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This turkey charcuterie board is the cutest appetizer board! The arrangement is a patchwork of flavors, featuring creamy cheeses, assorted nuts, dried fruits, and fresh bursts from grapes or berries.

Top down view of Turkey Charcuterie Board

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Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board

This whimsical Pear Turkey Charcuterie Board makes for a creatively charming centerpiece that is sure to delight guests of all ages.

Transforming a ripe, juicy pear into an adorable turkey decoration, this edible work of art is both playful and picturesque.

Surround your pear turkey with sliced turkey breast, honey ham, and assorted cheeses, nuts, fruits and veggies for a savory and sweet grazing platter.

It's perfect for a Thanksgiving or friendsgiving gathering. Kids and adults will both love it.

Ingredients

Large Ripe Pear: Choose one that will look perfect as the turkey body.

Small Mozzarella Balls: These are for the turkey’s eyes. If they're packed in brine, pat them dry before using to prevent any moisture from affecting the setup.

Small Black Olives: These will be used for the pupils of the turkey's eyes. Canned olives work great.

Small Carrot: You can use the bagged baby carrots or cut up larger ones.

Red Bell Pepper: This will serve as the wattle.

Roasted Turkey Breast and honey-glazed ham: If it's too thickly sliced, it may not fan out as prettily, so aim for medium slices.

Assorted Cheeses: cheddar, Colby jack, brie, blue cheese, etc. Whatever flavor(s) you want.

Mixed Nuts: Almonds, cashews, and walnuts add a nice crunch and richness.

Dried Fruits: Make sure they are plump and not too dried out.

Fresh Grapes or Berries: Choose seedless grapes for convenience, and if you opt for berries, make sure they are ripe but firm to avoid any squishing on the board.

Assorted Olives: A mix of green, Kalamata, or stuffed olives brings a variety of colors and flavors. Drain them well to avoid any excess brine on your board.

Whole Grain Mustard or Honey Mustard: Offer both if you can, for guests to choose their preferred dipping sauce.

Crackers or Baguette Slices: Provide a selection of crackers for texture and baguette slices for those who prefer a more substantial base. Make sure the baguette is freshly sliced and the crackers are crisp.

How to make

To assemble the Turkey Charcuterie Board, cut a large, ripe pear in half and place the pear at the center of a serving platter.

Carefully add two small mozzarella balls for eyes and top with black olive slices for pupils. Use a small triangle carrot as the beak. Add a red bell pepper slice as the wattle below the beak.

Pear with mozzarella balls and olive for eyes.

Surround the pear turkey with arranged slices of roasted turkey breast and honey-glazed ham to resemble feathers.

Fill the remaining board with an artistic assortment of cheeses, mixed nuts, dried fruits, fresh grapes or berries, assorted olives, crackers or bread. Place a small bowl of mustard near the board.

Carrots, ham and beans for turkey feathers.

Serve the creative Turkey Charcuterie Board featuring the pear turkey centerpiece for an appetizing display to impress holiday guests.

Enjoy the variety of savory and sweet flavors.

Variations

There are so many ways you can make this your own. Here are some ideas:

Switch up the deli meats - you can add in other types of deli meat such as pastrami, roast beef, chicken, etc. Alternate the different types of meat so it makes a fun striped design.
We used cheese cubes in our board, but you can easily use small squares of sliced cheese in place of the cubes or in addition to.
Surround the board with a variety of mustards, chutney, and jams for spreading on crackers or bread.
Provide a cheese knife and spoon for easy spreading.

Leftovers

If you have leftovers, here is how to store them:

Pear: Since the pear was sliced into, you'll want to make sure it's consumed within the day.
Cheese and Olives: Place these into an airtight container and store in the fridge. They should last for several days.
Veggies: These can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
Lunch Meat: Make sure the lunch meat hasn't been left out too long. About 2 hours is a good rule of thumb. If they were left out, toss them. Otherwise, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days after you purchased them.
Nuts or Dried Fruit: Can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
Fresh Grapes or Berries: Store uneaten grapes or betties in the fridge. They are best if consumed within a couple days.

How to Transport

You can assemble the board and cover with plastic wrap. When you get to your location, you'll want to adjust any of the items that have moved during your travels.

You'll want to keep the ingredients chilled while traveling. You can place some ice packs into a box large enough to hold the platter. Place the platter on top of the ice. Create a couple Ziplock baggies of ice and place them gently over the lunchmeat areas of the platter. Close the top to keep everything cool on your drive. If you have a large enough insulated cooler bag, this would be a better option, but a box should work if needed.

The lunch meats are going to be the biggest concern with freshness on this board. You don't want the lunch meat to sit outside the fridge/cooler longer than two hours. So, make sure to keep the platter chilled until you are ready to serve it.

If you plan on keeping this platter on display/available for eating for longer than two hours, I'd suggest bringing backup lunch meat. I'd have them already rolled up and in a plastic baggie or two and stored in a fridge or cooler. This way, you can easily swap out the lunch meat if needed and freshen up the tray.

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