Super Bowl Charcuterie Board - Perfect for Game Day Parties! - Celebration Generation (2024)

Jump to Recipe -

A while back, I went on a Charcuterie Boards designing binge - and I think this game day charcuterie board may just be the best board of the lot*.

Super Bowl parties are a great reason to serve plenty of delicious finger foods, obviously.

... and serving this charcuterie platter as a game day appetizer is a fun way to appeal to eyes AND taste buds.

I had so much fun designing this board - the football theme really lends itself well to a charcuterie platter!

As part of this board, I also designed a recipe for Football Soft Pretzel Bites, which - IMHO - really takes things to the next level.

The best part of charcuterie, though, is how wildly customizable it is!

It was a bit difficult narrowing down all of the possibilities I considered, to make this final board. SO many possibilities.

I did write down pretty much everything that was up for consideration, though - maybe some of them will make it to YOUR final list!

And hey, if not... there’s always next time!

I loved this platter exactly as is, but I’m already looking ahead to next year’s Super Bowl Charcuterie - I think I’ll go in a whole other direction, to shake things up a bit.

Anyway, buckle up, I’ve got a TON of Super Bowl charcuterie board ideas for you in this post - including my football cheese ball instructions!

* I’ll be posting the rest of them throughout the year!

Charcuturie Ingredients

Unlike the vast majority of my recipes, charcuterie doesn’t require a set list of ingredients.

Think more “choose your own adventure”, or “pick 3 from column A, and a few from column B”.

Here are the major categories of Super Bowl foods you’ll want represented, and some ideas of the kinds of ingredients I’ll use from each, to fit in with the Football theme:

Meats

“Charcuterie” literally refers to cured meats, so you should probably have some form of it on your platter 🙂

I used some Peppercorn Dry Salami, from Great Canadian Meat Company, as well as some deli sliced pastrami and roast beef, and sliced kielbasa.

Easy to find in any grocery store!

Montreal Smoked Meat, Back Bacon, Smoked Bacon Slices, and summer sausage are other great options.

Of course, no one says you have to go super traditional with these items. Feel free to add your favorite appetizers as you see fit.

Some of my favorite game day appetizers that could work as a “meat” option include chicken wings, mini hot dogs (Have you seen my recipe for Hot Dog Sliders? Super cute!), or even mini crab cakes.

In terms of wings, you can go super traditional and serve buffalo wings (with ranch dressing!), or go a bit more wild with it.

Here are a few of my favourite wing recipes:

Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings
Honey Garlic Sauce for Wings
Honey Jeow Glazed Wings
Hoppy Citrus IPA Glazed Wings
Maple Dijon Wings
Smoky Dry Rub for Wings
Spicy Ginger Glazed Wings
Whisky Honey Mustard Wings

Cheeses

While I usually stick to slices or wedges of cheese, a cheese ball in the shape of a football is one of my favorite things to include on my delicious football charcuterie boards.

I’ve got the directions a bit further down in this blog post.

Another great cheese ball option are my Smoked Cheese Balls. You’ll want to make these a day or two ahead of time, though!

Anyway, accompanying my football cheeseball, I also used slices of Guinness cheese, and a small pile of smoked cheese bits, which we bought from our favourite local Eastern European grocery store.

I like to include at least one smoked cheese, whether it’s these little bits, or an actual sliced block of a smoked gouda or smoked cheddar cheese.

Other great options include Monterrey Jack, marbled Colby Jack, and/or a blue cheese, if that’s your thing. (Especially if serving wings!)

Starches

For football platters, I like to have at least one cracker (for the meats and cheeses), one pretzel (it’s a game day board! You need some kind of pretzels, IMHO!), and one fairly basic chip (for the dip).

When designing this charcuterie platter, I planned for my Football Soft Pretzel Bites to be kind of a centerpiece item, so I kept the other options pretty simple, visually - Bacon Dippers and mini pretzels, with a bowl of tortilla chips off to the side.

You have a ton of options to choose from, though!

Another great option for soft pretzels is my Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzels.

It’s a great way to cover two bases - pretzels and jalapeno poppers - with one item!

Other crackers I like for football party charcuterie boards include Stoned Wheat Thins, Vinta, Sociables, and Ritz Crackers.

I like to include some gluten free options, as well - Rice Crackers, Mary's Gone Crackers, Schar Entertainment Crackers, and Gluten-Free Cheez Its great ways to keep your board inclusive.

In terms of chips, I like to keep them visually and flavour-neutral : natural yellow, white, or brown, without a ton of added flavours. This is so they can be a good vessel for any number of dips.

Plain potato chips and corn tortilla chips are traditional options.

My Cactus Cut Potatoes are fantastic, but require a bit more effort and planning.

