Fall Harvest Cheese Board

This fall harvest cheese board is the perfect combo of flavorful cheeses, Italian meats, dried fruits, fresh fruits and crispy crunchy crackers. If you have ever been intimidated about putting together a cheese board I have you covered with step by step instructions!

Confession. I have never thrown together a fancy schmancy cheese board before. I mean, I’ve thrown some cheese and meat on a tray but I have never really done one up for show or a super fancy party. That’s why I wanted to challenge myself to get all fancy and artistic with my cheese and meat. I mean, what else am I supposed to do with my life? Some people have kids and some people have cheese boards – c’est la vie.

But for real I was majorly stressed over putting this board together. I just wanted it to look fancy and beautiful and “OMGOMGOMG I WANT TO EAT ALL OF THAT!”

Now, this fall harvest cheese board (to me) SCREAMS fall. It’s full of delicious cheeses, Italian meats, seedy crackers, herbs, fresh fruits and just a few scattered dried fruits. It’s the best of the season all scattered about on a fancy board.

Also, if you’re new to the whole world of cheese boarding (is that a thing? can we make it a thing?) you need to know a few things. You want a nice selection of cheese so for me that usually means something blue, something cheddar or cheddar-like, something hard but not cheddar and finally something soft and spreadable. For me that usually means Brie.

I mean, goat cheese works well here too but I’m just such a sucker for Brie.

After you pick out your cheeses I start to think of other little snacks that will go nicely with all the different cheeses. Here are my go-to snacks for cheese boards –

olives
artichokes
pickled peppers
dried fruit
fresh fruit
gherkins
nuts/seeds
dried meats
Italian meats
jam/jellies
apple butter
grainy mustard
breadsticks
crackers/mini toasts

For added beauty, I scattered around some fresh herbs too. In my fridge, I had sage, thyme, rosemary and fresh bay leaves. I felt like all the added herbs really gave it a fancy look.

Of course, if you don’t have all this stuff hand DON’T FRET.

You do not need to have 500 million things on a cheese board to make it delicious. They are great for cleaning out your pantry and fridge. I had a lot of this stuff on hand so really the only thing I needed to purchase was the fresh meats, cheeses, and fresh fruit. I had a lot of different nuts and dried fruits on hand.

I also had all my little jars, bowls, slate cheese board, small wooden cheese board and large cheese board on hand.

Plus no one ever turns down a cheese board. FOR REAL! People LOVE meat and cheese. It’s like a siren song.

So, yeah. All you need to make a delicious cheese board is good cheese, tasty meats and then lots of delicious nibbles to eat alongside. Basically, imagine Ina is coming over for dinner and you want to impress the HELL out of her.

I was channeling my inner Ina the whole time I was making this fall harvest cheese board.

Also, here is a fun tip when it comes to assembling the board. First I laid out all my boards and little dishes I wanted to use. Then I placed my cheese on the boards and started filling my little dishes with different little treats. Finally, with the extra space, I filled it with fresh herbs, scattered fruits, and scattered nuts. Oh, and don’t forget to lay out little knives for the cheese.

{Looking for more fun appetizers? Try my Charred Triple Onion Dip, Whipped Goat Cheese Pomegranate Bites, Tequila Lime Shrimp Phyllo Cups, Greek Topped Hummus or my Blistered Shishito Peppers}