Fall Cheese and Charcuterie Board

A fall cheese and charcuterie board is my go-to for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, and every gathering in between. Below, I’ll walk you through my favorite fall cheeses, cured meats, and seasonal accompaniments, so you can mix and match your own, plus four ready-to-build boards if you’d rather skip the guesswork.

How to Make a Fall Cheese and Charcuterie Board

1. Choose the Cheeses

Choose 3 to 5 cheeses with a variety of textures and flavors. For a large holiday board like the one pictured, I’ll go up to 6 or 7, but no more. With too many cheeses, the flavors can start to blur together, and each cheese loses its chance to shine.

Here are my favorite fall cheeses, sorted by style from mildest to boldest.

Fresh Cheeses

Unaged and spreadable, with a fresh, milky flavor. These are the easiest cheeses on the board to dress up with fall flavors.

• Goat cheese (chèvre): Bright and tangy. You can often find seasonal flavors like maple-chipotle and cranberry-cinnamon.
• Truffle burrata: A creamy, earthy showstopper. Tear it open just before serving and finish it with olive oil and flaky salt.
• Boursin: A familiar favorite. For fall, I like the Fig & Balsamic and Caramelized Onion & Herbs flavors.

Soft-Ripened and Bloomy Rind Cheeses

I have absolutely no willpower when it comes to a luscious, soft-ripened cheese, and my friends and family are the same. It’s always the first thing to disappear from my boards!

For fall, you can go mild and buttery (delicious and safe for a range of guests), or deeper and more mushroomy.

• French Brie and Brie-style cheeses: Mellow, approachable, and the perfect backdrop for fall toppings. Fromager d’Affinois (the classic Le Fromager) is my go-to double crème, and Belletoile is a mild triple crème that I find most guests enjoy.
• Mt. Tam: A decadent triple crème from Cowgirl Creamery with an earthy depth. (Pictured above.)
• Camembert: More mushroomy and aromatic than Brie. It comes from Normandy, which is apple country, so try it with a glass of hard cider. Brie and Camembert are both delicious baked, too, for a warm, gooey centerpiece.

Also love for fall: Harbison (Jasper Hill Farm) and Humboldt Fog (Cypress Grove).

Semi-Soft and Semi-Hard Cheeses

These are the workhorses of a Fall Cheese and Charcuterie Board. They slice neatly, fill out the board, and go with just about everything on it. 

• St. Nectaire: Soft, mushroomy, and earthy, with a flavor that feels made for autumn.
• Classic Cheddar: Firm and tangy, with that familiar sharp bite. I love Vermont cheddars from Cabot or Grafton Village. You could also choose a medium cheddar for a milder option that suits a range of guests, or try a bacon- or applewood-smoked cheddar for a smoky twist.
• Gruyère or Comté: Nutty, savory Alpine cousins. Gruyère is a little more savory, and Comté is slightly fruitier.
• Midnight Moon (Cypress Grove): An aged goat cheese with brown butter and caramel notes. It’s one of my all-time favorite cheeses.

Also love for fall: Manchego, Beecher’s Flagship Reserve, Red Witch, smoked Gouda, Wensleydale with cranberries.

Aged and Hard Cheeses

Aged cheeses are what make a fall board feel cozy to me: deep, nutty, and savory, with those crunchy little crystals that tell you a cheese has been aged well.

• Aged Cheddar: Earthy and sharp, with a crumbly texture. I love Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar.
• Aged Gouda: Rich and crunchy, with deep butterscotch notes. Look for Beemster Royaal Grand Cru or Trader Joe’s 1000 Day Gouda.
• Mimolette: A French cheese with a bright orange interior that adds a pop of fall color to the board. 

Also love for fall: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pleasant Ridge Reserve “Extra Aged,” Belton Farm Red Fox.

Washed Rind Cheeses

Don’t let the aroma scare you off! Washed-rind cheeses taste much milder than they smell: rich, savory, and buttery. I like to include one when I have more adventurous cheese lovers at the table.

• Taleggio: An Italian classic that’s creamy and mellow, with just a hint of funk.
• Red Hawk (Cowgirl Creamery): A rich, savory triple crème with a rosy orange rind.
• Rush Creek Reserve (Uplands Cheese): Custard-soft, spruce-wrapped, and only available in late fall and winter, so grab it when you see it! Peel back the top rind and scoop it up with crusty bread.

