Epic Food Board Ideas For Hosting A Showstopping Party
If you’ve hosted or attended a party anytime in the past couple of years, you probably already know: food boards are in.
Going way beyond the classic charcuterie board with fruits and cheeses (although those are still just as delicious), food boards have taken on a new life as the next big thing in entertaining and feeding a group of your favorite people. Food boards are also incredibly customizable and can easily be tweaked for your guests, which means that you can put together a beautiful and impressive food board that can be eaten by everyone at your party no matter what their dietary and health goals are!
We’ve gathered some of the best food board ideas for a variety of occasions and dietary restrictions so you can get some inspiration and conquer the hosting game at your next party.
A Vegan Charcuterie Board
While technically any food board can be tweaked to be made vegan, we really like the idea of a dedicated plant-based board that can appeal to everyone in your party no matter what their dietary restrictions are. This particular vegan charcuterie board recipe uses a variety of vegan deli meats and vegan cheeses to be suitable for your vegan friends and family, in addition to other plant-based food board mainstays like fruit, crackers, jams, and pickles.
Summer Fruit Charcuterie Board
A fruit-based board is another crowd-pleaser that’ll be suitable for almost anyone in attendance at your party. This tutorial uses fruit cutters to make the board even more aesthetically pleasing and fruit parfait ingredients like granola, shredded coconut, and yogurt (just be sure to use a non-dairy yogurt substitute if you’re trying to make your board plant-based and vegan-friendly.)
Movie Night Snack Board
Sometimes, you really just need to veg out on your favorite indulgent junk foods, a good movie, and your best friends. Enter: the movie night snack board! Add your favorite “guilty pleasure” vegan chocolates, cookies, candies, and vegan chips (hint: Peatos would be perfect here!) and arrange them beautifully on a board for a higher-level version of the classic junk food movie night.
Birthday Dessert Board
If you’re throwing a birthday party, it really doesn’t get much more showstopping than this beautiful birthday dessert board loaded with cupcakes, sprinkles, and cookies galore, all surrounding a gorgeous birthday cake. This is a great twist on your regular dessert table and is sure to make the birthday celebrant feel like a star on their special day.
Hummus Platter
If you’d prefer to serve veggie-based crudités as an appetizer, consider arranging them around your favorite plant-based dips like hummus! You can also add in other dippable favorites here like sliced pita bread and potato chips to add more variety and visual interest to your hummus board.
Brunch Spread
Brunch is becoming an increasingly popular meal of the day for throwing celebrations like baby showers, engagement parties, and bachelorette parties, so we love the idea of putting a brunchy twist on your food board! This spread uses a variety of fruits, pastries, and build-your-own mimosa ingredients so that your guests can celebrate your morning or early afternoon occasion in style.
Grilled Vegetable Platter
Having a summertime picnic or lunchtime soiree? Consider throwing together this grilled vegetable platter to add a little more interest to a summertime side favorite. This platter arranges a variety of grilled veggies like asparagus, red onions, and zucchini, along with a zingy vinaigrette for dipping.
Vegan Butter Board
The viral “butter board” has been having a big moment lately. These dip-based food boards have been trending on TikTok and other social media sites -- and if you take a look at how much cuter they are than your usual dip bowls, you’ll probably see why! This vegan butter board uses vegan butter, jam, and herbs to create a plant-based dip that pairs really well with your favorite crackers, fruits, and crusty bread.
S’mores Charcuterie Board
If you’re hosting a glamping party or throwing a cozy backyard hang, you’ll definitely want to check out this s’mores charcuterie board. In addition to the classic marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey’s chocolate bars, this board also contains a variety of other sweets that go really well with those classic s’mores flavors: think cookies, fruit, and peanut butter cups!
The Kentucky Derby Dip Board
If you happen to be hosting a Kentucky Derby party or celebrating any other “off to the races” themed get-together, this Kentucky Derby Dip board would be a perfect treat board! Combining both sweet and savory flavors, it contains a wide variety of dips and dippable snacks, all lined up. Which treats and dips will you run out of first?
Asian-Inspired Cheese Board
This Asian-inspired cheese board departs from the usual meats and cheeses that your guests might be expecting from a charcuterie board, but definitely pays off in flavor and satisfaction! This platter uses a variety of Asian snacks and flavors like spicy pickled cucumbers, Thai-flavored chips, snap peas, papaya, lychee, and edamame. You can even add other Asian bites like sushi rolls, won tons, and gyoza! It’s an explosion of flavor and is sure to please and delight the people you’re hosting.
Baked Potato Dinner Board
Who says food boards have to only be appetizers and hors d'oeuvres? Definitely not us! Using a food board to arrange your main meal is just as appealing and delicious -- and a little more satisfying to boot. This beautiful board contains a bunch of baked potatoes and your favorite baked potato toppings, which are especially easy to customize -- think guacamole, salsa, chili, and tortilla chips to start.
Conclusion
Food boards are the ultimate party foods. Not only are they beautiful and delicious, but they’re also a great way to show off your creative side and express to your guests just how much you love hosting them and having them at your event. Whether you’re focused on sweet, savory, or a little bit of both, there’s a delicious food board for everyone and every taste!