Charcuterie Skewers (Appetizer Kabobs!)

by Kayla Berman on July 27, 2023 0 comments

Charcuterie Skewers are the ultimate no-cook appetizer recipe! Perfect for any occasion and made with a variety of meat and cheese – this colorful, flavorful, and customizable finger food is full of different flavors and textures. Everyone will absolutely love this fun and tasty cocktail snack!

What is charcuterie?

The French word “charcuterie” refers to prepared meat products, typically cured meat. Such as prosciutto, bacon, salami, pancetta, and pastrami. It is actually a culinary art used a very long time ago to preserve meats before refrigerators existed.

And as many things do, it has made a comeback!

However, now when people use the word they are typically referring to something a little different than and perhaps not 100% accurate to the original meaning.

While the word charcuterie actually only encompasses the various meats discussed above, a charcuterie board now colloquially involves other food. Sweet and savory bites like artisan cheese, dried fruit, nuts, jams, spreads, and more. It has essentially become synonymous with a cheese board!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Charcuterie on a stick is such a fun switch up for your next party appetizer! It’s a unique, colorful, and flavorful dish. But besides being the epitome of a fantastic finger food, these antipasto skewers are also:

Easy To Make: They are truly a breeze! It comes down to three simple steps … prepare, assemble, and arrange.
No Cook: I mean what is better than that? Whether it’s a hot summer day and you simply can’t turn on the stove or it’s Christmas day and your oven is already full … these skewers are everything you need.
Perfect For Any Occassion: You name the event and these mini skewers will be the star of the show. I can guarantee it! Food on a stick is just more fun.
Customizable: SUPER customizable! Like literally throw any meat / cheese on these bamboo picks and you are set. Read on for all my ideas!

Looking for more meat and cheese appetizers? Check out my Puff Pastry Brie Bites or Ham & Cheese Crescent Rolls.

Charcuterie Sticks Ingredients

Possibly the best part about this easy antipasto skewers recipe is that the recipe is really just a guideline! I chose a handful of my favorite charcuterie bites – meat, cheeses, and their varying accoutrements – for my easy appetizer.

I think they work wonderfully well together, but you by no means have to choose the exact same elements! The world is your oyster when it comes to these charcuterie board skewers.

You can read on below for all of my additional ideas, but first let’s get into my chosen ingredients:

Fresh Mozzarella Balls: The first half of my charcuterie sticks is like a mini Caprese salad. Featuring, none other than fresh mozzarella of course. I chose the marinated balls for extra flavor and the perfect size.
Grape Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes are next to be threaded through the skewer. They provide the perfect poppable, fresh, and juicy bite.
Fresh Basil Leaves: Next to complete my tomato and mozzarella pairing, I added a fresh basil leaf. Just make sure to not add too large of one, no one wants to be chomping down on a mouthful of leaves. No matter how tasty and fragrant they are!
Mini Pickles: Next up on the stick, I left the Caprese world and entered another very classic meat and cheese pairing. I thought a mini dill pickle would be a great separator and partner to the following two elements.
Salami: Following the flavorful pickle chunk comes a folded piece of salami. My favorite cured meat!
Cheddar Cheese: Last, but most certainly not least is a bite-sized cube of delicious cheddar cheese. The sharper the better in my opinion!
Balsamic Glaze: As a finishing touch, balsamic glaze is drizzled over the skewers. It is perfect to tie everything together.

Now that we’ve discussed all the scrumptious components of these perfect appetizer skewers, we can assemble.

Just remember you can alway mix and match ingredients to your heart’s content. There are no rules here! I’ve included a list below with all my extra charcuterie skewers ideas as well.

Equipment Needed

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How To Make Charcuterie Kabobs

Charcuterie on a stick is incredibly easy to make! You don’t really even have to make anything. These appetizer skewers are totally no-cook.

All you have to do is prep your ingredients, assemble the mini skewers, arrange on a platter, and serve to your guests! They will all be very pleased with this fun and unique take on a classic cheese board. Now let’s get into details:

Step 1: Prepare Ingredients. Cut the cheddar cheese block into 24 small cubes. Cut the salami slices in half and then fold each half. Chop the mini dill pickles into 2 or 3 pieces, depending on the size. Separate the fresh basil into bite sized pieces, cutting some larger leaves in half if needed.

Step 2: Assemble Charcuterie Kabobs. Thread the various elements on the skewers. You can do so in whichever order you’d like. I did cherry tomato, mozzarella ball, basil leaf, dill pickle chunk, folded salami, cheddar cube.

Step 3: Arrange Skewers. Place the assembled skewers on a large serving platter or plate. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Step 4: Serve and enjoy!

Additional Charcuterie Skewers Ideas

Although I find this easy charcuterie appetizer to be delightful as is, there are countless ways you can make it your own!

Ingredient Substitutions

First just swap in any ingredients you love, and leave out the ones you don’t.

