If you’ve been following Katrina & Co for a while, you know I love a good charcuterie fruit board and I am all about southern hospitality. Char·cu·te·rie is a no-fuss item to serve on a busy day or when you’re throwing together a last minute party. And, with summer (and not to mention hot temperatures) in full swing, we’re reaching for our favorite fresh fruit board recipe. Since moving to the coast I am even more ready for fresh fruit.

Picking the Right Fruit for your Fruit Board

Picking for a fruit board starts with personal preference. If you’re aiming for a more seasonal board, stop by your local farmer's market to see what the farmer’s have recently picked. This time of year, our local market is bursting at the seams with the juiciest peaches, plump blackberries, mouthwatering watermelon, and crisp apples. We let the seasonal fruit that was available act as the base (and the star) of the fruit board, and worked in other delicious fruits and foods alongside of it to really round out the flavors.

Of course you don’t have to take a summer approach try a fall fruit board by using richly colored plums, nectarines, cherries, and apricots. Or even a tropical fruit board featuring pineapples, mangos, guava, kiwi, and bananas would be fun and exotic.

That’s one of the best parts of creating a charcuterie board, isn’t it? The options are limitless and the results will always look so beautiful. It's really a crowd pleaser!

Choosing How to Display Your Fruit

The fruit that you choose will dictate to some degree how you display your fruit board. For example, if your board contains a lot of little fruits like blueberries, blackberries, and grapes, you’ll want to opt for a vessel that’s large enough to accommodate little bowls.

Or, if your fruit selection features larger fruits like pineapple rings, mango slices, and whole bananas, you want a board that is sturdy enough to make carrying it to the table effortless.

From there, you’ll want to choose little bowls, dippers, and spreaders that create an eclectic, but cohesive, look on the fruit board. Don’t be afraid to mix and match textures and materials.

Below are some favorites boards from our shoppe.

Everything you need for this fruit board you can get at your local grocery store.

Ingredients:

• Watermelon

• Feta

• Mint

• Balsamic glaze

• Parsely

• Grapes

• Yogurt

• Fruit jam

• Cream cheese dip

• Apricots

• Pears

• Pineapple

• Strawberry

• Apples

• Lemon

• Salty snack (chocolate dipped pretzels are always a crowd pleaser)

• Peanuts

• Birthday cake flavored popcorn (yum!)

Directions:

1. First, make the watermelon stacks. Slice up your watermelon (or you can buy it pre-sliced). Stack a mint leaf on top of a watermelon slice, and then top with a cube of salty feta. Spear a toothpick right through the middle of all three for an easy, one-bite addition to your fruit board. We love to drizzle a balsamic glaze over the watermelon skewers to give it a rich, savory flavor to balance out the sweet and salty.

2. Next, time to assemble,

How to Assemble your Fruit Board

The key is to layer, layer, layer! Once you have the watermelon on your board, add some large stalks of parsley to give the board some color and texture. Next, add some grapes to the middle of the board and add alongside it a bowl of yogurt. You can also add a little bit of a cream cheese dip and a blueberry jam.

Next, you will want to add some apricots and layer those throughout the fruit board. Next comes the pears, pineapple, and strawberries. We like to leave strawberries whole, with the stems still on. Remember, nothing has to be perfect with a fruit board—the imperfection makes it better! Anything too pristine and your guests will feel shy tearing into it!

Go crazy with the fruit you add to your fruit board. The more color the better. The more dimension the better.

LAYER IT ON!

Next in the fruit board assembly comes the sweet and salty mixture. Grab some peanuts and pour them onto the board. The final addition will be a hit for anyone with a sweet tooth—chocolate covered pretzels! Layer those on the board for an extra yummy layer. Birthday cake flavored popcorn is also a great pair with the chocolate covered pretzels.

Once you have added all these goodies, take one last final look and see if there are any small additions that you can make to your board! This could be adding small pieces of watermelon without the feta cheese on top or any other extra pieces of fruit you want to have!

Visit our official Katrina & Co. Shoppe  for the right kitchenware for your next show-stopping board or entertaining needs!

Now that you have mastered the fruit board it's time to level up your dinner time! I've made this special board Taco Tuesday Board just for you.

TACO TUESDAY BOARD

Watch the YouTube How To Video below