This easy cheddar cheese snack board is perfect for a date night at home, last-minute cocktail party, or book club meeting.
I've been totally enamored with those drool-worthy snack boards all over Pinterest for the last year or so. I simply love the idea of an adult "nibble plate."
I tried making one last summer and it didn't quite go as planned. Arranging the goodies on the snack board takes a lot more finesse and strategy than I imagined. My platter looked like a hot mess of jumbled up foods rather than an enticing snack tray.
Then I found out my friend Chrissie over at Off the Eaten Path was writing a new cookbook called Stunning Spreads. She is the Queen of Snack Boards and the pages of her new book are filled with breathtakingly EASY ideas for creating delicious cheese trays you will absolutely love.
Chrissie sent me an advanced copy of the book so I could check it out. One flip through and I was immediately drawn to her Ultimate Cheddar Snack Board, but honestly, it was her beginner tips on how to layout the foods to make a stunning spread that were beyond helpful!
Below I'm sharing some of my favorite tips from the book and an easy to match cheddar snack board you can make for yourself.
P.S. Be sure to check out the pre-order gift Chrissie is offering. When you buy a copy of Stunning Spreads, you'll get a free copy of her Perfect Pairings! Get all the details here.
Easy tips for making the Ultimate Cheddar Snack Board from Stunning Spreads by Chrissie Nelson Rotko:
The ingredients for Chrissie's original Ultimate Cheddar Board:
- 4 oz medium cheddar cheese
- 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ - 1 cup Marinated Olives
- 4 oz Pimento Cheese
- 10 oz salami
- 1 green apple
- 2 bunches green grapes
- Handful of dried or fresh figs
- ½ cup roasted red peppers
- ½ cup dred cranberries
- ½ cup marcona almonds
- ½ cup Cinnamon Sugar Walnuts
- ½ cup dark chocolate
- assorted pretzels and crackers
Since I was serving the snack board for our at-home date night and it was just the two of us enjoying it, I took quite a few shortcuts with the ingredients list and it still turned out amazing.
You can easily make the swaps and cuts you need to customize the board for your own tastes.
Step 1: Set out your platter and add 2 - 3 bowls
Pick the largest platter you have in your home. I started with an oval-shaped platter, but quickly discovered it wasn't going to have enough room. Thankfully, I had a large round one on hand. You can read more about my favorite serving platters here.
Now add two to three small bowls in a triangular pattern onto your board. You can fill these with whatever you like, it is more about the placement for composition that matters here.
Step 2: Add the cheese and meats to the platter
I added the pimiento cheese to one of the little bowls with a spreader knife.
Lay out the other cheddar slices around the snack bowls in a fan pattern. Work in triangular areas of the platter as you go.
Add the meats to the platter near each section of cheese. I ruffled the salami by hand and laid out the prosciutto in a ruffly pile. The fluffy piles of meat are far more attractive than a flat pile.
Step 3: Add the fruits to the platter
I thinly sliced the green apple and tossed it in some lemon juice to keep it from turning brown as it sat on the snack board.
I piled up the blackberries in the other snack bowl.
Carefully add the slices of apple into open spaces on the board, still working in a triangular pattern.
Step 4: Fill in the open spaces with nuts, crackers, etc.
By this point, your platter is going to look really full but it will still have some open spaces here and there.
I added flat crackers to take up the largest space in the center and then filled in all the other open spaces with chunks of dark chocolate, candied nuts, and dried cranberries.
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this snack board as part of our date night at home. The kids were so jealous, I'll absolutely be making more snack boards this summer as family treats.
We had plenty of leftovers for me to enjoy snack board lunches for another couple days, too. It was heavenly. I highly recommend you check out Chrissie's book and get busy snack board creating soon!
cheddar snack board
This delicious snack board is inspired by the Ultimate Cheddar Snack Board from Stunning Spreads by Chrissie Nelson Rotko.
Ingredients
- 4 oz. extra sharp cheddar, sliced
- 4 oz. sweet cheddar cheese, sliced
- 4 oz. pimiento cheese
- 1 pint of blackberries
- 4 oz. salami, sliced thin
- 4 oz. prosciutto
- 1 green apple
- 1 lemon
- 1 dark chocolate bar with chopped hazelnuts (We used Ritter Sport)
- 1 pint of dried cranberries
- 1 pint of candied nuts
- Assorted crackers and crostini
Instructions
- On the largest platter you have, place 2 snack bowls. Fill one with the pimiento cheese, one with the blackberries.
- Add the sliced cheddars in a fan pattern around the bowls.
- Ruffle each slice of salami and create 3 small piles of meat on the platter. Place the prosciutto in a fluffy, ruffled pile.
- Thinly slice the green apple and toss it in lemon juice to prevent it from browning. Add the slices in three neat little piles near the cheeses.
- Fill in the open spaces on the platter with little piles of dark chocolate broken into cubes, the dried cranberries, and spiced nuts.
- Serve with assorted crackers and crostini. You can easily make your own crostini with this recipe in just minutes.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tips:
I created this board an hour before we served it and just stored it in the fridge with plastic wrap covering everything. If you plan to make it ahead, simply leave off the crackers until just before serving or the moisture from storage will make them soggy.
The cheese is best-served room temperature.
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