Charcuterie Cups

Charcuterie cups are a GREAT party idea!

Earlier this week, I published an article on how to make charcuterie boxes, a make-and-take option for a busy parent or when you want to class up an office meeting; these cups are similar to that concept but their use is fundamentally different.

Open faced, charcuterie cups are not meant for packing and stacking but instead are customizable snacks that are inspired by trendy cheese and charcuterie boards.

And filling with vegetable sticks is just one of the options.

Where to get Disposable Charcuterie Cups

I picked up my charcuterie cups from Amazon, which come in easy-to-assemble disposable paper cup containers. If you grab them (and I do love them) there are a few tricks to filling them.

• If you want the food to “pop out of the cup,” as shown, you’ll need to loosely crush a napkin into the bottom of the cup and place the food on top.
• I tried a coffee filter, thinking it would work to “lift up” the food, but it wasn’t dense enough. A piece of paper towel, the “half sheet” most rolls have, would also work fine.
• One last thought would be to fill the bottom of cups with something edible, like peanuts or baby carrots.

How to assemble Charcuterie Cups

As noted above, you can add whatever you want to the cups. The ideas are almost boundless. But this is how I assembled them in the example pictures, and it worked perfectly for our house.

Ingredients for the Charcuterie Cups:

• Charcuterie cups and Skewers (<—that is what I bought)
• Regular-sized napkins
• Red, green, and yellow bell peppers (seeded and sliced thin)
• Small/short pretzel twists
• optional: Dip cups with lids

Ingredients for the Skewers:

• Fresh blackberries, fresh strawberries, and dried apricots
• Pitted Kalamata olives (drained), fresh mini mozzarella cheese balls (marinated, so drain if necessary)
• Round, hard salami
• Grape tomatoes, mini cucumbers (cut into 1/2″ thick slices), cheddar cheese (cubed)

Preparing Skewers:

• General Skewers: For each skewer, thread one type of item—pieces of cheese, fruit, meat, or vegetables—onto a separate toothpick. For example, thread all types of fruit on one skewer, a piece of cheese and meat on another, and vegetables on a third. Prepare as many skewers as you need for the number of charcuterie cups you plan to make.

Assemble the Individual Servings of Charcuterie Cups:

1. Loosely ball up a napkin and gently press it into the bottom of each cup. Leave some space and air in the napkin to elevate the ingredients above it.
2. Place one of each of the three prepared skewers into each cup.
3. Tuck in a slice of each color of bell pepper alongside the skewers. Add a few pretzel twists to each cup. If you plan to serve later, add all the ingredients except the pretzels. Add the pretzels just before serving to prevent them from becoming soft.
4. Serve immediately or loosely cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Ideas for Individual Charcuterie Cups

Fresh Fruit skewers: Fruit skewers look great with all the pretty pop of color. The only issue with fruit is that once pieces are cut, the moisture inside starts to leak. Sealed fruits, like strawberries, mixed berries, and green grapes, work great.

Try rainbow fruit skewers with melons or, for an adult party, watermelon mojito skewers.

Sandwich skewers: Layered mini sandwiches give a really excellent full bite in a cup and can be customized for just about any sandwich. Layer meats, cheeses, bread, or PB&J.

Try triangled chicken clubs or sandwich kabobs.

Assorted cheeses: Tiny cheese balls, cheese cubes, or soft cheeses (even enclosed baby bells) can be paired with fruit or meats to give a salty/sweet bite. If serving same day, try adding cheese sticks.

On my site, I  recommend trying Peach Caprese Skewers or Salami Rose Skewers.