How to Make an EPIC Healthy Holiday Cheese Board
Cheese boards are my favorite thing to bring to potlucks and serve for holiday gatherings. They bring endless snacking joy, feature all of the most fun textures / flavors and are immensely simple to throw together. I love how delighted guests are when presented with a gorgeous board of delicious treats! Beautiful food just tastes better, don’t you think?
Here’s how I put a healthy winter cheese board together.
Add the cheese -- choose varieties that are easy on digestion like goat and cashew-based cheeses.
Add jams, spreads and honeys to small bowls and arrange.
Add olives and anything pickled to bowls or jars and arrange.
Arrange a few whole and sliced seasonal fruits on the board.
Liberally fill empty spaces with nuts and a variety of crackers.
Top cheeses with herbs, sliced fruit and extra spices.
Sprinkle it all with fresh cracked pepper and fresh sage, rosemary or thyme leaves.
But wait there’s more! Let’s talk details.
CHEESE: I recommend goat chèvre, goat gouda, goat brie, a semi-hard sun-dried tomato cashew cheese and making a DIY cheese ball with plant-based cream cheese rolled into a ball and coated in spices. I usually buy this brand of plant-based cheese because it’s made entirely of real food ingredients using traditional methods.
CRACKERS: do a mix of shapes, flavors and textures with at least one gluten free option. If you can only do one, go for something like a crispbread or super thick seed cracker so guests can go all out with toppings.
SPREADS: Winter boards are great with spicy red pepper jelly, raw honey with honeycomb and cranberry relish. Refined sugar-free seasonal jams and fruit butters (e.g. fig jam, apple butter) are also excellent.
NUTS: All nuts welcome. 🤪 Walnuts, hazelnuts and spicy candied pecans are my go-to's.
ODDS & ENDS: Olives! Go for "fancy" varieties -- herb-marinated, pepper stuffed and curiosities welcome. Sun-dried tomatoes are an umami wonder on a cheese board! Pickled red onion and tiny cornichon pickles are also great.
FRUITS: Fuyu persimmons and pomegranate are my go-to for Winter cheese boards! Grapes, sliced pears, apples, dates and dried apricots are also great.
MAGIC: Add fresh sage or rosemary leaves to the top of a goat cheese log to make a mini Xmas tree! Add herbs and a pinch of salt to the honey for extra pop. Roll your cheese ball in everything bagel spice or dukkah for that wow factor.
How do YOU cheese board? xo — Renee