Easy Game Day Food Board

At any event, the true hero is the food. And this easy game day food board is a great way to serve a large group without breaking the bank. Here are some charcuterie board ideas to make the perfect party platter your guests will love. Are you ready for some game day appetizer board ideas?

Game Day Appetizer Board Ideas

Can we all just agree that the star of any football tailgate or party is what is being served for us to eat? I mean, football is great—don't get me wrong—but I LOVE being able to snuggle up to the snack table and fill my belly full of appetizers and other easy game day foods on gorgeous themed party platters.

The way I see it, football games last anywhere from 3 to 4 hours at a time so this means that I have a lot of time to snack my way through the entire game. Because let's face it...halftime isn't the only time that my tummy is going to be growling. Having a great party platter spread means there's always something interesting to nibble on or fill your plate with in between plays.

What I love about this massive list of tailgating recipes for party platters and food boards is that they're are really unique in flavors. If I'm craving a dip, I can have a dip. If I'm craving something spicy and sweet, I've got that option, too.

And let's not forget long after the football game is over, the leftovers of all these party appetizers are just waiting to be consumed. I like to think of this as a time when I can celebrate the winning team by reliving the consumption of some of my favorite snacks.

The common theme that you'll find in all of these party platter tasty dishes is that they're meant to be shared with other friends and football fans.

You can easily whip up delicious appetizers and plate them on party platters, invite over the other members of your fan club and enjoy all the fun game day celebrations while you're surrounded by delicious food.

Easy Game Day Food Board

From Football Deviled Eggs and Jalapeno Cheeseburger Sliders to Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings, Chevre Goat Cheese Balls and Oven Baked Ribs, these party platter hacks are perfect for game day, or any other event you’re hosting.

With a little strategic plating, party planners can easily present a beautiful, delicious, and filling appetizer spread that can be as creative and inexpensive (yet impressive) as you’d like!

This post outlines the basics to creating your own game day party platter or charcuterie board. If you're looking for appetizer board ideas, check out my list of more than 50 easy appetizers, sure to please any palette!

What's A Charcuterie Board?

A charcuterie board is a fancy way of describing a party platter and is often simply a cutting board that displays a selection of different usually deli meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts or a snack. They can contain a lot more, of which I will speak later on.

Party platters and charcuterie boards are super easy to put together and you can make them as inexpensive or expensive as you want them. And the best part? You can find everything needed at your local market.

I'd even say party platters are an art form and quite trendy right now. So customizable, they can be created to suit whatever you need them for. Party platters are so versatile! They can range from fruit boards to veggie boards to the traditional mix of meats and cheeses.

Ranging in sizes from hand held to a full table size, it all depends on your budget, amount of people and dietary preferences.

When done reading this post, you will be able to create the perfect party platter food board for you.

Making a Charcuterie Board

I am about to show you just how easy making a charcuterie board can be. You don't need a special board unless you want to purchase one.

There is no wrong answer when it comes to how to make a charcuterie board really. Especially when it comes to picking out the board that you're going to use.

You can buy all types of boards, in kinds of sizes and all kinds of shapes. Even fun, mini ones for the children in your life. Getting them interested in sports at a young age, requires a very small charcuterie board just for them.

I have a couple cutting boards I use and they work just fine. Both have a surface that isn't smooth so things tend to stay on top of it.

That being said a rimmed baking sheet will work just fine too! As long as it's sturdy enough to hold what you're putting on it, you can pick whatever you like. For more information on Styling Tips, see below.

Before I started making these, I was overwhelmed. It seemed like so much work, I didn't even know where to start. But, you see how easy it is to begin...to pick your own custom charcuterie board?!

How To Charcuterie Board

Let's start with the board you're going to use. As I said, A basic charcuterie board contains various cured meats and cheeses. Crackers and dips as well are part of the party platter.

It also has between two to four main courses, so to speak, that are protein based and vegetables...let's not forget the healthy additions.

Healthy additions including vegetables and/or fruit and lower fat versions of items on the board. The options are really quite varied.

Later, I will go further into detail about what to include on a healthy game day food board. I will also discuss what to put on a charcuterie board that is themed or custom made.

