Bring festive holiday cheers and add this AMAZING centerpiece to your table with this fun Christmas Charcuterie Board. Packed with sweet and savory treats it's the perfect centerpiece for snacking and grazing. Easy to make and fun for the whole family, it a creative activity to get everyone in the Holiday sprit!
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Grinch Charcuterie Board
I'm sure your heart will grow twice the size because this is the Grinch and it's fun! It's got all your favorite snacks, bits, and bites! Kids big and small will gobble this up! It's perfect for party fun or to be the centerpiece of your dessert table.
Ingredients you’ll need
For the exact measurements, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- licorice twizzler sticks
- white chocolate chips
- red food color
- green food color
- mini pretzels
- plain popcorn
- green grapes
- red peanut m&m’s
- yellow m&m’s
- brown m&m’s
- green peanut m&m’s
- pineapple
- white cheddar cheese
Creative variations to try
This is the perfect appetizer for Christmas parties! Here are some other fun ways you can switch up this recipe.
Make a Christmas tree charcuterie board by laying out the green ingredients in a Christmas tree shape. Then, use the other candies and popcorn as decor/ornaments and the black licorice as the tree trunk!
Instead of the shape of a Christmas tree or Grinch, arrange the ingredients to make a Christmas wreath charcuterie board! Add a red bow for a perfect final touch.
Go savory! Instead of all sweet treats, use your favorite ingredients from a traditional charcuterie board that fit the color scheme. For example, I like cherry tomatoes, red grapes, and salami roses for red. Black olives, fresh figs, green olives, fresh rosemary, and different meats can fill in the other spots for your Christmas theme!
Plus, the best thing about a Christmas charcuterie board is that you can add or swap pretty much any food items you want—as long as they match the Christmas color theme! For example, use mozzarella balls instead of cheddar, Red Hots or pomegranate seeds instead of red M&Ms, and dark chocolate-covered pretzel sticks instead of licorice.
Step-by-step instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. For the complete directions just scroll down to the bottom!
- Start by melting the chocolate and drizzling it over the popcorn.
- Now take the remaining melted white chocolate and add red and green food coloring.
- Dip pretzels in the colored chocolate. And lay it on the wax paper and allow the chocolate to harden.
- Print the Grinch face and adjust it to the size of your board.
- Cut the black licorice and lay them out on the stencil over the mouth, eyes, and nose. Add the red M&M’s for the nose.
- Then, fill the eyes with the yellow M&M’s then place a brown candy in each eye for the pupil.
- Continue building the face. Use a variety of green snacks for the face. Use the halved grapes, pretzels, and M&M’s.
- Arrange red ingredients (the pretzels and popcorn) in the hat. Use the popcorn and cubed cheese to make the white edge.
- Create a layer of snow at the bottom using the popcorn, pineapple, cheese chunks, and any remaining chocolate chunks.
Equipment
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- A large cutting board—you can use a cheese board, baking sheet or wooden cutting board.
- Small bowls for melting and tossing ingredients together.
Grinch stencil
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FAQ's
You can! However, just to be safe, I'd first clean the board with dish soap and then cover the board with parchment paper. You don't want to contaminate your food by serving it on a non-food-safe surface!
Nope! You don't have to, but it's a great way to perfectly replicate the Grinch design. Freehand the layout if you're comfortable with that. (I personally print it out. It's so much easier!)
Only an actual Grinch would say "no" to that! This Christmas charcuterie board is great for any holiday season event, from your big Christmas party bash to small holiday gatherings around the tree. Serve it as dessert along with Christmas dinner, or casually munch on it while opening presents on Christmas day.
I don't recommend storing the leftovers this way. The popcorn gets soggy and the licorice a little hard. I've included a better way to store leftovers in the Storage section of this post—scroll down a bit more to find it.
You can google "Grinch stencil" or use the one provided.
Deb’s tips for the perfect dish
Build the board where it will sit for serving. Once everything is in place, it can be tedious to move because the ingredients can shift.
- The fruit doesn't keep very long after cutting it, so I'd recommend making this board the day you plan to serve it.
- Instead of chocolate, you can use colored melting wafers to coat the pretzels. However, I don't think they taste as good as chocolate.
- If your grocery store doesn't sell food coloring, check a local baking or craft store! You can also order it online.
- Use a cookie cutter to make fun shapes for the cheese or meats.
How to store leftovers
Refrigerate—Any perishable leftovers (the cheese and fruit) can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days.
Room Temperature—However, you can keep the candy, popcorn, and pretzels at room temperature in a plastic bag or storage container.
More holiday favorites to enjoy
Looking for more holiday hits! Check out the Grinch Fudge, Snowman Soup and Rolo Turtle Pretzels to add some extra cheer to your celebrations!
- Perfect for sharing with Santa, White Chocolate-Dipped Oreos are so yummy, it's hard not to eat the ho-ho-whole batch!
- Sweet and salty, these M&M Pretzel Hugs are so addicting and make an ideal snack. Plus, they're also great to give as gifts!
- Everyone will crowd the snack table when you uncover the bowl of Christmas Puppy Chow—it's an irresistibly crunchy and sweet treat.
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Christmas Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 18 black licorice twizzler sticks
- 4 cups white chocolate chips
- red food color
- green food color
- 4 cups mini pretzels
- 4 cups plain popcorn
- 3 cups green grapes washed and cut in half
- 3 red peanut M&M’s
- ½ cup yellow M&M’s
- 2 brown M&M’s
- 2 cups green peanut M&M’s
- 2 cups pineapple cut into chunks
- 1 cup white cheddar cheese cut into chunks
Instructions
- Find an image of the Grinch on-line and print large enough to fit your largest board charcuterie board, chopping board or baking sheet.
- Lay the stencil for the smile and eyes out on the board.
- In a large mixing bowl add the white chocolate chips. Melt in 30 second bursts at 50% power in your microwave until nice and melted.
- Drizzle â…“ of the white chocolate over a baking sheet lined with wax paper filled with plain popped popcorn. Mix well with the melted white chocolate. Allow to dry completely.
- Take half of the remaining white chocolate and mix with red food color. Dip pretzels and lay out to dry on a sheet lined with more wax paper. Repeat the same with the green. Use any remaining melted chocolate and coat popcorn/pretzels.
- Cut the licorice sticks and lay out on the stencil drawing - on the mouth, eyes and nose. Place the red M&M’s where the nose is.
- Fill the eyes with the yellow M&M’s then place one brown in each eye for the pupil.
- Lay out the white popcorn, in a line above the eyes for the brim of a Santa hat.
- Start filling in the face of the grinch with all your green items. The halved grapes, pretzels and M&M’s.
- Arrange anything red (the pretzels and popcorn) in the hat above. Create a white edge with the white popcorn.
- Create a layer of snow at the bottom using the pineapple, cheese chunks and any remaining chocolate chunks.
- Add another layer of the black licorice, now that you have the green items to help keep it in place.
- With the basic shape made you can fill in any holes with the remaining ingredients. Have fun with it!
Lois says
This is a great gift to take to a party or to have as a fun appetizer to start your own party. So cute.