How to Cut Strawberries for a Charcuterie Board

Learn how to cut strawberries for a charcuterie board, in four easy and beautiful ways!

I love making an easy meat and cheese grazing board - or a charcuterie board - almost any time I have guests. They're so perfect for the holidays, Mother's Day, birthdays, Bridal and Baby Showers, or even for unexpected guests!

Not only do I almost always have some meat, cheese and accompaniments on hand to throw one together on the fly, but they're also pretty universally beloved.

Since strawberries are such a perfect addition to charcuterie, I thought I'd show you how to cut strawberries for charcuterie in four easy and beautiful ways.

How to cut Strawberries for Charcuterie, 4 Ways:

I'm going to show you how to make strawberry fans, strawberry hearts, a strawberry rosebud and my favorite, an open strawberry rose. Btw, that open strawberry rose is my favorite because aside from being sooo pretty, it uses slices of strawberries, so those slices are ready to go for guests to grab to go with their meats and cheeses!

How to Make a Strawberry Fan:

Leaving the strawberry intact, make thin slices through the strawberry, taking care not to cut through the stem end. Then carefully spread them out with your fingers into a fan shape.

How to Make Strawberry Hearts:

I recommend making strawberry hearts with smaller strawberries, otherwise they'll be too bulky for charcuterie. 

First, slice off the stem, then slice the strawberry in half. Next, using a paring knife, I first score the top of the shape of a heart at the top of the berry, the I cut through fully. You can try to cut through full on the first go and skip the scoring, but I found that to be the easiest way to get the prettiest results!

How to Make a Strawberry Rosebud:

Larger berries with a pointed, not flat, end are best for these.

You can leave the stem and leaves on if you like, but I prefer to cut them off so the rosebud can stand on it's own with a flat bottom. If you want to give your rosebud some leaves, some basil would be perfect, plus it's a great flavor match for the cheeses with the berries!

After you've cut the stem end off, stand the strawberry up on your cutting board, and towards the very bottom of your berry, make one cut per side, taking care not to cut through all the way (4 small cuts total). As you go, you can also use your knife to slightly push the "petals" away from the strawberry. 

Next, slightly higher up, you'll make four more small cuts, but this time, you'll make the cuts above and in between the previous ones, as shown below. 

You'll just keep that pattern all the way to the top of your berry until you have a rosebud, pushing the "petals" out as you go!

How to Make a Strawberry Rose: 

This rose is different from the one above because it uses slices to form it's shape, making it so convenient for guests to grab a piece (mini tongs like these are great, but a cocktail fork works, too)! You will need some kind of round mold, like a biscuit or cookie cutter to form this rose. I ordered this set of 5 different sizes of biscuit cutters, and I love that I can choose exactly how big I want my rose to be!

First, cut off the stem end of a large strawberry (or more than one if you're making a large rose, but I only needed one for this one), then cut it half lengthwise. Thinly slice the strawberry.

Then, place a round biscuit cutter (or whatever mold you're using) where you want your rose to be placed on your charcuterie board. Place the slices (starting with the largest ones) overlapping around the edge, flat end down. You want this to be as tight as possible, so I find it helpful to hold the last slice that I placed tightly to the mold with my left hand as I'm adding new slices with my right, then working my way all around.

Then just keep filling the rest of the circle in like this until it's full and pretty tight. If you have a small sliver leftover, I like to stick it in the center, I feel like it makes it look even more rose-like. Once you're done, remove the mold, and you have yourself a gorgeous red rose!

Ok, now that you have all of these fun charcuterie strawberries, you're probably wondering...

What pairs well with strawberries for a charcuterie board?

Here are some of my very favorite things to pair with strawberries on a charcuterie board:

Accompaniments that pair well with strawberries and charcuterie: 

• Balsamic glaze - you can make your own by reducing balsamic vinegar by about half on the stove, or you can grab a store-bought one in the vinegar aisle, Bertolli is my favorite, but there are a lot of great brands. 
• Honey
• Fig Jam
• Pesto
• Fresh Basil - this also looks beautiful on a charcuterie board!
• Nuts - any kind!

Cheeses that pair well with strawberries for charcuterie:

• Goat Cheese - on this board that I have pictured, I actually put the goat cheese in a separate dish and drizzled it with honey, another great option, but you can also leave it plain!
• Fresh Mozzarella / Buffalo Mozzarella - cracking a bit of fresh pepper on top can really make it pop and it goes great with strawberries!
• Brie (or other double and triple cream cheeses, such as camembert)
• Fontina
• Pecorino Romano
• Feta
• Bleu Cheeses
• Cheddar

I hope this tutorial on how to cut strawberries will help you make your most beautiful charcuterie boards yet! Don't forget to pin for later! ↓↓