As I discussed, there are different sizes for the game day finger foods board. When making a larger one you want larger proteins like the four-inch version in this post, and likewise, with the smaller one, you want to use smaller proteins like the mini cheeseburger sliders.

Personalized Charcuterie Board

Now, you don't have to stick to the basics. The great thing about them is that you can create your very own charcuterie board shopping list.

You can pick what you want...all of your favorites or whatever your budget allows for. See below for how to make a good charcuterie board on a budget.

When Patrick was young, we used to let him make our charcuterie board once in a while. I say once in a while because he used to put the most outrageous creations on it. Mostly sweet items but there were savory.

He'd start with strawberry iced pop tarts and would cut them into strips. The dip would be Nutella and peanut butter mixed together. Chocolate chip cookies were a staple as well as pickles dipped in Cheese Wiz...you see where I'm going with the weirdness?!

By that age, he had discovered his love of spice and would include deviled eggs loaded with jalapenos and bacon. He was about 10 or so and was able to boil the eggs supervised.

I don't think you could get any more personalized than that!

Small Charcuterie Board

You can also create an individual, small charcuterie board for people. Perfect for a great sporting event that is shorter and requires less goodies to munch on.

I used to make a separate one for Ken, Patrick and myself. Sometimes Ken and I would share one and sometimes not. It all depended on what we had for lunch or dinner and how full our bellies were.

As Patrick got older, he started wanting his own easy charcuterie board to make and eat...mostly comprised of the well-loved deviled eggs and mini jalapeno cheeseburger sliders. He wasn't one so much for fruit and veggies unless prepared a certain way...picky lol!

He'd still add chips and dip to his best game day food board as well as various other teenaged munchies.

So, you see, a small charcuterie board is just perfect for a few people and a mini food board is great for just one.

Charcuterie Board for Two

When watching tv or a movie, I'll make a charcuterie board for two that Ken and I can both share. I use my medium sized cutting board and I make it with chips, dip, pistachios, sliders, deviled eggs (I make them for every occasion), veggies and cheese puffs...yes, cheese puffs.

That's what he prefers and I'm glad to oblige.

I starting making the charcuterie board for two back when Ken and I were first dating and I must say, it brought us closer together. It allowed for us to learn what each other liked and what we had in common.

So I guess you could say a small charcuterie board is a romantic gesture when you want to impress someone and get to know them. At least I think it's kind of romantic!

What would you and your significant other put on your charcuterie board for two?

Game Day Food on a Budget

Generally speaking, I spend between $25 and $40 on my game day food board and everyone is happy with that. You may want to make a fancier charcuterie board but that's not what I'm talking about here.

What I'm telling you in this section is how to acquire game day party platter food on a budget, plain and simple!

So, let's start with the lower cost basics and ideas.

Lower cost food can be quite easy if you keep an eye and an ear out for sales and savings. Flyers will inform you of what deals you can get when you go shopping at your local supermarket. You can find them delivered in your mailbox or online when browsing the menu.

Note: Generally, the larger the store, the larger the selection and chances of you finding what you're looking for. Also, the prices of things will vary depending on what area of the city or state/province or country you live in.

Finding Inexpensive Charcuterie Board Meats

When it comes to meat, you want to have about two to three kinds on your game day food board. These include meats that you find pre-packaged as opposed to what you would find at the deli counter.

Meats such as salami, ham, turkey and even bologna are great for saving money. If there's a particular packaged meat that you want to use that I haven't listed, feel free to buy it. The packaging is what mostly keeps the price down.

Finding Inexpensive Charcuterie Board Cheese

When it comes to cheeses, you also want to have between two and three on your food board. There should usually be a hard cheese, a soft cheese and a crumbly cheese. Cheddar, Brie and Blue Cheese fit the bill.

You can also try the deli counter and ask if they have any ends or broken chunks that they want to sell you. They're usually cheaper and you can step up your game without anyone knowing about the savings.

When serving the cheese, slice the cheddar and fan it out so it takes up a bit more space. Crumble the blue cheese and place the wheel of Brie, or half if you're making a small food board) somewhere near but not touching the other cheeses. You want to keep them separate.

