Autumn Cheese Board

This Autumn Cheese Board recipe is developed in partnership with Midwest Dairy. Check out other recipes developed in partnership with Midwest Dairy like the Blueberry Compote Yogurt Parfait and Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl.

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This Autumn Cheese Board is one for all ages! I paired sweet & salty with seasonal and colorful cheese and produce to create this cheese board that will be perfect for any fall get-togethers.

Including in season produce on your cheese board

Autumn is here and there is still a lot of produce in season!

I found a GREAT website called Seasonal Food Guide to be able to find what’s in season in your region when. It’s super easy to use, all you have to do is type in your state, current month, and any produce you are looking for.

For this Autumn Cheese Board I chose:

• Apples. My favorite are honeycrisp for eating or Granny Smith for any autumn baking.
• Blackberries. These are in season in Missouri/Kansas until early to mid-September.
• Grapes. In season from July to October.
• I could have also added blueberries, carrots, celery, peaches, pears, plums, or raspberries that are all in season sometime in the autumn.

What cheeses to use

Cheese is undoubtedly the start of the cheese board and a favorite by all. A simple rule of thumb is to provide a variety of tastes and textures. Picking one from one or two of these categories would be a great guide.

Here’s some of the best cheese for charcuterie boards:

• Hard cheese: chunks of parmesan, aged gouda, asiago
• Firm cheese: gruyere, comte, manchego, colby, cheddar
• Semi-soft cheese: havarti, butterkäse, muenster
• Crumbly cheese: feta, goat cheese
• Soft cheese: burrata, mascarpone, stracchino
• Blue cheese: gorgonzola, dunbarton blue, marbled blue jack

Hard cheeses would be best cut before serving to make it easier for guests to eat.

Another great tip is that the flavors of cheese are best at room temperature so it’s best to take the cheese out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving.

Adding some Autumn vibes

Along with in-season produce and cheese I added some of the following to really give this board an autumn feel.

Gourds and Mums: To add some Autumn flair I added a few decorative gourds to the board. These gourds are cousins to the butternut squash or acorn squash but aren’t great to eat because of their hard rind and bitter flavor. Another easy but non-edible way to add some color is by cutting and washing some flowers from mums across the board.

Pumpkin Dip: If you’ve never had pumpkin dip you are missing out! It’s perfect for dipping apples or graham crackers in and is super simple to make. Recipe is listed below.

Candy Corn: A autumn classic that has to be included!

Specialty items: I did get a few fall specialty items from Trader Joe’s. One was their Maple Leaf Cookies and another was the Ghost & Bats Potato Snacks. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you the cookies are available on Amazon and the potato chips have an alternate version of veggie chips that look like they would work great.

Tasting plates are also great for picky eaters

Including familiar with unfamiliar foods is a low-key way to introduce new foods to kids so they aren’t as overwhelmed. If kids are hesitant to try foods just encourage them to pick them up, feel them and even smell them without the pressure of having to eat. For more tips on dealing with picky eaters check out this blog post, How you can empower your kids (and picky eaters) at the dinner table and in the kitchen.

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Already looking forward to the winter holidays? Check out this Holiday Cheese Board I created in partnership with Midwest Dairy for some more cheese board inspiration.