How To Set Up a Cheeseboard

Who doesn’t love a good cheeseboard? They’re perfect for parties, fun to snack on, and fun to show off. My family loves cheeseboards when having some craft beer or wine. We have a little “pairing party,” and I arrange a board full of delicious snacks: fruits, spreads, crackers, nuts, and cheeses. A big cheeseboard is also the perfect appetizer at a holdiay party!

I always used to see all these photos of fancy cheeseboards on Instagram and Pinterest, and I’d wish I could make something similar. There are a few steps to making a cheeseboard, which I cover in this guide. First, you need to pick a variety of cheeses and select some elements that pair well with them. Then, you can slice, fan, and spread out your ingredients to make a delicious array!

Pictured: Cheeseboard with Emmental, Coupole, Gorgonzola, Edam

Choosing Your Cheeses

Three to four cheeses is a good number for a cheeseboard, but you can add more if you’re having a big party! You want different types, flavors, and textures for your guests to pair and try. Most grocery stores have a cheese section where you can buy a ton of types of cheese, and pre-wrapped cheeses work fine! You should try to include one from each of these categories in your cheeseboard:

• A soft spreadable cheese such as fresh goat cheese (chevre), brie cheese, or camembert (My family loves Coupole, which is made by Vermont Creamery)
• An aged, harder cheese – often good with wine, fruit, and balsamic vinegar. Think Manchego, aged Gouda, or Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• A nice funky blue cheese! There are so many options: Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola, or a milder one like a Cambozola if you’re just getting introduced to blue cheese.
• A semi-hard cheese with a good, buttery flavor for pairing with crackers, such as Havarti, cheddar, young Gouda, and Gruyere

Of course, I also encourage you to try other cheeses if they’re interesting! I love chevre that has fruit mixed into it. Another favorite is Attrezzi’s caramelized onion cheddar. There’s red wine-flavored cheeses, black truffle cheeses…I had a lot of fun trying this caramel-y Scandinavian cheese called gjetost or brunost – it was surpringly tasty!

Pictured: Cheeseboard with Gruyere, Cambozola, Manchego, Chevre

Pairings

It’s good to have a variety of options for pairing with cheese. You want to provide different textures and flavors, using things like sweet and savory spreads, crunchy crackers and nuts, fruits, and salty olives and cured meats (or smoked salmon for a pescetarian option)!

Spreads

Savory and sweet spreads are both excellent additions to a cheese board. My favorite sweet spreads are fig jam and marmalade. Fig jam pairs well with both hard and soft cheeses, especially Brie, Manchego, and even a mild blue cheese. Marmalade pairs well with semi-firm cheeses like Emmental and Gouda, as well as with some softer cheeses like Coupole and Brie. A sweet drizzle of honey is also an excellent pairing for many cheeses – try it with some Gorgonzola! Savory sauces you can use include grainy mustard and aged balsamic vinegar. Mustard goes well with a sharp cheddar, and balsamic vinegar goes well with Parmigiano-Reggiano. You can also include savory dips like hummus or a caramelized onion dip.

Crunchy Elements

Dip, spread, or layer: crackers are the MVP of cheeseboard pairings. If you buy strongly flavored crackers, make sure to also supply some plainer ones in case the flavor doesn’t go with some of the cheese pairings. I like to include a variety of crackers and crisps like crostini, seeded crackers, rosemary crackers, and even plain Club crackers. Crusty slices of baguette are also excellent bases. Make some fun bites by piling a bunch of things on top of a cracker!

Nuts are also an excellent way to add texture and a buttery, earthy flavor to cheese pairings. You can buy sweet nut pralines or salted and flavored almonds at grocery stores, but plain nuts work great as well! My favorite nuts to use are cashews, pistachios, and almonds.

Fruity Elements

In addition to providing sweetness, fruit also gives a freshness to cheese pairings, and a beautiful pop of color to your cheeseboard! If you want a more concentrated sweetness, you can use dried fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, and cherries pair well with goat cheese and Brie. Sliced apples are excellent with Gorgonzola and Gouda cheese. Pears pair with blue cheese and camembert. Dried figs go well with Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh goat cheese, and Coupole, while dried apricots pair well with cheddar.

Salty Elements

Meat and cheese pairings are many people’s favorites to explore. Common cured meats to use include prosciutto, salami, and soppressata. If you’re pescatarian (like me!) you can try smoked salmon!

A vegetarian way to add a salty element is by serving olives or pickles, which go well with buttery, semi-firm cheeses like Comte or Emmental.

Pictured: Cheeseboard with Bucheron, Roquefort, Comte, Aged Gouda

Making It Pretty

The trick to making a showstopping cheeseboard is to fan out your elements and cover all the space. You don’t want to leave bare spots on the board; those make it seem underfilled. If you have to put the same element on twice to fill up the space, that’s okay! Fan out your crackers, slice up apples and strawberries, pile round grapes and cherries together, and use nuts to fill in any empty space. It helps to put cheeses and bowls of spreads down first – space them out well – and then cluster and arrange the other elements around them. Cut a few slices off of each cheese to show off the inside. And remember, practice makes perfect! The more you play with arranging cheeseboards, the more comfortable you’ll be making them beautiful.

My first cheeseboard attempt:

After some practice, and using the tips I’ve shared in this post, I’ve been able to make cheeseboards like this:

Pictured: Cheeseboard with Bijou, Raspberry Chevre, Gouda, Stilton

Have fun making a delicious, gorgeous cheeseboard!

Cheeseboard Shopping List

Prep Time: 10 min	Serves: 4-8
Total Time: 10 min

Cheeses

• 1 soft cheese (e.g. Brie or fresh goat cheese)
• 1 semi-firm cheese (e.g. Havarti, Gruyere, Emmental, or cheddar)
• 1 blue cheese (e.g. Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort, or Cambozola)
• 1 hard aged cheese (e.g. aged Gouda, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano)

Other Elements:

• 1-3 types of crackers (crostini, seeded crackers, blini, or plain crackers) or sliced baguette
• 1-3 types of fruit, fresh or dried
• 1-3 salty elements: cured meats, smoked salmon, olives, or pickles
• Assorted nuts of choice
• 1-3 spreads, sweet or savory

Slice, fan out, and arrange on a serving board of your choice. Enjoy with friends (and some wine!)