Go Back
Print

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!

Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword how to build a cheeseboard, how to build a cheeseboard step by step, how to build a summer cheeseboard, how to build an epic cheeseboard, how to make a cheeseboard, how to make a cheeseboard step by step, summer appetizer ideas
Prep Time 30 minutes
Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

Cheeses

  • 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

Cured Meats

  • favorites of mine: salami and prosciutto!

Fruits and Vegetables

  • favorite summer fruits: berries, cherries, grapes, and peaches
  • favorite summer veggies: zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes

Crackers and Bread

  • 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

  • favorites of mine: sour cherry preserves, fig jam, peach preserves during the summer
  • local honey and/or honeycomb if you can find it

Nuts & Dried Fruit

  • favorites of mine: rosemary sea salt marcona almonds, pistachios, and cashews.
  • favorites of mine: dried apricots, cherries, and cranberries

Mustards/Pickles/Olives – basically anything salty + briny!

  • favorites of mine include: marinated olives, stone ground mustard, dijon mustard, cornichons, baby pickles, caper berries, and marinated peppadew peppers

Last but not least, something fun!

  • This time, I threw in some s’mores chocolate bark!

Instructions

  1. 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.

  2. To build the board, 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.

  3. From that point, I fill in with the fruit and veg. And last but not least, 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!

  4. Depending on the size of the crowd you're feeding, you can pick and choose as many as you'd like from each category! Feel free to play around with the placement of everything, and most importantly, have fun with it!

Recipe Notes

*A few things I do to make day-of assembly a little easier:
-wash + cut veggies and fruit the morning of
-spoon jams, preserves, condiments, mustards into ramekins/bowls (this can be done the day before)
-slice baguette
-have a general plan of the way you’re going to arrange your cheeses so you aren’t scrambling last minute!
*This cheeseboard-building method can be used for any size cheeseboard, and any size gathering, large or small! Just choose from each category with your guests in mind, and start there! I've also included serving suggestions for this in the body of the post!