Would you believe me if I told you that you could have charcuterie for breakfast? Yes, you can! No matter what time of day it is, you can always make a charcuterie board to fit the occasion!
Some of my favorite boards that we make for our clients are brunch boards! These boards are unique especially when compared to traditional boards because of their light, vibrant color! Our online course “Charcuterie Made Simple” has a step by step video that will guide you through building your own brunch board, so click HERE for more details on the course.
Charcuterie Made Simple- Learn how to build your own brunch board with our self-paced, step by step online course!
When shopping for brunch boards, it is important to pick out a variety of options, just like how you would shop for a traditional board. People often overbuy on their pastries and bakery options when shopping for brunch boards because they think that they are limited to only the pastries and bread items, but there are so many other great options to help fill your board.
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When deciding what items we are going to use on each of our brunch boards, we find a few different varieties of proteins, cheeses & dairies, bakery items, fruits, jams, and garnishes.
Proteins
There are a variety of different options that would be great additions for your board! On my brunch boards, I focus greatly on finding good sources of protein. Protein will fill your guests up and keep them full longer. Some great things to include are
- Hard boiled eggs are a great addition because of their light, bright color and flavor that they add to the board.
- Thin Sliced Bacon
- Other great options for protein include various types of charcuterie. Prosciutto, Salami, Sweet Soprasetta, and Dry Coppa are all great options to add to your board. Many stores, like Costco and Sam’s Club have Busseto Foods Charcuterie Sampler, which includes a variety of different charcuterie options in one easy pack, these are a great option for your brunch boards and fill it with protein to keep your guests full.
Pro Tip: Make sure that the bacon is completely cool before adding it to the board, and dry any existing grease off of the bacon to limit the amount of grease that gets on your board.
Avocado & Brioche Toast
One of the newer things that I have been adding to my brunch boards is Avocado Dip and Brioche Toast, to make something similar to Avocado Toast. This can be done simply by mashing up a few avocados and adding them to your board. I top my dip with Trader Joe’s “Everything But The Bagel Seasoning.” I pair this dip with Trader Joe’s Brioche Toasts and they make a perfect combo for your brunch board! Especially with how popular avocado toast has become, this is a fan favorite on brunch charcuterie boards. Click HERE for the link to the seasoning and Brioche Toasts.
Pro Tip: Leave the pit of the avocado inside of the dip to prevent the dip from browning. You can also add a bit of lemon or lime juice to the dip to prevent browning as well.
Cheese & Dairy Products
There are countless great options when deciding what cheeses you want to include on your brunch board. You truly can pick out ANY cheeses that you or your guests enjoy, but I have included a list of some of my favorite cheeses for brunch boards! When building a brunch board, I tend to choose sweeter cheeses, as well as a few mild, simple cheeses.
- Brie
- Coastal White Cheddar
- Irish Dubliner
- Cranberry Chèvre
- Trader Joe’s Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese
- Lemon Ricotta
On my brunch boards, I also like to include individual yogurts. My favorite kind of yogurt to use on these boards are the french style “Oui by Yoplait” yogurts. I love the way that the glass containers look on the table, but you can also get other brands of greek yogurt & put them in your own clear cups or in the container they come in! I serve the yogurts with various flavors of granola that pair well with the flavor of the yogurt.
Lastly, everyone’s FAVORITE thing on our brunch boards: Cannoli Dip! Click HERE for the recipe & complete blog for our Cannoli Dip! It is best served with the Trader Joe’s Belgian Waffle Crisps.
Bakery Items
There is quite a variety of bakery items that are well liked on our brunch boards. Some of my favorites include
- Fruit Scones
- Danishes
- Muffins
- Mini Cinnamon Rolls
- Flavored Breads (Lemon, Raspberry, Cinnamon, etc)
- Trader Joe’s Cranberry Oatmeal Dunkers
- Croissants
- Petite Madeleine Cakes
- Meyer Lemon Crisps
I tend to get all of my bakery items as all of the mini or bite sized ones, but you can also get full sized ones for your board. It all just depends on your guests and how you want to feed them!
I also always include a fresh french baguette on my brunch boards as well to pair with the cheeses and jams.
Fruits
When picking what kind of fruits you want to use on your brunch board, the most important thing to look for is finding fruits that are a bright, vibrant color to add to the overall aesthetic of your board. I typically pick whatever is in season & the freshest for the board. Here are some of my favorites:
- Green Grapes
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Cherries
- Strawberries
Jams
Brunch boards differ from traditional charcuterie boards because we chose to use sweeter jams on these boards, instead of our traditional homemade spicy jams. Some great options for brunch boards include jams like cherry, strawberry, peach, or any other fruit jams. Another great add on is honey.
Garnishes
There are so many great options for garnishes for a brunch board, so there really is no way to go wrong! These garnishes are used to fill in any little holes or spaces in your board, so be creative and choose ones that will add a pop of color to your board. Here is a list of some of my favorite garnishes that I would recommend for your board!
- Turkish Dried Apricots
- Dark or Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds
- White Chocolate Covered Pretzels
- Roasted Almonds
- Chocolates
Pro Tip: You can also use citrus fruits like grapefruit, lemon, lime, or oranges to slice either in half or in multiple slices to use as a decorative display for your board and to add more color to the overall board!
For a complete shopping list and “How To” video course to help when building your board, check out our online course “Charcuterie Made Simple” HERE!