Want to make an amazing charcuterie board? I’m going to show you How to Make the Ultimate Cheese Board in less than 10 minutes! Learn how to assemble the best cheese board – from which cheeses to buy, to how to arrange everything on the board, to which wines to pair with your board!
Looking for more cheese board ideas? Check out my tutorial on how to make an EPIC cheese board for the holidays.
How to Make a Cheese Board
I’m a Wisconsin girl born and raised. Cows. Farms. Cheese. Brats. Beer. That’s what most people think of when they think of Wisconsin. Well, that and the Packers! Duh!
I grew up on cheese. It was like its own food group. Cheese is in my blood!
There is nothing better than a slice of aged cheddar cheese that has a slight sharpness to it then melts in your mouth.
Cheese reminds me of home. It brings up all the fun memories I had growing up. Memories of driving past farms with the windows down and radio blaring. Of going to the Wisconsin State Fair and stuffing my face with Cream Puffs and fried cheese curds. Ya’ll have NOT had cheese curds until you’ve had Wisconsin cheese curds. And memories of driving back home from college on the weekends and passing the huge”CHEESE STAND” sign.
We are all about cheese. So I find it appropriate to take you on a “road trip” of some of my favorite cheeses, paired with meats and wines. Because sitting out back with a board of cheese to devour and wine to sip with friends is real enjoyment to me!
Have you ever thought. There has to be a trick to making those Cheese & Charcuterie Boards?
Well, I’m gonna show you a few tricks. It’s not as complicated as you think.
What to buy for a Cheese Board?
Step 1: Cheese
Pick out 3-4 cheeses. A soft cheese. A semi-soft cheese. A semi-hard cheese. And a hard cheese.
Today I picked aged sharp Cheddar cubes made in Texas! A stinky Gorgonzola cheese and extra-aged Asiago cheese from Wisconsin. The asiago was hands down my favorite! A rich and creamy aged white Cheddar cheese made in California! And a smoked Gouda made in Wisconsin! Wisconsin cheese for the win!
Once you have the cheeses picked – the main part is done. After all it is a CHEESE board. 🙂 When it comes to food, cheese is an easy wholesome choice, no need to pick reduced fat and all that jazz. Cheese is made from real, fresh ingredients and crafted for specific unique tastes. Whatever you pick is going to be great!
Step 2: Meat
Pick out a couple of cured meats to pair with the cheese. I went with a regular salty Prosciutto de Parma and Italian Dry Salami.
Step 3: The Vehicle.
You need a few ingredients that the cheese can be served on. Things like toasted baguettes, crackers, or breadsticks are great to include.
Step 4: Fruits & Nuts.
Pretty sure this is self explanatory, but just in case, here are a few examples. Raw Almonds, Raw Cashews, Honey Roasted Cashews, or Pistachios. As far as the fruits, grapes are always great, blackberries, strawberries, figs or any dried fruit. Just think of things you like and add those. They are great “space fillers” when you are putting the board together.
Last but not least.
Step 5: Other Additions.
This area is for any other sauces or vegetables you’d like to add. Things like, fig jam, honey, sun dried tomato pesto, roasted red peppers, marinated olives, artichokes, basil pesto or bacon jam. The list goes on. Basically all the “fun” stuff to add to your “vehicle” along with that tasty cheese!
And voila!
How to Arrange a Cheese Board
You don’t HAVE to include all of these items. Maybe pick one or two from each category or just go with steps 1-3 for a simpler board.
When assembling the cheese board, I like to place my cheeses on the board first. Since they ARE the star of the platter. On this platter I actually put some greens underneath the cheese to prop it up a bit. Then I placed the meats in different areas to contrast the cheese. Then the bread/crackers and lastly use all the other ingredients to fill in the space. Your goal is to make sure you can’t see the board. To make it look abundant and full of all kinds of goodies. So as soon as you bring it out your guest devour it!
