I had a small catering job last week for a meeting for a group of women. The meeting was mid-afternoon, and they wanted some hors d’oeuvres that would be pretty and nice, but not too heavy. One of the items I proposed to them was a Fall cheese and fruit tray, and I was thrilled that was one item they chose.
To start, I found a beautiful, albeit simple, rustic wooden serving tray from HomeGoods. It has some hardware on the corner, and it is a great mix of modern and rustic – and the perfect size for a large cheese tray! (It is slightly ridiculous how excited I was to put this cheese tray together!)
Serving Trays
Here are some other examples of rustic-looking wooden trays that would work for this type of cheese tray:
one | two | three | four
five | six | seven | eight
If you need an appetizer for Thanksgiving, this idea is perfect. It doesn’t require much cooking – just shopping, deciding on ingredients, some slicing, and arranging. Think flower arranging but with food! The colors are very Fall, and it would be lovely served with wine. See below for some of my tips!!
Okay, here are my steps:
- Decide how many types of cheese to include. I had 60 people in mind, so I included 9 types of cheese. For a family gathering of 12-15 people, you’d only need 3-5 types of cheese.
- For cheese, I like to have the following:
- Something sliced that can be picked up and placed on a cracker (colby jack, extra sharp cheddar, swiss, monterey jack)
- Something smoky (gouda is my preference; smoked cheddar is another option)
- Something blue and creamy (Stilton, gorgonzola) – Keep them in a triangle
- Something tart (goat cheese is my preference)
- Another creamy one, kept in a triangle (brie). Brie goes perfectly with fruit and toasted bread.
- Additions: shaved parmesan; another type of blue; another sliced cheese
- Havarti and fontina are two great types as well
- Select your fruit. Think seasonal and also consider the colors you want. You’ll want some dried fruit and some fresh fruit.
- I browsed Whole Foods and found Satsuma mandarin oranges with beautiful stems and leaves still attached. I peeled some and then placed a couple whole oranges on the tray for garnish and color.
- Dried figs, if fresh are not in season. Cut them in half and they are lovely! Plus they pair so well with many of the cheeses.
- Sliced pears would be perfect for Fall.
- Grapes are always a must for a cheese tray. I found these very dark purple grapes to help with the color scheme.
- The raspberries at Whole Foods were pretty, and though they are technically out of season, I added them for color, tartness, and because it was a ladies event. Berries, and even melon would be nice on a cheese tray.
- Add some nuts. It is nice to have some crunch, and nuts, cheese and fruit go so well together. I had two flavors of nuts – one more sweet, one more savory and herbal.
- Sesame cashews
- Rosemary and sea salt marcona almonds
- Other additions. If this cheese tray is all you are serving, adding something with a briny flavor pairs well.
- Marinated artichokes
- Olives (buy the nice kind – from an olive bar, such as the ones in Harris Teeter or Whole Foods)
- Charcuterie. I always like to add some type of Italian deli meat.
- My favorite is prosciutto. The appearance is nice, it pairs perfectly with figs and creamy cheese, and it adds texture to the cheese tray.
- Salami or another harder Italian meat are nice choices. I used salami and pepperoni with another appetizer that day, so I held them off of the cheese tray.
- Garnish with herbs.
- I used fresh rosemary to garnish the cheese tray.
- Sage leaves would be beautiful in the Fall.
- Bread and crackers.
- For this event, I had 4 types of crackers. Buy or make crackers with different flavors, shapes and sizes. I had one that had a touch of sweetness with dried raisins, then some flatbread crackers with rosemary, and a basic but pretty, large round cracker with whole grains and black sesame seeds.
- Buy something with height. Cheese straws and breadsticks are great.
- Make crostini. Thinly slice regular or whole wheat baguettes, brush with olive oil, and bake at 400 until crisp and lightly browned.
- Offer a gluten free option on a separate tray.
- Serving utensils.
- You will not necessarily need many utensils, but you do need a few spreaders or cheese knives.
- I used wooden spreaders found at Sur la Table.
- Random tips
- I placed brown (natural) parchment down on the tray so the food did not directly come in contact with the wood.
- Place the cheese on the tray first, and not all facing the same direction or right in line.
- After the cheese, place the larger fruit and the prosciutto.
- Fill in with the smaller fruit and nuts next.
- Garnish with the oranges and herbs last.
- I also propped up a couple of the triangle cheeses, like the brie, on some of the grapes.
- Label. I used a small chalkboard serving piece to show which cheeses were which. I’ve also made small flags to place in each type of cheese with a label on past cheese trays.
Enjoy and have fun making something like this cheese and fruit tray!
This looks so good! {So good that I want to eat it right now!!!} I love how you included the directions and notes on what pairs well together.
Do you have any ideas for how to adapt this for summer? I’m having a graduation party for my husband this Saturday and would love to do something like this but more summery! 🙂
Hi Rebekah, I am so sorry I missed this comment. I have been slack about blogging lately, and this question just slipped through the cracks! I apologize! I do hope your husband’s party went well.
That display is beautiful. It’s organic looking and scrumptious! I am a caterer in Michigan and I just wanted to let you know. Hope you’re having a great summer 🙂
So beautiful and looks delicious but maybe a bit crowded. How did it work with the cheeses that are whole and need to be sliced?
