge how much room you have for everything else.
Spoon the pumpkin butter over the top of the brie.
I try to keep it in the center of the cheese so it doesn’t run over the edges and make everything around it sticky.
Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds over the pumpkin butter.
Arrange about half of the folded salami around the top-left edge of the Brie wheel. (You’ll need some more later so don’t use it all).
Fan about half of the round crackers around the top-right side of the brie.
Then place the prosciutto and mozzarella rolls below the brie.
Add a pile of green grapes around the bottom-left edge of the brie wheel, filling the open area between the salami and the prosciutto mozzarella rolls.
Then add a pile of blackberries along the bottom-right edge, filling the space between the crackers and the prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella rolls.
Don’t spread the individual pieces too far apart. Overlapping crackers and placing the folded salami close together makes each section look fuller.3 | Fill the top left corner
Set the small bowl or jar of caramel sauce in the top-left corner of the board, just above the salami.
Arrange the thinly sliced apples on the right side of the caramel bowl, overlapping the slices as you put them down so you can fit all of them in.
They should fill the rest of the space between the salami and the top edge of the board.
Add another stack of crackers on the left side of the board, directly under the caramel bowl and beside the salami.
Fan or overlap them instead of laying them out individually.
Pour the pistachios into the small gaps around the caramel bowl.
Because they’re small, they’re useful for filling irregular spaces that are too small for the larger ingredients.
4 | Fill the top right corner
Continue across the top of the board by adding a pile of green olives beside the apple slices.
Then fill the remaining space along the top edge with more of the folded salami slices.
Add all of the clementine segments to the side of the board under the salami.
They should fill in the entire corner between the crackers (around the Brie) and the right side of the board.
Add the raspberries below the clementines, filling the open space between the blackberries and the right edge of the board.
5 | Fill the bottom left corner
Place the pear half or slices in the bottom-left corner of the board.
If you sliced it, keep the slices together and fan them slightly so they still look like a pear.
Arrange the seasonal cookies in the open space between the pear and the crackers on the left side of the board.
Add the cheddar cheese cubes along the bottom edge, filling the space between the pear and the prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella rolls.
6 | Fill the bottom right corner
Add a pile of mini pickles on the bottom of the board, to the right of the prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella.
Finally, fill in the gap between the pickles and the raspberries with cubed white cheese.
7 | Add the finishing touches
Scatter a few pomegranate arils and extra pumpkin seeds over the finished arrangement.
They add some extra color to the board which makes it look a little more festive.
At this point, step back and look for obvious empty spots.
Fill them in with more of the nearby ingredients, or with some of the smaller items such as pistachios and olives.
Tuck fresh rosemary sprigs into the corners and around the outer edges of the board. This helps frame the arrangement and fills any narrow gaps that remain.
Serving suggestions
I like to serve this charcuterie board with other easy-to-eat finger foods like caramel popcorn, crab-stuffed mushrooms, and pigs in a blanket.
How to make a big batch
For a larger group, I like to make two (or more) boards rather than putting more onto a bigger board.
That way I can put the boards out in different locations in the room which prevents crowding around the buffet or snack table.
And leaves me more room on the table for other dishes.
How to make ahead
You can arrange the meats, cheeses, olives and cornichons on the board up to 24 hours before serving.
Cover the board well and refrigerate it.
Take the board out of the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before serving so the brie can soften.
Then add the crackers, cookies and nuts so they stay crisp.
Fall Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 1 small wheel brie 4 to 5 inches
- ¼ to ⅓ cup pumpkin butter
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds plus extra for sprinkling
- 30 to 40 round crackers
- 12 to 16 salami slices folded
- 5 to 6 prosciutto and mozzarella rolls
- 1 cup green grapes washed and removed from the stems
- 1 6-ounce package blackberries washed
- ½ to ¾ cup caramel sauce or apple-cider caramel, for dipping
- 1 crisp apple cored, thinly sliced and dipped in lemon juice
- ¾ cup pistachios
- 1 cup green olives
- 2 to 3 mandarin oranges peeled and sectioned
- 1 6-ounce package raspberries washed
- 1 ripe pear cored and halved (or sliced) and dipped in lemon juice
- 8 to 10 maple leaf cookies or other seasonal cookies
- 1 cup cheddar cheese cubes
- 1 cup mini pickles
- 1 cup white cheese cubes Monterey Jack or Swiss
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils optional garnish
- Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice for dipping the apple and pear slices
Equipment
- large charcuterie board or serving platter
- small bowl or jar for caramel sauce
- cutting board
- Sharp knife
Instructions
- Place the brie in the center of the board.1 small wheel brie
- Spoon pumpkin butter on top and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.¼ to ⅓ cup pumpkin butter, 1 to 2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- Fan half of the salami around the top left edge of the Brie wheel, half of the crackers around the top right edge, and place prosciutto-wrapped cheese below.30 to 40 round crackers, 12 to 16 salami slices, 5 to 6 prosciutto and mozzarella rolls
- Fill in around the bottom left edge of the Brie (between the salami and prosciutto cheese rolls) with a pile of grapes.1 cup green grapes
- Similarly, fill in around the bottom right edge of the Brie (between the crackers and the prosciutto cheese rolls) with a pile of blackberries.1 6-ounce package blackberries
- Set a small bowl or jar of caramel sauce in the top left corner of the board, immediately above the salami.½ to ¾ cup caramel sauce
- Fill in the space on the left side of the board under the bowl (to the left of the salami) with the rest of the crackers.
- Add sliced apples to the right of the bowl, filling in the space between the salami and the top of the board.1 crisp apple
- Fill in any empty spaces around the bowl of caramel with pistachios.¾ cup pistachios
- Going across the top of the board, pile some olives beside the apple slices. Then fill in the rest of the space with the remaining folded salami slices.1 cup green olives
- Fill in the corner under the salami (on the top right of the board) with mandarin orange slices.2 to 3 mandarin oranges
- Below that, add a pile of raspberries. They should fill in the space between the blackberries and the right edge of the board.1 6-ounce package raspberries
- Place the halved or sliced pear in the bottom left corner of the board.1 ripe pear
- Fill in the space between the pear and the crackers on the left side of the board with seasonal cookies.8 to 10 maple leaf cookies or other seasonal cookies
- Add a pile of cheddar cheese cubes between the pear and the prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella at the bottom of the board.1 cup cheddar cheese cubes
- Then add a pile of mini pickles to the right of the prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella.1 cup mini pickles
- Finally, fill in the space between the pickles and the raspberries with cubed white cheese.1 cup white cheese cubes
- To finish, scatter a few pomegranate arils and pumpkin seeds for color.¼ cup pomegranate arils
- Garnish the corners and edges with rosemary sprigs.Fresh rosemary sprigs
Notes
- Use Camembert in place of the brie, or swap the cheddar and white cheese for other firm cheeses you enjoy.
- Apple butter works well if pumpkin butter isn’t available and still keeps the board seasonal.
- Soppressata or another sliced cured meat can replace the salami.
- Similarly, you can use another rolled or sliced cured meat and cheese combination instead of the prosciutto and mozzarella rolls.
- Pecans or walnuts can replace the pistachios or pumpkin seeds.
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
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