This Thanksgiving charcuterie board with the word GRATEFUL spelled out in cheese cubes is the perfect start to your holiday dinner!

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A Thanksgiving charcuterie board arranged with the word “GRATEFUL” spelled out in cheese cubes, surrounded by crackers, sliced meats, apples, grapes, nuts, berries, honey, and wedges of brie and blue cheese.

Sometime over the past few years a charcuterie board has become the best way to begin a dinner with friends and family, and it’s been a great turn of events!

Why serve a charcuterie board at Thanksgiving

I really like that a creative snack board is a conversation piece you can serve as people arrive. It’s a great icebreaker if people don’t know each other, and it also gives hungry guests a bit of food if dinner won’t be served right away.

A GRATEFUL charcuterie board uses cheddar and mozzarella cheese cubes to spell out one word of gratitude across the center of the board.

Folded ham and salami sit beside nuts, apples and figs. Brie cheese with cut figs and honey anchor three corners of the board. More honey is offered for drizzling and jam is ready as a spread or a dip.

The quantities in the ingredients below will fill a large board and serve about 10-12 people.

Notes for key ingredients

Your charcuterie board can have anything you want on it. At the same time, I have some recommendations for what will look good on your board and what to look for when shopping.

A spread of ingredients for a Thanksgiving charcuterie board on a white marble surface, featuring various cheeses, deli meats, fresh fruits, nuts, dried cranberries, crackers, and small bowls of honey and jam.

Keep in mind that this isn’t the full list of items on the board. You’ll find that in the receipe card below.

Cubed cheese. You can decide if you want the word GRATEFUL spelled out in two colors of cheese or just one. One is easier, but make sure you at least two cups of cheese cubes to use.
White cheese. Avoid Swiss cheese, because the holes will affect cubes. Try mozzarella, Monterey jack or white cheddar.
Sharp cheddar. A deep orange cheddar looks amazing as a solid slab on your board, but it’s not practical. Feel free to slice it before serving.
Brie cheese. triple-creme or double-creme brie is always a crowd favorite.
Blue cheese. Unless you go to a cheese shop, you’ll use the wedge of blue cheese you can find at the grocery store. If you’re at a cheese shop, ask for a mild, creamy blue.
Ham. Look for Black Forest ham first, and ask the deli to slice it thin. Smoked ham also adds additional flavor to your board.
Fresh cranberries. This might not be possible or practical for you. You can use fresh cherries or blueberries instead.
Crackers. Buy a box of Entertainment Crackers and you’ll have a nice variety of shapes and colors.
Fig jam. Get this one. It’s a delicious, quality Mediterranean brand. Or substitute another type of seeded jam, like raspberry.
Honey. Choose either a gourmet variety (this one comes with a dipper) or a local honey.

Remember, this is just an overview of some of the ingredients I recommend and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to assemble a charcuterie board

A four-step sequence shows the assembly of a Thanksgiving charcuterie board on a wooden surface, ending with the word “GRATEFUL” spelled out in cheese cubes.

Here’s a brief overview of how to assemble your charcuterie board and make sure the word GRATEFUL has it’s own spot.

Step 1: Set your small containers of honey and jam in the lower middle of the board, then add a wedge of brie to the upper and lower left corners.

Put a round arrangement of salami near the dips, and more next to the top wedge of brie. Add prosciutto behind it and a cluster of grapes next to it. Spread out crackers and some apple slices. Drizzle honey and arrange three fig halves on top of the brie.

Step 2. Continue adding more to your board, from big ingredients to small.

Put another wedge of brie in the upper right corner, and put a partially crumbled wedge of blue cheese in the bottom right corner. Put green grapes at the bottom of the board.

Add your block of cheddar, more apple slices and salami to the right side, then add mortadella behind the blue cheese and on the left side of the board.

Step 3. Start adding smaller items. Nuts, fresh cranberries, dried cranberries should be used to fill in gaps between the bigger items.

Arrange sprigs of rosemary to line up with some of the cheese or accent other ingredients.

Step 4. Use your cubed cheese to spell out the word GRATEFUL about 1/3 of the way from the top of your board.

Fill in the leftover space with more nuts, apple slices, fig halves or anything else you want to see more of on your board.

Make sure you have a few cheese knives on the board, along with your honey dipper and a little spoon for your jam. Have additional utensils ready and off to the side in case they’re needed.

Yield: 12

Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board with Cheese Letters

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This Thanksgiving charcuterie board is a festive holiday appetizer featuring GRATEFUL spelled out in cheese cubes! Loaded with savory meats, assorted cheeses, fresh fruit, nuts, crackers, and sweet spreads, this easy Thanksgiving snack board is perfect for serving guests before your holiday dinner.

Prep Time 1 hour

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup cheddar cheese cubes
1 cup mozzarella cheese cubes (or other white cheese)
1 wheel brie cheese, cut into quarters
1 blue cheese wedge
1 block sharp cheddar
4 oz folded ham
4 oz salami
2-4 oz mortadella
2-4 oz prosciutto
6 figs, halved
1 green apple
1 honeycrisp apple
2 cups red grapes
1 cup green grapes
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup walnuts
3/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pistachios
1/4 cup honey with dipper
1/4 cup fig jam
1 8oz box of crackers
Rosemary sprigs

Instructions

Set your small containers of honey and jam in the lower middle of the board, then add a wedge of brie to the upper and lower left corners.
Put a round arrangement of salami near the dips, and more next to the top wedge of brie. Add prosciutto behind it and a cluster of grapes next to it.
Spread out crackers and some apple slices. Drizzle honey and arrange three fig halves on top of the brie.
Put another wedge of brie in the upper right corner, and put a partially crumbled wedge of blue cheese in the bottom right corner. Put green grapes at the bottom of the board.
Add a block of cheddar, more apple slices and salami to the right side, then add mortadella behind the blue cheese and on the left side of the board.
Add nuts, fresh cranberries and dried cranberries should be used to fill in gaps between the bigger items, place sprigs of rosemary to line up with some of the cheese.
Use your cubed cheese to spell out the word GRATEFUL about 1/3 of the way from the top of your board.
Fill in the leftover space with more nuts, apple slices, fig halves or anything else you want to see more of on your board.

Notes

Make sure you have a few cheese knives on the board, along with your honey dipper and a little spoon for your jam.
Have additional utensils ready and off to the side in case they're needed.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1/16 of board
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 599Total Fat: 31.5gSaturated Fat: 11.7gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 1000mgCarbohydrates: 61.3gFiber: 11gSugar: 32.3gProtein: 26.1g