If you’ve got friends who are watching their carbs, consider including my Crunchy Keto Crackers or Keto Tortilla Chips.

Cookies!

Finally, if you want to include some sweet treats on top of the rest of your starch options, decorated sugar cookies are a fun option.

You can use my recipes for either Cut Out Sugar Cookies, Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies, and/or Keto Sugar Cookies, and cut them out in football themed shapes.

My Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial is a great resource if you haven’t done much cookie decorating before.

Oh, and bonus?

They can be made ahead of time. Really, they have to be - there’s drying time involved!

Produce

I like to keep the fresh veggies pretty basic on my Super Bowl charcuterie boards.

Usually, that’s going to involve celery sticks and carrot sticks - or, in this case, baby carrots. All are classic veggies for game day parties.

I also added cucumber slices for this board, as they’re great as keto-friendly, gluten-free dippers.

Beyond that, snap peas and cherry tomatoes are other great options.

Sauces, Spreads, and Dips

I like to include a couple of my favorite dip options, as well as a little bit of mustard - to accompany the cheeses and meats.

In this case, I used a modified version of my Porter House Guacamole and a small batch of my Cheddar Cheese Queso Dip, along with a small ramekin of Kozlik’s Canadian Mustard.

In terms of dips, you have SO many options. Most dips are great to serve at a Super Bowl party, after all!

For hot dips, I like to use one of the following:

Jalapeno Popper Dip
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Hot Cheeseburger Dip
Jalapeno Jack Dip (The spicy cheese dip in my recipe for Beer pretzels)
Jalapeno Artichoke Dip

In terms of cold dip options, I have a few more recipes that work well for game day parties:

Dill Pickle Cream Cheese Dip
Easy Dill Dip
Ginger Wasabi Dip.

Other options include Buffalo hummus, olive tapenade, bean dip, ranch dip, or even just a bit of plain sour cream - if it makes sense with your other items!

For instance, if I’m including mini perogies, I’ll have sour cream on hand.

Munchies

I went fairly traditional with the “munchies” I included on this Superbowl Charcuterie board - Cornichons (mini pickles) and Corn Nuts - both tend to be favorite snacks for football season.

Well, regular pickles, anyway. I don’t know that many find themselves reaching for a jar of fancy mini pickles during a game, but hey - the size works better for this use!

Candied Nuts are another great option, such as my Honey Jeow Glazed Cashews and my Everything Honey Glazed Cashews.

Beyond that, other traditional charcuterie “munchy” items tend to include things like Dried Apricots, Pecan Halves, Pepitas, and bite sized bits of Dark Chocolate

In terms of pickled items, Pickled Red Onions, Pickled Green Beans, Pickled Mushrooms, and Roasted Red Peppers are popular charcuterie options.

Garnish and “Other”

Because I had so much going on with this board, I didn’t end up garnishing it much - just the aforementioned red grapes and mini bell pepper.

When I’m working on a board that’s less involved, has less colour, etc... I like to add some bits of visual interest, in the form of garnish.

Sometimes it’s just tucking some fresh herbs in - Italian parsley, rosemary, etc.

Sometimes, it’s theme-related candies. Little foil wrapped heart candies on my Valentine’s boards, etc.

I haven’t seen football themed candies, but I wouldn’t doubt they exist!

Generally speaking, though, I find super bowl appetizer easy to build out with enough colours, shapes, textures, etc that garnish doesn’t end up really being needed for that visual interest and balance.

Of course, that’ll depend on what you choose to use!

If you find yourself with a selection of cheese, meats, and crackers that are all in the brown family, you’ll probably want to accent it a bit to brighten the whole thing up.

The 3 3 3 3 Rule

The 3 3 3 3 rule of charcuterie is one that’s supposed to help you balance the categories of foods on you snack board.

It says you should have 3 different cheeses, 3 different meats, 3 different starches, and 3 different accompaniments (munchies, sauces, etc).

Personally, I like to see this as a guideline, more so than a hard and fast rule.

I tend to veer more to the side of excess when building a charcuterie board or cheese plate, and that goes double for Super bowl Sunday.

“Excess” is the point, right?

Anyway, all I’m saying is “you do you”. If you want it weighted more heavily on meats, or on prepared finger foods, or whatever - go for it!

Charcuterie Supplies

Aside from the favorite game day foods you’ll be serving to your guests, there are a few other supplies you’ll want for your game day food board.

A Charcuterie Board

Charcuterie Boards
can be almost anything, as long as it’s food safe.

The size and shape of charcuterie tray you get are pretty wide open, and will depend on how many people you’re serving, the amount of space you have to serve it on, etc.

A Large Cutting Board will work for smaller parties, and most party supply and dollar stores have plastic platters that work really well for mid range charcuterie displays.

