If you have picky eaters in the house, how about a kid-friendly charcuterie board to changes things up? Check out 35+ different ideas for all kinds of grazing platters for children – appetizers, dinner, desserts, and holidays! These are sure to please even the most difficult eaters! Easy & delicious – and easy to customize!
The Headache of Mealtime with Picky Eaters
If you have a picky eater in your house, you KNOW first-hand what a headache mealtime can be. My son’s list of aversions grows daily, and it’s exhausting. And so is trying to keep everyone happy in the food department.
I’ve found that charcuterie boards can be a fairly easy and inventive solution to all this.
Scratch that! 35 Kid-Friendly Ideas!
Charcuterie Boards for Kids: The Answer for Picky Eaters
Technically, a charcuterie board is one filled with cured meats, cheeses, and all kinds of picnic food you’d eat if you were out in field in the French countryside.
However, it has come to mean any kind of grazing platter or board – for any occasion.
You can make one for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
You can make one with appetizers or desserts. You can make grazing platter for brunch.
You can make holiday-themed boards… there really are endless possibilities.
What makes this so great for kids is that you’re giving them a choice. You may require them to take some carrot sticks along with the sweets, but it’s fun for them to have some options, especially when their lives are so dictated to them for parents and teachers.
This also is a fun and pretty easy way to change things up around snack or meal time.
How Do You Make a Kids’ Grazing Board?
Sometimes just a presentation that looks different can pique their interest in food. When it comes to kids, they have a pretty low bar for aesthetics, so you don’t need to go crazy with that. But adding a few things that make is look fun can help them want to eat.
Here are a few things to consider:
Color: Bright fruit and other food items with interesting colors appeal more to children
Decorations: Colorful bowls or napkins add to the fun of something out of the ordinary
Creative Shapes: If you really want to have fun, making the food into little animals or scenes can help entice picky eaters.
And if you want some specifics as far as food choice and how to a put together a family-friendly charcuterie board that everyone in the house will love, kids and adults included, this post has all of those step-by-step details for creating it. Lots of kid-specific food info in there.
I’ll highlight a few of those ideas here below.
What Do You Put on a Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board?
There are a few steps, and the type of food you choose will depend on the occasion.
1| First, decide on the type of board you want to create.
Will it be for a special holiday that has its own theme, such as Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day or the 4th of July?
Is it for a particular meal – a breakfast, lunch, or dinner board? Or is it a snack board?
Do you want it to be sweet or savory? A mix of both?
Do you want just healthy items or a mix of both?
The answers to those questions will determine a lot!
2| Include easy finger foods.
You don’t want to include things that require a lot of adult assistance. Be sure to cut pieces to bite-sized before you platter them. Avoid difficult steps in assembling a meal. You want this to be as much ‘self-serve’ as possible.
This post has a big list of individual appetizers, many of which are easy finger foods to include on a charcuterie board!
3| Assemble food in small groups for a variety of choices and colors.
The fun of a charcuterie board is party in how amazing it looks. This can all be achieved clustering food items in small groups and spreading out your different colors. In this post, I explain how to lay out a dessert dip board, which has the same principles you can apply here.
There are no real rules to this step – the more eclectic it looks, the more fun it is!
35+ Children’s Charcuterie Board Ideas
Today, I want to share 35 Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Boards Ideas.
There are options for snacks, for dinner, for appetizers, for desserts, special occasions and parties. The best part is that they are totally customizable to your kids’ tastes.
The first set, #1-22, are more filling-type meal food.
The next set, #23-29 are dessert ideas.
The last set, #30 – 37 in the round-up are holiday or season specific (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving), in case you are looking for some grazing board ideas for a holiday!
After School Snack Idea {Kids Snack Board}
My kids are starving after school! Having a healthy spread like this all set and ready is a lifesaver!
Ants on a Log Kids Snacks and Veggie Platter
How fun for kids to create their own Ants on a Log snack and change it up with all kinds of yummy and healthy food!
Fruits Of The Spirit Snack Idea For Kids
Oh my gosh, how amazing is this idea?! Healthy fruit plus the Holy Spirit? Oh my word - win, win, win!
Ultimate Family Snack Board
If you want a something a little more substantial than just fruit for your kids to munch on, this snack board adds veggies, meat, and other proteins.
Protein Board for Kids
If your kids' diet is typically carb-heavy (hand-raised!), you may want to try a board that is mostly protein, even protein-based crackers.
Cheese Platter Board for Kids
Cheese is usually a no-brainer for most kids. Having a board centered around their favorite kid-friendly cheeses gives them an ample serving of both protein and dairy.
PB&J Snack Board
I love this board idea for a snack or for dinner! PB & J is a eaten at any meal at my house! Well, just PB, but you get the idea (I told you my kids are picky).
DIY Bread Charcuterie Board
If all else fails, kids will usually eat bread! Create a board with a variety of breads and spread. The spreads are a great way to add in some healthy choices!
Grazing Dinner Board
I have a super-picky son, so I love the idea of having out several of the dinner foods he will eat and just letting him graze.
Party Food Charcuterie Board
You don't need to be throwing a party to serve this board to your kids. It's party-food favorites - create it any night for dinner, and just make a mental note next time a kid-celebration is on the horizon. Traditional appetizers work great on this board, too!
Super Sunday Snack Board
I think having all your favorite appetizers all in one place! Apps are typically an accepted choice of food for picky kids, so you can't go wrong with this one!
