Create the Best Dairy Free Charcuterie Board

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Celebrate your next gathering with a dairy free charcuterie board. When we first think about a charcuterie board, we often think about a cheese and meat platter, but there are so many options for what to put on a dairy free board that your friends and family won’t even notice that there is no cheese on the board.

Below you can find suggestions on how to make a dairy free charcuterie board, suggestions for ingredients for a lactose-free charcuterie board, and a recipe to put it all together.

Why You’ll Love this Lactose Free Charcuterie Board

There are so many ways to create the perfect dairy free charcuterie board. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love making this fun appetizer.

Charcuterie Boards are Crowd Pleasers: Bringing out a charcuterie board at your next gathering is sure to be a crowd pleaser. The colorful assortment of food beautifully displayed means there is something for everyone. It also makes a great centerpiece and conversation starter!

A Dairy Free Charcuterie Board is Easy to Customize: leaving off the dairy is not complicated and there are so many options to make the perfect board. Leave off the cheese or choose some dairy free cheese and focus on fresh ingredients. You can even go one step further and make your dairy free charcuterie board gluten-free as well.

Don’t Let Cheese Steal the Show: Cheese is often the main attraction of a charcuterie board, so when you leave off the cheese you have room for all kinds of other fun elements. Serve up some dairy free dips, fresh fruits and vegetables, crackers, and charcuterie meats. Without the cheese, these other elements really have the chance to shine.

Dairy Free Charcuterie Board Ingredient List

There are so many options for building a dairy free charcuterie board. Think fresh veggies, fruit, dips, crackers, nuts and more. Below you can find suggestions for ingredients as well as a list of exactly what we used to build this charcuterie board.

Lactose Free Cheese: Just because you are creating a dairy-free charcuterie board doesn’t mean you can’t serve cheese. There are many different types of cheese that come a lactose-free or vegan. Boursin and Miyoko’s Creamery both have garlic and herb-infused vegan cheeses that are soft and easy to spread on crackers. Another cheese to try is the Chao Field Roast cheddar. There are also some cheeses that have a lower lactose content depending on the severity of the the dairy intolerance. Below is a lost of the cheeses with the lowest lactose range:

• Muenster -0-1.1% lactose range
• Camember – 0-1.8% lactose range
• Brie – 0-2% lactose range
• Cheddar (mild and sharp varieties) – 0-2.1% lactose range
• Provolone – 0-2.1% lactose range
• Gouda – 0-2.2% lactose range
• Blue – 0-2.5% lactose range
• Parmesan – 0-3.2% lactose range
• Swiss – 0-3.4% lactose range

Dairy Free Dips: Dairy free dips are the real showstoppers for a dairy free charcuterie board. There are so many options for dairy free dips. Consider hummus, guacamole, mustard, bean dip, salsa, or caramel. Choose your other ingredients based on the dips you choose.

Crackers: There are so many different types of crackers you can use for a charcuterie board. Note that some crackers actually contain dairy – so check the ingredients and notes on the packaging to make sure you’re choosing a dairy free cracker.

Fruit: Luckily fruit is dairy free! Almost any fruit makes a great addition to a dairy free charcuterie board. Some of my favorite fruit for a charcuterie board are grapes, berries, and anything you can cut up into finger-sized foods.

Vegetables: Vegetables make colorful and healthy additions to any charcuterie board. Cut up the vegetables into finger and bite-sized pieces. My favorites are carrots, cucumbers, peppers, celery, and anything pickled.

Nuts: This is another perfect addition to a dairy free charcuterie board. Nut can be served salty of sweet and give a nice balance of flavors to replace the dairy-free cheese.

Here is a list of the ingredients we used to make this dairy free charcuterie board:

• Garlic Parmesan Pretzels
• Pickles
• Crackers
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Peppers
• Salted Peanuts
• Guacamole
• Grapes
• Cucumbers
• Salami
• Carrots
• Hummus

Looking for more ideas for ingredients for a simple charcuterie board? Check out this post.

How to Arrange Your Dairy Free Charcuterie Board

Just like there are many ingredients to assemble the perfect charcuterie board, there are many ways to arrange your food on the board itself. You can spread ingredients out, cluster them together, simply dump them on, or create an artistic and fancy decor. Here are a few tips for arranging any charcuterie board:

• Choose the right-sized charcuterie board: The right-sized board is just big enough to fit all the ingredients for the number of people you are serving. If your board is too big, it will be difficult to cover completely, and if it is too small, it won’t fit all the ingredients. There are so many different types of boards to choose from, but you can often use something you have around your home such as a cutting board or platter.
• Place your ‘anchor’ items on the board first: I always start with my biggest items first. This is usually the bowls of dip, but can also be a line of crackers or other large items
• Take your Time Assembling Your Board: With just a little extra time, you can assemble a truly beautiful charcuterie board. I like to lay out my ingredients in clumps or rows and spread out the different colors and textures.
• I prefer to break up colors and textures, but also think about the flavors as I’m assembling boards. I love pickles and salty foods, but having them right up against the other foods can pass the flavor around in an unpleasant way.

How to Assemble your Dairy Free Charcuterie Board

To get started putting together your charcuterie board, first cut up all your ingredients into bite-sized pieces – think easy finger foods. Map any dips, and place them in small bowls. For this board, we made our own guacamole (see our favorite recipe) but used store-bought hummus. Depending on the dip you choose, and the amount of time you have, you can either make your own or buy pre-made. It’s also possible to buy the fruits and vegetables pre-cut. I typically use this option if I am going to assemble the charcuterie board at a friend’s house, otherwise, I prefer to cut my own ingredients.

Once everything is prepped, you can go ahead and assemble your board, or put the ingredients aside for assembly later. In general, the best charcuterie boards are usually served at room temperature. This entire board only took about 10 minutes to prep and 5 minutes to assemble.

Don’t worry too much about getting it perfect. Charcuterie boards are beautiful, but they are really just heaping boards of delicious food, don’t get too caught up in the details.

Dairy Free Charcuterie Board Recipe

Check out the recipe below for a list of the ingredients for this dairy free charcuterie board. We made this for a family meal and chose to make it dairy free and simple. I’ve also been known to eat too much cheese, so this was a bit of a break from my standard dairy-intensive charcuterie board. This board served about 6 people as an appetizer, but can be easily adjusted based on your needs.

Common Questions About Creating a Dairy Free Charcuterie Board

Does a Charcuterie Board Always have Cheese?

While most traditional charcuterie boards come with cheese, the term charcuterie board has come to mean many different types of food boards. This means you can make your own charcuterie board without cheese, or with lactose-free cheese. If you are eating out at a restaurant, a charcuterie board will almost always be served with cheese.

Is there Cheese that is Dairy Free?

Yes – there is cheese that is dairy free. This means that if you can’t imagine a charcuterie board without cheese, there are some options for you. Check out Boursin, Miyoko and Chao Field Roast Cheese. You can also find some cheese that has a lower lactose content depending on the severity of the lactose intolerance.

What do you put in a Dairy Free Platter?

There are so many options for creating a dairy free charcuterie platter. Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, cured meats, dairy free dips, crackers, nuts, pickled foods, or sweets. If you can’t live without cheese, there are some dairy free cheese options as well. Boursin, Miyoko and Chao Field Roast Cheese all make dairy free cheese.

Is Salami dairy free? Does Pepperoni have Dairy in it?

No. Most cured meats do not contain dairy. Pepperoni, Salami, and other cured meats sometimes contain gluten, but do not contain milk. If you are selecting other meats that might be combined with cheese, always check the label carefully. Without cheese on your charcuterie board, adding cured meats is a great option.