Italian Family Dinner Charcuterie Board

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Dinner is served! Put together a delicious and crowd-pleasing Italian Family Dinner Charcuterie Board, complete with Aidells® Italian Meatballs, tortellini, roasted garlic and red pepper, cheese, grilled bread, olives, and plenty of dipping sauces.

I am SO excited about today’s post: meet the Italian Family Dinner Charcuterie Board; a.k.a., the perfect communal snacking meal for summer (or really, any time at all!). Not only would a huge, family-style dinner board work for a random weeknight, it’s a great way to mix things up and make dinnertime special on a weekend, a holiday, or even for a party.

Italian Family Dinner Charcuterie Board

This giant Italian family dinner board was born out of a need to shake things up and make dinner fun for my kids, and goodness, did it deliver. It’s no secret that the charcuterie board trend is here to stay, and I’m a huge fan of creating fun charcuterie board meals for dinner, so that everyone can choose just what they want to eat.

Our whole family loves Italian food. I often joke that the tiny part of my bloodline that’s Italian comes shining through when it comes to my love for Italian food.

I’m also a busy mom to two little girls, so easy and fun meals that feed our group are my favorite.

The inspiration started when I found the Aidells Italian Meatballs from our local Star Market on the Star Market mobile app. I love that Star Market has everything I need when inspiration strikes. These chicken meatballs were so easy to find in the refrigerated meat section of my local store, and I love that they are all natural, with no artificial ingredients, no nitrites, and chicken raised without added hormones,—so I can feel good about feeding them to my family. Plus, they’re convenient and easy to sauté for dinner, and they added a great protein for this Italian family dinner charcuterie board. Aidells products are good year-round and all of their sausages, burgers and meatballs are so versatile.

The Perfect Communal Snacking Meal for Summer

Once I had the protein, I started to dream up all of the yummy Italian foods that would be easy to snack on; i.e., things that are bite-sized, perfect for dipping and building snack-able bites.

Like any great charcuterie board, this Italian family dinner charcuterie board can serve as the inspiration for your next epic communal dinner. Mix and match proteins, carbs, cheeses, and sauces. Add in what your family loves and leave out the things you or your family may not love. Make the Italian family dinner charcuterie board your own, and work it into your fun dinner rotation!

To Make an Italian Family Dinner Charcuterie Board

What You’ll Need

Aidells® Italian Meatballs
Cooked Ravioli or Tortellini
Caprese Salad – mini mozzarella, tomato, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, etc.
Dipping Sauces: Marinara, Pesto, Olive Oil, etc.
Cheeses: Mozarella, Burrata, Parmesan, Provolone
Roasted Garlic
Italian Olives (our whole family loves Castelvetrano olives)
Roasted Red Pepper
Grilled or Sliced Bread
Breadsticks
Marcona Almonds
Sliced Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Basil

How to Put Together the Charcuterie Board

1. To roast a whole head of garlic, start by preheating your oven to 400°F.

Peel and discard the papery outer layers of the whole garlic bulb (leaving intact the skins of the individual cloves of garlic), slice off the top of the garlic by cutting 1/4 to a 1/2 inch from the top of the cloves, place on a piece of foil in a small baking dish, drizzle with a little olive oil, and gently enclose the garlic head in the aluminum foil. Then bake for 30 – 40 minutes. Once cooked and slightly cooled, add to your charcuterie board. (The caramelized garlic cloves taste SO good on bread, etc.)

2. To roast red pepper, preheat your oven to 425°F.

Gently coat a whole red pepper, stem and all, with a small amount of olive oil. Place on a foil-lined baking dish, and allow skin to blacken, turning every 5-10 minutes or so to roast all sides. Carefully remove the red pepper using tongs and place into a zip top bag. Close the bag and put the roasted pepper into the refrigerator. Once chilled, remove from the refrigerator and peel the red pepper. (Hint: the roasted skin peels/slides off SO much easier when the roasted pepper has been chilled in the fridge.)

3. Prepare the Aidells Italian Meatballs by sautéing in a pan with a little olive oil for a few minutes until they’re lightly browned on all sides.

Once done, put the Italian Meatballs in a bowl and set on your charcuterie board.

