Butter Boards: The TikTok Trend Taking on Expensive Charcuterie Boards

Q: What is a Butter Board?

A Butter Board is a spread of softened butter smeared on a serving board and topped with flavors like flaky salt, herbs, roasted garlic, citrus zest, honey or chilies for dipping with bread or crackers.

Q: How do you make a basic Butter Board?

Start with softened butter spread evenly on a cutting board, then add flaky salt, lemon zest and a few garnishes like herbs or edible flowers. Serve with sliced baguette or crackers for dipping.

Q: Is a Butter Board cheaper than a traditional charcuterie board?

Yes. Butter Boards generally cost less because they rely on a few sticks of butter and inexpensive toppings instead of multiple cheeses, cured meats and specialty items.

Q: Can a Butter Board be sweet instead of savory?

Absolutely. Swap savory toppings for honey, nuts, fruit, or a sweet buttercream-style spread to create a dessert butter board variation.

Q: How should I serve and store leftovers?

Serve Butter Boards at room temperature for best texture. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and bring back to room temperature before serving; butter also freezes well if you want to save extra.

Published by

Clara

Mar 2

Butter Board Ideas: Easy Trendy Appetizer

Still, some TikTok crazes deserve a peek — and that’s exactly true of the recent #butterboard phenomenon sweeping the app.

Creator Justine Doiron (@justine_snacks) helped popularize the butter board — an affordable twist on the pricey meat-and-cheese spreads often called “charcuterie.” Since her September 15 post, TikTok clips tagged with #butterboard have amassed more than 100 million views.

@justine_snacks I like this one idk I’m in a silly goofy butter mood – speed songs

The concept is straightforward: Smooth softened butter across a cutting board, then top it with an assortment of garnishes like flaky salt, herbs, lemon zest, thinly sliced red onion, roasted garlic, red peppers — or even something sweet such as honey.

Not only does it sound delightful, but a butter board can cost far less than a traditional charcuterie spread when you’re hosting friends.

For reference: Popular cheese wedges — think parmesan, gouda, gruyere and asiago — often run $8 to $15 per wedge depending on the label. That doesn’t even include softer cheeses like burrata or mascarpone you might use to round out a board.

With a butter board, you’re generally paying only for a couple sticks of butter, a handful of inexpensive toppings and some crackers or a sliced baguette for dipping. Even with butter prices on the rise, a pound typically lands around $10 and — pro tip — you can freeze butter if you spot a sale.

The butter board is endlessly adaptable with sweet or savory combos — like a version inspired by baklava — and there are tasty variations using brown butter or buttercream frosting. Dessert butter board, anyone?

Justine Doiron’s basic recipe features butter, naturally, topped with flaky salt, lemon zest and edible flowers. From there, she lists a range of additional toppings based on your flavor direction.

Options include a honey-and-coriander mix, cilantro with chiles, roasted garlic and rosemary, or figs with mint.

This is a photo of a butter board. — (*Photo courtesy of Aubrey’s Kitchen*)

We’re fans of this savory arrangement from Aubrey’s Kitchen, which pairs roasted garlic, chili oil, honey, cashews, scallions and French bread.

Not to be outshone by food pros, we attempted our own butter board at Savinly. And the result? Pretty decent, if we do say so ourselves.

A photo of a butter board. — (*Robert Bruce/The Savinly*)

Our version had the usual softened butter and flaky salt, plus roasted garlic, roasted red peppers, arugula and a drizzle of honey. It was quite tasty.

So, what do you think of the #butterboard trend?

Alex Morgan is a senior writer for Savinly.