Note: You can even make your own - see our Cutting Boards 101 post, and our two cutting board tutorials:Colourful Squares Cutting Board & Log Cabin Cutting Board!

If you’re looking to do a LARGE display, you’re probably going to need to buy something specifically intended as a catering platter.

In terms of colour, I like using a very neutral coloured tray. Sure, going with a one of the colors of you favorite team can be fun - but it can also distract from the food being served, and/or make it look weird.

Maybe I’m boring, but 9 times out of 10, I’m serving my themed charcuterie boards on a plain white tray.

Dip Bowls, Ramekins

If you’re serving a dip, you’ll want some sort of Small Dip Bowl.

Be sure to size it on your tray before actually using it - you’d be surprised how much real estate some small bowls can actually take up!

For smaller servings of spreads - mustard, jelly, etc - or to contain smaller items like nuts, I recommend using small ramekins. 2 oz Ceramic Ramekins work perfectly!

Serving Utensils

Depending on what ingredients you’re serving, you may need certain utensils.

If you’re not pre-slicing all of your cheese, have some appropriate Cheese Knives on hand.

Have some small spoons on hand for things like sauces and dip - Espresso Spoons are perfectly sized for this..

If you’re serving to any kind of a crowd - rather than, say, a small board for 2 - I recommend having several co*cktail Picks, co*cktail Tongs, or even Bamboo co*cktail Forks on hand.

This will help people keep their fingers out of the food that others will also be eating!

Cheese Markers are little signs you can stick in your cheeses, to let people know what they are.

I generally skip them - just as a matter of aesthetics. They’re a little frou-frou for football games, IMHO.

Finally, having small plates and napkins on hand is always a great idea!

How to Make a Football Cheese Ball

In keeping with the football theme, the centerpiece of this super bowl charcuterie platter is a football shaped cheese ball.

It’s super easy to make, and you can use your favourite cheese ball recipe as a base for it.

I like to use one that’s about 1 brick of cream cheese, as that ends up making the perfect size for use on Super Bowl cheese boards. Big enough to show up, small enough to not overpower everything else.

So, I used a half batch of my Smoked Cheese Balls base recipe, and just skipped the second smoking.
You can even just use the base recipe itself, and not bother cold smoking it at all.

Anyway, once you’ve got the cheeseball mix made, chill it until it’ll hold a shape well, if applicable. (Some start out quite soft!).

Once it’s form enough to work with, form it into a football shape. I like to have a fairly flat base to it, to prevent any rolling and give it a good solid footing for when it’s served.

Once you’re happy with the shape, wrap with plastic wrap. Chill until you’re ready to assemble your board.

Remove the plastic wrap, and smooth any ridges out, if necessary.

Roll in finely chopped pecans, gently brushing away any excess nuts.

Place on your charcuterie platter, decorate with thin slices of a white cheese that have been trimmed to appropriate sizes to look like laces.

How to Make a Super Bowl Charcuterie Board

Much like with the ingredients, putting together a game day charcuterie board is more of a free form thing, rather than a set of directions that *has* to be followed, and done in the right order.

Here’s how I do it:

Place the Main Items

1. Figure out what your “solid” focal points are. This is generally things like sauce ramekins and dips, but could also be a cheese or meat - depending on the presentation

If you are including a wheel of brie, log of goat cheese, some kind of cheese ball, or a pate / terrine of some kind, that would count.

In this case, it was my cheese football, guacamole, cheese dip, and mustard.

Place those focal points on your charcuterie board, leaving space between. I like to keep colour and texture in mind when placing, not placing things that are too similar next to each other.

Note: If any of your focal points is a bowl of dip, place the bowl - add the dip later!

2. Place your meats roughly where you’d like them to go. They don’t have to be “artfully” arranged at this point, but I do try to space them out, relative to each other.

3. Place your cheeses roughly where you’d like them, spacing them out relative to each other.

I’ll usually leave space between each meat and cheese.

Fill in the Secondary Items

4. Arrange sections of your starches. I like to keep the types of crackers - and cookies, if using - separate from each other.

5. Fill in your sections of the more “snacky” produce, leaving more “garnish” produce for a later step. In this example, that means baby carrots, celery sticks, and cucumber slices now, and red grapes and mini bell peppers later.

6. Place sections of your “Munchies” items, filling in any larger empty spaces. In this case, it was cornichons and corn nuts.

Final Touches

7. If you haven’t arranged your meat slices and cheese slices the way you want to yet, do so now. I’ll usually use more meat / cheese / surrounding items to prop slices up, if needed.

8. Fill in any empty spaces with more meat, cheese, produce, or munchies - whatever makes sense for that space on your specific board.

9. Place any of your more “garnish” produce, and any other items that may be acting as a pseudo-garnish. In this case, that would be red grapes and a single, random mini red bell pepper. LOL.