Finding Inexpensive Fruits and Vegetables

For less expensive produce, it's best to pick something that's in season so that you can avoid the costly, shipping to the supermarket.

A variety of cheaper vegetables that you can buy year round (usually) include:

• sliced bell pepper
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• celery
• carrots
• cucumbers
• cherry or grape tomatoes

A variety of cheaper fruit that you can usually buy year round include:

• grapes
• apples
• bananas
• pears
• raisins
• dried cranberries

Keep in mind, the selection of fruit is greater in the summer but the ones listed will do in a pinch. Dried fruit is great but sometimes more expensive.

If your budget allows, why not try dried apricots or mango? Dried cherries, strawberries and anything exotic is usually more costly.

Finding Inexpensive Snacks and Dips

Snacks and dips can be relatively inexpensive in larger supermarkets. You can however, make your own dip by checking out my How To Make Dip post.

The munchies that you can find at an affordable price include but are not limited to:

• pretzels
• chocolates
• rippled chips (strong enough to hold up in dip)
• cheese puffs AKA Cheezies
• peanuts
• Ritz crackers
• saltines
• bagel chips
• pita chips
• Melba Toast
• Triscuit
• corn nuts

For dips: if you're not going to make one of mine, you can make a nice french onion dip by combining a package of onion soup with some sour cream. Other dips/spreads can be bought or purchased in a variety of flavors.

An example would be cream cheese, you can substitute this for the Brie and get all kinds of cool and delicious selections. My homemade hummus is quite nice and popular too.

So, you see, it's really easy to find inexpensive charcuterie board ingredients and it's possible for you to make your game day snacks board without breaking the bank. You can make it as cheap or as expensive as you want.

Time to make your charcuterie board shopping list!

What to Put on a Charcuterie Board

Whether you’re hosting a crowd at your house, taking the appetizer to a dinner party at a friend’s house, or contributing to your family’s holiday spread, I think you’ll love how easy, affordable and enjoyable these budget-friendly food boards are to make.

The charcuterie board shopping list is short so you can be in and out of the store pretty quickly.

There’s virtually no cooking required so you don’t have to worry about cleaning a lot of pots and pans, and these boards can seriously be assembled in less than 10 minutes. This one here takes 25 minutes in total!

Ever see a beautiful cheese board display and wonder how they curated it to look a certain way? I’ve got all of my best Charcuterie Board Styling Tips, so you can build your own creation at home for the holidays or for any occasion!

Because, let’s be honest, cheese and crackers need no occasion and should be enjoyed upon demand.

As mentioned, you can pick whatever you’d like to fill your board with, but here are the staples I usually pick out at the store for me when I'm making my own:

• 1-2 different crackers
• 2 small bunches of grapes (red or white)
• 2-3 different cheeses
• a dip or two (usually hummus, honey or jam)
• 2-3 different cured meats
• 2-3 veggies (especially if serving hummus)
• olives
• nuts

Easy Game Day Food and Snacks

Game Day Food Ideas

When you think of game day, what foods come to mind? Do you think of meat and cheese with crackers, dips and veggies? Truth be told, there are lots of them to choose from and I'm so excited to share some of them with you.

I myself have created many recipes that are perfect for game day food ideas. I love experimenting and mixing the old classics with new ideas. Appetizers and snacks a plenty. I'll bet one of these would be game day worthy for you!

Appetizer Board Ideas

• Mushroom Avocado Toast Recipe
• Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
• Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings
• Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
• Simple Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Simple Chicken Salsa Snack Wraps
• The Ultimate Guacamole
• Baked Pita Chips
• Sweet Sriracha or Sweet Chili Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
• Cheesy Bacon Hot Dog Bites
• Perfect Bacon Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

If, by chance, you don't see anything that jumps out at you, I have a delicious collection of Best Appetizers For Parties, Tailgates Or Cravings that may contain something that catches your eye.

It's quite a nice collection, if I do say so myself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it for you.

Game Day Finger Foods

What comes to mind when I say finger foods, what comes to mind?...sound a bit familiar? Yes, that's how I started the last section. The reason is that when it comes to game day food, appetizers and finger foods are almost one and the same.

I think it all depends on the people that are eating the food. Some prefer recipes like I listed above, while others may prefer some of the things I'm going to mention.