Cheese: You can use any cheese cubes or bite-sized cheese you’d like here. Creamy brie cheese, spicy pepper jack, sharp white cheddar, Italian provolone, and salty feta are all fantastic options.
Meat: Replace the salami in each skewer with a slice of pepperoni or prosciutto! Or any of your go-to cold meats. You could always go with some deli-meat staples as well – like roast beef or turkey.
Veggies: Vegetables add a nice fresh bite to these meat and cheese skewers. While tomato is an excellent choice, you could experiment with tons of others. Perhaps bell peppers, red onion, or cucumber.
Fruit: While my charcuterie kabobs did not have fruit, it is such a good addition! Something sweet, juicy, and light to balance out the heavy meat and cheese. Grapes or melon balls would be my first picks! But any berries would be a great option too. Or perhaps peaches for a summertime flare and apples in the fall!
Charcuterie / Antipasto Staples: In my opinion, this is the category in which pickles fall under. There are always additional members of this category on a cheese platter or antipasto board too. They include artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and olives. Green olives, black olives, or kalamata olives! Feel free to add any or all of these to your skewers.
Fresh Herbs: Basil is the best fresh herb choice in my opinion, but others could work too depending on the make-up of your stick. Perhaps fresh mint in the summer and fresh rosemary sprigs during the holiday season.
Drizzle: My drizzle of choice here was the deliciously thick, sweet, and rich balsamic glaze! You could alternatively use balsamic vinegar. Feel free to add olive oil as well, for an oil and vinegar vibe. You could also switch things up entirely and go with an Italian dressing drizzle.

Dietary Adaptions

Mini charcuterie skewers are actually very diet friendly! Now I don’t mean diet in terms of dieting to lose weight. I mean different types of diets that people follow and live their life by – like Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Etc.

Now it would be pretty hard to make this recipe vegan, as they are cold meat and cheese skewers. But you can absolutely make them vegetarian! Just leave out the meat and add in more of your favorite cheese.

As for gluten free, these kabobs already completely fit into that diet. Which makes it a great appetizer to serve at a party to accommodate any guests that have a sensitivity, allergy, or even Celiac’s disease.

Different Themes

These skewers are charcuterie on a stick. Duh! Which means they are full of meats, cheeses, herbs, veggies, and more. But you could take this idea, threading different combinations of delicious bites onto skewers, and use it for so many more dishes or themes.

I’m thinking “pizza on a stick” or “dessert on a stick” … and so much more:

Pizza: Pepperoni + mozzarella + parmesan + chunk of bread = YUM
Greek Salad: It would be so fresh and delicious! Tomato, cucumber, olives, big feta chunks, and red onion.
BLT: Is there anything better than bacon, lettuce, and tomato? Yes. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato on a stick.
Dessert: Pile on all the sweet treat bites … brownie chunks, cookie dough balls, baked cookie pieces, marshmallows, fruit, etc.
Fruit Salad: Just spear any and all your favorite fruits

My point is, you can take the idea behind these skewers and run with it! It will turn any of your favorite dishes into a snackable, sharable, perfectly-portioned finger food.

Expert Tips

Vary the textures and the flavors to ensure the ultimate skewer experience! It will taste and look the best this way.
While I do recommend varying the flavors like mentioned above, I also recommend grouping the flavors. So for example on my skewers I kept the mozzarella, tomato, and basil together because they simply go together. It would’t make sense to have the pickle or cheddar chunk separating them.
Prepare the charcuterie sticks ahead (just up to 24 hours in advance) to save yourself time when you’re serving! Arrange the sticks on a platter, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator.
Make more or less of the skewers depending on the size of your crowd! The serving size is super adjustable here.
To make these skewers super easy to eat, make sure to uniformly cut all of the elements into bite-sized pieces.
Do not keep this recipe at room temperature for too long, either while preparing or serving it. It is absolutely best when enjoyed cold! Plus since this recipe is pretty much made entirely meat and cheese, things could go bad pretty quickly. Who wants an appetizer full of sweaty cheese? Not me!

Serving Suggestions

No gathering is a gathering without a cheese board in my opinion! It is sort of the center of any celebration. People can graze and nibble on all it has to offer. Charcuterie board skewers, are a new and fun way to serve that classic cheese board.

You could even accompany the skewers with additional charcuterie elements that can’t fit on sticks to elevate the recipe even further. Crackers or garlic bread, mixed nuts, dried fruit, dips or spreads (May I suggest my Whipped Brie with Garlic Butter Herbs & Honey?), and jam.

These skewers are perfect for any and every event you are hosting or attending. Holidays, potlucks, backyard BBQs, football games, beach hangouts, pool parties, girls’ nights … anything! You can serve by itself for some light bites, with everyone getting one or two of their own charcuterie skewer. Or alongside other dishes for a fabulous starters spread.

Stone Fruit Salad for the summer BBQs or pool parties, Baked Brie Bites or Goat Cheese Puff Pastries for Thanksgiving, Baked Cream Cheese Salsa Dip for your next game day watch party, and Goat Cheese Bruschetta for your girls’ wine night.

This appetizer would also be a great way to kick off a dinner party! Serve skewers as the starter, Baked Shrimp Oreganata as the main, and Honey Garlic Green Beans as a vegetable side dish. Then finish it all off with a crowd favorite, Cream Cheese Caramel Apple Dip, for dessert!

FAQs

Where can I get bamboo skewers?

I get my bamboo skewers, or bamboo knot pics, from Amazon. Here are the exact ones I bought! I think 4.7″ is the perfect size.

You may also be able to find them in the grocery store or perhaps a party supply store of sorts.

Can I use any meat or cheese in these skewers?

Yes, of course! You can use any meat or cheese of your choosing in these skewers. Check out my Additional Ideas section above for some options.

Can I make this recipe in advance?

Yes! This is actually a great appetizer recipe to prepare in advance, either the morning of or day before serving.

Just prepare all of the ingredients, thread them on skewers, and place in an airtight container. When ready to serve, arrange them on a platter and you’re good-to-go.

Alternatively, you can prepare them on the serving platter ahead of time. The just cover in plastic wrap and you’ll have absolutely no work to do when serving.

Related Recipes

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If you make this charcuterie appetizer recipe or any of my other recipes, I would absolutely love to know! Tag me @wellnessbykay on Instagram so I can see and share your recreations.

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