Keep entertaining easy with a beautiful Vegetarian Autumn Cheese Board filled with a variety of fresh fruit, crackers, dips, and cheese. Ready in just minutes, pair a selection of cheeses with a few of your favorite wines and get the party started!
Autumn Cheese Board
You guys! I have been (impatiently) waiting to put together an autumn cheese board for the past 3 months. Maybe even longer, I can’t remember. Anyway, seeing as though the holiday season is all about food, it’s only right that I include at least one autumn-themed cheese board on this blog.
I mean, what better way to pre-game for a huge dinner or copious amounts of wine than with an overflowing platter filled with cheese, chocolate, fruits, and crackers?
There is no other way.
Anyway, some of you may be wondering, um, where’s the salami? the thinly sliced prosciutto? all that delicious salty meat?
Well, your eyes are not playing tricks on you – there is no meat here.
If there was meat, this would actually make this a Charcuterie Board. Technicalities, I know.
You see, I debated about adding some flavorful cured or smoked meats, but in the end, I decided to stick with the cheese, carbs, wine, dips for the carbs, and fruit. Oh, and chocolate. If you want to add a couple of varieties of cured delicious meats, don’t let me stop you!
What You Need to Make an Epic Cheese Board
An epic cheese board is made with 6 main categories: wine, cheese, carbs, fruit, dips, and chocolate.
Optional items include veggies and cured meat (not shown here).
Wine
So, the wine isn’t exactly necessary, but assuming you’re an adult and you (or your friends) enjoy a little wine with your cheese, I suggest adding a few varieties.
You can always ask guests to bring a bottle of their favorite. This way everyone has something to drink that they enjoy and you don’t have to worry about running out.
Cheese
The goal when offering any cheese board is to have something to suit everyone’s taste preference (especially if you don’t know what people prefer!)
Cheese may be classified based on texture, covering, ripening, and cooking type. Of course, within each of those classifications, are further classifications like, hard, soft, semi-soft, and fresh.
I’m not here to talk about all these different types today (although that would be a FUN post); instead, I’ll tell you what I do when I shop for cheese.
I buy what looks good or sounds interesting. I will usually always buy one that I know I love and one that I have never tried before. I make sure to include soft cheese and hard cheese and anything else that tickles my fancy.
Here are some of the most popular options:
- Manchego
- Triple cream brie
- Cheddar (sharp, white cheddar is the preferred choice)
- Goat cheese
- Blue cheese or Gorgonzola
How much cheese should you buy?
A good rule of thumb is to purchase 1 oz of cheese, per cheese, per guest. If, however, you know that one cheese will be more popular than another (an aged cheddar will almost always be more popular than blue cheese, for example), it is recommended that you buy additional of the more popular cheese variety.
Dip
For this cheese board, I purchased a pumpkin hummus – very very autumnish, don’t you think? Other delicious dips include,
- Beet hummus – bright pink and gorgeous, this easy homemade hummus is beautiful and delicious!
- Hot crab artichoke dip – an easy and delicious dip filled with artichoke, spinach, lump crab meat, and cheese. Guests will love the fun and delicious cheesy flavor of this crab artichoke dip.
- Muhammara (red pepper and walnut dip)– filled with delicious Middle Eastern flavors from ingredients such as pomegranate molasses and Aleppo chili flakes. Sweet, tangy, smoky, and a little spicy, enjoy all the flavors of this vegan dip scooped onto chunks of fresh warm flatbread.
- Jam – Y’all, fruit jam is so delicious smeared on crackers with cheese. I love berry jams, apricot jam, fig jam, and orange marmalade.
- Tzatziki Sauce – light and refreshing, tzatziki is made with plain yogurt, cucumber, a touch of lemon juice, and a hint of cumin.
Carbs
Ok guys, please have fun with this. There are about a million different crackers out there, just pick a few different shapes, sizes, and textures.
I also recommend picking up one or two flavored crackers. For example, garlic and herb or fig and rosemary. You can’t go wrong.
For this cheese board, I also added a big, seeded, crusty French baguette.
Fruit and Chocolate
Picking fruit is always the easiest part. Sticking with autumn vibes, any of the following fruits will pair perfectly:
- Figs
- Grapes
- Pears
- Apples
- Pomegranates
- Oranges
- Persimmons
As far as chocolate, there’s something about this being an autumn cheese board (versus a summer one when chocolate gets all melty in your fingers) that makes chocolate a must-have addition.
Some people really love dark chocolate, while other people really love milk chocolate. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably gravitate toward something with nuts (particularly hazelnuts or almonds).
Grab a couple of types of chocolate bars and break them into small, bite-size pieces.
More holiday recipes,
Slow Cooker Ham with Marmalade Glaze
Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe
Baked Brie Recipe (How to Bake Brie)
Cheesy Baked Asparagus Gratin Recipe
Honey Glazed Carrots with Ginger
Gingerbread Caramel Corn Recipe
If you try making this Autumn Cheese Board, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
RECIPE CARD
Beautiful Autumn Cheese Board (Vegetarian)
Ingredients
- Cheese - 4-5 varieties - parmesan, gouda, blue cheese, aged cheddar, brie, goat cheese, etc.
- Crackers and fresh bread
- Fruit - grapes, pears, apples, figs, pomegranates, oranges, etc.
- Chocolate - pick your favorite
- Berry or fig jam
- Various dips - hummus, spinach and artichoke, etc.
Instructions
- Gather all your ingredients and assemble on a large serving platter, cheese board or breadboard. Serve paired with your favorite wines.
- Enjoy and have fun!
Jessica's Notes
- Remember to label each cheese so that people know what they're getting
- Allow cheese to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving
- Remember to serve with small plates, napkins, knives, spoons, toothpicks, etc.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Crab is not vegetarian. But otherwise this is a solid idea.
Hi Tomas,
The crab mentioned is for a separate dip recipe also used for entertaining like this vegetarian board. There is no meat in this Autumn Cheese Board recipe per the recipe card at the bottom 🙂
Jess found this really helpful in preparing a girls lunch.
Your presentation was inspiring. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the kind words Vicki 🙂
Truly beautiful presentation and an amazing selection of cheese. A true inspiration! Thanks, Mark
These was easy to make I added mushrooms and dark chocolate with orange as olives. It looks beautiful thank you so much.
I give it 5 stars ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️