How to Make a Turkey Charcuterie Board for Thanksgiving
Updated: Feb. 23, 2024
This turkey-shaped charcuterie board full of colorful veggies will be the cutest part of your Thanksgiving spread.
Themed charcuterie boards (like this Christmas tree-shaped spread or Halloween snack board) are one way to have a little fun with your food on the holidays—and when Thanksgiving rolls around, turkey-shaped charcuterie boards are the perfect addition to the spread.
Our version takes a regular assortment of veggies and dip and transforms it into a striking platter that will give your actual turkey a run for its money. Here’s how to build a turkey “charcuterie” board for your gathering.
How to Make a Turkey Charcuterie Board
Our turkey charcuterie board won’t take long to assemble—provided you chop up all the veggies first. When you’re prepping, save the end of the cucumber plus some extra carrots for the turkey’s face and feet.
The amount of veggies you need depends on the size of your platter. Err on the side of caution—you don’t want to run out of veggies on the morning of Thanksgiving! You can always use leftovers to fill the platter back up as your guests graze.
Foods to Include
- Radishes
- Snap peas
- Carrot sticks
- Celery sticks
- Yellow and red bell peppers
- Cucumber slices
- Broccoli florets
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cloves
- Hummus
How to Build a Turkey Charcuterie Board
Step 1: Begin with the bowl of hummus
Start by filling up a small bowl with prepared hummus. We made our two-bean hummus recipe from scratch, but feel free to use your favorite store-bought hummus brand for ease.
Place the bowl of hummus about 2 inches from the bottom of the platter. That’s where you’ll place the turkey’s “feet” later.
Step 2: Arrange two bunches of broccoli
Place a bunch of broccoli florets on both sides of the hummus bowl. Make sure each group of florets doesn’t take up too much space, though—the fanned tail is the focus, so leave room for it.
Step 3: Create the outermost layer of the tail feathers
Begin shaping the outermost edges of the tail. Layer the carrot and celery sticks in alternating order on the edges of the platter, going all the way around the edge until you reach the other bunch of broccoli.
Step 4: Add the radishes and snap peas for dimension
After you’re done laying down the carrot and celery sticks, put the radish halves and snap peas on top of them. Place the radishes closer to the edges of the platter so that they’re not covered by other veggies as you continue to build up the board.
Step 5: Lay the cucumber slices on the platter
Layer the cucumber slices up against the edges of the carrots, celery sticks and snap peas, creating a little “cradle” for the cherry tomatoes between the cucumbers and the bowl of hummus.
Step 6: Fill in the cherry tomatoes
Fill in the gap between the cucumbers and the hummus with the cherry tomatoes. It’s OK if they spill into the broccoli a little bit.
Step 7: Tuck in the strips of yellow bell pepper
Take the strips of yellow bell pepper and rest them right up against the top of the cucumber slices, arranging them perpendicular to the carrots, celery and snap peas.
Tuck the ends of some of the bell peppers underneath the cucumber slices. When you’re done, it will look like you wove the yellow bell pepper strips together.
Step 8: Carve the turkey’s feet
Using a sharp, small knife, carve feet out of thin, wide carrot strips. If you bought baby carrots or pre-cut carrot sticks for the tail feathers, you might have to purchase a full carrot to carve the feet from.
Once you’re done carving, lay the two turkey feet on top of a few cucumber slices underneath the bowl of hummus.
Step 9: Make the turkey’s face
Grab the end of the cucumber that you saved. Stick the long ends of the cloves into the cuke for the eyes.
Cut out a little piece of red bell pepper for the turkey’s wattle, and cut off a little piece of carrot for the nose. Use a toothpick to keep them together and stick it into the cucumber, beneath the eyes.
Tips for Making a Turkey Charcuterie Board
Can you make a turkey charcuterie board ahead of time?
Since our board is made of just veggies and hummus, you can cut and assemble the entire board the night before Thanksgiving. Just make sure you wrap the platter tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge. Wrap the bowl of hummus individually as well.
Can you use other types of charcuterie boards?
A circular board will be the most visually striking, since it follows the line of the turkey’s tail and allows some of the veggies to slightly hang off the edge. However, you can use a square or rectangular board if you have one that’s big enough to fit the entire turkey. The bright colors of the veggies will stand out on most materials, whether it’s wood, ceramic or marble.
Check out our picks for the best charcuterie boards if you’re in the market for a new one.
What else can you use to make a charcuterie board?
Veggies are not the only way to shape a turkey! You can use whatever foods you like. All you have to do is shape layers or lines of the different foods to create the illusion of feathers. Here are several more ideas if you want to create your own version of a turkey board.
- Traditional charcuterie board: Use your favorite charcuterie meats, crackers, and charcuterie board cheeses to prepare a more traditional charcuterie board for the holiday get-together. Add pickles and olives to craft a spread more similar to a relish tray.
- Caramel apple board: If you’d prefer a sweet turkey “charcuterie” board, try making one that’s reminiscent of a caramel apple. Alternate slices of red and green apples to create the tail, and fill a small bowl with fluffy caramel apple dip for dipping. Use a slice of pear for the turkey’s face, pretzel sticks for the legs, a sliver of apple for the wattle and apple seeds for the eyes.
- Fruit board: If you want to use a variety of fruits, make a turkey with a pear in the middle for the face. Rows of grapes, pineapple, and berries would work nicely for the plumage.
- Dessert board: Make a holiday dessert board with a chocolate or marshmallow bird middle, and add cookies, orange and brown M&M’s, chocolate and tons of candy corn.
Originally Published: November 21, 2022
