Sweet & Savory Fall Cheeseboard
By: BREE HESTER
How to assemble the perfect fall cheese board! My Sweet and Savory Fall Cheeseboard has fall flavors, colors, and is perfect for any autumn event.
Is that the crisp smell of fall in the air? Are you seeing back to school photos all over social media? Is the cozy hoodie/sweater in the back of your closet beckoning to you? Are you craving a PSL and fighting the urge to buy a pumpkin?
Me. Too.
I’m ready to have some normalcy and routine in my life right now. This summer was a literal wash out. We had an entire month of rain and it did not put me in a festive summer mood. Here in New England, we’ve already had some fall-like days and I am HERE FOR IT.
With all things fall on my mind, I created a Sweet and Savory Fall Cheeseboard featuring my favorite Roth Cheeses. I created this with fall colors, fall flavors, and cozy fall vibes in mind. I loved creating it and I especially loved eating it.
While gatherings might be smaller this fall, we can still make them special. Adding a few extra touches here and there make all the difference and your family and guests will appreciate the beauty and effort you put into it. I would serve this beautiful fall cheeseboard with Spiced Apple Cider Cocktails and be in fall heaven.
How to Create a Fall Cheeseboard //
Select your favorite Roth cheeses. I love a variety of cheeses and profiles – especially when I am doing a sweet and savory cheeseboard. I like to have a creamy cheese, flavored cheese, blue cheese, hard cheese, and smoked cheese. There is something for everyone on the board and they all work together with the other items on the platter.
Creamy Cheese – Grand Cru® is my husband’s favorite cheese and it is on every cheeseboard I make. It is an alpine-style cheese that is delicious for eating, but also melts like a dream. It is mild and a great all-around cheese that everyone loves.
Flavored Cheese – Horseradish Havarti is one of my favorite flavored Havarti cheeses in the Roth line up. It has chive, mustard seed, and the kick of horseradish. (It’s amazing on a baked potato.)
Blue Cheese – I love the punch of blue cheese. Buttermilk Blue® is creamy and tangy, but not too much. You know what I mean? Sometimes blue cheese is like hey, BLUE cheese, this is like bluuuuuueeeee cheese, it’s the perfect amount of mellow.
Hard Cheese – I chose Aged Gouda. I love the Gouda flavor and the way this cheese crumbles. I love the way it looks on the board and adds a different texture to the whole platter.
Smoked Cheese – Smoked Gouda is my ride-or-die cheese. I love it on a cracker, I love it melted on a sandwich, I love it in any shape or form. It’s so creamy and has just enough smokiness.
Add Fall Accompaniments to Your Sweet and Savory Fall Cheeseboard //
Add fall details and flavors to enhance your cheeseboard. I chose a fall color palette as well to make this cheeseboard really drive home that this is a spread to eat by the fireplace while watching the Pats on a Sunday. Lots of yellow, orange, brown, and deep burgundy. This is a sweet and savory board so we have lots of salty and sweet notes. Which is my personal flavor jam. Always here for a sweet savory salty moment. I loved creating this board because the color palette is gorgeous and I love that you can have so many different unique bites from all of the things on this board.
Savory //
Cheeses. I already shared which cheeses I chose, but I also added them in slices, cubes, and crumbles. I like the variety and that people can just grab their cheese and not have to slice it themselves.
Meats. I bought a package of Spanish sliced meats. They came together in the package, I like that the store did the curating for me. Jamón Serrano (similar to prosciutto), salami, and a chorizo.
Caramelized Onion and Garlic Jam. I made a batch of this jam and it not only fit into my color scheme, it is amazing on a cracker with Gouda.
Pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds or pepitas (sometimes the package says pepitas) add crunch and salt that balances all the sweet and creaminess from the cheese. Crackers. I used water crackers and fig and rosemary crisps. I like a plain cracker and one with more flavor.
Sweet //
Dried Oranges. These are so beautiful on a platter and also taste really good. A friend gifted a package to me and now I buy a few at a time. You could also easily make your own in the oven.
Dried Apricots. Chewy and sweet, these are a must have for me. I’m not a huge dried fruit fan, but I adore an apricot. These are always the first thing I go for on a cheeseboard.
Praline Pecans. I buy a few of these at a time, they are amazing on their own, on a board, and tossed into a salad.
Caramel Sauce. Add some sliced apples and dip away. Caramel is also delicious paired with Gouda and Grand Cru.
Macarons. Macarons feel super fancy and are unexpected on a cheeseboard. You can buy pumpkin, cinnamon, or any fall flavor to add to the theme of this board. These are frozen macarons from the grocery store and were really good. I also love the shape and dimension they add.
Candy. Candy corn and peanut butter cups are my family’s favorite fall candy. My son was STOKED to see candy corn on this board and it screams Halloween and fall. You know it’s almost back to school when you see the candy corn hit the shelves.
Cookies. On the cracker plate, I had butter crisps. These are thin like a cracker, but are a cookie. A piece of Grand Cru on one of these with a drizzle of caramel… chef’s KISS. I also had a bowl of gingersnaps to add some fall spice.
Decorations //
Cheeseboards are usually the focal point of the table. People ooh and ahh over cheeseboards because they are so visually appealing. They work double duty as both a decor piece and as a way to serve my guests food.
I bought some flowers that matched the colors I was using with my food and placed some blooms of burgundy dahlias and deep orange-y red spray roses around the board and the table it is sitting on. I also built the cheeseboard on top of sprigs of eucalyptus. Sprigs of green add so much visual interest and life to this board.
You can also coordinate napkins, utensils, and dishes to match the theme. It’s very easy to make a simple cheeseboard into an extraordinary themed showpiece.
Tips for Assembling a Fall Cheeseboard //
I have a few rimmed platters that I prefer to build boards on. I think the lip makes it easier to transport and keeps everything from spilling over.
I line all of my cheeseboards with parchment paper. This makes clean up super easy and protects the wood on my cheeseboard. When I am cleaning up, I throw the paper away and give the sides a good wipe down with some soapy water.
Pick things up as you see them in stores. I like to stock up on seasonal items and keep them for occasions like these. When I am making a cheeseboard, I am able to pull fun things that are unexpected from my pantry.
You don’t need to make one large cheeseboard, you can make individual ones or a few small ones to put around the room.
