Last Updated on January 21, 2021 by Kathryn Donangelo
A cheese plate is perfect for an appetizer, party or date-night in! Filled with all kinds of Italian meats, cheeses and other necessary goodies! I’m going to show you how to make a small and large size along with alternative options.
This cheese plate can feed 4-6 people
This cheese plate can feed 6-10 people
I would much rather have a cheese plate over any other meal, dessert, appetizer, anything. This is my ultimate favorite and luckily my husband loves it too so I don’t have to eat it alone 😉 We received a bunch of super neat platters and kitchen gadgets from our wedding so a cheese board was in order. Although you totally can eat this as a meal, this makes an awesome appetizer for a small to large gathering.
I’m going to tell you some of my favorite ingredients to use and how you can make this smaller cheese plate!
Here are some other epic alternatives I use as well. I typically like to use 2-4 cheeses, 2-3 meats, 2-3 different cracker assortments, 1 fresh fruit option, 1 dried fruit option, 1 type of nut. This certainly all depends on the size of your plate or board. If you have more room, add more! The more, the merrier 🙂
Soft Cheese
- camembert, goat cheese, blue cheese or gorgonzola, fresh mozzarella or burrata
Hard Cheese
- sharp white cheddar, smoked gouda, manchego, parmigiano reggiano
Meats
- mortadella, coppa, chorizo, capocollo
Fresh Fruits
- strawberries, blueberries, cherries, apples, figs, grapes
Dried Fruits
- apricots, peaches, cherries, blueberries, pears
Nuts
- walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans
These are the exact ingredients I used to make this smaller cheese plate. This is not an advertisement or sponsored, I bought all of my ingredients at Trader Joe’s because I love their cheese selection!
How To Make a Small Cheese Plate
Ingredients
Soft Cheeses
- Port Salute Cheese
- Triple Cream Brie cheese
Hard Cheeses
- Toscano cheese with black pepper
- Gruyere cheese
Meats
- prosciutto
- spicy soppressata
- salami
Extra Goodies
- olives
- dried fruit; I used dried figs
- nuts; I used almonds
- fresh fruit; I used blackberries
Crackers
- Carr's crackers
- Fig & Olive Crisps
- Parmesan Crisps
Instructions
- Simply start by placing the bigger items on your cheese board first. I arranged the cheeses and small bowls (for the olives) first. Use more small bowls to add dips or spreads if you have the space! I love to have an assortment of hard and soft cheeses. Also, a variety of color and shapes of the cheeses are appealing to the eye as well!
- Next, add the meats and crackers- you can fold or lay the meats down by the cheeses.
- Fill in the extra spaces with fruits and nuts- I like to add a variety of dried and fresh fruits. Enjoy!
If you love cheese and salami as much as I do try these recipes: Antipasto Salad and Classic Italian Pasta Salad.
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