Who loves a charcuterie board? These fun, beautiful and delicious boards can be found at special events functions and almost every dinner party. One of the core ingredients for building a perfect charcuterie board are crackers. This list of the best crackers for charcuterie boards shares some of the best choices to add texture, flavor and the important base of many charcuterie board bites.
On this list you can find images and links as well as a list of some of the best charcuterie crackers to pair with cheese, meat and more. Most of these crackers can be found in your local grocery stores and are often sold under different brand names. To make it easy, you can find links to purchase the best crackers for charcuterie board online as well and some of the artisan crackers are often best purchased at specialty shops locally or online.
In general, you will want to choose the crackers for charcuterie board design that based on several criteria. Depending on the type of charcuterie board you are making, your crackers may be simply the base building block for your food (such as a melba cracker topped with cream cheese and smoked salmon) or you cracker can be the main event (like when you pair breadsticks with a fun charcuterie dip).
Below are some of the different things to consider when purchasing crackers for a charcuterie board:
- Shape – are the crackers square, round, long, or some other shape – how does this fit on your board and with the other food being served?
- Size – how big are the crackers for your charcuterie board? Will they fit on your board?
- Texture – are the soft, crumbly, or hard? How will this pair with the cheese or other ingredients on your charcuterie board?
- Taste – sometimes you want the crackers to be bland to highlight the other food, and sometimes you want the crackers to be delicious. Are the crackers buttery or bland? Salty or sweet?
See more charcuterie board ideas.
Contents
Artisan Crackers
Artisan crackers are a great charcuterie board cracker for boards that need a hearty or tasty cracker. These crackers can be baked with fruits, herbs, or nuts in them and are generally a smaller crackers with a decent amount of texture. Add artisan crackers to boards with simple cheeses and spreads. If you are serving and artisan cracker with lots of taste, you don’t also want a cheese with lots of flavor as this can be overpowering.
Pair your artisan charcuterie crackers with simple cheddar or Monterey jack cheese or a simple cream cheese spread.
Our favorite artisan crackers come from local shops with unique flavors. You can also find an increasing number of crackers in the grocery store. Look in the organic or natural food section or even near the cheeses. Another benefit of use artisanal crackers for a charcuterie board is that they often come with different ingredients list and may be gluten free.
Below you can find a few delicious artisan crackers.
Water Crackers
Water crackers are a popular and perfect addition to a charcuterie board. These crackers are crisp and very bland which make them the perfect canvas for interesting spreads and delicious cheese. We love layering spicy salami on top of these crackers and serving them with all the other delicious ingredients typically found on a charcuterie board like pickles and mustard.
Since these cracker tend to be crumbly, they will make a mess when served and you should
These crackers are easy to find in most grocery stores and you can find a few brands that make a good water cracker. our favorite are Carr’s Table Water Crackers.
Crostini or Melba Crackers
Crostini crackers and melba crackers are sliced bread that is toasted until it is hard like a crackers. These make fun crackers to add to a charcuterie board and hard a hard crumbly texture. We love to put any type of cheese on a crostini cracker, but spreadable make a perfect addition or cheese with a bit of flavor. Other additions include sausage or meats that make mini sandwiches.
These also make excellent bases for brushetta, so if you’re making an Italian themed charcuterie board, you can add basil and tomatoes as a topping.
Below you can see some examples of different crostini style toasts and crackers. We especially love the ones from Stonewall Kitchen.
You will also find crostini crackers that are thinner and less like the traditional thin slices of bread.
You can also find similar crackers that are different shapes than the melba toasts that are also made from dried or toasted bread.
Multigrain
Multigrain crackers make a good choice for a charcuterie board and are a slightly healthier choice. They have more flavor than water crackers and less of a crumbly texture compared to crostini.
When selecting multigrain crackers for a charcuterie board, pair them with a tasty and robust cheese like a Havarti for a soft cheese like brie. You can also add sweet toppings to offset the earth taste of the crackers. Things like fig spreads make a great topping to a multigrain cracker.
There are many different options available for multigrain crackers and you can find them in most grocery stores.
Buttery Crackers
Butter crackers are easy to find and are a great addition to charcuterie boards, especially boards for kids or with simple cheese. These crackers are rich and often salt in addition to the warm buttery taste. Many of the buttery crackers are round or rectangular and small which makes it easy to lay out in an attractive display on your charcuterie board.
Another benefit of buttery crackers is that they are typically inexpensive and easy to find. Below you can see several different types of crackers for a charcuterie board that are considered buttery.
Herb Crackers
Similar to many of the artisan crackers, herb crackers make a great addition to a charcuterie board. These flavorful crackers come in a range of sizes and textures and add a salty and savory cracker for cheese and meats. These are probably my favorite crackers for a charcuterie board as they come in so many different sizes, shapes and flavors and I prefer a rich and tasty crackers.
Many of the popular crackers such as triscuits, ritz, and wheat thins come as both a standard cracker, a whole wheat cracker and an herb cracker. These are often found right in the cracker aisle in the grocery store. Choose a herb crackers for a charcuterie board based on the texture, taste, and size/shape of the crackers.
Breadsticks
Breadsticks make a fun addition to a charcuterie board. While slightly different than the other crackers on this list, breadsticks are great for dipping in cheese or other dips and add a different shape and element to your board. You can put breadsticks on a charcuterie board vertically in a cup or lay them out in a line.
I find every time I add breadsticks to a charcuterie board, they are the first thing to go.
Most grocery stores have a limited assortment of breadsticks but you can find other versions at specialty food stores or order them online.
Gluten Free Crackers for Charcuteri Boards
Best Crackers for Charcuterie BoardsJust because you are serving someone who is gluten free doesn’t mean you have to skip the crackers. The best gluten free crackers for a charcuterie board are usually crispy and made from an alternate flour like almond flour. Visit the gluten free section of the grocery store to find options. We’ve noticed an increase in the number of gluten free crackers and the range of flavors and textures.
If you are serving gluten free crackers alongside the other crackers on your charcuterie board, make sure to keep them apart as even a little gluten can cause problems.
Even if you aren’t serving a gluten free crowd, the crunch and salty taste of most gluten free crackers make them one of the best crackers for charcuterie boards.
And that’s a wrap! Our favorite crackers for charcuterie boards are easy to stack, delicious, and fun to spread on the board. Do you have a favorite cracker? Drop us a comment below!
Other Ingredients for Charcuterie Boards
- Best Bread for Charcuterie Boards
- Best Dried Fruit for Charcuterie Boards
- Best Nuts for Charcuterie Boards
- Best Fruit for Charcuterie Boards
- Best Veggies for Charcuterie Boards
- Best Edible Flowers