Thank you, Mary! I was going for a more crowded look, and I had to provide enough for 60 people. I added a couple of wooden cheese knives/spreaders that people were able to use for the soft cheeses. I believe it worked well! Obviously sliced cheeses are the easiest, but for the widest range of flavors, the soft cheeses are needed. Thank you for reading the post!
Lots of good advice and hints on putting a tray together. I appreciate your generosity in sharing your expertise.
Thank you so much for spelling this out for me! I can do this, but needed the instructions on the cheese. Many thanks!
You’re welcome, Lisa.
How much meat do you think is necessary for a tray for 15 people? I bought 2 pounds of gourmet cheese (Fromage D’Affinois Brie, Wilde Weide Gouda, Andante Tomme Dolce Goat and a local Blue Bell Blue.
How much meat do you think is necessary for a tray for 12-5 people? I bought almost 2 pounds of gourmet cheese.
Natasha your cheese selection sounds delicious! For the meet, I really don’t buy that much….I often buy it pre-packaged instead of making a trip to the deli. So 1 of those packs of prosciutto plus maybe 1 other kind for variety. I’d say 1/3 pound or less of salami or pepperoni (or whatever Italian cured meat you prefer).
this is so pretty and useful for the coming seasons
Thank you, barb!
this is the best look cheese plate i have ever seen! definitely keeping this for future inspiration!!
Thank you so much, Lauren!!
I love every delicious and creative thing about this! Thank you!
I love this cheese tray and am making one just like it for a horse race on Saturday.
I took this to a party last night and received so many compliments! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you for telling me, Vicki! I’m so glad that you all enjoyed it!
Thanks so much for your notes – I had about 40 people over for an afternoon celebration and this was definitely a hit.
Ann, I appreciate you taking the time to comment! I am so happy to hear that your cheese tray was a hit!! Nice work!
This looks so delicious!
What would you recommend for a mid-May get-together of about 60 people?
Hi Sue! I apologize for the delay. The cheese tray in my post was for almost that many people, but they were all women. If you’re offering other food, a tray this large and full will be plenty for that number. For mid-May, I would focus on what is seasonal in your area. For me, I would definitely have strawberries, and possibly cherries. Instead of rosemary, I would probably garnish with fresh mint and/or fresh basil. And some kind of goat cheese or brie with honey would pair well with either of those. If you could locate some honeycomb, that would be a beautiful garnish/accompaniment as well! Overall, think light and Spring-y. I would recommend goat cheese, Pecorino, Robiola, something blue, Port Salut or brie, extra sharp white cheddar, and I always love to add a rich gouda. Really anything you like will most likely be crowd-pleasing. I hope this is helpful!!
It looks wonderful , but am I the only one concerned about germs…It seems a bit unsanitary to have 60 people diving in to get grapes, nuts, etc. and soft cheese
never is sits still when you are trying to get some to spread…
Hi Betty. We used cheese spreaders/knives for the soft cheeses, and other utensils and small tongs. They just aren’t all pictured here. And I only let a cheese tray sit out for a couple of hours at room temperature, which keeps it within the window of food safe temperatures. Before serving, I store the cheese tray in my refrigerator. If you aren’t comfortable with serving it this way, you could make individual crostini with a type of cheese, a meat, and a spread like fig jam…you’d get the flavor profile, without people eating off of the same tray.
How far in advance do you feel you can prepare the tray (and keep in the fridge) before the cheeses dry out?
Hi Michelle, I apologize for the delayed reply! I try not to make the cheese tray until the day of an event. You could assemble it all in the morning, refrigerate it, and serve it that evening. I have sliced the cheeses the night before, kept them in individual containers in the fridge, then assembled the tray the next day. That is not ideal, but it will work if you are in a time crunch!
I have referred to your instructions for this beautiful rustic cheese and fruit tray many times since you posted it. I am always proud to serve the results. Thank you for the detailed instructions!
beautiful work
Thank you!
This is beautiful!! Having some ladies over for a Happy Hour next week and this is perfect!! Thank you so much!! I will be serving smoked salmon as my meat so will pass on the meat on tray. I am excited now!!
Lindsay-I saw your beautiful charcuterie tray a while back and loved the instructions. I have always thought of it as my favorite representation and am going to serve it this Thanksgiving. I found a similar tray at Home Goods and love how rustic yet elegant your food looks. I’ve looked everywhere and scanned tons of posts as far as the utensils to use, as I am a bit of a germaphobe too;)….I appreciate your previous response with regards to using tongs and spreaders…I wondered if everyone was just to use their fingers which wasn’t appealing to me. So thank you for clarifying that issue. Now I can run out to buy some cute utensils! Thanks so much!-Michelle
GREAT Article! Thank you for your shopping suggestions!!! Still going strong in 2017!!!!
This is really lovely! Thank you for sharing how to arrange the tray.
Thank you! Putting together food like this is one of my favorite things, so I was happy to share 🙂
This is beautiful Lindsay – I looked it up based on your recent Instagram post where you mentioned it was one of your most popular. I always struggle with keeping sliced apples or pears from going brown. Do you have any tips?
Thank you, Cyndy! I appreciate that!! I usually toss them in some citrus juice, ideally orange juice. That way they aren’t too sour, but it keeps them from browning.