Hi, can you please tell me something, anything, better than a charcuterie board? Because I am obsessed. I think it’s the best part of any meal! Putting together an epic and photo-worthy cheese board is so easy, I promise! I’m going to share all my tips and tricks with you to pull together this cheese board, for which I used all Trader Joe’s products. Trader Joe’s is definitely my favorite place for all my entertaining goodies, whether I’m putting together a charcuterie board or need some frozen appetizers to fill in for a menu.
The great thing about a cheese board is that it is totally customizable to your dinner party theme, personal preferences, dietary restrictions, and so on. You can put anything on a charcuterie board!
Okay, let’s dig into all the secrets!
- Use a tray with sides. This gives you a boundary to work against to help build your board. I scooped up this white aluminum tray from Hearth & Hand at Target.
2. One tip I love, which I learned from Emily at Cupcakes & Cashmere, is to have a small empty bowl next to olives and put one pit in it. That way, everyone knows they can put their pits right there.
3. Fill it in! For this board, I used marcona almonds, which were the perfect filler. The key to a really beautiful grazing board that is Instagram-worthy is no empty spaces!
4. Balance. You will want some sweet items on your board to balance all that savory goodness. Variety is queen!
Here’s what I included in this grazing board for 6-8 people, all from Trader Joe’s:
- 2 types of cheese: 1000 day Gouda and my whipped goat cheese
- Seasonal jam (this was the Sugar Plum, I wanted fig, thought I had fig, but I had and used the Sugar Plum variety)
- Peppered salami
- Prosciutto, sliced in half and rolled
- Marinated artichokes
- Marinated olives
- Stuffed Grape Leaves
- Strawberries
- Hummus (if you want the swirl, use a butter knife to create a well, slowly drizzle olive oil into the well), topped with paprika and pignoli
- Marcona Almonds, rosemary flavor
- Box of assorted crackers (the bigger one that has 4 types)
- Box of rosemary flatbread crackers
- Candied hibiscus flowers, for garnish
- Sprigs of rosemary, for garnish
