How to Make the Perfect Trader Joe’s Charcuterie Board

In this post, I’ll show you all my favorite finds to make an epic Trader Joe’s charcuterie board! But no matter which grocery store you shop at, this post will give you plenty of charcuterie board tips and tricks to make a great cheese platter any time of year.

I LOVE a good (and easy!) charcuterie board, and Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite places to go to stock up on the best snacks for making an amazing snack board! In this post, I will share some great additions to make the perfect board for any special occasion! For me, a good charcuterie board is all about balance: balance in flavors (sweet, salty, savory), textures (crunchy, smooth, crispy), and color. Crackers are kind of just brown, so I like to have little pops of color from dried or fresh fruit and veggies. On this particular board, I used roasted red peppers for an extra pop of color!

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky 

My favorite Trader Joe’s charcuterie board finds

For me, a great charcuterie board is all about balance. Most snack boards or charcuterie boards of course include cheese and some type of bready item like crackers or maybe some toasted baguette slices. I even like to use the plantain chips from Trader Joe’s sometimes, even though in this particular board I didn’t.

Trader Joe’s Crackers

I went with the Fig & Olive Crisps and Multigrain Pita Bite Crackers this time! The pita bite ones also come in a non-multi grain flavor but I prefer the multigrain. I love love love one of these with a little goat cheese and fig jam, which we will get to later in this post!

The Fig & Olive Crisps are a nice balance of savory and sweet and have actual olive and fig pieces inside.

Cheese for Trader Joe’s Charcuterie

I know cheese might be the most important element in a charcuterie board but I put the crackers at the top of the list because they are really just as foundational as cheese! 

On a typical charcuterie board, you can often find a variety of cheeses. Soft cheese such as blue cheese and goat cheese are a bit more spreadable, while hard cheese like cheddar and swiss are better for layering with crackers or snacking on as-is. 

This time I went with marinated mozzarella balls, and jack cheese sticks (I cut them into cubes!). And I always get the chevre honey goat cheese! Depending on the cheese selection at your particular store, you may choose to use some variation of these cheeses or just go with your favorite cheeses! There’s no wrong way to do it!

Meat

I didn’t get a photo of the salami! So sorry, but I always get the Uncured Applewood Smoked Salami. There are no nitrates and it just has great flavor. They also come in very thin slices. I love wrapping a cube of jack cheese in a piece of salami! Another great option when using salami is to make little salami roses. See here for a simple post on how to make them!

Trader Joe’s has a lot of other deli meats that are great for snack boards so feel free to mix it up and add more meats if you like!

Fruit

When looking for fruit to add to your charcuterie board, it’s always best to look for seasonal fruits, as they will have the best flavor. I love the Seedless Grape Medley from Trader Joe’s. It’s just nice to have variety, ya know? If they don’t have the medley available, green and red grapes also work great. 

I almost always include figs on my charcuterie board if they are available. They’re just classy and go great with goat cheese! And speaking of figs and goat cheese, check out my Fig & Honey Goat Cheese Bites for a super easy and delicious appetizer/snack that can even become part of an epic charcuterie board!

My other favorite fruits to include are the dried apricots from Trader Joe’s, and other dried fruits like raisins. A lot of people also like to put berries or pomegranate seeds on charcuterie boards as well.

Nuts

Candied pecans are a must for me! Gotta keep the sweet and salty balance going. I also used the Roasted and Unsalted Fancy Mixed Nuts. I got unsalted nuts to stay balanced. Olives are salty, salami is salty, jack cheese is kinda salty. Just make sure they are roasted. Unroasted nuts are no fun.

Veggies

Okay so I don’t know if olives are classified as a veggie but I’m including them here anyways. For this board, I used the Greek Kalamata Olives and Pimento Stuffed Green Olives which aren’t pictured here because I already had a jar from a different brand. But you can of course find green olives at your Trader Joes!

I also included the Fire Roasted Red Peppers for a pop of color and I really liked having it! These also go well with the goat cheese.

Spreads

Another element of a great board is a delicious spread! And for this, I love Trader Joe’s Fig Butter. Like I said, a little dollop of that with some chevre honey goat cheese on a multigrain cracker (jeez that’s a mouthful!) is so, so good. You can mix it up with other jams and marmalades, too. I also love apricot jam with cheese and crackers!

Trader Joe’s charcuterie shopping list

Here’s a shopping list for ya! I tried to put everything in order of how most stores are set up so hopefully that helps! And keep in mind that these are just my favorite things to make a cheese board. You could also just use these categories as a guide. Find a few things from each category and see what you come up with. No two charcuterie boards are exactly the same and that’s the beauty of them!

Fruit

• Seedless Grape Medley
• Figs (any kind they have available!)

Meat

• Uncured Applewood Smoked Salami

Cheese

• Chevre Honey Goat Cheese
• Moneterey Jack Cheese Sticks
• Marinated Fresh Mozzarella Balls

Crackers

• Multi-grain Pita Bite Crackers
• Fig & Olive Crisps

Nuts

• Candied Pecans
• Roasted and Unsalted Fancy Mixed Nuts

Olives/Veggies

• Greek Kalamata Olives
• Green Pimento Stuffed Olives
• Fire Roasted Red Peppers

Spreads

• Fig Butter

How to build your Trader Joe’s Charcuterie Board

I think the beauty of charcuterie boards is that no two are exactly alike! My main advice is to have fun! Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make a perfect charcuterie board. If what you are putting on it is tasty and pretty already, it’s going to be a beautiful board, no matter what! But here are a few things I like to do to make it easier.

Hardware

Choose a nice sturdy board, it doesn’t do much good to have one with elaborate designs, it’s going to be covered initially anyways. I have just a plain wooden board that I love.

It’s also helpful to have some small bowls for things like olives, marinated cheeses, toothpicks and jams.

Arrangement

Start with bowls and larger food items first. I put my bowls down and the cheese first, then built around those.

Once you have those landmarks down, you can wrap things like crackers and nuts around them.

Grapes or other smaller fruits are great for filling in empty space on the board. This also helps tie it together when you have one element that is repeated in different places.

I hope this helps you build a better Trader Joe’s Charcuterie Board! Have fun and enjoy!

Storage Instructions

Because most of the items on a charcuterie board are perishable, they should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If your board has been left unrefrigerated for less than two hours, you can store leftover items in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make sure to wrap items individually in plastic wrap or in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out or becoming soggy. Keep similar items together, such as dried meats with cheeses, veggies with other veggies, and so on. 

Tried making this Trader Joe’s Charcuterie Board?

If you try this recipe, please consider leaving a comment/rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you! You can also connect with me on instagram and Pinterest.

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