Description

This easy charcuterie and cheese board is full of fall flavor - perfect for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or any autumn get-together!

Ingredients

Scale

Note: The below list includes everything we used to make this particular cheese board (including links to some of the exact products we chose) - but this is a VERY loose recipe! Use this list as a reference or a starting point: feel free to eyeball the exact amounts and make any adjustments you like!

Cheeses:

6 ounces brie
6 ounces Manchego cheese, sliced
6 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, cubed
4 ounces goat cheese (we used this cranberry goat cheese log from Vermont Creamery!)

Meat/Charcuterie:

9 ounces hot sopressata salame
9 ounces genoa salame

Note: We grabbed store-brand salami options from our local Wegmans for these photos, but we also love these salami from Olympia Provisions.

Crackers and bread:

1 sleeve plain water crackers
1 sleeve poppy & sesame crackers
1 whole wheat baguette, sliced and toasted

Extras:

¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup walnut pieces
¼ cup roasted almonds
¼ cup marinated olives
¼ cup apple butter
¼ cup cranberry sauce
½ cup fresh arugula leaves

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Take cheeses out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you plan to serve so they can begin to come to room temperature. Slice any hard cheeses (like cheddar or manchego) before adding them to the cheese plate.
Arrange all ingredients on a large cutting board or serving platter. We recommend arranging any small bowls you’ll be using first, then adding cheese, meat, and a few crackers.
Add small handfuls of nuts and fruit into any remaining open spaces, then fill the small bowls/jars you laid out before with your spreads (like apple butter and cranberry sauce) and olives.
Tuck some fresh arugula into any remaining spaces as a garnish, then serve immediately.

Notes

Serving sizes if you make this as written, with the quantities above. If you're serving this cheese plate as an appetizer and you will have other appetizers available, it will serve 15-20 people. If you're serving this cheese plate as the only appetizer, it will serve 10-12 people. If you're serving this cheese plate as a graze-able dinner with a quick arugula side salad, it will serve about 6 people. That said, you know your guests better than we do - so if you know they're not big cheese people (or if you know they'll hit the cheese plate HARD), adjust the quantities here to suit your group!

This is a very loose recipe - feel free to eyeball the exact amounts of everything, and swap any ingredient you like! Read through the full post above for some of our favorite Thanksgiving cheese board ideas, or check out our ultimate Cheese Plate guide for our best tips on selecting cheeses, serving sizes, and more.

It's hard to get a full sleeve of crackers on a cheese board - we recommend placing just a few crackers on the board itself for aesthetics, and setting out a bowl full of any remaining crackers and crostini next to the cheese board so you don't have to worry about replenishing them too often.

Food safety. The USDA recommends leaving food out at room temperature for no more than 2 hours. Plan to give your cheeses about 30 minutes on the counter to come to room temperature, and set a timer to remind you to put any extra food back in the fridge after the cheese board has been out for an additional 60-90 minutes. If you'd like to leave your cheese board out longer than an hour and a half, we recommend "cycling" your meats and cheeses: Put small pieces of cheese and charcuterie on the board when you first set it out, then add new pieces every 30-60 minutes as the original pieces run out.