Vegan and charcuterie might seem like an oxymoron, however now there are some amazing vegan versions of classic charcuterie, so everyone can enjoy a charcuterie board! Vegetarians and vegans no longer have to miss out on all that snacky board goodness! So here are my tips to build the very best Vegan Charcuterie Board!
I love building snack boards for entertaining guests. I promise you, meat-eaters will be amazed when you bring out an epic board, and of course, your vegetarian and vegan friends will adore you forever!
Here I'm going to give you some tips and hints to structuring your vegan charcuterie board, as well as the low-down on all my favourite brands (here in the UK) to include. I'm even going to give you some links to some lovely brands elsewhere (as shared with me by my Aussie and US friends ) AND give you some links to recipes so you can try out making your very own vegan charcuterie should you want to delve into making your own seitan charcuterie!
Jump to:
🌱Key Elements
One of the keys to an epic board is a good cross-section of flavours and textures. Getting the balance of yummy savoury seitan slices, some epic vegan cheeses, crunchy snacks and of course, all the little extras like olives and fruits is key, so you and your guests can mix and match flavour combinations!
- Four or five different vegan charcuteries - make sure to choose a spicy one, a chunky one, and a milder one as well as thinking about slice thickness. If you're catering for more people, increase the quantity.
- One to three vegan cheeses. Choose just one really good one if you're only a few people. A sharp cheddar style always goes down well. If you're more people, choose a soft creamy brie or goats cheese style and a fancier nutty one too.
- Plenty of crackers. You can scatter these around the charcuterie. Choose a plain one and a more flavoured version for interest. I like to have some extra to hand in little bowls!
- Olives and Nuts. Great for breaking up the flavours.
- Fruit such as grapes, slices of pears or even dried fruit. This allows guests to add sweetness and flavour difference.
- A really great chutney or relish. I like to include one spicy and one sweeter one.
Other extras: All of these add flavour and texture to your board: A great vegan pate, tapenade, mini gherkins, marinated garlic, fancy dried figs, some squares of dark chocolate, cucumber or carrot sticks, even little marinated chillis.. think about the season and occasion and add to your taste!
Of course, if you're catering for a bigger crowd, you can add more variety- or just scale up the total quantity and place it over several boards.
🥨Board Layout
Structure: First of all, choose your board! Then start out by deciding where any larger items will go. I like to layout where my pots of chutney and relish or other messier elements that require bowls will be on the vegan charcuterie board. Then I add in the larger cheese wedges. A 'triangle' is a pleasing way to start the layout and gives structure.
Folds and Layers: Once you have your larger items in, it's time to start laying out the vegan meats! Choose to lay them in little layers, folded up or rolled for visual interest. Try to make sure that you don't put similar colours together, that way it's easier to distinguish between the elements. Wave patterns are pretty, as are circles. (I have TRIED and TRIED to make a 'rosette' in vegan charcuterie, but they don't seem to stick. hey -ho.. )
Garnishes: Now your vegan meats are all laid out, add all the extras in the gaps! Put pops of colour, fill in any bits and arrange lots of crackers around.
Finally, add the chutneys to their bowls, add some little spoons and knives and you are ready to serve!
🥓Vegan Charcuterie
There are some of the products that I've tried and used here. Of course, there are loads of different types around now (far cry from what we used to be able to get!) I suggest you put out your faves on your vegan charcuterie board, but it's a great opportunity to try some new ones too!
European and UK based firms: (NB: some of these are affiliate links)
- Veganly - make delicious artisan style seitan slices in all kinds of flavours. I particularly love their vegan bresaola and black forest 'ham'. They also make divine cheese, including a brie style. Veganly also do AMAZING christmas hampers, perfect for treating yourself (check out our special offer with them at the bottom of this post for ££££ of extras!)
- Vegusto- Swiss made vegan cheese and charcuterie! I love their No-Muh Walnut for a cheese board and their slices for a subtle hammy flavour that goes particularly well with chutney.
- V-Bites- Huge selection of classic deli-style slices. If you like fish, you should try their vegan smoked salmon. Rumour has it that they will also be releasing some yummy vegan pate in the near future! Easy to find in supermarkets or online.
- Sgaia- great tasting artisanal style vegan charcuterie. I adore their Pastramheat on a cheeseboard (and will definitely be getting more in for Christmas!)
- Veggyness-Make my favourite vegan chorizo EVER. It was a hit with my non-veggie friends too. Their new Sukuk style is also really yummy and garlicky. Great as a stronger flavour on my vegan charcuterie board!
- I am Nut Ok- My favourite vegan cheese in the world is their Nero-Minded black cheese. It looks stunning on a board and tastes amazing. Highly recommend all their cheeses actually!
- Wheaty- I'm a fan of their mini-chorizo style bars. On a cheese board cut up, they remind me of old-school cabanossi sticks. Great as an extra texture on a charcuterie board.
- Love Seitan- Make loads of slices that are a great addition to a vegan board. (not shown)
- Squeaky Bean- make an easy-to-find selection of vegan charcuterie and deli meats. Perfect if you want to assemble a board last-minute! I get mine in Tesco! (not shown)
NB: for WAY more vegan cheese ideas- check out our vegan cheese board post
For chutneys and relishes I usually serve my own (try my Green Tomato, Apple and Chilli Chutney or Tomato Chilli Jam!). Alternatively, it's worth checking out your local farmers market or artisan deli for some interesting flavours.
🦘Aussie Brands
Brands in Australia I've been recommended
- My sources in Australia tell me that The Vegan Dairy has amazing artisan style cheeses
- There also seems to be loads available to buy on The Vegan Grocery Store including some of the brands I mention above! (Do let me know in the comments if you have a fave I've missed!)
🏈US/Canadian Brands
US/Canadian Brands I've been recommended:
- Field Roast (I've loved some of the bits you can get here in the UK!)
- Yves (I've heard good things about their pepperoni!)
- Worthington Salami Style
- My sources tell me that it's also worth checking out your local producers for delicious artisan style slices.
- For cheese the go-to seems to be Myokos Creamery, Follow Your Heart and Chao, again it's also worth checking with local artisanal producers!
👩🍳Make your Own
If you want to try out making your own seitan slices, here are some great recipes to try out!
🎁Special Offer
Special Offer from our friends over at Veganly!
Get £22 worth of free items* when you buy a Vegan Christmas Hamper from our lovely friends at Veganly! They have gorgeous hampers stuffed full of vegan charcuterie, aged cheeses, chutneys, sweet treats and organic biodynamic wine! Even Paul McCartney buys these Veganly Deli, Hampers.
When you use our code** on any hamper purchase you get; additional seasonal vegan cheese (£9 value), free nationwide delivery (£8 value), free handwritten Christmas card (£5 value)!! Worth £22 in total!
Use code VEGANLARDER at the checkout for the amazing offer!
Use the code VEGANLARDER for this amazing offer.*
*terms and conditions:
- apply code at checkout: VEGANLARDER
- applies from Nov 1 - Dec 31
- cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer
- must select hamper option with Christmas card to get this item for free. Delivery and extra vegan cheese will automatically be given free when code is applied
- when hampers sell out, offer ends (preordering in November is advised to avoid disappointment)
**for every purchase using the code VEGANLARDER we receive £5 from Veganly Deli. We only ever endorse products and companies we love.
chloe.calendula says
So many good ideas here, thanks for the inspiration!!
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
Thank you so much!