Whether you’re hosting a holiday party, girl’s night, birthday party or shower, coming up with the perfect party food is undoubtedly at the top of your list! Grazing boards, or beautifully coordinated cheese and charcuterie boards have been all the rage this year and they can be easily adapted for any occasion! If you’ve seen the gorgeous pictures on Instagram or Pinterest and wondered how to make your own Cheese Board, you’re in luck because today I’m going to walk you through it step-by-step! Keep scrolling to learn how to make this crowd-pleasing cheese board for your next party!
I don’t know about you, but if you pour me a glass of wine and have an amazing cheese and charcuterie platter out that I can graze on, you don’t have to feed me anything else and I’ll consider your party a total success! So don’t stress about food for your party, focus on a few heavy appetizers and this delicious cheese board and your guests will be satisfied, happy and ready to celebrate!
A great grazing board has several key elements and you’ll want to include each of them to create variety for both the eyes and mouth.
- Spreads and Dips: First, you’ll want some kind of spread or dip – a fruit chutney, your favorite hummus or a cheese spread for example.
- Small Bites: The second element are easy to eat items like olives, mixed nuts and fruits (dried and fresh) like strawberries, grapes, blackberries and dried cranberries or apricots.
- Meats and Cheeses: Third, you want a diverse mix of meats and cheeses. Think staples like salami, prosciutto, pepper jack and brie, but don’t be afraid to mix in some of your personal favorites or try something new or more exotic.
- Crackers: Finally, you’ll want a mix of crackers, crostinis and/or breadsticks.
If this all sounds overwhelming, don’t worry! The ingredient list for the cheese board pictured here is below with step-by-step assembly instructions so you can recreate something similar with ease!
You can get the majority of the ingredients you need in your regular grocery store deli section, but I also love shopping at our local Sprouts because they have a huge bulk section with lots of dried fruits and nuts and I can choose the perfect amount of everything I need. You may also keep your eyes open at shops like World Market for unique spreads and chutneys – I always find great items there too!
Okay, let’s get busy assembling a beautiful cheese platter for your next party. Grab the ingredients from the list below, your favorite cheese board and then start laying out the elements just like this…
Cheese Board Assembly Instructions
The first step is all about preparation. Let’s get all your ingredients prepared so you’re ready to assemble them on your board. First, begin by preparing the cheese your purchased (if needed). Most grocery stores offer pre-sliced or chunked cheeses in the deli section and those are great options if you know you’ll be pressed for time. If you purchased larger blocks of cheese, you’ll likely want to slice or cube each block to make it easier for your guests to enjoy. Set your cheese aside for now.
Next, you’ll want to prepare the meats by thinly slicing them (if needed) as well. Again, your deli section may have meats that are pre-sliced and ready to go – grab those to make your life easier! Set your meats aside for now as well. Finally, wash and pat dry all of your fresh fruit. Set that to the side also.
Grab your favorite small bowls or ramekins and fill those with your chutney spread, hummus, olives and/or honey. As a starting point, place the olives in the center of your platter and you can spread the other bowls out on the platter or set them on your serving table. We placed the fruit chutney in one of the corners.
Now it’s time to start placing your meats onto the board. You can choose a decorative pattern if you prefer, creating swirls, twists, or just have them radiate out from the center like we did here. Once your meat is in place, add the prepared cheese, crackers, nuts and fresh fruit in a similar pattern around the board (I like to keep fresh fruit by the sweeter cheeses like Brie and goat cheese).
Finally, fill in any blank spaces with your dried fruits and a green garnish like rosemary and add a few utensils to your board as well to make serving easy on your guests.
My best advice as you create your cheese board is to remember there is no “right” way to do this! Let your creativity flow and have fun! People love cheese and charcuterie platters and you absolutely cannot screw it up! Lol
Be sure to Pin this post for your next party and leave me a comment – what’s your favorite thing to put on a cheese platter?
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- 1 jar Fruit Chutney we used cranberry, but you can choose your favorite
- Honey
- Garlic Hummus or choose your favorite flavor
- 1 jar Jalapeño filled green olives blue cheese stuffed olives would be good too
- Traditional large black olives pitted
- 1 box Ritz crackers
- 1 box Sesame topped wheat crackers
- 1 box Pretzel crackers
- Colby Jack cheese cubed
- Cheddar cheese cubed
- White cheddar cheese thinly sliced
- Brie round cut in half
- Goat cheese topped with cranberries
Ingredients
Spreads and Dips
Olives
Crackers
Dried Fruits
Cheeses
Fresh Fruit
Garnish
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- If needed, prepare your cheeses by slicing or cubing them. Set aside when done.
- If needed, prepare your meats by thinly slicing them. Set aside when done.
- Prepare your fruits by washing and patting them dry. Set aside when done.
- Fill small bowls or ramekins with your dips, spreads and olives.
- Begin by placing your small bowl of olives in the center of your cheese board. Place the other small bowls with dips and spreads around the board (if you have a large board) or on your serving table.
- Add your meats to the board in a decorative pattern.
- Add rows of your prepared cheese, fresh fruits, crackers and nuts.
- Fill in any blank spaces with your dried fruits.
- Add rosemary to garnish your cheese platter and finish with serving utensils. Enjoy!
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