10. Do any last minute fussing you may need to.

11. If you were holding off on adding dips to the bowls, do so just before serving.

12. If you’re adding any fresh herbs as garnish, place them now.

13. Serve and enjoy!

Tips for Charcuterie Success

Because of the different types of ingredients - and the different ways they need to be handled and stored - timing is really important when it comes to serving a Super Bowl Charcuterie plate.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Food Safety

1. Make sure your charcuterie tray itself is food safe. Some boards are meant more for display, using woods or finishes that aren’t food safe.

That’s not to say you CAN’T use them for charcuterie boards - just be sure to line them with parchment paper, so the food doesn’t directly touch the surface.

2. Observe good food handling hygiene: Wash your hands frequently and/or wear gloves while preparing your charcuterie board.

Change gloves / wash hands after touching your face, using the washroom, touching your phone, etc.

Wash all produce, and work with clean equipment.

3. While the meats and cheeses should be served at room temperature, they shouldn’t be KEPT at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

The same goes for dips, condiments, and cut produce.

This is a cumulative time - it includes the amount of time you’re preparing the foods and working on your plate.

So, you’ll want to minimize the amount of time your chosen meats and cheeses are out of the fridge.

I recommend preparing each meat or cheese separately, when possible: Take one from the fridge, slice it up, place in an airtight container, and return it to the fridge.

Keep everything chilled until you start assembling your game day board. Assemble it as close to the big game as possible.

If you anticipate the board being out for more than a few hours, make it smaller than needed, and keep rounds of refill items in baggies - in the fridge. Cycle food out as its time expires.

Food Quality

1. Be sure to check expiration dates on things like packaged cheeses and meats, and use them well before the expiry date.

When you buy a cut wedge of cheese, it should be used within 2 weeks of purchase - generally speaking.

2. Check all produce for blemishes, mold, etc before using. Use only ripe produce.

3. Don’t let cheeses be exposed to the air for too long before use - whether in the fridge or not. Wrap or bag everything when not in use.

4. Keep cheeses separate when stored. Ideally you’ll be serving cheeses in a variety of flavours - when stored together, those flavours can mingle. Not a great thing, in this case!

Presentation

1. Try to assemble your Super Bowl charcuterie board as close to the time you’ll serve it, as possible. This will prevent flavors from mingling, produce from bleeding, moisture from spreading, etc.

Aside from food safety issues mentioned above, it’ll also keep things the proper texture. If you make your board, wrap it, and chill it ... you’re going to end up with soggy crackers.

2. I like to leave dips OUT of the bowls - and in the fridge - until the last minute. It’s really easy to accidentally get a hand in the dip, as you’re assembling your board.

Get it all assembled - with empty bowls - THEN spoon the dips in.

When it comes to hot dips - like the cheese dip on this board - I like to heat it in a separate container, then spoon it into the bowl on the board.

If you’re traveling with your board, it’s best to travel with the ingredients prepared and packaged in airtight containers, but not assembled.

Not only will the flavors and textures stay good, you don’t have to risk an assembled board getting jostled in transit.

4. Try to be inclusive, when you’re serving a mixed crowd. In addition to actually having gluten free, vegetarian, and/or keto options, it means paying attention to handling.

If you know that some people are gluten free, leave the crackers off the board altogether, and provide some gluten free cracker options on the side.

Minimize cross contamination wherever possible.

Looking for More Recipes for "The Big Game"?

... or other watching party, or just to up your snack food game for the hell of it? I've got you covered with the BEST Super Bowl Party food ideas!

40+ Fantastic Wing Recipes
Ahi Tuna Nachos
Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers
Armadillo Eggs
Baked Reuben Poppers
Beer Pretzels with Jalapeno Jack Dip
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Dip
Colourful Coleslaw
Dill Pickle Cream Cheese Dip
Fat Elvis Cupcakes
Football Soft Pretzel Bites
Game Day Popcorn
Ginger Wasabi Dip
Gluten Free Fried Chicken
Gluten-Free Pasta Salad
Gluten Free Pizza Bites
Hot Cheeseburger Dip
Hot Smoked Bacon Jalapeno Poppers
How to Cook Perogies in an Air Fryer
Jalapeno Artichoke "Backfire" Dip
Keto Fried Chicken
Keto Mozzarella Sticks
Loaded Baked Potato Skins
Loaded Pierogi Nachos
Muffaletta Skewers
Peanut Jalapeno Beer Brittle
Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzels
Perogy Pizza
Porter House Guacamole
Porter's Epic Popcorn
Queso Dip from Scratch
Sauerkraut Buns
Smoked Cheese Balls
Smoked French Fries

Share the Love!

Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!

Related posts: