A good charcuterie board is mostly a logistics problem: enough variety to keep people grazing, enough restraint to not overspend on a spread that disappears in forty minutes. These ten Five Below finds solve it for under $35 total.
1. Cheez-It® Original Crackers 7oz – $3.50
Every good board needs an honest, unfussy cracker, and this 7oz bag delivers without eating up your budget. The recloseable zipper bag means they stay crisp if you’re assembling in stages, and the size gives you plenty to spread generously without rationing.
Taste: Made with 100% real cheese, these baked squares have a genuinely sharp, savory bite — not artificial-tasting — with a satisfying snap that holds up under toppings. The texture stays crisp rather than crumbling, which matters when you’re layering them with spreads or piling on a slice of meat.
Make It Better: Lay them flat as a cracker row or stand a few upright in a small bowl for height. They pair especially well with a smear of Nutella for a sweet-savory combo that always gets eaten first.
Parting Thoughts: The bag size to price ratio makes this one of the easiest calls on the whole board.
2. Jack Link’S® Teriyaki Beef Jerky 2.6oz Resealable Bag – $5.00
Teriyaki jerky fills the cured-meat slot on a budget board better than most people expect. The sweet-savory marinade — garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce — makes it taste intentional rather than just snacky, which is exactly what you want when you’re building a spread.
Taste: Each piece is tender rather than tough, with a glossy caramelized exterior and warm savory depth from the ginger and garlic. At 11g protein per serving, it’s substantive enough to anchor the meat section without needing deli slices.
Make It Better: Tear or fold pieces into smaller bites before placing them — it looks more deliberate and goes further. Set it next to the chamoy pickle for a sweet-heat-briny contrast that tastes way more thought-out than the combined price.
Parting Thoughts: Anyone who’s ever spent $15 on charcuterie board deli cuts will appreciate this swap.
3. Wonderful® Pistachios Lightly Salted, in-Shell 8oz – $5.00
My charcuterie boards always have a nut pile, and in-shell pistachios are the move — guests graze on them almost absent-mindedly, which keeps the board feeling active. The just-two-ingredients simplicity (pistachios and sea salt) means nothing here competes with the other flavors on the spread.
Taste: Lightly salted and fresh-tasting, with that slightly sweet, buttery pistachio flavor that’s genuinely hard to stop eating. The cracking is half the fun — it keeps hands busy and makes the board feel more interactive than a bowl of pre-shelled nuts ever does.
Make It Better: Pile them in a small ramekin or bowl in a corner of your board; the shells double as a natural portion guide so the whole pile doesn’t disappear in five minutes.
Parting Thoughts: Honest value at $5 for 8oz of a non-GMO, two-ingredient snack.
4. Skinnydipped Almonds® Dark Chocolate Cocoa 3.5oz – $2.50
Every board needs a sweet-salty moment, and these are it. Whole almonds in a thin layer of dark chocolate with a kiss of maple and sea salt — they’re not candy-sweet, which is why they work beautifully alongside savory things rather than clashing with them.
Taste: The chocolate layer is genuinely thin, so you taste almond first, then dark cocoa, then a subtle maple sweetness on the finish with a flicker of sea salt at the end. That last note ties them back to the savory side of the board in a way that feels deliberate.
Make It Better: Scatter them loosely across the board rather than clustering them — they read as a professional finishing touch and disappear fastest of anything when spread out. Tuck them near the dried mango slices for a sweet-tart corner.
Parting Thoughts: $2.50 for something that tastes like it came from a chocolatier’s grab bag is a genuine win.
5. Nutella® Jar 7.7oz – $4.00
For a dessert-leaning board or any spread with kids — or adults who act like it — a jar of Nutella earns its spot immediately. Set it out with a small spreader and it becomes the most-visited station on the table within minutes.
Taste: Creamy and rich with that familiar hazelnut-cocoa flavor — sweet but not cloying, with enough roasted depth to feel grown-up. It’s smooth enough to spread easily on crackers straight from the jar without tearing anything.
Make It Better: Dip the Biscoff cookies or Cheez-Its straight in for a wildly satisfying contrast. A small pinch of flaky salt on top of the open jar, if you have it on hand, transforms this from convenience item to something that looks considered.
Parting Thoughts: The 7.7oz size is generous enough to share without running out, and at $4 it’s a crowd-pleaser no one will second-guess.
6. Lotus Biscoff® Cookie Family Pack 8.8oz – $4.00
When you want a cracker that doubles as a conversation piece, Biscoff cookies are the answer. Thirty-two cookies for $4 is a ridiculously good deal for something people genuinely get excited to see on a board — that cinnamon-spiced aroma alone does half the work.
Taste: The signature caramelized spice flavor comes through in a crumbly, shortbread-like snap — slightly crisp but not hard, with a warm brown-sugary depth that makes them work with savory cheeses and sweet dips equally well. They’re the cookie that somehow belongs on a charcuterie board.
Make It Better: Fan them out in a half-circle row — their rectangular shape stacks neatly or fans beautifully. They’re the best vehicle for a Nutella drag if you’re running a sweet corner on your board.
Parting Thoughts: Thirty-two cookies for $4 is the kind of math that makes everyone at the table happy.
7. Harvest Snaps® Original Lightly Salted Green Pea Snack Crisps – $3.00
Most boards lean heavy on starch and salt — these pea crisps are the lighter pivot that keeps the spread from feeling one-note. They’re baked from green peas as the first ingredient, and they’re more satisfying than that sentence suggests.
Taste: Light and airy with a clean, mild savory flavor and just enough salt to be genuinely snackable without being aggressive. The texture is a gentle puffed crisp — less dense than a chip, crunchy but not sharp — which makes them easy to eat in quantity.
Make It Better: Use them to scoop soft dips like Nutella; they hold up better than you’d expect for something this light. Their neutral flavor also works as a palate cleanser between the bolder items on the board.
Parting Thoughts: The best argument for this one is that it makes the board feel like you thought it through rather than just grabbed everything crunchy on the shelf.
8. Duke’s® Tall Boy™ Smoked Shorty Sausage – Hot & Spicy 1oz – $1.00
Duke’s smoked sausage is shelf-stable, a dollar, and tastes legitimately good — that combination is worth knowing about. At one ounce it’s a single snack-size stick, but sliced on a bias into rounds it looks like you planned it for the board all along.
Taste: Savory and smoky with a real heat that builds slowly — this is the spicy element most budget boards skip entirely. The texture is firm but not rubbery, with that characteristic smoked sausage snap that makes it satisfying to bite through.
Make It Better: Slice it into rounds before guests arrive and arrange them next to the jerky. The spice here contrasts nicely with the sweeter teriyaki, giving the meat section actual range rather than just one flavor note.
Parting Thoughts: A dollar for a premium smoked sausage that actually delivers on heat is the board’s best-kept secret.
9. Paradise Valley® Soft & Juicy Dried Mango Slices 10oz Resealable Bag – $5.00
Color and brightness are the two things most budget boards skip, and 10oz of dried mango handles both at once. Bright, chewy orange slices scattered across the board make the whole thing look more intentional — and they’re genuinely crowd-pleasing in a way that fills a gap nothing else on this list covers.
Taste: Soft and chewy with concentrated tropical sweetness — intensely mango-flavored without being candy-like. The natural acidity gives them a bright finish that cuts through the richer, fattier board items and keeps the palate interested.
Make It Better: Fold or roll a few slices and tuck them upright between the meat and nut sections for height and color contrast. They pair well with the dark chocolate almonds for a sweet-tropical corner that disappears fast.
Parting Thoughts: Ten ounces for $5 goes a long way visually and flavor-wise on a board that needs more than beige.
10. Jumbo Chamoy Flavored Pickle – $1.50
A board without something acidic and briny is a board missing its anchor. This chamoy-flavored jumbo pickle brings the tangy, crunchy contrast that cuts through rich meats and sweet dips and makes every other flavor on the spread taste sharper by comparison.
Taste: Crunchy and tangy with the sweet-sour-spicy layering that chamoy does best — bolder than a regular dill pickle, with a distinct kick that lingers. The texture is firm and satisfying all the way through, nothing soft about it.
Make It Better: Slice it lengthwise into spears and fan them across the board rather than placing the whole pickle — guests can grab a piece without committing to the full thing, and it reads as a deliberate garnish rather than an afterthought.
Parting Thoughts: Nothing on this list earns more curious double-takes from guests, and it costs $1.50 — easy yes.