When I think of sports, chicken tenders, burgers, pizza and such come to mind. The following list is of some finger food recipes that I created and some other tasty options you might like to try.

• Hot wings
• Chicken tenders
• Pulled pork
• Pizza
• Pigs in a blanket
• Quesadillas
• Baby Back ribs
• Chex mix
• Chicken wings
• Jalapeno Cheeseburger Sliders
• Perfect Meatballs
• Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
• Cheesy Meatball Stuffed Biscuits
• Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Dip
• Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings
• Cheesy Bacon Pull Apart Bread

There are so many different foods that you can serve at your game day celebration and it's nice to have options. Some other tasty options for you to discover are here.

Healthy Game Day Food and Snacks

Now, when putting together game day snacks, not everyone is interested in the traditional charcuterie board items. Some people would like to enjoy healthy game day foods and if that's what you're looking to learn how to make, you've come to the right place.

You are totally in control of what you put on your best game day food board. And since it's your party platter, you can add as many healthy snacks as desired. You can leave a "cheat snack" on the food board if you wish. It's completely up to you.

For a full list of healthy vegetables you can put on your easy charcuterie board, see right below in my Easy Game Day Food and Snacks section.

There's a delicious Homemade Honey Buffalo Cauliflower Bites recipe that I created and I think that if you're looking for a healthier alternative to chicken wings then it may be something you want to check out.

Depending on dietary requirements, you can accommodate every diet, whether it be vegan, paleo, keto, gluten-free and more. Simply ask first what they would like and what snacks they would prefer and incorporate them into your food board.

You can add more veggies, hummus, guacamole, pita chips, and even a tasty mushroom and avocado on toast. The possibilities are endless!

How to Make Your Own Charcuterie Board

When considering game day food ideas for your easy charcuterie board there are a variety of items you can put on top. For this purpose, I am discussing a few basics and expanding from there.

I'll be talking about cheeses, meats, crackers, vegetables, fruit, nuts and dried fruit. All the types and why you use them on your game day food board!

Let's say, for the purpose of this post, that you are going to make a meat and cheese game day food board. I'm going to show you here how to pick your items, prepare them and then place them on your custom charcuterie board.

Charcuterie Board Cheese

Cheese is a food that almost everyone loves and usually gets gobbled up shortly after you serve your food board. So, sometimes it's nice to serve a board that is specific to cheese and all things complimentary to it.

When creating your food board, you want to start off with the cheese...or should I say cheeses, because you want to ensure that there is a nice collection for you and yours to choose from.

You want to use three to four different cheeses and these cheeses should be hard, soft and crumbly. They should be placed on the easy charcuterie board first, not touching each other and displayed to their fullest potential. What does that mean? Well, read on and you'll see!

Let's start of with Hard Cheese:

Hard cheese can be sliced and spread out like a fan (perfect for when you need to use up a bit more space), sliced with half of the block still intact (just watch for when you have to slice some more) and it can be cubed then stacked (marble is wonderful for creating texture).

I use a board that is about 12 x 18 because I like to put five cheeses on it. I use two hard cheeses, two soft and one crumbly on my meat and cheese board. It's always better to have too much cheese as opposed to too little. Leftovers can always be munched on later!

Here's an alphabetical list of hard cheeses that you can choose from, depending on your price point.

• Asiago
• Cheddar
• Colby Jack
• Comte
• Emmental
• Grana Padano
• Gruyere
• Gouda
• Havarti
• Leicester
• Manchego
• Monteray
• Parmesan
• Swiss

Next, let's talk about Soft Cheese:

Soft cheese is a cheese unto it's own. It's smooth, usually creamy and, of course, soft.

You can serve a wheel or block of it with a cheese knife, so that people may spread it onto their crackers or fruit (fruit is so delicious with cheese...YUM!).

I have to admit that when Patrick was very young, and I stress very, he refused to use the cheese knife and would stick his finger into the soft cheese and then lick it off...he only did this when we didn't have guests. Even at that age, he was polite enough to avoid such an action.

Again, I have to stress, that you don't want the cheeses touching each other as their flavors may not compliment each other.

Here is a list of soft cheeses that you can serve.

