Normally this time of year when Cinco De Mayo rolls around, I realize that I again haven’t done anything fun to celebrate. But not this year – this year I’m making this Mexican charcuterie board with all of our favorites. Next year I’ll probably go back to making Mexican nacho bar, but I’m a bit obsessed with charcuterie boards right now. This Mexican board may be one of my favorite boards I’ve made yet just because it includes a bunch of my favorite foods all in one place. And it’s not just sweet (like my Halloween dessert board was). You can serve it up as your entire menu (or just as a snack board) for a Cinco De Mayo party or just as dinner on Taco Tuesday! The best part about snack boards in general are how easy it is to make them with your personal favorites. Unlike some recipes where you have to follow it to a tee (hello white chicken enchiladas) for it to taste as good as it looks, you can choose your own Mexican favorites if you want! I’m just going to show you how I made this Mexican food charcuterie board then you can replace or add things however you want! No matter what’s on it, it’s still one of the most creative ways to serve up your favorite Mexican cuisine!
What to Put on a Mexican Charcuterie Board
First things first, what goes on the board? Because everyone knows the biggest question isn’t how to make the board, it’s what should you actually put on a Mexican-inspired charcuterie board. The answer? The obvious choice – your favorite dishes with Mexican flavors. But I’m guessing that’s not what you’re looking for so I’ve put together some ideas for you along with links! You can either buy these things to make things easier on yourself or if you want to make everything from scratch, I’ve included links to recipes from some of my food blogger friends whose recipes I trust (including some of my own!)
Mexican Snacks
When it comes to a Mexican charactuerie board, you have a couple of choices – you can do something like a taco board (if you do, this homemade taco meat is insanely good) where it has everything (tortillas, meats, favorite toppings) for people to make your own tacos, or you can something like I did where you use all finger foods so there’s no “making” anything. If you go with the latter (my personal preference), you’ll want to include a variety of Mexican snacks and dishes that are already made. The goal is to do things that are small enough they could be considered snacks or the perfect finger food. These would all work well:
Mini Taco SaladsMexican street cornBaked tacosHomemade flautasTaquitosQuesadillas Mexican street corn pasta salad
Dips & Spreads
Next up, I always like to include a couple of dips and spreads – they just make for beautiful boards! Plus, who doesn’t love a good dip recipe? In my opinion, they’re one of the most important parts of any custom charcuterie board! When it comes to Mexican dips and spreads, there are so many options – I recommend going for things that are fairly mild unless you’re making a spicy Mexican charcuterie board. You can add garnishes on the Mexican food board that allow people to spice things up but in general, I recommend keeping it mild so it’s a bit more universal for everyone to enjoy. Garnishes are also a fun way to add some color to the board anyway, but more on those in a minute! Here are some ideas to get you started:
Homemade guacamole (definitely make sure you have plenty of guacamole – it’s popular for a reason) Taco dipStreet corn/elote dipVariety of salsas – corn salsa, chunky salsa, salsa verde, red salsa – you name it and it could go well! Queso or queso fresco (aka Mexican cheese dip) Fruit salsaQueso fundido (my personal favorite)
Dippers
We just talked about having a variety of dips and spreads on the board, which means you also have to have some yummy dippers to dip into all those dips! The obvious choice is tortilla chips but you pair chips with other dippers as well to get creative – tortilla chips, plantain chips, homemade cinnamon chips, flat pretzels, and even fresh veggies if you want a bit healthier option.
Garnishes
Okay we made it to the garnishes – these are a good way to add color to any charcuterie platters but especially a Mexican food one that likely has a lot of browns and yellows going on. You can either add garnishes (like lime slices) on top of the items already there or have garnishes in their own separate bowl or section. My recommendation is that if you’re doing something like pico de gallo or green onions that have a very strong flavor to them, put those in small bowls or dishes. Things like limes, fresh cilantro, and green chiles that don’t really exude their flavor (you only taste it when you eat it) can be just put on top of other elements. Here’s a quick list to get you started but the garnish list of options is pretty much endless. You’re basically going for things that would go well with what you already have on your board!
Cotija cheese, chihuahua cheese, or any other fresh cheese or your favorite Mexican cheesesFresh vegetables, peppers, green chiles, etc. Fresh lime wedges Mexican crema or sour cream Black beans
How to Make a Mexican Charcuterie Board
I make all of my snack boards in pretty much the same way and this Mexican inspired one is no different. Here’s my quick and easy process whether you’re making big boards or mini ones. Oh and first of course you need to get a good charcuterie board. I have a variety but these are similar to my personal favorites!
Round charcuterie boardSquare charcuterie board
1 – Anchor with Bowls
Start by adding in 3-4 bowls (this is where your dips and spreads would go) spread out around the board. I like to avoid the center of the board to keep people’s eyes moving around the board rather than just stopping in the center.
2 – Add large items
Next, add the large items onto the board, split up throughout the board. Also try to pay attention to colors and splitting up colors – you can always add color breakers later but it’s easier to do it now if you can. This would be things like your quesadillas, baked tacos, taquitos, etc.
3 – Add Medium Items
You probably already knew what I was going to say next right? Once all of your larger items are in, you’re going to add the medium sized items next – this would be things like your tortilla chips, churro twists, and other dipper items.
4 – Fill Small Spaces
Next up you’re going to fill in any of those small spaces with small filler items. In the case of this Mexican food board, this would be things like the churro twists, plantain chips, cut up veggies, small cookies, and anything else that would be really good at filling in spaces that aren’t filled in yet. These are also a good way to break up big blocks of color, especially if you’re using something like the sprinkles cookies we put on our board!
5 – Garnish
Finish the board off with some fun pops of color in the form of garnish. Just make sure that you remember that you’re not just pops of color but also should be edible for people! This will be things like lime wedges, cilantro, and peppers And that’s it – your Mexican charcuterie board is done and ready to serve! Unlike some charcuterie boards, I do recommend making and putting this one together pretty close to when you’re serving it simply because most people prefer things like tacos and quesadillas warms (although my boys eat them at room temperature all the time!).
Expert Tips
Store individual leftovers on their own rather than trying to keep it all on the board. Since this Mexican food board has a variety of items that will need to be stored differently (aka dips and main dishes will need to be refrigerated while the chips shouldn’t be). If you really want to store the entire board together to eat leftovers straight from the board, I still recommend removing anything like tortilla chips that will get gross in the fridge. Serve up items with a variety of meats so that if someone doesn’t like beef or doesn’t like chicken they still have options. I also recommend doing just straight cheese quesadillas if you’re serving kids – kids like plain cheese! Go with a mix of homemade and store-bought to make things easier on yourself. Choose a couple of things you know you can make well and buy the rest. It’s SO much easier than way and there are just some things out there (aka salsa) that are just fine. You could also order from your favorite Mexican restaurant and just put them on the board. Put dessert far away from any flavorings. If you’re doing dessert on the board like I did, surround it with things that won’t bleed flavor into the dessert.
More Easy Board Ideas
If you like serving up charcuterie boards, make sure to try out these fun ideas!
Breakfast board ideas – three great breakfast charcuterie board ideas, great for any breakfast event! Caramel apple bar – a board full of caramel apple toppings, kind of like a DIY caramel apple bar! S’mores charcuterie board – everything you could ever need for gourmet (and regular s’mores) all in one place! Put this out with these s’mores bar signs for the ultimate s’mores night! Christmas tree cheese board – a festive holiday cheese board that looks like a Christmas tree! Wreath charcuterie board – this one is actually charcuterie but in the shape of a holiday wreath! It’s as beautiful as it is tasty!