Doritos Taco Salad Board
I love this idea for a salad board! Even if your kids aren't too fond of salads, tacos are usually a sure winner with kids!
Easy Tex-Mex Nacho “Charcuterie” Board
How delicious is this? You can make this with your taco salad board, but there are so many filling and healthy food choices with this nacho board that serving anything else is completely optional.
Chicken Tortilla Soup with Homemade Tortilla Strips
Here's another great dinner board idea! I love this concept of a soup board! This one is for chicken tortilla soup, but you can adapt this for any kind of soup and leave all the topping and fixings out on the board.
Baked Potato Dinner Board
Ooooh, how yummy is this? Baked potatoes can be a little hard for kids to get down, but this definitely sweetens (salts?) the deal.
Burger Board
How amazing is this? This is fabulous for a BBQ or even just taking things up a few notches for an at-home dinner with the family.
French Fries Board
I just love this idea! You can definitely make a full-on meal out of a French fry board, and kids will love changing up the dinner routine with this. You can add in a burger board as seen above, but this stands along for sure.
Personal Charcuterie Board Ideas
This is a fun spin on the charcuterie board idea - create a grazing board for each person! Totally personalized! Genius.
Spring Kids Charcuterie Board
I love this idea for any time of year! It's super-cute as a spring themed board, but you seriously could use it any time of year! The littles won't be able to resist the cuteness here!
Build Your Own Pancake Board
A pancake board is not just for breakfast! It's perfect for a family brunch or get-together. And breakfast for dinner is totally acceptable!
Pretzel Board
You can hardly find a kid who won't eat pretzels! This board gives all kinds of options for the pretzels themselves as well as the dips!
Mexican Charcuterie Board
Mexican food is generally a favorite food for kids... think tacos, quesadillas, nachos, churros... all crowd pleasers!
S’mores Dessert Board
Oh, S'mores... is there anything a kid loves more than this?!? This is perfect, especially on those nights when it's too cold for a bonfire!
Delicious & Fun Hot Chocolate Dessert Charcuterie board!
Here's another fun board for those chilly fall and winter nights! A hot cocoa board takes the festivities up a few notches!
Ice Cream Sundae Charcuterie Board
Could you ever go wrong with this?!? This is a summer favorite, but kids will gobble down ice cream and candy any time of the year.
Dessert Dip Charcuterie Board
A dessert dip board is a great idea for little fingers. You can mix in fruit and other fun foods to eat the dip! And here are some options for healthy dessert dips, to sneak in some nutrition! The kids will just LOVE this yumminess.
Caramel Apple Charcuterie Board
This is another board that has a fall feel, but you can really create this board any time of year. Kids don't care what time of year it is if you're giving them caramel and apples! Include other varieties of dips, such as chocolate and cookie butter, with a huge variety of toppings!
Dessert Charcuterie Board
A dessert board like this is perfect for a special occasion - a birthday, celebrating a good report card, even as a fun staycation night!
Movie Night Snack Board
This is a great way to have fun on a family movie night! Kids will love to have access to all their favorite movie snacks on a board like this.
Christmas Charcuterie Board
This is a fun choice for a Christmas board - the kids will love the Christmas tree shape, and you can customize this with all kinds of goodies that kids will love!
Christmas Dessert Board (10 Minutes)
If you want a dessert board for Christmas that has all the sweet treats, you can give this one a try too! Absolutely kid-friendly here, although, you might have trouble putting the kids to bed after this.
Valentine’s Day Charcuterie Board
I love this board idea for the whole family! Red strawberries and grapes are a perfectly healthy offset to the sweet treats to include on this board! I love the idea of celebrating this holiday as a family.
Easter Grazing Board
This Easter board is perfect for a family brunch. Easter always has an amazing mix of sweet treats, and mixing it with some healthier choices is sure to please everyone. For a full-on candy Easter board, try this one!
Fabulous Easter Candy and Dessert Charcuterie Board Your Gathering Needs
This Easter board is just straight up candy, desserts, and treats. Probably not something you want kids to eat all day, every day... but there's a nice variety for a special occasion!
Patriotic Charcuterie Board | American Flag Appetizer
I don't think you can go wrong with an American flag charcuterie! The fruits ad a healthier touch, and there is a variety of red, white, and blue kid-friendly foods you can use to create this board.
Sweet & Savory Fall Charcuterie Board
Lots of variety for this fall board! A mix of sweet & savory, plus a few healthy options! You can also grab recipes for a Fall Harvest Snack Mix and Pumpkin Fluff Dip!
Turkey Veggie Tray
I don't think kids will be able to help themselves when they see this adorable turkey platter! Carrots, cucumbers, snow peas.... many fan favorites here! They'll just love the presentation here!
How great are these? I hope you found some that you loved or that you can adapt to suit your family! So many wonderful ideas for the pickiest in the house!
More Kid-Friendly Food Ideas – All Healthy Choices
If you need some healthy food choices for an after-school snack or dessert, check out some these recipes I’ve used for my picky eaters – which they loved! All of these are clean eating recipes! And if you love using sourdough discard, be sure to check out these 40+ sourdough discard recipes for kids!
The first 3 links would be perfect for a charcuterie board for children. The other 3 links are frozen recipes, so they are ideal for a snack or dessert. They definitely can be put on grazing platter for kids – they would just need to be eaten before they melt down!
Easy Clean Granola Recipe (Our Family Favorite)
Dark Chocolate and Granola Frozen Yogurt Cups
Clean and Healthy Banana Split Boats
Thoughts? I’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below!
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