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This vegan charcuterie board showcases dairy-free cheese shaped like the dog emoji. It’s cute, creative, and totally edible. Create a fun vegan charcuterie board that’s perfect for summer picnics, baby showers, or pool party snacks.

This vegan charcuterie board feeds 6 people as a meal and 12 people as a snack.

Table of Contents

(click the links below to skip to the section you’re looking for)

• Intro to Vegan Charcuterie
• Vegan Charcuterie Recipe
• FAQ
• Ingredient Substitutions
• Video
• Nutritional Information
• Contact Me with Questions
• Similar Recipes

What Is a Vegan Charcuterie Board?

It’s 2025, and it’s time for charcuterie boards to evolve. Traditionally, the appetizer platters contained meat and cheese from poor animals living a life of torture. But now, vegan charcuterie offers inclusive, plant-based masterpieces for all dietary preferences. Now you can go out for vegan charcuterie at restaurants like Unwind in Portland. You can order ready-made vegan charcuterie boards or charcuterie bouquets from The Dancer’s Pantry in Sacramento. Or you can host a gathering or enjoy a cozy night in with a vegan charcuterie board at home.

Charcuterie boards have a lot of names. They are also called cheese and cracker boards, grazing boards, snacking boards, or antipasto. People often make them for parties or holidays because they’re a beautiful centerpiece. But they can be easy enough to make that you can add them to your no-cook dinner ideas for hot days or lazy weekends. They don’t always have to be as cute as this one, being the center of conversation and impressing all the guests. They’re totally customizable and can be whatever you want them to be.

Ingredients to Include on a Vegan Charcuterie Board

(jump to the substitutions section to see ingredient details and suggestions for substitutions)

• vegan meat slices
• vegan cheese
• 1 small watermelon radish
• vegan caviar
• assorted vegan crackers

How to Arrange Your Vegan Charcuterie Board

prep time: 30 min

Open packages. Assuming you bought your ingredients and didn’t make them from scratch, open up all the packaging and get everything ready to assemble.

Sculpt the dairy-free cheese. If you want yours to look like a dog emoji, watch my video to see how I did it. If you’re just making a quick and easy vegan charcuterie board, skip these instructions, and place the vegan cheese anywhere you like on your board. Cut 2 vegan cheese wedges lengthwise to make 4 triangles, and press them together.

Draw and cut the shape. Use a toothpick to draw the outline of the dog emoji shape (or whatever shape you want). Use a butter knife to trim the edges into the shape you traced. Save those cheese scraps to eat later. Smooth out the edges (optional).

Make the tongue. Peel and slice a watermelon radish to make the tongue for my dog emoji. Put the tongue on the dog.

Fold vegan deli slices. Fold the vegetarian deli slices in thirds or fourths, depending on the size. Pile a few of them on top of each other in a stack. Then place this stack where one of the dog’s ears goes. Do it again for the other ear. If the stack isn’t staying put, use a toothpick to hold it down. You only need to leave the toothpicks in temporarily until the vegan lunch meat settles down. Then you can remove the toothpicks before serving and everything will stay put.

Make the eyes and nose. Spoon vegan caviar onto the spots of the dog’s face where the nose and eyes go. Use your hands to shape them.

Fill the rest of the board with crackers. You can fill the surrounding area with whatever you want. I used 2 kinds of crackers, both made by Back to Nature.

Serve. Add a cheese knife when you serve it.

Questions and Answers

Can I make a vegan charcuterie board gluten-free?

To create a vegan, gluten-free charcuterie board, just replace all the crackers with gluten-free crackers. Those can be flax crackers (like Mary’s Gone Crackers) or rice crackers (like Edward & Son’s). But my personal favorite is the FitJoy Classic Round cracker. They’re like a vegan gluten-free version of Ritz crackers.

How far in advance can I prepare a vegan charcuterie board?

To make a charcuterie board a few hours in advance, arrange the cheese and meats on the board and then cover it all with cling wrap. Leave it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. Then remove the cling wrap, add the crackers and/or bread, and serve.

Is vegan charcuterie expensive?

Vegan food can be expensive, especially vegan versions of meats and cheeses. The reason for this is because the government subsidizes the meat and dairy industries. We live in an effed up world. However, there are tricks to finding these ingredients at discounted prices.

One way to reduce the costs is to shop at discount stores like Grocery Outlet. I often find vegan deli slices and vegan cheeses there for a quarter to half of the normal price. Another way is to make your own from scratch. I have a recipe for vegan cheese, a recipe for vegan pepperoni, and a vegan bacon recipe that would be perfect for this vegan charcuterie board.

