Valentine Charcuterie Boards & Ideas

Love is in the air! And what better way to celebrate it than with a lovely charcuterie board? This Valentine's Day, I made a fun and pinkalicious board inspired by the holiday! 

You can totally impress your guests or loved ones with a dessert board that combines the best treats and cutest aesthetic! Crafting the perfect charcuterie board is technically an art form in itself. 

Looking for something cute to wear on Valentine's day? Check out these cute outfits HERE

The Great Thing About Valentine Charcuterie Boards

Whether you're planning a dreamy date night at home or hosting a get together with friends, a well-curated charcuterie board is sure to make the experience!

Not only does a Valentine's day board offer a variety of fun tastes and textures, but it also presents an opportunity for creativity and can be totally decorative!

You can add your favorite spreads, treats, and even fresh fruits, nuts, and candies to enhance all of the flavors and showcase your gorgeous style.

What to put on a dessert board?

You can get really creative with the types of yummy treats to put on a dessert board. The more variety of treats you have the better! Keep it interesting with different textures, flavors. You can also mix sweet and salty and even tangy treats. Go for a specific aesthetic or color. Like hearts, pink or red.

 Try mixing the following treats to make your next valentine dessert board: 

• Mini cakes
• Cookies
• Chocolates
• Macaroons
• Dried fruit
• Chocolate covered nuts 
• Fresh fruit
• Bakery goods
• Gummy/pectin bears
• Valentine heart candies 
• Licorice 
• Yogurt coverd pretzels 
• Any pink/red treat or dessert

What are Some Valentine Board Ideas?

Choose a fun aesthetic to base your Valentine board off of such as the following themes: 

• Anything pink or red
• Valentines day Hershey kisses board
• Hearts, hearts and more hearts
• Anything that represents love
• Romantic board
• Your favorite romance novel theme
• Black and red board 
• Visit the valentine isle at Target 
• Vampire diaries love theme 
• Set up the snacks on a heart shape plate 
• Breakfast in bed valentines day board 

 

A charcuterie board is pronounced (shar-koo-tuh-ree) which is made with fresh fruits, cheeses, crackers, nuts, olives, and small bites. I love to serve a charcuterie board for just about any dinner party we throw. Birthday parties, dinner parties and holidays are a great reason to make this delightful appetizer. 

Valentine charcuterie dessert board 

My Kids also love it when I made these boards! I like to make them on the weekends after lunch time, because my kids will snack on them all day long and help hold them off until dinner time.

What I love about this style appetizer is that you can make these boards really healthy by using lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. I also like to think of a charcuterie board as an adult Lunchable!* But you didn't hear it from me* 😜

Valentine Breakfast In Bed Board

Make someone's morning extra special with a Valentine breakfast board for two! You can make a really delightful mini Valentine Charcuterie board with your favorite breakfast! Pair it with a hot drink and light a candle to go along with your breakfast board. 

FIY, you don't actually have to wait until valentines day to do this. This is a great treat for any day you want to make someone feel special or loved. You can also do this for a birthday, anniversary or valentines day. 

How to make a valentine charcuterie board?

1.Start by gathering all of the ingredients you wish to assemble on your Valentine board.

2. Lay out all of the items in front of you on the counter when setting the up the board. This helps you to see everything you have. Having all of your ingredients out in front of you  gives you an opportunity to play around with mixing and matching treats and rearranging them. 

3. Begin to arrange and rearrange your board depending on what looks good and feels right. 

4. Discard any pieces you won't be using ( or eat them along the way 😉) & Enjoy! 

What can I use to decorate a charcuterie board?

Amazingly, lovely garnishes such as fresh herbs can really uplift and complete the look of your board. Try flower petals for valentines day, or chamomile and lavender for a pretty summer Charcuterie Board. 

Charcuterie Board Garnishes 

You can also garnish your Charcuterie Board with various herbs to make it extra lovely. Try the following

• Rosemerry 
• Thyme
• Rose petals
• Lavender
• Mint
• Flowers
• Chamomile 
• Sage 

Tip: When you are purchasing flowers to use as a way to garnish your boards with, make sure to use food grade flowers. Some grocers carry fresh edible flowers. You can also garnish your boards with dried flowers for making into tea if you can't find fresh flowers. 

Add honey comb, honey drizzle and jams for added flavors and texture. I love to drizzle a spicy honey over baked Brea for example. 

 Dried Fruit Board

Another lovely way to decorate a Valentine Charcuterie Board is with dried fruit. Think orange peel, lemon zest, and any other variation of dried fruit. 

You can purchase dried fruit or make your own in the oven.

How to make dried orange for garnish

Dried oranges are on of my favorites to decorate my boards with. Especially if the aesthetic is a cinnamon and spice board. Oranges are vibrant, yet when dried they evoke a romantic flair to whatever you add them to. Once the oranges are dried, they almost glisten with a stained glass look that makes them so irresistible. 

One of the  most popular way to dry oranges is in the oven.

How to Bake Orange Slices

1. Start by cutting the oranges into slices and gently dry them with a paper towel to soak out some of the juice. 
2. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and place the oranges on top
3. Set your oven to a very low setting and bake them
4. Turn the oranges often until they are dehydrated 
5. Take the oranges slices out of the oven and place on a cooling rack. Continue to turn them until they are completely dry 

Bonus Tips:

Remember to take your time and enjoy the process. Dont rush it, enjoy it! 

Different varieties of oranges will produce different colors. If you want a bright and vibrant color, go for Cara Cara oranges. If you want a classic orange go for a navel orange.