I have a pretty bad habit of spending an egregious amount of money on platters and boards. I mean, after grabbing all my favorite cheeses, cured meats, specialty crackers, gourmet olives, and spreads, you’re already in the 3-figure territory in most cases. Grazing tables are at least twice the size of most charcuterie boards, too, so it’s even more of a challenge to stay low budget. I can confirm that it is possible, though! I recently challenged myself to make an entire fall grazing table for under $50, and I succeeded! Note- My success can mostly be attributed to hyveedeals.com— it lets you search for what’s on sale. Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to share some budget-friendly grazing table ideas in today’s post. Keep reading for a handful of my best grazing table ideas on a budget!

Budget-Friendly Grazing Table Ideas

When it comes to filling up a grazing table on a budget, bulkiness is the name of the game. Grazing tables are typically considerably larger than traditional charcuterie boards, so I like to use lots of hardy slices of bread and crackers, along with greenery and seasonal fruit, to fill in extra space.

Here’s everything I used to create this fall charcuterie board grazing table– 

• Butcher paper– Long charcuterie boards are ex-pen-sive, so I use butcher paper instead. If you’re using an entire table, you don’t technically need to cover it with paper, although it’ll probably make your guests feel a little more comfortable if you do. 
• French bread– Almost all baguettes cost less than $2. Also, bread slices take up a lot of room and are absolutely delicious with softer cheeses, like brie. If you have the time, toast the slices with some olive oil and make crostinis. 
• Triscuits– I seriously love Triscuits so much. Not only are they delicious, but they also come in over a dozen varieties and are often on sale. I used them on this budget-friendly cheese board consisting of items already in my pantry, too!
• Breadsticks– Kyle loves these Italian breadsticks, so I had to include them on this grazing table, even though they weren’t totally necessary. If you’ve got empty space to cover, though, spread these out longwise like I did on this Italian charcuterie board. They take up a considerable amount of space!
• Cheeses– To stay on budget, I bought three kinds of cheese– a brie spread, aged cheddar, and Gruyere, all of which were on sale. I actually bought two blocks of the aged cheddar, since it was the cheapest. And also because I love aged cheddar.
• Cured meats– I normally like to use at least two cured meats for variety, but since my budget was $50, I stuck to salami. It was BOGO, so I grabbed two packs and used them to make meat roses.
• Olives– Pretty much everyone I know eats olives by the jar, myself included, so I included two separate ramekins of Greek-style kalamata and green olives. 
• Pistachios– I used pistachios, but nuts, in general, add another budget-friendly touch of saltiness to charcuterie boards. Almonds, cashews, pecans– they’re all golden. 
• Grapes– Fresh fruit is a must-have on grazing boards. Grapes are one of my go-to’s because they’re pretty much always in season and they take up a lot of room!
• Blackberries– It’s hard to beat ripe blackberries in the fall, but I bought these because they were on major sale. Even when I’m not sticking to a strict budget, I always like to buy what’s in season. Not only is seasonal fruit cheaper, but it’s also typically much more flavorful.
• Dried apricots– Dried apricots are a pantry staple for us, so they go on all my platters and boards. Not only is dried fruit more budget-friendly than fresh fruit, but it’s also got a significantly longer shelf life and still adds the same sweetness and color. 
• Fresh herbs– I used fresh sprigs of rosemary from our herb garden to cover up the sparser areas of this charcuterie table. Besides looking pretty, they can add extra flavor to your cheese pairings, too.
• Greenery– Adding greenery, like silver dollar eucalyptus, to a grazing board is probably the single-best way to cover a grazing table. It smells good, looks gorgeous, and eats up a ton of surface area.

Honey and cheese spreads, like jams and tapenades, are also great solid grazing table ideas. I was diligent about sticking to my $50 budget, so it wasn’t in the cards for this particular grazing board. Still, I highly recommend including them if you’ve got room in your budget!

I also created a super quick video on Instagram as part of a sponsored social campaign with Hy-Vee showing how to make a grazing table for under $50. My secret? I used hyveedeals.com to check for all the best deals on cheeses, fruit, crackers, cured meats, etc. Then, I just added them to my shopping list. It’s super easy and can legitimately save you hundreds of dollars on grocery orders. If you shop in stores at Hy-Vee, you can also scan the Hy-Vee QR Code in the store (you’ll find it on the shelves) with your phone to find exclusive weekly deals.

See how this grazing board came together below–

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Steph | Diary of a Debutante (@stephanieziajka)

More Fall Charcuterie Board Ideas

Few things in life are better than a fall charcuterie board on the porch with my husband and a bottle of red wine. Don’t get me wrong– I love grazing tables, but they’re intended for 6+ people (and that’s at a minimum). So, if charcuterie and/or snack boards are more your speed this time of year, here are a few posts I think you’ll enjoy–

• How to Build the Perfect Fall Charcuterie Board
• Game Day Snack Board
• The Perfect Fall Crudites Platter

 
Thanks so much for reading, y’all! Also, if you love charcuterie boards, is there anything I left off my grazing table? Any budget-friendly grazing board ideas I missed? Let me know in the comments!

PS- For even more grazing table ideas, check out the Platters and Boards tab on my blog!

Just so you’re aware, I created this grazing board as part of a sponsored social campaign with Hy-Vee. I loved this project so much that I decided to feature it on my blog, as well, although I had no obligation to do so. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.