This easy dessert Charcuterie board is the perfect sweet treat for all your get-togethers. It’s easy to assemble and there’s no baking involved, you’ll need only store-bought items.

It’s a great addition to serve along a savory charcuterie board, or even after dinner instead of dessert. It’s super easy and also works as a beautiful centerpiece.

You can use a wooden board as big as you want, and arrange all the sweet treats using my tips below.

It is a great addition to serve along a savory charcuterie board, or even after dinner instead of dessert. Super easy and also works as a beautiful centerpiece.

You can use a wooden board as big as you want, and arrange all of the sweet treats using my tips below.

What is a dessert charcuterie board?

A dessert charcuterie board is a visually appealing arrangement of various sweet treats, fruits, nuts, chocolates, and other dessert items on a board or platter, typically served for sharing at parties or gatherings.

What can I add to my dessert Charcuterie board?

There are endless possibilities for you to add to your board, and precisely this makes it fun to make.

It’s totally customizable! you can use your favorite treats or whatever you find at the store. Use whatever you have at home or if you prefer making homemade treats, this is your chance!

Here are some ideas:

Spreads

These are the perfect addition for dipping your cookies, fruits, or pretzels, plus they look pretty, adding a variety of textures to your board.

Use Chocolate hazelnut spread, Dulce de Leche, Caramel sauce or caramel dip, peanut butter, honey, chocolate ganache or any chocolate dip, Jams, Marshmallow dip, or any homemade dessert dips of your choice.

Cookies

Cookies are an amazing way to add a variety of forms to your charcuterie board. Look for squares, circles or sticks to add visual interest!

Some ideas are Dutch Stroopwafels (Caramel filled waffle sandwiches), Oreo Cookies, butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, wafer sticks, ginger snaps (depending on the season), graham crackers, Girl Scout cookies, animal crackers, biscotti, wafer cookies

Treats

Here you’ll find all of those extras that won’t fit into your cookie category, but that are as important and that will introduce yummy baked goodies into your dessert board. You just need to walk through the bakery of any big grocery store to find store-bought treats.

Chocolate-covered pretzels, rice krispie treats, salted Popcorn, Caramel Popcorn, mini cheesecakes, brownie bites, mini donuts, macarons, meringue cookies, pound cake slices, mini cupcakes, mini cinnamon rolls, pastries, mini pancakes

Chocolate

Use a variety of chocolates to create diversity on your board. Look for white chocolate, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate to add to your board. You’ll create not only interest, but you’ll give your guests a variety of flavors to try, for all tastes.

Chocolate truffles, chocolate bars, chocolate chips, chocolate-covered nuts, chocolate-covered coffee beans, chocolate-covered dried fruit, Ferrero rocher, kisses, dove chocolate, or Ghirardelli chocolate squares are only a few examples.

Candy

These are found in any grocery store, and you can use seasonal candy. Think of Valentines, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. By adding seasonal candy, your dessert platter becomes the perfect way to make a themed board.

Marshmallows, gummy bears, peanut butter cups, M&M’s, brittle, salted caramel candy, Rolos, Snickers Mini, Milky Way Mini, candy Canes (during the Christmas season), bite-sized Twix, fudge or Thin Mints

Fresh fruit

You can use your favorite fruits or fruits of the season. Try adding the fruit both whole and cut slices to create a variety of sizes and forms, as well as different colors.

Orange slices, apple slices, fresh berries (these are perfect to add a pop of color to your board!), grapes, figs, mango, cherries, pears, pomegranate, plums, pineapples, or even banana slices

Dried fruit

I love the flavor combo of dried fruit and a chocolate dip or a chocolate bar. They are also a great way to add color and variety to your board.

You can use cranberries, freeze-dried strawberries, freeze-dried raspberries, dried apple slices, dry mango, dried apricots, banana chips, dried pineapple, dried cherries, dried raisins, dried figs, or dry peaches.

Nuts

Nuts are the perfect way to finish your board. The generally small size of nuts allows me to fill in all of the small gaps in a very easy way. You can also use candied nuts!

Pistachios, Peanuts, Walnuts, pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews, or hazelnuts, among others.

Steps to make a simple dessert charcuterie board

These steps apply to every traditional charcuterie board or cheese board. After buying all of your ingredients, you can start placing your items from big to small, arranging them around the board.

Step 1

Start by placing the bigger objects on a cutting board or wooden board. I started with my spreads, which I placed in small bowls in the center of my board.

If using jams, make sure to place a small spoon for easy serving. If you’re not using spreads or dips, you can also place something small like nuts, chocolate chips, or cranberries in a small bowl and start from there.

Step 2

Next, I added the next biggest items to my ingredients list: the Dutch Stroopwafels, followed by the chocolate butter cookies.

Arrange them around your spreads, and try to place them in an orderly manner. You can see here that I used 2 cookies with 2 different shapes and colors, and some of them were placed with the cookie facing up. Variety and the change of color create interest in your board.

