Easy Fall Charcuterie Board (With Shopping List) - Homebody Eats (2024)

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Embrace the changes of the fall with a beautifully elegant autumn charcuterie board. From the changing colors to the different scents in the air, it’s hard to ignore how infectious the fall can be.

Using these sensory triggers as inspiration, create a charcuterie board that embodies the season. From pumpkins to figs, use my step-by-step guide to navigate your way through prepping and plating this fall charcuterie board.

With a shopping list included, dealing with the grocery store will be a breeze and, it will allow you to get your board plated up in no time.

Feel free to use my board as a guide, or copy it exactly. Either way, in this post I will walk you through the ‘must-have’ charcuterie board items, break down the best way to design your board, and provide practical tips for serving.

• How to properly plate a cheese board, so it's aesthetically pleasing.
• Tips for serving sizes and wine pairing ideas.
• How to store and make this charcuterie board ahead of time.

Check you my charcuterie board shopping list with over 100 food ideas to inspire your next cheese board or platter.

Mini pumpkins: While they aren’t edible as is, nothing screams fall more than pumpkins. Throwing a couple of these mini pumpkins onto your charcuterie board is great for filling space and capturing the feeling of autumn.

Blueberry goat cheese: Blueberry goat cheese is a beautiful addition to any cheese board with its vibrant violet exterior.

Mild cheddar cheese: Mild cheddar is a great cheese for this autumn board because of its orange color and its popularity.You can also use another variety of cheddar, if preferred.

Pecorino cheese: Adding an intense Italian cheese to the board helps contrast the lighter flavors of the other cheese used.

White Stilton with apricots: Trader Joe’s has an amazing white Stilton with apricot cheese that is perfect for highlighting the white, yellow, and orange fall colors.

Cornichons: I believe that a charcuterie board is incomplete without some form of pickled item. Cornichons are great, bite-sized pickles that are super tasty. Serve these in serving bowls to avoid the pickle juice spreading around the board.

Blueberry Jam: Keeping the theme of blueberries, blueberry jam pairs wonderfully with the different cheeses.

Peppered salami: Peppered salami is the item that takes this from a cheese board to a charcuterie board. The pepper works beautifully with the different cheeses and provides a pleasing visual aesthetic as well.

Dried mangos: While mangos are a summer fruit, dried mangos are enjoyed year-round. Add some fall orange to your board with a few pieces of this dried fruit.

Yogurt-covered pretzels: These chocolate yogurt-covered pretzels are great for color contrast on your board in addition to how tasty they are.

Fresh blackberries: Fresh blackberries are a nice fresh fruit to pair with the different cheeses on the board. A little sweet and tangy bite cuts right through the rich and creamy cheeses.

Fresh blueberries: Fresh blueberries are a nice touch to the charcuterie board, providing a lovely blue color as well as being super convenient to pick up and eat. They also work perfectly with blueberry goat cheese.

Pecans: Pecans are the nuts of the fall. Whether you’re indulging in a pecan pie or coating your sweet potato casserole in caramelized pecans, these nuts definitely make their claim to fame in the autumn months.

Fresh figs: Adding a couple of fresh figs (sliced) to the board makes for a nice visual touch.

Black cracked pepper crackers: A cheese board isn’t complete without some form of cracker to put the cheeses and meats on. Black cracked pepper crackers pair beautifully with the different cheeses and the peppered salami.

For this recipe, you can download this shopping guide for all the items I used on my fall board.

To begin, I use the large items as an anchor point. For this board, that means placing the pumpkins in the middle of the serving board.

After those are set where I want them, I move on to my cheeses: Blueberry goat cheese, mild cheddar, pecorino, and white Stilton with apricots. I try to place these as spaced out as possible, to avoid confusion and allow me to surround each with smaller items.

For the best visuals, place contrasting colors next to one another so each ingredient can stand out. Along those same lines, try and place items of different textures next to one another to express further contrast.

Lastly, an often overlooked feature to have in your charcuterie board is to have a change in height between items on the board (i.e. the pumpkins will be higher and taller than the berries).

With the cheeses in place, place the cornichons and blueberry jam into small serving bowls, and place them anywhere you please.

Then place the thinly sliced salami and dried mangos against the cheeses or the serving bowls.

With your large components all in place, fill in the gaps with handfuls of blackberries, blueberries, pecans, and crackers. Place the sliced figs into place to finish it off. Some other fun and exciting finishing touches would be the use of some fresh herb sprigs such as mint or rosemary.

The flavor and texture of cheeses are best at room temperature. When making your fall cheeseboard, remove the cheese from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving to allow it to reach room temperature.

What size board or platter should I use?

Make sure you have a platter that is large enough to hold all your food items. For a 4 - 6 person charcuterie board like this one, I suggest around a 14” x 10” board, platter, or plate.

How long can I leave this cheese board at room temperature?

You can safely leave the cheese board out at room temperature for 1-2 hours. After this, you should discard the leftovers.

How much does it cost to make a fall cheese board?

How much meat and cheese should I plan per person?

On average, provide 2-3 ounces of cheese per person, and 4-6 slices of meat per person.

Should I use cheese knives for serving?

Yes, cheese knives are very helpful for serving. These are some of the most popular knives and what they are used for:
- Chisel Knife: Used for semi-soft (fontina, gouda, havarti) to semi-hard (cheddar, manchego) cheeses. It helps divide soft cheese or shave down hard cheese.
- Open Work Blade Knife: Used for soft, sticky cheeses (brie, boursin, taleggio). The holes help prevent the cheese from sticking to the blade.
- Narrow Plane Knife: Used for mainly semi-hard cheeses (cheddar, manchego). However, this is a fairly versatile knife that can cut on the long or short end.
- Small Spade Knife: Used for hard cheeses (asiago, parmigiano-reggiano, pecorino romano). The point of the knife makes it easy to cut the cheese into wedges.

Easy Fall Charcuterie Board

Build a fall charcuterie board that is perfect for game days, Thanksgiving, or as a simple happy hour appetizer. This elegant cheese board is vibrant and delicious yet surprisingly simple to make.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 626kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 30gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 1733mgPotassium: 478mgFiber: 7gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 1141IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 566mgIron: 3mg

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