Charcuterie Cups

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Entertaining for a small group or a large crowd? These Charcuterie Cups are sure to be hit! They‘re fun and full of yummy flavors!

A charcuterie cup filled with meat, cheese and fruit skewers with a jar of honey next to it.

These Charcuterie Cups were a big hit at my niece Lauren Kennedy’s wedding. Filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, sweets, and treats, they are the perfect starter for a lovely evening. At the wedding, we placed one at each guest’s plate setting beside a tiny jar of local honey.

Initially, Lauren wanted to have a large grazing table for guests to enjoy. While those are stunning and absolutely delicious, many folks don’t like the possibility of lots of hands touching food items they may decide not to take. My comfort level limit of people for a grazing table at an event is 50. Her wedding had over 250!

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It was our hope that guests would start eating their cups once they were seated while they waited for dinner to be served. It worked like a charm! The variety of textures and flavors in each cup makes for a unique and exciting eating experience. Besides weddings, Charcuterie cups are great for parties, showers, game-day events, and holiday get-togethers!

a tray filled with completed charcuterie cups

Table of Contents

What You’ll Need

Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Recipe Card Below

Charcuterie Cups and Picks/Skewers

List of items that can be included in a charcuterie cup

Tools You’ll Need

Cutting Board
Chef’s Knife

Why You’ll Like This Recipe

They look beautiful at an event!
They’re filled with lots of delicious flavors and textures!
They’re easy to assemble!
You can get creative with the items you want to include!

How to Make Charcuterie Cups

To make charcuterie cups, you will need small cups or containers to assemble the individual servings. You can start by placing a layer of nuts and dried fruit. Add a variety of crackers and skewers of meats, cheeses, fruits, olives, and/or pickles. Lastly, add a sweet dessert touch like a wafer-style cookie or chocolate candy. See under “What You’ll Need” for a wide variety of items to include!

Tips and Substitutions

Make a plan ahead of time. I like creating 3 skewers per cup. Here is my Charcuterie Cup draft for Lauren’s wedding and the cost of the ingredients:

Draft plans for creating charcuterie cups. The image lists the ingredients and cost of the items.

Customize the charcuterie cups to suit individual tastes, preferences, and the event you’re preparing them for by including ingredients that the people you are serving will like.
French fry cups and punch cups work great for charcuterie cups.
Make sure the ingredient skewered at the top of the pick isn’t too heavy as it can cause them to topple over.
Don’t assemble more than 45 minutes-1 hour prior to serving as this will cause the crackers to absorb some of the moisture and cheese can harden.

Storage

The meat, cheese, and fruit picks/skewers can be assembled ahead of time and stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
Dried fruits and nuts can be placed in the charcuterie cups ahead of time and stored in an air-tight container until ready for assembly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does charcuterie mean?

Charcuterie is just a fancy word for cured meat.

Are charcuterie cups gluten-free?

It depends on the items you include. Cheeses, meats, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, dried fruits, olives, and nuts are gluten-free. Crackers, wafer cookies, and some ground sausage-style meat sticks can contain gluten.

How much do charcuterie cups cost?

This will depend on where you live and what you choose for your cups. The cups and the ingredients we included for Lauren Kennedy’s wedding cost about $2.00 per Charcuterie Cup.

How long do Charcuterie Cups take to make?

This will depend on the number of items you are planning to include and how many skewers you’ll be making. For 275 cups for the wedding, it took 3 hours to clean/cut/prep the ingredients, 4 hours to make the skewers (with 4 people making them), and 1 hour to assemble the cups with the prepared skewers, crackers, and cookie.

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