• Brie
• Burrata
• Camenbert
• Cottage Cheese
• Cream Cheese
• Mozzarella

Cream cheese is versatile, coming in quite a variety of flavors, ranging from Smoked Salmon to Mixed Berry. It's easily spreadable and people generally love it. You can customize the flavor to compliment your preference or your guest's preference. That's why I use it on my board.

Finally, let's talk about Crumbly Cheese:

Crumbly cheese is great to add a texture and flavor to your easy charcuterie board without exerting much effort.

Simply crumble the cheese, if it hasn't already on it's own and place it on your board...again, not touching other cheeses. I can't stress this enough. The success of your cheese board depends on this.

You can also place it in a small bowl to catch the brine, if there is any, and use a small spoon to scoop it onto the crackers.

Soft cheese is a wonderful way to add flavor to your board because of the zip or tang it has. Mmm...my mouth waters just thinking of it.

Here are some soft cheeses that you can serve:

• Blue or Bleu Cheese
• Chevre
• Cojita
• Feta
• Goat Cheese
• Ricotta
• Roquefort

I have a couple of delicious recipes that you may want to take a look at. My Chevre Goat Cheese Balls recipe and my Easy Bacon Ranch Cheeseballs are quite popular in my home. What do you think?

So, that's it for the cheese part of your easy charcuterie board. Now, let's talk about the meat!

Charcuterie Board Meats

The meat that you use on an easy charcuterie board can vary from quite inexpensive to very expensive. It can be the defining centerpiece of the food board, followed closely by the cheese.

It can be served (if you're going for a lower budget and using pre-packaged meat) rolled up with a toothpick in it...my grandmother used to serve it like that or you can placed in a gradual piling.

You can spend as little or as much as you want, as I've mentioned, and make your easy charcuterie board as basic or as fancy as you'd like it.

Here is an alphabetical list of Charcuterie Board Meats.

• Bologna
• Chicken
• Corned Beef
• Ham
• Mortadella
• Pastrami
• Pate
• Prosciutto
• Salami
• Turkey

Three to four options will suffice. The meat should be placed central, still without touching, with the cheese spread in between the meat. It is not only for flavor's sake that you keep the meats and cheeses apart. It also has to do with maintaining the integrity of the protein.

I won't go into all the messy details, but will say that it keeps the food from spoiling and thus ruining your game day board experience.

What would a meat and cheese board be without something to munch on the delicious stars of the show with?! Let's talk about crackers and other snacks now that make your food board something special.

Charcuterie Board Crackers and Snacks

Meats and cheeses are great on their own but there's something about crackers and such that add that extra texture and balanced flavor. The crunch of a pretzel with the zest of cheese is a total flavor explosion!

The list of what you want to include can include anything that you want, it all depends on your budget. Some very tasty crackers and chips can be quite inexpensive. For more information on charcuterie board ingredients on a budget see above.

Here is a list of some common, easy game day Snacks and Crackers.

• Bagel Chips
• Baguette (fresh)
• Cheese Crackers
• Crisps
• Pita Chips
• Potato Chips (ruffled to hold up)
• Pretzels
• Ritz Crackers
• Saltines
• Soda Crackers
• Triscuits

You want to spread these near the dips and around the edges of the charcuterie board, keeping away from any wet meat or cheese. The chips and bread would go near the dip, the crackers near the cheese and the pretzels etc... near the edges.

Don't worry if there's still space on your board, we still have a few things to go. Conversely, if you're finding that your board is filling up too fast, you may want to reduce the number of items on your board.

Remember, a good charcuterie board shopping list includes a full balance and that's what we're getting to next.

Charcuterie Board Vegetables

Not only is the dip great for the chips and bread but it's wonderful for fresh veggies. I don't know about you but nothing tickles my fancy more than a floret of broccoli dipped in a nice caramelized onion dip....delish.

I'm sure you will develop your own favorite combination...but in case you need some suggestions, check out my How To Make Dip post. Who knows, your new favorite could be right around the corner.

Finding the right vegetable can make the mood of your food board. Getting what's in season can save some money but sometimes spending more, on a special occasion for an imported vegetable, something that's not in your area or country is worth a try.

My husband would eat the same vegetables every day if it wasn't for me lol.