Blue Cheeses

I almost always end with a blue. It’s the boldest cheese on the board, salty and sharp, and delicious with something sweet. Even guests who say they don’t like blue cheese often come around with a creamy one and a drizzle of honey.

• Point Reyes Original Blue: Creamy, bright, and tangy.
• Gorgonzola Dolce: Soft, mild, and spreadable, so it’s the perfect starter blue for skeptics.
• Rogue River Blue (Rogue Creamery): A special-occasion blue wrapped in pear liqueur–soaked grape leaves and released each fall.

Also love for fall: Stilton, Cambozola (a cross between Brie and blue).

2. Choose the Charcuterie

Two to three cured meats are plenty for most boards. For a Fall Cheese and Charcuterie Board, I like a mix of something delicate, something hearty, and something with a little spice to balance the richness of the cheese.

• Prosciutto di Parma: Silky, salty, and delicate. It’s lovely wrapped around a slice of pear or a fresh fig.
• Salami: A hearty crowd-pleaser. Genoa is mild and familiar, and peppered salami adds a little kick.
• Saucisson sec: A French dry-cured sausage that’s nutty and garlicky, and a natural match for Gruyère or Comté.
• Spanish chorizo: Smoky and paprika-spiced, with a warm, deep red color that looks great on a fall board. Serve it alongside Manchego.

Also love for fall: speck (a cold-smoked cousin of prosciutto), soppressata, finocchiona (fennel salami), summer sausage.

3. Add the Accompaniments

Accompaniments are where a board really starts to taste like fall. I aim for a mix of sweet, briny, crunchy, and fresh, so every bite of cheese has something to go with it. You’ll usually want to choose 3 to 5 accompaniments (depending on the size of your board).

• Sweet: honey or honeycomb, apple or pumpkin butter, cranberry chutney or relish, membrillo (quince paste), dark chocolate, jams or fruit preserves. I love fig jam, Bonnie’s Jams Cranberry Cherry Cabernet, or my Caramelized Onion and Pear Jam.
• Briny: Castelvetrano (mild) or oil-cured olives (bold), cornichons, or pickled red onions.
• Crunchy: caramelized pecans, spiced pepitas, spiced mixed nuts, roasted and salted Marcona almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios.
• Fresh fruit: apples, pears, grapes, pomegranate, Fuyu persimmons, fresh figs (while they’re in season).
• Dried fruit: apricots, cherries, Medjool dates, figs, or cranberries. My family absolutely loves the extra-plump half-dried apricots from Nuts.com. For something special, try a Spanish date and walnut cake, like the one from Mitica.

To garnish a fall cheese and charcuterie board, I love tucking in fresh sage leaves and rosemary sprigs. Sugared cranberries add a little sparkle, and a few miniature pumpkins are always a cute way to embrace the season.

4. Choose Your Crackers and Bread

Offer a few different options, and always include one simple staple, like sea salt or buttery crackers. Here are some of my favorite flavored crackers to serve during the fall:

• Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers: Thick and lightly sweet, so they’re sturdy enough to scoop up baked Brie.
• Raincoast Crisps: Thin and crunchy, studded with fruit and nuts. I love the Fig and Olive, Rosemary Raisin Pecan, and Cranberry Hazelnut flavors.
• Castleton Crackers Salted Maple: A sweet-salty cracker that’s perfect with sharp cheddar and blue cheese.

Add sliced baguette or crostini for soft, spreadable cheeses. For more ideas, see my 15 favorite crackers to serve with cheese.

5. Arrange the Board

Start with the cheeses, then build around them with charcuterie, crackers, and fruit. Tuck in small bowls for anything drippy, like honey, jams, and olives, so the board stays neat. Fill the small gaps last with nuts, dried fruit, and fall garnishes.

For garnish, I love fresh sage leaves and rosemary sprigs. Sugared cranberries add a little sparkle, and a few miniature pumpkins are always a cute way to embrace the season.

For my full step-by-step method, including how to cut each cheese style, see my Ultimate Cheese Board guide.

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