Learn How to Make the Ultimate Mediterranean Mezze Platter that is packed with vibrant colors, bold flavors, and various textures 🧆🫒🧀 Whether you’re hosting a gathering or party, or just craving a fresh and healthy, shareable meal, a mezze board is sure to impress!
Charcuterie boards are the perfect party or gathering appetizer. Although they look complicated and intimidating, they’re actually super easy to make! Don’t spend money on an expensive custom-made board and make your own at home instead.
This all-in-one Mediterranean inspired mezze board is a crowd pleaser and can be prepared ahead of time and assembled right before your guests arrive. It’s packed with tasty, esthetically pleasing Mediterranean appetizers and will make you look like a seasoned pro! You can use as many store-bought ingredients or homemade as you’d like. You should be able to find most of these dishes available at your local Middle Eastern Market.
What is Mezze?
Mezze (meze or mezzeh) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers or a light meal, or breakfast, commonly found in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It’s similar to Spanish tapas or Italian antipasti and is also designed for sharing. It’s basically a wide variety of appetizers and finger foods (grape leaves, falafel, dips, and mini pies). It also includes plenty of fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, and a variety of dips and cheeses.
Ingredients Needed for Mezze Board
To begin, start with a beautiful large board or platter. Make sure it will be able to fit at least a few small dip bowls, and have space for additional toppings and breads. I like to use one at least 16” x 24” wide. If you don’t have a large board or will leave the platter on a counter or island, you can go ahead and set it up on a long sheet of parchment paper directly on the countertop.
Choose Your Dips & Spreads: Hummus, Whipped Feta, Babaghanous, this colorful beet hummus, Tzatziki, breading dipping oil, lebna, or your favorite dips!
Add fruit and vegetables: Cucumber, Tomatoes, Turnips or radish, sweet pepper, Figs, Pomegranates, dates, or nuts.
Essential Mediterranean toppings: grape leaves, falafel, olives, feta or haloumi cheese.
Add a Variety of Breads & Crackers: Pita bread, cut into wedges, pita chips, crackers, or Focaccia
How to Make a Mezze Board
Place dips in small bowls and garnish with olive oil, some of the filling, Aleppo red pepper, parsley, dill, zataar, or a garnish of choice. Spread them evenly across the board.
Add the grape leaves and falafel on opposite ends. Fill the gaps with bread, cheese, olives, colorful fruits and veggies.
Add final touches like fresh herbs (parsley, mint). Tuck in some fresh herbs to take up any spaces that need filling. Add utensils such as small spoons, forks, spreaders, and cheese knives.
Serve! I recommend having the charcuterie board assembled right before your guests arrive so the dips and other dishes are fresh.
Pro Tips
To make ahead of time: Assemble the board much earlier (up to 24 hours), but do not garnish the dips yet. Cover it in plastic or by using this board that comes with a lid, and place it in the fridge. Remove from the fridge about 15 minutes before your guests arrive and gently give the dips a small stir to refresh them then garnish with olive oil and desired toppings.
If your board can not fit the entirety of the ingredients at once, keep extra in the fridge to refill when the board starts to get low. Have all of the ingredients prepared and ready to restock.
Any items that have been left out for over 6 hours should be discarded. Store any leftovers separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Mezze Board | Platter
Ingredients
- Mediterranean Dips , Hummus, Beet Hummus, Whipped Feta, Babaghanoush, Bread dipping oil
- Fresh Vegetables, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Turnips or radish, sweet pepper
- Fresh Fruit, Figs, Pomegranates, dates
- Bread, Pita bread cut into wedges, pita chips, crackers, or this easy no knead Focaccia
- Other Toppings: , Cubed feta or labne balls, fried Halloumi, marinated olives
- Grape leaves
- Falafel
Instructions
- Place the dips and olives in small bowls. Garnish dips with olive oil, some of the filling Aleppo red pepper, parsley, dill, or garnish of choice.
- Arrange the dip bowls on a large wooden board or serving platter. Add the falafel and grape leaves on opposite ends.
- Arrange the remaining ingredients onto the platter.
Equipment
Recipe by Layla Atik // Photography by: Eat Love Eats