Here is a list of common Charcuterie Board Vegetables.

• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Olives (green/black)
• Pickles (dill/sweet)
• Snap Peas
• Sweet Peppers
• Tomatoes (cherry/grape)

When making your easy charcuterie board, there are shortcuts when it comes to vegetables and there are times when good old fashioned easy work is required.

You can purchase broccoli crowns which makes for less waste and more ease when it comes to removing the florets, pre-cut and washed vegetables including peppers and celery.

Using baby carrots as opposed to chopping regular ones can save you time (with just a tad higher price point) and preparing the rest ahead of time can really be useful when you build your meat and cheese board.

I would generally include about two to three kinds of veggies placing them next to the dip bowl(bowls depending on how many your putting out). Make sure the vegetables are dry and provide toothpicks for the tomatoes.

That's it for vegetables, now let's move on to fresh fruit, the sweeter side of life.

Charcuterie Board Fruit

A fantastic large charcuterie board must have the balance of sweet to savory so now we bring in the sweet. The sensation of biting into a fresh, juicy strawberry or even the tangy, sweet combination of a kiwi is mind blowing. There are no better natural desserts than fruit.

I would put two to three different kinds of fruit, all with different flavor families. I love strawberries so that's what I serve with, along side with a nice fruit dip.

Place the fruit in places where you have larger gaps and you want your colors to pop. Mix up the neutral colors with a spice of brightness I say.

Here is a list of popular Charcuterie Board Fruit.

• Apples
• Bananas
• Cantaloupe
• Grapes
• Honeydew Melon
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Papayas
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Plums
• Strawberries

A long list of tasty sweet treats that you don't have to feel guilty about. If you're looking for a healthier game day food board, you'll want to include more servings of fruits (and of course vegetables) and cut back perhaps on some of the higher carb crackers and snacks.

The choice is totally up to you. That's the great thing about making a custom charcuterie board!

The last things I'm going to talk about are nuts and dried fruits. While they aren't a must, they're definitely worth putting on your food board. Especially the nuts...

Charcuterie Board Nuts and Dried Fruit

Nuts are crunchy little wonders that compliment very many dishes. They're great to eat on their own when you have the munchies and even better to place on your charcuterie board.

For most cases, I would only place one or two kinds of nuts on the board and I would serve them in a small bowl. You can place this between the dips so as to create more diversity on the board.

Ken just loves pistachios so that's what I buy him but there are times where they aren't available and I just buy peanuts. He's perfectly happy with them and just appreciates the effort.

Listed here are some Charcuterie Board Nuts.

• Almonds
• Brazil Nuts
• Cashews
• Hazelnuts
• Macadamia Nuts
• Peanuts
• Pecans (candied or plain)
• Pistachios
• Walnuts

You see, there are lots of nuts to choose from! You can use them, along with the dried fruit to start filling in the leftover gaps on your easy charcuterie board.

Dried fruit and nuts make a nice combination and are aesthetically pleasing when placed correctly, along with all the other wonderful ingredients for your food board.

Here is a list of Charcuterie Board Dried Fruit

• Apples
• Apricots
• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Cranberries
• Mangos
• Peaches
• Plums
• Raisins
• Strawberries

While all of these may not be located in your local supermarket, they can be, however, purchased at specialty shops when you want to try something a little different.

So, after reading all of this, I hope that you have an understanding of how to make a basic charcuterie board or otherwise known as a meat and cheese board or party platter. I use these interchangeably because they are one and the same. It all depends on what you grew up with.

Let's start talking about sports and what to serve during sporting events!

Easy Game Day Food Board

As soon as football season hits party hosts and families look for new and innovative easy game day snacks and delicious dips to serve.

The best game day food is often subjective and based on what your guests or family members will love the most.

Whether you’re looking for healthy game day snacks or want to create an epic cheese board, these game day appetizer board ideas will help you skip the store-bought veggie platter and takeout wings and serve something truly amazing.

Game Day Appetizer Board Ideas

Great appetizer party platters and game day go hand in hand, and these game day food board ideas are sure to create an impression. There are so many creative ways to display your party platter and don’t forget to customize for your team’s colors!

