These Mini Charcuterie Cups are the perfect elevated mess-free way to serve a charcuterie experience to your guests without having them stuck at a table!
Easy to prep and highly customizable, these are the perfect appetizer for bridal showers, weddings, Holiday parties and all sorts of gatherings!
Mini Charcuterie Cups
I love how much easier these Mini Charcuterie Cups make serving a charcuterie board for big events: no pressure over styling a giant charcuterie board, no sharing and no staying stuck at the table or waiting for that one person to move from your favorite food!
You can dress them up or down with fancier cups and toothpicks or keep them simple depending on your crowd and the gathering!
These Mini Charcuterie Cups are:
- Balanced in flavor and texture.
- Easy to prep.
- Customizable.
- Quick, no overthinking styling.
- Mess-free, no sharing.
- No staying stuck at a table.
- Inclusive: easily make special cups for gluten-free or vegetarian guests.
Ingredients
Cheeses. I like doing a crowd pleaser with a twist for some fun so for these I picked a pepper Gouda. You want a classic that everyone will love and that will keep its shape without being messy. You can do just one cheese (multiple cubes) or a mix.
Gouda (especially with a fun twist like pepper), Cheddar, Havarti, Gruyere, Provolone, Fontina are all great cheeses for this. If your cups are large enough, Brie bites are another great option!
Cured meats. I recommend salami for this because you can easily make into a fun shape unlike classic prosciutto. Choose your favorite salami, they all work! I like doing a rose shape so I can add more than just 1 slice per cup.
Nuts. I get a classic fun mix of nuts for these to use as base and then build upwards, they fill the bottom of the cup so it doesn’t look empty and give guests something to munch on once they eat the main ingredients!
Crackers. This is where you can dress up or down the cups! Go for fancy plain or seeded crackers for a more elevated vibe or classic buttery crackers like Ritz, Club or Town House. I like doing plain crackers so they go with everything but you can also do flavored ones like rosemary, fig, basil, tomato, etc.
Fun accents. I like doing olives (I usually prefer unpitted because they look classier but for cups it’s best to do pitted), red grapes for a hint of juicy and sweet and blackberries for some fun but you can also just do one fruit. If using blackberries, make sure they’re not past ripe or they will stain the other ingredients.
I also like adding a sprig of rosemary to add some green but it’s purely for aesthetics so you can also skip it.
Hosting Tips!
Keep at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving! This way the flavors of the cheese and salami will bloom.
Don’t skimp on cheese and cured meats, they are the main ingredient people are always excited about so add multiple cubes of cheese and slices of salami!
Use odd numbers, like 3 cheese cubes, 1 sprig of rosemary, 1 blackberry, odd numbers look naturally styled to the eye.
Place the tallest items in the back for a balanced visual.
Assemble up to 4 hours before your event. I wouldn’t recommend more than 4 because the nuts and crackers can soften up if touching olives, fruit or salami.
HAPPY COOKING!! I hope you'll love this Mini Charcuterie Cups Recipe as much as I do!
PS: Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ if you make it! Your comments make my day!! You can also tag me on Instagram @itsdamnspicy 🌈💘
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Mini Charcuterie Cups
Ingredients
- 5 oz (140 g) mixed nuts
- 12 red grapes
- 12 blackberries (optional, make sure they're not overripe or they will stain foods)
- 12 pitted olives
- 8 oz (225 g) cheese like Gouda, Cheddar, Havarti, Gruyere, Provolone or Fontina or Brie bites (I like pepper Gouda so it's a classic cheese everyone will like but with a fun twist)
- 6 oz (170 g) salami
- 12 crackers of choice (plain, seeded, buttery or flavored)
- 1 package rosemary (optional, for decorating)
Instructions
- Prepare the cheese and salami. Cube the cheese and add a toothpick to make a 3-cube toothpick. Fold the salami into roses by overlapping two slices on top of each other, fold them in half together then roll them tightly from one side to form a rose.
- Assemble your mini charcuterie cups. Start off by adding a layer of mixed nuts as the base of each cup, then add the grape and olive towards the right side of the cup and stack the salami rose right next to them and the cheese right behind. Add the blackberry (if using) behind the salami, the cracker and rosemary sprig (if using).
Lori Flanagan says
Did the olive and fruit juices spill onto the nuts?
Bianca Turci says
Hi Lori! No, if you drain the olives well they won’t spill onto the nuts. If you’re worried about using berries, you can do just grapes or a different fruit but for these cups the blackberries were fine!