Kids charcuterie board with cheese and crackers, deli meats and fruits — plus tons of ideas for yummy extras and add-ons — is an easy, fun way to serve snacks for a group of kids or teens.

Yay for Friday!

We've had our first full week of school, and I think we are all worn out. Which is maybe too bad for us, because my husband and son are headed to a Carolina Panthers football game tonight and we're all headed to a baseball game tomorrow night.

Add in some play dates and pool time and it might not be a very relaxing weekend. But at least we can sleep in a little! 

OK, let's move on to the food.

Today I’m so excited to share this kids charcuterie board.

It’s an endlessly versatile, adaptable type of snack board for kids that’s perfect for back to school and after-school snacks. It’s also great when you’ve got the neighborhood kids over or a group of friends hanging out.

Whipping up one of these boards is quick and easy, and like I said, you can definitely adapt it to use what you have on hand.

The “recipe” below is just a series of ingredient suggestions so you can make the board work for you.

I’ve also included tons of extras and special add-ons below, so keep reading for those.

Letting everyone grab at this charcuterie board makes snack time fun, easy and very hands off for you once you’ve got it made!

Oh, and if you’re concerned about a shared snack space these days, I’ve got some safe snacking tips below.

OK, let’s get snack ready.

Now, I’ve got some notes and tips coming up below on how to make a charcuterie board for kids. Just tryin’ to be helpful.

If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.

Notes on making a kids charcuterie board:

• Cheese: You can use any kid-friendly cheese your kiddos love. White cheddar is the go-to in our house, but string cheese and a mild creamy cheese also works well.
• Crackers: I like to use an assortment of different cracker types, sizes and shapes. Looks interesting and there’s something for everyone.
• Meat: Regular deli meat (like turkey or ham) works well here for kids. You can also use some kid-friendly options like pepperoni, salami or smoked sausage slices. Feel free to skip for a vegetarian board.
• Fruit: Grapes, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, oranges or clementines and other seasonal fresh fruit will work well. Try to include 2-3 different fruits.

So those 4 categories -- cheese, crackers, meat and fruit -- are the basics for me. But we've got more coming...

First a quick note about serving size…

The recipe card below just lists the ingredients and options, like above, but not specific quantities.

You can make the board as big as you need to serve the number of kids you have, whether that’s 3-4 or 10-12. (And the size you need may vary depending on the ages of the kids you’re serving.)

And of course, you can make two plates worth to spread out for bigger groups if you don’t have or want to use a single giant board.

OK, so those are the basic ingredients for a standard board.

But we certainly don’t need to stop there. Oh no.

Let’s go ahead and ransack our pantries for all the fun goodies we can add on to these boards.

Here are a few ideas in a few different areas to get you thinking.

Add-ons for charcuterie boards:

- Dried fruit - Fresh is great, but don’t forget about dried fruit. Raisins and dried apricots are great additions to a snack board.

- Nuts - Peanuts, cashews, mixed nuts or other favorite nuts are great for kids. I like to put them in a separate bowl from the main board. And of course, if you’re unsure about allergies, ask or skip the nuts altogether.

- Cheese crackers - We have cheese and crackers but you can also add cheese crackers or Goldfish to your board.

- Cereal, trail mix, Chex mix or granola - These are also fun mixes to add to a board or serve in a bowl on the side.

- Animal crackers or small cookies - We’re mostly keeping away from a bunch of sweets - this isn’t a dessert board - but something light like animal crackers or mini cookies can be a fun extra.

(Even something like no bake chocolate chip cookie balls or other energy balls would work well here.)

And still we're not stopping. Here are a few more “extravagant” items you can add to your board. No, they’re not fancy, but just a step beyond what most of us automatically have on hand.

But if you do have these, want to make them or want to buy them, they can liven up a boring tray in no time!

Special extras for a kids charcuterie board:

- Sweet treats: Besides a small cookie like animal crackers mentioned earlier, it can be nice to give the kids a fun sweet treat. Mini marshmallows or a bowl of M&Ms or other small candy are a great start. Yogurt-covered raisins are a slightly healthier option if you’ve got little ones.

- Favorite appetizers: Adding a more substantial snack or appetizer that kids love — such as pigs in a blanket or soft pretzels or pizza bagels or bites — can be a fun way to bulk up a snack board. This is especially great for older kids or hungry kiddos after sports. These can be homemade or store-bought.

- Popcorn: Whether store-bought or an easy homemade microwave popcorn, popcorn is always a favorite snack addition.

- Snack favorites: Similarly, you can also serve chips and salsa or hummus with pretzels and fresh veggies as part of a larger snack board. Or use any other favorite dip.

I hope that gives you tons of ideas for your next snack board!

Cause the sky is the limit and there are so many fun possibilities that you can use to customize to your kids and their likes - and dislikes. Cause there are always so many of those, right?

Last thing, let’s talk about ways to reduce germs.

Cause I know, grubby kids are gonna be all over each other, but if we can take a few simple steps to protect them, well, I'm all for it.

Safe snacking tips:

• Have all the kids wash their hands with soap and water before they start eating.
• If needed, have them eat outside and slightly distanced from each other. (Different picnic blankets or towels set out in the yard works well for this.)
• Consider using toothpicks for your snack board. Tell them they can only pick things up with a toothpick, not with their hands. Younger ones find this to be a fun game/challenge.
• You can also make individual snack plates to pass out, so there’s not one main shared board. Sure, it’s not as Instagram worthy, but it does the trick. It’s also not really any more effort to make separate plates when you have all the ingredients pulled out already.
• Tip: For dips or shared snacks, you can portion these out too. Individual cups or bowls - even plastic ones - work well for dips and sauces.

I hope this has helped inspire you to make your own kids charcuterie board the next time you have a group over. It’s such a fun way to snack.

If you do, please leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram - I love seeing your creations!

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn