A Trader Joe’s Charcuterie Board

When hosting a party, a Trader Joe’s charcuterie board is my go-to choice for food! It’s easy, inexpensive, and can feed a crowd.

Written BY

Elizabeth Merchut

Appetizer OCD

All author's posts

December 16, 2022

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We love hosting at our house – whether it be for a holiday, special occasion, or birthday celebration! One of the essential parts of hosting a party is figuring out the menu. Whether you’re serving dinner or just snacks, it’s important to consider how many people are coming and whether there are any food allergies or restrictions from your guests.

For this particular event, we were expecting around 25 people. We knew we wanted plenty of snacks, and we also wanted to be mindful of our friends who are vegetarian. A Trader Joe’s charcuterie board was the perfect choice for the party.

I’ve mentioned before that I have gathered inspiration from Meg Quinn’s The Cheese Board Deck. For this event, I turned to this deck of cards again. This is a set of large cards with tons of inspiration for many different types of charcuterie boards. The front of the card includes a beautiful photo, and the back of the card includes the shopping list. This deck includes holiday-themed boards, traditional boards, and non-traditional boards. I picked out a few cards that I liked, and combined them to create my shopping list.

Shopping for my Trader Joe’s Charcuterie Board

Cheese

I decided to purchase 6 cheeses for the party. I selected some of my personal favorites (Asiago Cheese with Rosemary & Olive Oil and Unexpected Cheddar Cheese). I also got my husband’s two favorite cheeses, brie and gouda. From there, I supplemented with one more hard cheese and one more soft cheese so that we would have a nice range of options for our guests.

Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board Cheese
  1. Parmesan Cheese - $5.38
  2. Asiago Cheese with Rosemary & Olive Oil (if you have not tried this, I highly recommend it! The rosemary and olive oil flavors add so much to this cheese) - $4.60
  3. Gouda Cheese - $3.56
  4. Brie - $6.48
  5. Chevre Fine Herbs Goat Cheese - $2.99
  6. Unexpected Cheddar Cheese (a very popular cheese from Trader Joe’s!) - $3.99

Total spent on cheese: $27.00

Meat

I selected two meats to pair with the cheeses. Many of our friends eat meat, although a few are vegetarians. This was the right amount for our crowd.

Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board Meat
  1. Prosciutto - $3.99
  2. Peppered Salame (this package contains a rather large quantity of salame) - $6.49

Total spent on meat: $10.48

Fruit & Vegetables

I like to mix in some fresh fruit and vegetables on a charcuterie board. This is a lighter snack option for guests, and adds in some nice color on the table.

Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board Fruit and Vegetables
  1. Carrots - $1.69
  2. Red Seedless Grapes - $5.49

Total spent on fruit and vegetables: $7.18

Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board Accoutrements

For the accoutrements on the table, I selected two crowd favorites! Cornichons are beloved by many, and I could eat kalamata olives every day. These also add beautiful color to the table.

Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board Accoutrements
  1. Cornichons – $2.99
  2. Organic Pitted Kalamata Olives - $2.99

Total spent on accountrements: $5.98

Dip

One of my husband’s favorite foods is hummus. With the fruits and vegetables planned for the board, hummus was a great addition fordipping.

Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board Dip
  1. Classic Hummus - $3.29

Total spent on dip: $3.29

Garnish

A garnish is something that is definitely not necessary for your Trader Joe’s charcuterie board, but if you have a few extra dollars in your budget, it is absolutely worth it. I like to purchase one container of Rosemary for a charcuterie board. It adds a pop of green and is a nice filler if you have some extra space.

Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board Garnish
  1. Rosemary - $1.69

Total spent on garnish: $1.69

Assembling the Charcuterie Board

Since our event was in the evening, I prepared everything in the morning and assembled it all one hour before the party began. I like to cut all of the cheeses into slices to make them easier for people to grab and eat during the party. I find that if I leave hard cheeses uncut or only partially sliced, then I will have a lot of that cheese left over. The only exception to this is the very soft cheeses – I didn’t pre-slice the brie or goat cheese.

One hour prior to the start of the party, I took the sliced cheeses and all of my other ingredients and began to assemble them directly on the large charcuterie boards I was using. I started by placing the cheeses and ramekins in place. After that, I begin layering in the meats followed by accoutrements. I make adjustments as I go to get a balanced look on the boards. I finalized it by adding in some garnish on top of the brie and in other strategic spots to add in that pop of green.

What Else I Served

You’ll notice that I did not list crackers above – this is because I happened to already have a large box of crackers from Costco in my pantry, so I didn’t need to purchase more crackers from Trader Joe’s. However, there is an excellent selection of crackers available there. My personal favorite is the Organic Naan Crackers. We have a whole post on the best crackers for charcuterie boards if you’re looking for more ideas.

I also served the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups from Trader Joe’s ($4.49). This is one of my personal favorite snacks from the store (and they are WAY better than Reese’s peanut butter cups!). We also had some other name brand candies on the table.

For beverages, we had a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. We made a specialty cocktail from Half Baked Harvest called Nightmare on Bourbon Street. It was a huge hit! We also made Jell-O shots for our guests and served those on more charcuterie boards.

 

Grand Total Spent on Food at Trader Joe’s: $60.11

Serving a charcuterie board with foods from Trader Joe’s is a relatively inexpensive way to serve a lot of snacks at your next party!

If you’re looking for more inspiration, we have some other posts you may enjoy:

Further Reading
How to Pronounce Charcuterie: A Guide to Mastering the Art
In this article, we will guide you through the correct pronunciation of charcuterie, ensuring you can confidently order and discuss this culinary delight.
June 11, 2023
All About Vegan Cheese
Vegan cheese is a wonderful substitute for traditional cheese. It can make all of your dairy-free dreams come true thanks to a huge spread of options available on the market. Learn more about why people choose vegan cheese, how it's made, top brands, and our favorite vegan cheese recipes.
May 31, 2023