Red & White Canada Day Charcuterie Board

Gather together a bunch of red and white snack foods to assemble this super easy Canada Day Charcuterie Board! Your friends and family will love filling up on these festive snacks. Set the board down right into the middle of your patio table, and let everyone help themselves! All you need is a bunch of napkins and lots of ice cold drinks! Happy Canada Day!

Charcuterie boards are everywhere these days, and it seems that there’s a theme for just about everything. With an abundance of store-bought red and white treats, I put together this Canada Day Charcuterie Board to show you just how easy it is to make a board that is super impressive, but super easy too!

Everything you see on these boards in these photographs is store-bought. But, I’m going to include recipe links just in case you want to add some homemade goodies to your board too. Most charcuterie boards will include thinly sliced meats and cheeses, along with olives and pickles. And, you can certainly add those things to your board if you’re putting out your charcuterie before dinner as an appetizer.

In this case, I’m sticking to desserts, candies, and sugary treats only, because my Canada Day Charcuterie Board is meant to be a smorgasbord of treats fit for a backyard get together with family and friends. I love the ease and simplicity of candy and chocolate-based charcuterie boards! Depending on what type of gathering you are hosting, you can change the board items accordingly.

WHAT IS CHARCUTERIE ANYWAY?

Charcuterie is a French term meaning “flesh” and “cooked.” It is a branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, and pate, etc. Originally intended as a way to preserve meat before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for the flavours derived from the preservation processes.

Today, when we hear the term charcuterie, most of us immediately know that we are referring to the preparation and artful arranging of items like cured meats, hard and soft cheeses, dried and fresh fruits, vegetables, and crackers or breads on a large wooden board.

Charcuterie has been popular in many parts of Europe for many, many years. In fact, there’s documented evidence of charcuterie being present in ancient Roman times. The popularity of these boards did not catch on here in North America until recently. Now, they’re everywhere! And, I’m going to show you how make a charcuterie board specifically for Canada Day!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE:

The following is a list of the items needed to prepare a Canada Day Charcuterie Board. Please keep in mind that the amount of items you will need will greatly depend on how many people you are preparing the board for. Also, these items are suggestions only. Feel free to switch it up with things that you love, or things that you can find in your local area.

1. Focal Point

In most cases, a board like this would have a focal point, but in this particular case, with everything being red and white, a focal point would have pulled the eye away from the beauty that is a two-coloured board. I did pile the middle of the board with fresh strawberries, raspberries, and pomegranate seeds. On a board filled with so much candy, the fresh berries are a good way to add balance to the amount of sugar.

2. Various Candies

You can use any candies that you prefer here. I’m using lots of store-bought candies with varying shapes, sizes, flavours, and brands. The one thing that I do recommend is that you source candies that are individually wrapped, especially if you have concerns about someone else touching everything! I created this board for just us, so I wasn’t concerned about that. Charcuterie boards are meant to be picked at, so if you don’t want everyone’s fingers on everything, surround the board with mini tongs and toothpicks.

In terms of candy, I could only think of one place where I could peruse the rows and select red and white candies that would work well on my board. Yep, I headed to Bulk Barn! As you can see from the photographs, I picked up some Marshmallow Strawberries, Jelly Belly Red Cherries, Cherry Twists, Funsorts, Yogurt Covered Pretzels and Yogurt Peanuts, and finally, Sour Cherry Slices. Now, because this board is designed for Canada Day, I could not pass up the Chocolate Toonies and Loonies! They most certainly make this board extra Canadian!

3. Veggies and Cheese

I included a bowl of freshly washed cherry tomatoes and also a bowl of mini bocconcini cheese. The cheese is quite flavourless on its own, but when paired with the acidity of the tomatoes, it’s a great way to get rid of the sugary taste in your mouth left behind by so many sugary treats. I also included a pile of babybel cheese. They have a red wax on them, which is great for a red and white Canada Day Charcuterie Board! Note that I removed the cellophane and even removed half of the wax covering from a few of the cheeses for added contrast.

