If you’re looking for a fun way to serve antipasto at your next holiday party, our Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board is for you. It’s a festive appetizer made with really simple ingredients.
For more creative ways to make this the best holiday season, check out all of our Christmas posts.
Meat and cheese is the perfect appetizer for any party. Add some olives and you’re good.
But, if you know me, you know I love any excuse to be extra. So of course, I can’t just cut some meat and cheese and put it on a tray, even if I call it charcuterie. No. I have to set it in a way to look fancy schmancy.
That’s why I had to make this Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board as our Christmas appetizer this year. It has all the components you want on antipasto skewers (cheese, meat, and olives), just set up to look like a Christmas wreath adorned with Christmas ornaments. Plus, the components we use are in Christmas colors, making it look super festive.
The best part about this appetizer is it doesn’t take much longer to set this up than it would take to make a traditional charcuterie board. But this one is a show stopper.
This isn’t the only festive charcuterie board we have for the Christmas season. For another, check out our Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board. That one is made with different types of cheeses and meats, so you could make both of them for your party.
Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board Recipe
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Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board Ingredients:
- 5 oz. hard salami
- 8 oz. container mozzarella balls in olive oil
- 4 oz. green olives
- 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
- Green lettuce for garnish
- Red cabbage for garnish
How To Make A Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board:
Slice the hard salami into quarter-inch slices and set the slices aside.
Quick note: You can use any variety and brand of hard salami. It won’t make a difference.
If you follow Drugstore Divas on social media, you saw us post a deal for free hard salami earlier this month. I used that one because it was free. But you can use whatever your family likes best.
Now it’s time to make the skewers.
Quick note about those. I ordered 4.7-inch skewers on Amazon. These ones come with a ball on one end, which adds a little bit of embellishment around the outer edge of the platter, and the other end is sharp.
You can use a skewer that’s just plain if you want, but it doesn’t look as nice. Large toothpicks would probably be too small to actually fit all of the antipasto.
If you do use something other than the skewers I used, make sure they are food safe before using them.
Take the skewer and add a grape tomato.
If you can’t find grape tomatoes in your local grocery store, you can use cherry tomatoes instead.
Slide it up near the end with the ball, leaving about a half inch of space.
Add an olive.
Add a mozzarella ball.
Finish the skewer with a salami slice.
Continue until you’ve finished all of the skewers. When you run out of cheese balls, you’re done.
When you’re making the rest of the skewers, you want to vary the order of the cheese, tomato, and olive. You always want the meat to stay on the end to form the edge of your Christmas wreath, but your tray will look better if you have the accouterments in different orders.
Also, you can skewer them through the long or short side. I liked the way the short side looked and my mom likes the way the long side looked. That’s the fun party about this Christmas appetizer. It’s yours. Make it the way you think is best.
Grab a round platter.
Add a row of green lettuce around the tray in a circular shape to act as a garnish.
Add a few pieces of red cabbage to break up the green lettuce.
You can skip this part, but you don’t want to. The oil from the cheese will drip and it’s easier to clean up if it drips onto the lettuce rather than onto your tray. Plus, it adds a bit of green to the wreath. And since most wreaths are green, this helps to add to the wreath look.
If you have any sprigs of rosemary around from another recipe, you could use those instead. We don’t always have that, but we always have lettuce.
Put the antipasto skewers around the tray, on top of the lettuce, in a wreath shape.
Try to not put two of the same ordered skewers next to each other. Although if you do, it’s okay.
A single layer of skewers looks best, but if you have too many and need to put some on top of the first row, that’s fine.
Serve as is, add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on top, or include a plate of crackers on the side.
Christmas Charcuterie Wreath: Frequently Asked Questions
A round serving tray really helps to form a wreath shape. We found a beautiful gold circular charger plate at Dollar General for $1. The trays come in different sizes. Ones that are between 13- and 16-inches are going to work best.
If you don’t want to buy a tray and you don’t have a circular one, you can use a rectangular serving tray or wooden board. Just really make sure to arrange the skewers in a circle so it looks like an edible wreath.
Christmas is a hectic day. The last thing you want to be doing is adding antipasto to skewers while you’re prepping Christmas dinner.
So making this charcuterie wreath board ahead of time is a great way to free up your afternoon to make the rest of your meal.
When you’re done making it, cover the cheese board in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. You don’t really want it to sit out at room temperature all day.
If you have any leftovers, you can store the skewers in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days.
You don’t have to take the accoutrements off the skewer before putting the skewers in the container. You can if you want, but you don’t have to.
Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board
If you’re looking for a fun way to serve antipasto at your next holiday party, our Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board is for you. It’s a festive appetizer made with really simple ingredients.
Ingredients
- 5 oz. hard salami
- 8 oz. container mozzarella balls in olive oil
- 4 oz. green olives
- 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
- Green lettuce for garnish
- Red cabbage for garnish
Instructions
- Slice the hard salami into quarter-inch slices and set the slices aside.
- Take the skewer and add a grape tomato.
- Slide it up near the end with the ball, leaving about a half inch of space.
- Add a mozzarella ball.
- Add an olive.
- Finish the skewer with a salami slice.
- Continue until you’ve finished all of the skewers. When you run out of cheese balls, you’re done.
- When you’re making the rest of the skewers, you want to vary the order of the cheese, tomato, and olive. You always want the meat to stay on the end to form the edge of your Christmas wreath, but your tray will look better if you have the accouterments in different orders.
- Grab a round platter.
- Add a row of green lettuce around the tray in a circular shape to act as a garnish.
- Add a few pieces of red cabbage to break up the green lettuce.
- Put the antipasto skewers around the tray, on top of the lettuce, to form a wreath shape.
Notes
I use these 4.7-inch skewers from Amazon.
Nutrition Information
Yield
20Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 79Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 17mgSodium 285mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 4g
Have you made this Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board? Let us know how it went in the comments.