Every time I make a Cheese Board it magically transports me back to Napa. Sitting with my husband and friends, looking out at a vineyard and slowly being overtaken by the peace of that moment! I hope this cheeseboard transports you too! Life is too short to not be enjoyed. And let’s be honest. Cheese just makes people happy!
How to Pair a Cheese Board with Wine
Ok, last but not least. How to pair all these wonderful cheeses with wine!
Cheddar Cheese and Aged Cheddar pair well with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Merlot.
Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola pair well with Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chianti, Malbec, Pinot Noir, and Merlot.
Asiago, Parmesan or other hard cheeses pair well with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Shiraz and Merlot.
Gouda pairs well with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Champagne, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Shiraz and Merlot.
Bon Appetit friends!
**Created with America’s Dairy Farm Families and Importers, in partnership with the Innovation Center for U.S.Dairy. However, like always all opinions are 100% mine! Thank you for supporting the brands that support Joyful Healthy Eats. ***
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Want to make an amazing charcuterie board? I’m going to show you How to Make the Ultimate Cheese Board in less than 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 soft cheese (mozzarella, burrata, Brie)
- 1 semi-soft cheese (Gouda, jarlsberg,blue cheese, Gorgonzola)
- 1 semi-hard cheese (manchego, provolone, comte)
- 1 hard cheese (Asiago, aged Cheddar, Parmesan)
- 2 cured meats – salami, prosciutto
- baguette slices
- assorted crackers and breadsticks
- nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios)
- fruit (grapes, figs, apple slices, pear slices, dried apricots, dried cranberries)
- other (marinated olives, fig jam, roasted red peppers, stone ground mustard, sun dried tomato pesto)
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients all over the board until the cheese board is completely full and you can’t see the board.
Keywords: cheese board, how to make a cheese board, cheese board ideas, cheese and wine pairings, how to make a charcuterie board, charcuterie board ideas
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, BE SURE TO SNAP A PIC AND HASHTAG IT #JOYFULHEALTHYEATS. I LOVE SEEING WHAT YOU MAKE!
Want More Cheesy Recipes?
Patriotic Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
Classic Wedge Salad with Light Bleu Cheese Dressing
DON’T MISS A RECIPE ->
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This post is created with America’s Dairy Farm Families and Importers, in partnership with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy however the views and opinions included are my own.
30 Min
Paleo
Low Carb
Vegetarian
Vegan
Whole30
I am making this tomorrow for our family Christmas. Thanks for making it so easy to put together!
This looks fabulous and I can’t wait to try it out for a party on Friday! Curious how big your board is?
it’s a little bit bigger than a 13″x9″ casserole dish… so may 14.5″x10″
Thank you for this post! It is very helpful for me to be able to put together an elegant platter for entertaining friends. I will post a picture for you soon.
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad that it was helpful for you Rebecca! Can’t wait to see that picture!
Ultimate indeed! This cheese board looks so awesome that I want to make one right one. And devour it myself. Thank you for sharing your ideas!
I don’t blame you. Cheese boards rock! Sometimes we just make them for a fun date night dinner in and open a good bottle of wine. Bon Appetit Sean!
Oh my gosh! This looks soo good! I wish I was sitting there eating it with you!
★★★★★
Me too! Perfect for sharing Amy! 🙂
mmmm…this cheese board is absolutely amazing!! I can’t wait to give it a try!
Thank you so much. It’s the perfect party snack or romantic date night in!
Mmm! I’m with you: I.Love.Cheese! I’ve have cheese curds, though! This is a lovely board, and with your guidance, so easy to put together!
oh you NEED to have cheese curds!
Thank you so much Patricia, hope you get a chance to make one!
I just love how you broke this all down for us and made it easy! Also, I cannot wait to give this a try at my house!
Thanks Erin! Hopefully it makes it super easy the next time you put together a cheese board!
You are definitely not lying when you say the ultimate! This looks great!
haha.. thanks girl! And yes this board is no joke!
Ultimate is right! You can’t go wrong with a cheese board. I could sit and snack on this all day by myself.
I’m with ya. Cheese board for days and days! YUM!