4. Marshmallows

The last thing I included was marshmallows. These are vegan marshmallows and they are peppermint flavour. They are from Dandies, which I’ve been using quite often lately, because John.e is vegetarian and cannot eat regular marshmallows. This post is not sponsored by Dandies, and I don’t want you to think that I’m preaching veganism at you, because I am far from vegan. However, whenever I find a product that I love, I always share it with you. You most certainly don’t have to be vegan to enjoy Dandies marshmallows. They also have no artificial colours or flavours, which is always a bonus. With that said, the mini white marshmallows would be the perfect substitute!

WANT TO INCLUDE BAKED GOODS TOO?

A few baked goods on your Canada Day Charcuterie Board is a great idea! You don’t need to bake anything yourself. At this time of year, most grocery stores will have a good selection of red and white cookies, tarts, and cupcakes. But, if you’re so inclined, you can bake your own at home!

I have a wonderful selection of Canada Day themed treats that you can easily whip up right from your own kitchen. In fact, why not pick up all of the baking supplies you’ll need at Bulk Barn while you’re there to buy the candy and chocolates!?

Canadian Sugar Cook-eh’s are a great start! They are beautifully festive, very easy to make, and will add a huge pop of red and white to your board! Red Berry Swirl Tartlets start with a store-bought tart shell, so all you have to do is whip up the filling and stir through some of your favourite red jam. These are super delicious! Bulk Barn has a great selection of sanding sugar in almost every colour, so pick up some red and white to make these Sugary Marshmallow Pops! And, finally, what about these M&M Blondies? Everyone will love these!

HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR CANADA DAY CHARCUTERIE BOARD

The amount of people you are serving and the number of items you have to place on the board, will help to determine the size you will need. I’m using an 18 inch wooden board that I got from Amazon. Because I’m working with red food, which can have a lot of natural and synthetic food dye, I oiled my board well with mineral oil first to avoid stains. You can find these types of serving trays at any home decor store, like Marshalls or Winners. You can certainly use a large cutting board too.

When I start to build the board, I want to create contrasting layers, meaning that I tried my best to not put two items of the same colour next to each other. I also made use of a few bowls, which will allow you to pile things higher and keep them neat and tidy. This creates height and depth, which can elevate the look of your final product in term of visual presentation. Note that even the bowls are white and red! Anything wet, like the tomatoes and the bocconcini should be placed in bowls.

The thing about assembling a charcuterie board is that you can easily move things around if something doesn’t work, visually speaking, for you. I like to start with placing the bowls on the board first. You won’t want to move your delicate items like the fruit, for example, around too much, because you run the risk of breaking them or mussing up their finish. Start with the firmer candies and chocolate first. Use the berries as fillers, because they are great for filling in the gaps.

ADDING TO AND FILLING IN THE GAPS

Next, let’s set the little serving bowls into place. On this board, I’m using a total of five bowls. I have a bowl of tomatoes and a bowl of bocconcini. I also have a bowl of red jelly beans, yogurt covered peanuts, and little white candy hearts. Space them apart. No two bowls should be touching.

When that is done, it’s time to fill in the gaps. This is where I use a lot of berries and candy. Go around the perimeter of the board, adding piles of goodies, or stacking them neatly like I did with the spiral red licorice and the cherry twists. I overlapped the chocolate toonies and loonies on the board to add some shiny contrast. Even on a red and white Canada Day board, there has to be a little wiggle room for bling!

DECORATIVE TOUCHES

Finally, it’s time to add some decorative touches. This is optional, but I included a string of wooden beaded garland to my final presentation. I allowed the garland to drape across the board, spilling out onto the sides. This makes the board look bigger and creates the image that there is so much on the board that it is spilling over. I also placed the board onto a red and white gingham table runner. This makes the board look fuller and adds to the festive look of your celebration! Charcuterie boards are all about the food, but they can be pretty too, right!?

Now, wasn’t that easy!? If you do create your own Canada Day Charcuterie Board at home, please send me a photo or tag me on social media. I would love to see what you come up with, because no matter how detailed the instructions in this post, everyone will have a different look and feel to their board. Have fun with it, photograph it, and then eat it! Happy Canada Day!!!