Whatever the occasion, charcuterie board are a fun, inexpensive and easy way to serve a lot of food for a group of people as well as put on a great show.

Easy Game Day Food Board Styling Tips

This board works best with a minimum 9"x13” styling board and no larger than 12”x18”.

Choosing your tray can set the tone for your charcuterie board. For more festive and eloquent parties, I like to use marble or porcelain trays.

When creating charcuterie boards for more laid-back events like sports games or birthday parties, I enjoy using wooden or plastic boards.

Another way to elevate style within your party platter spread is by choosing smaller dishes to be placed inside your game day food board.

Keep all your colors, patterns and aesthetics cohesive.

Place the main stars of your charcuterie board in separate places along your serving tray. Instead, place them down first separated out and fill in your extra space with all finishing touches!

A food board should consist of two to four main recipes complimented by various snacks and pairings. More than four recipes will create an overwhelming board and guests will begin to lose focus.

Keep your main recipes simple. Since a food board consists of so much to eye and admire, you don’t want to create a very involved and/or high demanding recipe to add to the mix.

For pairings and snacks, choose a balanced blend of salty, sweet, breads, fruits and vegetables.

If your charcuterie board isn’t specifically geared toward a food group (i.e., a vegetable board will consist of a majority of vegetables) then you will do a little bit of everything to create an effective and crowd pleasing spread.

Your pairings and snacks should compliment the theme of your board. Create a strong theme for your spread and ask yourself what type of food is commonly displayed around that theme.

For example, Christmas holiday boards could consist of candy canes, chocolates, tree shaped crackers, etc. Football board could consist of savory meat, cheeses and finger food. And so on.

For your game day food board, you can take deviled eggs and use cut scallions or small green onions to make laces on the top of the "football". Such a simple idea, so enticing at the same time.

Lastly, keep in mind the aesthetic of your display. Try to separate out like colors and textures. This ensures that everything on your party platter pops!

MY Game Day Food Board

Now, that I've shown you how to make a good charcuterie board, it's time that I move on to my very own creation...well mine and Ken's as we worked together to develop and perfect a food board fit for our family and friends.

I usually make a separate dessert charcuterie board with all kinds of sweets and goodies...some healthy and some that are more indulgent. That's why we don't put fruit on ours.

I don't have a post up for that one yet, but I'm working on it. In the meantime, let's focus on "our" custom charcuterie board.

Since you know the basics, and the instructions for building this delicious food board are below, I only have to share with you some information on the proteins I have on the plate.

Those would be my Simple Football Deviled Eggs With Bacon and my Jalapeno Cheeseburger Sliders With Spicy Mayo.

Football Deviled Eggs

It never ceases to amaze me how simple yet effective garnish can be! Simply arranging green onions to resemble the laces on a football can really bring up your appetizer game. These football deviled eggs are a perfectly-darling themed appie to serve to your guests on game day.

To make my football bacon deviled eggs you start with boiling the eggs to hard boiled. You can use whichever method of boiling that you want to do this. In my post, there are two techniques that are fool proof.

After you've boiled the eggs, and make sure to run under cold water, you take them, cut them in half lengthwise and remove the yolk. Cook the bacon and then mix together the filling ingredients and place fully incorporated mixture into a decorator's piping bag.

Or, you could also make your own piping bag just with using a plastic bag, having the filling pushed into one corner, tied up and the tip cut off. Pretty simple, yes?!

Place the egg halves on your easy game day food board and position them how you want. Next, fill the egg centers with the yolk mixture, being careful not to overfill.

Here comes the fun part for your custom charcuterie board. The laces for the football egg!!! They are so simple to make. Just take some scallions, or skinny green onions and cut the green tips into strips. One long and three shorter ones per egg half.

Place the long scallion lengthwise on the egg and the three smaller ones widthwise across the first scallion...and voila! Fun and tasty Football Deviled Eggs With Bacon!

You could also sprinkle bacon on top for occasions that are other than football. They're quite tasty that way too and you can make them all year long.

Jalapeno Cheeseburger Sliders with Spicy Mayo

Sliders are such a great appetizer to serve on your game day food board. However, one word of caution: in order to balance your party platter spread, you'll want to either use a larger board if you're preparing regular sliders, or switch to mini burgers if you want to conserve space.

