Christmas Cheese Board

This Christmas cheese board brings together five classic cheeses with seasonal fruit, nuts, spreads, and a few festive touches. The mix of textures and flavours keeps the board interesting to eat, and your guests can mix and match their favourite bites as they nibble.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Servings: people

Equipment

Large board or platter for serving
Small cookie cutters optional

Ingredients

Cheese Options (choose 3-5)

150 grams Brie or Camembert
150 grams Cranberry goat's milk cheese or Boursin
150 grams Havarti or Oka
150 grams Aged Cheddar or Aged Gouda
150 grams Blue cheese or Parmesean

Accompaniments:

Fresh fruit grapes, pears, or apples
Assorted crackers (water crackers, whole wheat crackers, holiday-shaped crackers etc.)
Toasted baguette slices or Melba Canapé crackers (optional)
Fig jam or cranberry chutney (optional)
Candied nuts or spiced nuts (optional)
Pickles or olives (optional)
Fresh rosemary sprigs optional
Honeycomb or honey (optional)

Instructions

Use the mini cookie cutters to cut shapes out of firm cheeses like Cheddar or Havarti, if desired.
Arrange the cheeses on a large board or platter, spacing them apart.
Place small bowls of chutney, jam, and grainy mustard around the cheeses.
Tuck in clusters of fresh fruit and dried fruit (if using). Add honey or honeycomb (if using).
Add crackers, toast, nuts, pickles, and olives. Finish with rosemary sprigs and any decorative elements you are using.
Serve with small plates, napkins, cheese knives, toothpicks, spoons, and spreaders.

Video

Notes

Bring cheese to room temperature for the best flavour. Take it out about 20 minutes before serving.
Don't put out all of the cheese you have at once. Replenish the board as needed. Keep unused portions of cheese refrigerated.
Do not leave cheese or meat at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Keep wet ingredients away from crackers and bread to avoid sogginess.
Use a warm knife for neat slices. Run the blade under hot water and dry it before cutting.
Not all cheeses need to be in equal quantities. Aim for about 150 grams per cheese, but slight variations are fine.
You can swap cheeses based on your preferences. See the blog post for detailed substitutions.
Decorative touches like rosemary sprigs or dried orange slices add colour but are not meant to be eaten.
Use Honeyscrip apples and/or Bartlett pears as they are slow to oxidize. Otherwise, if your apple or pear slices brown quickly, soak them in 1 tablespoon of honey mixed with 1 cup of water for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse.
You can assemble most of the board a few hours ahead and refrigerate it. Add fruit and crackers just before serving.
If using nuts or dried fruit, check with guests about nut allergies and sulphite sensitivity.

Nutrition