Step 3

Next in line were the circular, medium-sized treats. You can place them to start filling the gaps around your spreads and in the corners of your board.

If they’re not flat like the cookies, and they’re circular or with a cubed form, you can pack them in small heaps around the board.

I repeated 3 to 4 heaps of each ingredient, but this will depend on how many ingredients you have. If you’re using fresh fruit, make sure to cut a few slices to break the pattern and create different sizes

Step 4

I then added the pretzel sticks. I loved how these had a completely different shape from everything else. I placed them in the thin and long spaces between the ingredients, filling the board even more.

Step 5

Following the pretzel sticks came the second to last smallest ingredients. Chocolate-covered almonds, raspberries, and apricots. Again, I placed them in the gaps, in small heaps in 2 or 3 different places.

Step 6

Lastly came the smallest of them all: the nuts. Use them to fill any gaps there are on your board. If possible, use more than 1 variety.

Tips for making an epic dessert charcuterie board

• Use a variety of colors to create an eye-catching board. Place the desserts side by side with different colored objects. For example, don’t place all of your milk chocolate and dark chocolate together, but break that color pattern by placing some fresh colorful fruit that will give that pop of color between them
• Add seasonal, fresh produce. This gives a natural and fresh feeling to your board

• Different shapes help create an interesting board. Try looking for different shapes of cookies or cutting part of your fruit with a few slices to break a shape pattern (take a look at the strawberries on my board!)
• Different textures help your board look diverse. The added sea salt in the pretzels or chocolates, the creaminess of the spreads or dips, or the smoothness of the chocolate will help you achieve this
• Place forks and dessert plates so your guests can easily grab all of the goodies on the board

Charcuterie board ideas

There are many themed dessert charcuterie boards to make! here are a few ideas:

Valentine’s Day theme:

Use seasonal candy, like pink, red, and white M&M’s, or seasonal chocolate that comes in Valentine-themed wraps, like kisses or Dove chocolate.

Stick to reds, pinks, whites, and hearts; add strawberries and raspberries, as well as white chocolate-covered pretzels with pink and red sprinkles and red velvet cupcakes or cheesecakes.

Easter dessert Charcuterie board:

Chocolate eggs, easter candy, slices of carrot pound cake, bunny-shaped cookies, and chocolates are a few examples of what you can add to your board.

Halloween dessert board:

Orange, purple, and black are the colors you should be aiming for.

Here you can add all of those spooky Halloween candy like candy corn and Halloween M&M’s, peanut butter cups, caramel popcorn, and even peanut butter cookies found in the bakery aisle.

This Spooky Halloween Dessert Charcuterie board is my version of it!

Thanksgiving Charcuterie board:

Browns, oranges, and yellows should be the main colors of your board ingredients.

Make a pumpkin dip, use dried fruit like apricots, candy corn, and hand pies. Oranges or slices of blood orange, sliced apples as well as any other goodie found in the bakery department

Christmas Charcuterie board:

A Christmas board can be filled with all types of chocolate and mini marshmallows, candy canes, pomegranate, store-bought white chocolate-covered pretzels with crushed candy canes, homemade or store-bought peppermint bark, and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.

I made an Easy Christmas Tree Charcuterie board that fits perfectly for any Holiday party.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose the right board or platter for my dessert charcuterie?

Just choose something that’s big enough to hold all your goodies without feeling too crowded. Whether it’s a rustic wooden board, a sleek marble slab, or a fun decorative tray, go with whatever matches your style!

How should I serve a dessert charcuterie board at a party?

Place the dessert charcuterie board on a sturdy surface where guests can easily access it. Provide small plates, napkins, and utensils if needed. Encourage guests to try a bit of everything and enjoy the variety of sweet treats available.

Can I make my board ahead of time?

Sure! you can place the non-dairy spreads, candy, chocolate, and cookies in your board, and cover it with a plastic wrap some hours before serving.

Right before serving, uncover and add the fresh fruit.

Can I customize a dessert charcuterie board for dietary restrictions or preferences?

Absolutely! You can easily customize a dessert charcuterie board to accommodate dietary restrictions such as gluten-free, vegan, or nut-free diets. Include a variety of options that cater to different preferences and be sure to label any items that contain common allergens.

How do I store leftover items from my dessert board?

Cover and refrigerate all of your fresh produce, dairy, and perishable goods. You can store at room temperature, wrapped and away from any heat sources the candy, chocolate, and cookies.

Take a look at this video of my charcuterie board so you can see up close all of the amazing textures, colors, and flavors I used!

Here are some recipes that can be a great addition to your board:

No bake Caramel Pretzel Crack Bars

Easy Sweet & Salty Strawberry Popcorn recipe

Easy Homemade Dark Chocolate Rum Truffles Recipe

Easy 2-ingredient Peanut Butter fudge recipe

If you like this recipe, be sure to give it a star rating!