How To Make an Amazing Cheese Board

If you’ve been around here for awhile, you know it’s no secret that I love cheese. Specifically in the form of an outrageous cheese board. It’s probably my favorite part of prepping when having friends/family over. I love how creative I can get when making them and more than that, I love to eat it all together. Before I get started on the break down, I will say that shopping at Trader Joes is really the only way I make my cheese boards. Their selection of cheese and the assortment of other things needed for the board is always the best at TJ’s. I also think it’s very easy to shop for this at TJ’s because everything is located in the same spot at the store. The boards you are going to see are from my best friend’s housewarming party. I got there a little bit early to set these up. They include all of my favorites!

So let’s talk cheese. Here are my favorites:

Unexpected Cheddar: If you ask a TJ’s employee their recommendation, they will ALL lead you to this cheese. It’s their #1 seller and honestly when I found it 3 years ago, my life was changed. It’s really that good. When you cut this one, it crumbles. That is normal. I was a little confused at first, but you just need to embrace the crumble.
Creamy Toscano Soaked in Syrah: This is their #2 cheese. I didn’t discover this one until early in the year, but y’all it is DANG good. So much flavor and a nice little kick from the Syrah. The black peppered Toscano is also GREAT! That’s what you see on the board.
Herb Goat Cheese: These little guys are so yummy. I know they look small in the packaging, but if you’re hosting 8-10 people, you only need one because they’re spreadable and last for so many more crackers than you would think.
Blueberry Vanilla Chevre: This one is a log of cheese that is covered in blueberries. It’s the perfect sweet bite that your friends will thank you for.
Brie: I don’t have a specific kind. I am not the biggest fan of brie, but it is an essential on the cheese board. I would grab a smaller one of these to save $.
Manchego Anejo Cheese: This one has a kick to it. It’s sometimes fruity and sometimes tangy. I would grab this or a pepper jack that you can cut yourself. Or you can really grab any spicy or tangy cheese you can find.

Crackers and Nuts:

Four pack assorted crackers: Trader Joe’s carries and variety pack that is perfect for cheese boards. I would definitely grab it. It comes in a black box and has vegetable, water, poppy seed and wheat crackers.
Pita Crackers: Trader Joe’s also carried pita crackers although I know you can find these elsewhere. They are good for a more crunchy bite. I love to put jam on the harder crackers and then a soft cheese.
Olive and Fig Crackers: If you’re wanting something out of the ordinary, these are SO good. I use them on my cheese boards at home. They are sweet and pair perfectly with the blueberry soft cheese that I mentioned earlier.
Almonds, Cashews, Pecans, Marcona Almonds: Need I say more? Mix and match your favorite nuts. I like to use a salty nut and a sweet one. They can get expensive, so you don’t need to over do it.

So, in theory. You could stop there. You have the crackers, you have the nuts and you have the cheese. But here is where we get creative. I am going to give you some options for many different flavors. You obviously don’t have to use them all. I like to mix and match. I don’t always do the same thing, but almost everything I am about to share is from Trader Joe’s. You can find similar items anywhere, but TJ’s does it best in my opinion (they really should sponsor me….).

The party starters:

Hot Pepper Jelly: This is on their jam aisle. If you need help finding it, as an associate because I just know it’s a top seller by how good it is.
Dark Chocolate: To fulfill the sweet tooth craving, I always grab a chocolate bar at checkout and break it up on my boards.
Fig Butter: They make such good fig butter that pairs so good with unexpected cheddar. You just have to trust me on this one.
Any Sweet Jam: I like apricot and blueberry personally, but any fruit jam is good with crackers and cheese. You can also use honey if you have that!
Fruit: My favorites to grab for boards are strawberries and grapes, mostly because they look good haha. You can also pick up a bag of dried fruit because it is a nice break from the other items on the board. The ones you see in today’s photos are dried apricots.
Olives and Artichokes: I have used the almond stuffed olives, cheese stuffed olives and their olive tapenade. The olive tapenade is a great option for spreading on a layered cracker. I keep one in our fridge always because I like to eat it with my sandwiches and on pizzas. I also love the artichoke option. They have a ton of marinated ones.
Prosciutto and Salami: You have to have some meats on your board to make it a little more hearty. I grab the assortment pack at Trader Joe’s.

The actual boards and utensils:

I get the small forks and spoons from At Home. They also have side dishes there to put the jelly and olives and nuts in! I love their selection best, but you can find similar options at the Dollar Store.

Here is a gallery of my favorite cheeses and sides. Unexpected cheddar is the last one in the picture and it’s the one you have to get if nothing else!

Here are some of my old boards for inspiration:

Thank you guys so much for stopping by! I am glad you’re here because if you’re reading this- it means we’d be friends. Because no one else reads a cheese board post this long and makes it to the end. So, if you are here, I love you!