4. Cook the tortellini or ravioli according to the package instructions. Once done, put in a bowl and set on your board.

5. Slice and/or break into chunks all of your cheeses so that they’re easy to snack on, etc.

Slice up a larger mozzarella, break open a burrata, slice a wedge of provolone, break chunks from a wedge of parmesan, etc. Mini mozzarella balls are great for serving in a simple caprese salad. To make the caprese salad, toss together mini mozzarella balls, or small pieces of mozzarella, chopped fresh basil, halved cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar (or balsamic reduction), olive oil, salt and pepper.

6. Pour your dipping sauces into bowls to put on your charcuterie board as well.

We’re big fans of marinara sauce and pesto.

7. Slice fresh bread.

Grill your bread with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt, or serve plain, sliced bread like French bread, etc. Breadsticks are great too.

8. Add things to snack on like olives, almonds, sliced cherry tomatoes, etc.

9. Arrange everything on the charcuterie board and dig in!

Scroll down for the full printable recipe and detailed instructions for putting together your own delicious Italian family dinner charcuterie board.

Italian Family Dinner Charcuterie Board

Put together a delicious and crowd-pleasing Italian Family Dinner Charcuterie Board, complete with Aidells® Italian Meatballs, tortellini, roasted garlic and red pepper, cheese, grilled bread, olives, and plenty of dipping sauces.

Ingredients

Aidells® Italian Meatballs
Cooked Ravioli or Tortellini
Caprese Salad - mini mozzarella, tomato, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, etc.
Dipping Sauces: Marinara, Pesto, Olive Oil, etc.
Cheeses: Mozarella, Burrata, Parmesan, Provolone
Roasted Garlic
Italian Olives (our whole family loves Castelvetrano olives)
Roasted Red Pepper
Grilled or Sliced Bread
Breadsticks
Marcona Almonds
Sliced Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Basil

Instructions

To roast a whole head of garlic, start by preheating your oven to 400°F, peel and discard the papery outer layers of the whole garlic bulb (leaving intact the skins of the individual cloves of garlic), slice off the top of the garlic by cutting 1/4 to a 1/2 inch from the top of the cloves, place on a piece of foil in a small baking dish, drizzle with a little olive oil, and gently enclose the garlic head in the aluminum foil. Then bake for 30 – 40 minutes. Once cooked and slightly cooled, add to your charcuterie board. (The caramelized garlic cloves taste SO good on bread, etc.)
To roast red pepper, preheat your oven to 425°F, gently coat a whole red pepper, stem and all, with a small amount of olive oil. Place on a foil-lined baking dish, and allow skin to blacken, turning every 5-10 minutes or so to roast all sides. Carefully remove the red pepper using tongs and place into a zip top bag. Close the bag and put the roasted pepper into the refrigerator. Once chilled, remove from the refrigerator and peel the red pepper. (Hint: the roasted skin peels/slides off SO much easier when the roasted pepper has been chilled in the fridge.)
Prepare the Aidells Italian Meatballs by sautéing in a pan with a little olive oil for a few minutes until they’re lightly browned on all sides. Once done, put the Italian Meatballs in a bowl and set on your charcuterie board.
Cook the tortellini or ravioli according to the package instructions. Once done, put in a bowl and set on your board.
Slice and/or break into chunks all of your cheeses so that they’re easy to snack on, etc. Slice up a larger mozzarella, break open a burrata, slice a wedge of provolone, break chunks from a wedge of parmesan, etc. Mini mozzarella balls are great for serving in a simple caprese salad. To make the caprese salad, toss together mini mozzarella balls, or small pieces of mozzarella, chopped fresh basil, halved cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar (or balsamic reduction), olive oil, salt and pepper.
Pour your dipping sauces into bowls to put on your charcuterie board as well. We’re big fans of marinara sauce and pesto.
Slice fresh bread. Grill your bread with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt in a pan or on a grill, or serve plain, sliced bread like French bread, etc. Breadsticks are great too.
Add things to snack on like olives, almonds, sliced cherry tomatoes, etc.
Arrange everything on the charcuterie board and dig in!

Italian Family Dinner Charcuterie Board - The perfect Communal Snacking Meal for Summer - GLITTERINC.COM

The Perfect Communal Snacking Meal for Summer

I mean, how yummy does this look?! We snacked on this epic Italian family dinner charcuterie board just last week, and already I want to plan another!