This Valentine's Day Dessert Charcuterie Board is a play off of a traditional meat and cheese charcuterie board. It's easy to customize using what you have on hand, and an adorable and FUN way to serve Valentine's Day desserts!
Valentine's Day is coming up and for me, it's an opportunity to shower my family with adorable little gifts and yummy sweet treats.
One way to do that without breaking the bank or spending hours on end in the kitchen: create a Valentine's Day Dessert Charcuterie Board!
Table of contents
What is a dessert charcuterie board?
A charcuterie board is a board of a variety of meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, veggies, and other food.
A dessert charcuterie board is also an assortment of foods, but it's all about the sweets versus savory.
The purpose of a dessert board is to be able to offer a variety of sweets in a self-serve fashion.
- Dessert boards are perfect for parties.
- You can use a variety of desserts, including some that you may already have on hand.
- If you're making some from scratch, you can make a smaller amount.
- This is a great make-ahead dessert for parties.
- Guests can help themselves to the desserts they'd like, and they can go back to get more.
- They can be as fancy or as simple as you want!
What you need to make a dessert board
It's so easy to put together a Valentine's Day dessert charcuterie board with items you probably already have in your kitchen!
💗 Large board - You can use any large board you have. Typically, dessert charcuterie boards are on large cutting boards. But you can use a large platter or large tray -- anything that is large enough to hold a variety of desserts.
💗 Bowls- Use small bowls of various sizes in coordinating colors to hold food that might roll off the board. I use small bowls to contain food like M & Ms, red hots, sweetheart conversation candy, and other smaller candies.
💗 Serving utensils - Be sure to lay some serving tongs, serving forks, and serving knives for the dips and spreads on the board.
Ingredient ideas for your dessert
Anything goes on your Valentine's Day Dessert Board!
💗 Candies - Some Valentine's Day candies that would be great for your dessert charcuterie board include
- Sweetheart Conversation Candy
- Red Hots
- Swedish Fish (look for the Valentine's Day versions)
- Heart gummies
- Jelly beans
💗 Cookies - You can either make your own Valentine's Day cookies or add store-bought cookies to your dessert board. If you'd like to make your own, try these Strawberry Crinkle Cookies, Mini Pop Tarts, or Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies.
💗 Cakes - Either make or buy small tea cakes that would fit on your board. Another option is to make these easy Valentine's Day Madeleines! They are technically small cakes, but are small and you eat them with your hands, like cookies.
💗 Sweet & Salty Snacks- pretzels are great, and you can either make or buy chocolate covered pretzels with Valentine's Day sprinkles. Plus, make this Valentine's Day Popcorn for a sweet and salty snack!
💗 Dips & Sauces - Consider adding a bowl of chocolate dip, Salted Caramel Sauce, or Homemade Nutella Dip. These could be great next to the cookies!
💗 Chocolates - You can't make a Valentine's Day dessert board without some chocolate! There are even some delicious vegan chocolates that are easy to find at the grocery store these days.
Create a themed dessert board
You can create a theme for your dessert board (aside from just Valentine's Day!) if you wish. Some ideas for inspiration:
- Pretty in Pink theme - use all pink candies of varying shades of pink for big impact!
- Red, Red Wine - use a variety of dark chocolates and red candies and sweets that would pair well with your favorite red wine.
- Queen of Hearts - use red, white, and black candies and sweets as your color scheme, and decorate the board with playing cards.
Recipe FAQs
Choose a fruit that has a similar flavor profile and/or similar color as the other items on the board. Strawberries, cherries, and raspberries are especially delicious and pretty on a dessert board. They all go well with chocolate!
This really depends on the specific food you have on your board. In general, if your board consists mostly of candy, cookies, and cakes that do not have any fresh items or items that will spoil, you can make the board the night before. Be sure to cover the prepared board with plastic wrap. Then you can add any fresh items, such as dips, any desserts that have cream cheese, and fresh fruit just before serving.
What to serve with a dessert board for Valentine's Day
If you're serving this dessert board as the dessert for a full Valentine's Day meal, consider making any of these recipes. They're all great for this special holiday!
Valentine's Day main course recipes:
- Air Fryer Lobster Tails
- Seared Scallops Pasta (dairy-free)
- Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb
- Prosciutto Wrapped Halibut
Best Valentine's Day wine pairings
A lovely dry chilled Rosé wine or Brut Rosé wine will pair deliciously with almost any Valentine's Day Dessert Board.
For more wine pairing ideas, visit our Best Valentine's Day Wines article.
More Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes
- Strawberry Crinkle Cookies
- Valentine's Day Madeleines
- Korean Strawberry Milk
- Valentine's Day OREO Pops
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Air Fryer Strawberry Turnovers
- Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting
Valentine's Day Dessert Charcuterie Board
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Valentine's Day M & M candies
- 1 cup Hershey's heart chocolates
- 8 pieces Valentine's Day Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts
- 8 pieces Valentine's Day Raspberry Coated Mini KitKat bars
- 6 Pink Lofthouse Cookies
- 6 Valentine's Day Madeleine Cookies
- 6 Heart-shaped shortbread cookies
- 6 Chocolate Tea Cakes
- 2 cups White Chocolate Covered Popcorn
- 1 cup White Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Instructions
- Start by placing any dips and sauces you want to include on the board. It's best to place these in small bowls near the edges of the board, so it's easy for people to spoon onto their plate.
- Then place any small candies that need help being contained into small bowls. This would include M & Ms, jellybeans, popcorn, small chocolates, and sweetheart conversation candies.
- Next, start laying out the larger items like tea cakes and cookies on the board. Then place the remaining items like chocolate covered pretzels and crackers.
- Finally, fill in any blank spots with extra candy.
Notes
- Use a color scheme of no more than three main colors. For mine, it's pink, white, and chocolate (brown). Try to create visual "layers" by placing different colored candies and sweets next to each other. Or, you could do the opposite and place all of the same-colored treats together.
- Keep extras of each dessert board item together close by, such as in a basket in your pantry, so you can easily refill the board as needed throughout the party.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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