How to Build a Summer Cheeseboard!

I’m showing you exactly How to Build a Summer Cheeseboard! I always start off with a simple formula to creating a spread to please everyone, and I always use what’s in season to fill out the board – in this case, berries, peaches, zucchini, and everything summery and delicious! This is a method you can use to feed a crowd of any size, and for any occasion, large or small!

Cheeseboards are pretty much always on the menu if I’m hosting any kind of get-together, large or small. Sometimes I like to start off the evening with a smaller cheeseboard (not a huge epic one like this one), and sometimes, the entire party can be fed by a huge cheeseboard like this. Depending on the occasion, you can totally make a cheeseboard to suit any and every type of gathering. And today, I’m giving you the run-down of EXACTLY how I make these spreads! So get ready.

Something I hear a lot: “But Molly, I could never make those big food spreads and cheeseboards like you do!”

Listen guys, I’m not saying you have to make a huge elaborate cheeseboards like the one I’m showing you today! They can totally be made on a smaller scale, and catered to your needs. But! In case you are hosting a lot of people this summer, I am showing you the method to making these spreads. And, all of these tips can totally be applied to making smaller-scale cheeseboards!

All you need is a simple formula and a method. I use this method every single time I make a cheeseboard, large or small, and it is SO super helpful in making the process a little less intimidating!

And it goes like this:

• Cheeses
  • For a larger crowd, 4-6 cheeses, and for a smaller crowd, anywhere from 2-4
  • I always do a mixture of hard, semi-soft, and soft cheeses for variety
  • Favorites of mine include: burrata, mozzarella, sharp cheddar, pepper jack, unexpected cheddar from Trader Joe’s, the syrah-soaked toscano cheese from Trader Joe’s, manchego, garlic and herb spreadable cheese (I like boursin), and goat cheese
  • You will notice a theme here – Trader Joe’s is an AWESOME place to go if you’re looking for affordable, high quality, and delicious cheeses (and everything you need to make a cheeseboard, really!)
• Cured Meats
  • You don’t need to go too overboard here, a 2-3 max is great! I like salami and prosciutto.
• Fruits and Vegetables
  • The key is to use what’s in season! In this case, every kind of summer produce is what you’ll find taking up most the space on my cheeseboards.
  • In the summer, I love using berries, cherries, grapes, and peaches for fruit, and zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes for veggies.
• Crackers and Bread
  • You can never have too many – trust me. You’ll go through it quicker than you think.
  • Some favorites of mine: any of the seeded crisps from Trader Joes, a crusty french baguette, breadsticks, pita chips, pretzel chips, crostini, rice crackers, beet chips (or any dehydrated vegetable chip), and plantain chips.
• Jams, Preserves, and Honey
  • I love using sour cherry preserves with my cheeses, as well as fig jam/preserves. I found a peach jam that was delicious with these summer flavors, so that would work too!
  • I always serve honey with my cheeseboards and/or honeycomb if you can find it! I find mine at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods!
• Nuts & Dried Fruit
  • Basically use what you love here. I always have rosemary sea salt marcona almonds on hand, as well as pistachios and cashews.
  • Sometimes it’s nice to have a mixture of fresh and dried fruit for textural interest and flavor. I like dried apricots, cherries, and cranberries.
  • Both are great for filling in empty spots!
• Mustards/Pickles/Olives – basically anything salty + briny!
  • A cheeseboard isn’t complete without our salty + briny components!
  • Favorites of mine include: marinated olives, stone ground mustard, dijon mustard, cornichons, baby pickles, caper berries, and marinated peppadew peppers.
• Lastly, something fun!
  • This time, I threw in some s’mores chocolate! But this could be any fun, unique item that you want to throw in. It could be chocolate, or any kind of different item from any of the categories – like those baby zucchinis I found!

And if you’re at all still intimated by that list, let me break it down for you with some photos!

The way I always start, is figuring out the fruits and veggies that I want to use. Sometimes this doesn’t happen until I get to the grocery store or farmers market and see what looks good, but it’s always a good idea to think about what’s in season and have a little bit of a plan.

Since it’s summer, I know that most likely I’ll be picking up berries, cherries, peaches, zucchini, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes.

I always start off with the cheeses and the cured meats, and then I fill in from there. I also add ramekins of honey, preserves, bowls of olives, etc., since they’re larger and take up more space. I try to group cheeses that are different from each other together. For a huge board like this, I like to layer smaller boards on top to break things up a little and give it dimension & seem not so crowded.

If you’re serving a smaller crowd, a smaller tray like the ones I have placed on top, or a large rectangular cutting board/cheeseboard work great! You can still use the same method I’ve laid out.

Next, I fill in with the fruit! I went a little crazy here, just because summer produce excites me so much, but I’d say a good rule of thumb is 2-3 different fruits, and 2-3 different veggies. Or less for a smaller gathering!

And then for the veg! Same rule of thumb here. I just really love vegetables, so I tend to make my boards more vegetable heavy, especially in the summer.

And this can totally change depending on the season! My cheeseboards in the winter look much different (they’re more heavy on the cheeses, meats, nuts, and crackers), so use your judgement! You definitely won’t find me buying $8 pints of blueberries in the dead of winter!

The farmers market (if you have access to one) is a great place to buy unique and local fruits and vegetables for your boards!

& last but not least, what I call the fill-ins!

Things like nuts, bread, and crackers! A good rule of thumb for these, is 2-3 different nuts, and I always get a baguette, and either slice it fresh or make crostini out of it. For crackers, it’s totally up to you. I tend to use more than probably what’s needed. Anywhere from 3-5 is great!

A few other things I do to make the whole process a little less daunting:

• wash + cut veggies and fruit the morning of
• spoon jams, preserves, condiments, mustards into ramekins/bowls (this can be done the day before)
• slice your baguette
• have a general plan of the way you’re going to arrange your cheeses so you aren’t scrambling last minute!

Another thing about cheeseboards: they are such a showstopper and they’re such a conversation point too – everyone wants to talk about how beautiful and fun they are – and you’ll look like the entertaining queen!

I’ve also many times JUST served a cheeseboard for something like a happy hour get together, and more casual dinner party. Not necessarily dinner, but, if we have a huge board like this, I’ll often make a really awesome salad or a lighter, vegetable focused dish for dinner! So keep that in mind too when you’re planning your menu too!

And speaking of menus, I’m going to be helping you guys with that very soon – so stay tuned!

Nothing better than a summer cheeseboard.

lifestyle photos were taken by Brittany of Brittany Dunbar Photography.