How do I store leftovers?

When I made this vegan charcuterie board, I stored the leftover crackers in jars in the pantry. I transferred the leftover vegan cheese and meat into air-tight containers (like Tupperware) and put them in the fridge. Then, we used them to make sandwiches throughout the following week.

Where do you buy the best vegan charcuterie ingredients?

There are tons of places to find good quality ingredients for your vegan charcuterie board. Look for stores like Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, natural food co-ops, vegan grocery stores, and Whole Foods. These local stores always have a good variety of vegan cheeses and plant-based meats. Even regular grocery stores have vegan dairy and vegan deli sections nowadays.

If you have local vegan cheese or vegan meat artisans, ask them where to buy their creations. Local vegan delis (like Butcher’s Son in Berkeley) and farmers markets vendors are good options. If you prefer to shop online, there’s The Herbivorous Butcher, Rebel Cheese, and many others.

Charcuterie Board Ingredient Substitutions

• Vegan Cheese: The best vegan cheese brands to buy for vegan charcuterie are dare, Rebel, Treeline, Nuts for Cheese (the black garlic is my fave), the Uncreamery, The Cultured Kitchen, Bandit, and Climax Foods (the blue cheese is the best). My hedgehog cheeseball would be a good centerpiece if dogs aren’t your thing.
• Vegan Charcuterie Meats: The best vegan deli meat brands to buy for vegan charcuterie are Field Roast, Tofurkey, Unreal, and Renegade. Other options that you might enjoy are Lightlife, Prime Roots, or Plant Provisions.
• Vegan Crackers: There are SO MANY options for vegan crackers. Saltines are generally vegan by default. Round crackers (like Ritz crackers) are sold by many brands and the ones I’ve seen are vegan. They include Late July, Trader Joe’s, Back to Nature, and Whole Foods 365 brand. Triscuits are naturally vegan, and Back to Nature makes their version of triscuits. If you’re looking for a more artisanal cracker, there’s Top Seedz crackers.
• Dips and Spreads: Get creative and use whatever other dips or spreads you like. I have a DIY bitchin sauce recipe, a kale pesto pâté​ recipe, and a sauerkraut hummus recipe..
• Other Ideas: People often add nuts, olives, fruits, and veggies to their vegan charcuterie plates. The best charcuterie fruits are grapes, figs, and berries. The best veggies for charcuterie boards are carrots, cucumbers, and cherry or grape tomatoes. I like to add edible flowers when they’re in season. You could make a charcuterie board that includes my teriyaki tofu jenga game. Adding plant-based jerky would be fun. Instead of crackers, you could add pretzels, slices bread, crostini, or chips. To add some sweet to the salty, you could add jam as one of your spreads.

Video

Nutrition Facts

This nutritional information is for one serving. I’m assuming that a serving is a snack size amount (one-twelfth) of the charcuterie board.

• Servings: 12
• Calories: 220
• Fiber: 2g
• Saturated fat: 7g
• Total fat: 14g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 373mg
• Sugars: < 1g
• Total Carbohydrates: 15g
• Protein: 8g
• Calcium: 16mg
• Potassium: 201mg
• Iron: 1mg

Comments or Questions?

If this recipe inspires your charcuterie board, I would love it if you’d snap a pic, post to instagram, and tag me @vegandollhouse. It seriously makes my day/week/month!

Please message me (instagram or email) if you have any questions or feedback about the recipe.

Similar Recipes

If you like this cruelty-free charcuterie recipe, you might also like my charcuterie chalet recipe. It’s perfect for Easter or Christmas. For a fall-themed charcuterie board, check out the deer charcuterie board I made to accompany my bitchin sauce recipe.

If you prefer spooky vegan charcuterie, check out my bat charcuterie board I made for my witchcraft goth day birthday party a few years ago. You can also get some spookycute vegan charcuterie ideas from my vegan Halloween party.

For a charcuterie board idea that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, or a baby shower, check out my bagel charcuterie board. If you’re making a charcuterie board for toddlers or children, find inspiration on my list of toddler-friendly party food recipes.

If you love entertaining and making food for friends, you’re in good company. Let’s be besties, haha. I love themed parties. Examples include this unicorn carousel birthday and this goth tea party.

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I mostly cook with organic ingredients, but only specify organic when it’s necessary to ensure the item is vegan.

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