I will say my husband feels like mini sliders are a waste of time and only makes the regular-sized version and serves them to the side of our game day board. But I take the time. They work so well on a charcuterie board. And they're so cute!

My (again, "our") Jalapeno Cheeseburger Sliders With Spicy Mayo recipe is a must make for my awesome game day food board. I say awesome only because that's what I hear every time I make it.

The meat that you use in these sliders is completely up to you. I usually use a beef/pork blend as I find it quite flavorful and it has just the right amount of juiciness.

Other meats that you can use are:

• beef
• pork
• beef/pork
• turkey/pork
• chicken/pork

You don't want to cook the chicken and turkey on it's own as the meat is too dry and you need the fat content from the pork. Chicken and turkey have almost no fat, especially when it's ground from the breast meat.

If you really don't like pork, I would say to use a meat thermometer and watch it closely because if the meat overcooks by even one degree, the meat will be too dry.

How To Make Jalapeno Cheeseburger Sliders

Start off by mixing all of your slider ingredients together in a bowl. After incorporated, make 6 patties about 1" thick (4" patties for regular sized sliders and 2" for mini sliders).

Mix together the spicy mayo and place to the side.

Cook the burgers as per the recipe (5-6 minutes per side for regular sized burger sliders, 3-4 minutes per side for mini cheeseburger sliders).

For the spicy mayo and savory veggie dip recipes, check out my The Best Dip Recipes post. You won't regret it!

Add some cheese on top, toast the buns, add the toppings and there you go. Delicious jalapeno cheeseburger sliders you can enjoy on your game day food board, all ready with 25 minutes prep time and only a maximum of 12 minutes cooking time!

Full Game Day Food Board Ingredients

If you're looking for appetizer board ideas make sure to start here. This is what I've put on my game day food board:

• Mini cheeseburger sliders
• Football Deviled Eggs
• Savory Veggie Dip
• Wavy plain potato chips
• Pretzels
• Cheese cubes
• Baby carrots
• Celery sticks
• Crackers
• Green bell pepper slices
• Pistachio nuts

Party Platter Instructions

Begin mixing together your savory veggie dip.

• In a medium mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients used for your dip. Mix until well combined. Taste your dip and adjust if needed with hot sauce and/or Lawry’s seasoning salt.

Assembly Instructions

Place all three main recipes on your food board in separate places. (see Styling Tips for more details, tips and tricks!)

In the extra space of your board, fill with carrots, celery sticks, crackers, nuts, cheese cubes, pretzels, dips and peppers!

Serve immediately.

Appetizer Board Ideas Notes

• For your burger sliders, condiments such as ketchup, mayo and mustard are welcome!
• Be sure to keep an eye on your rolls while broiling in the oven. You want your buns toasted quickly but want to avoid burnt centers
• For your deviled eggs, you want to be sure that your eggs have run through enough cold water before cracking
• When you cut your football laces from the scallions, cut a few practice laces first, lay them gently on top of your eggs and evaluate if the size is correct. If your laces are too wide, your egg is hidden, too thin and the football effect is hard to see.
• Be sure to read over the Styling Tips for more tips and tricks on how to make your board look amazing!

More Food Items to Add To Your Game Day Food Board

Even though I've just loaded you down with a ton of great food options, there are so many other things that you can add to your good boardr or serve too the side. As long as you're thinking finger-food and tailgating food, you literally can't' go wrong!

Some simple food additions could be:

• Homemade Salsa and Chips
• Cheese Balls
• Wraps
• Fresh Fruit
• Chopped Veggies
• Hot Wings/Chicken Wings
• Rolls and Jam
• Dips
• Onion Rings

As you can tell, the list of food items could literally go on forever. So long as you can make it and make plenty to share, include it on your game day food board!

As I mentioned above, you could even make a secondary food board for game day that is loaded down with a ton of desserts, too. I'm talking brownies, cookies, fruit dips, cake balls, fudge, chocolate covered pretzels...and anything else that your sweet tooth is craving.

Because you know what they say, right? If you make it and bake it, they will come to eat it and enjoy it!

Easy Game Day Food Board Video