Need ideas for how to make an awesome Gluten Free Cheese Board? These are simple steps to DIY it for your next party or for a holiday. Your cheese board will be easy to put together and great to put on display – and your guests won’t even know everything is gluten free!
A cheese board is one of those things that can seem deceptively easy to put together, but when you go to do it there’s so many decisions it can be hard to nail down. Especially if you’re trying to do one that’s gluten free.
That’s why I decided to put together a post on how to make an awesome gluten free cheese board. Read on for my “rule of ratios” method (I know it sounds like math class, but I promise it’s simple and easy to follow).
Cheese boards typically have several components:
- cheese,
- meat,
- some type of carb (bread or crackers),
- fruits and/or veggies,
- fun extras like olives or a fruit spread.
- garnish (optional)
When you think about it, there are endless possibilities and it can start to feel overwhelming.
This is why I like to follow what I call the “rule of ratios”. That is, the ratio between all the different components should always be the same.
If you’re feeding a larger crowd, you might want to go with three of everything – three cheeses, three meats, three carbs, three fruits or veggies, and three fun extras. If you’re hosting a small dinner, you might just pick one of everything. This helps to focus in on what to get.
I put together the following platter as an example – this would be what I would choose for an awesome gluten free cheese board. I’ll tell you what I chose so you can recreate it easily, as well as give some other recommendations.
Cheese
This cheese board includes three of my favorite cheese:
- a brie cheese,
- a manchego cheese (sheep’s milk), and
- a smooth and creamy aged cheese called Midnight Moon that’s like gouda but is made with goat’s milk.
If you’re getting more than one type of cheese you’ll want to get different textures. I picked out a soft cheese (brie), a semi-soft (the goat gouda), and a firm cheese (manchego).
I did not pick a blue cheese as I have seen concerns from those who are incredibly sensitive to gluten about the color in blue cheese coming from a wheat source. Here is a link to an article which discusses that in more detail if you’re curious about it. However, if you’re serving someone who has a severe allergy, I would not include blue cheese to be on the safe side.
Meat
I picked out the following meats:
- proscuitto,
- salami (for this I used soppressata), and
- sliced deli turkey.
Typically for a cheese or charcuterie board people use different types of pork. I like to include deli turkey as it’s a lighter meat and goes with nearly everything. You could include any type of meat – sausage, pepperoni, sliced roast beef. Whatever you think those eating it will like.
Carbs
Gluten free crackers are becoming easier and easier to find, and there are a lot of great options. For this cheese board I used the following crackers:
- a multigrain cracker,
- a crisp nut cracker (you could also use a rice cracker), and
- a square cracker (similar to a wheat thin).
Other options you could use are a gluten free baguette or bread sticks, however those tend to be harder to find.
Fruits & Veggies
I like to stick with either fruits or veggies for my cheese boards. For this board I chose the following:
You can use whatever you find at your grocery store. Other good fruit options would be blueberries, strawberries, or sliced apricot. You could also do just about any dried fruit – berries, apricots, banana chips, etc. You should stay away from anything too acidic (like fresh pineapple) or anything that wouldn’t hold up well (like fresh banana).
For veggies some good options would be celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, or sugar snap peas.
Fun Extras
Here you can get pretty creative. I usually like to include at least one nut and one jam or fruit spread, then pick something else that strikes my fancy. For this cheese board I used:
Other great nut options include cashews, almonds, or pistachios. Any type of jam would be great, even something like a hot pepper jelly. Then any other little extra you think your guests would like works as well – olives, hummus, mustard, a chutney, or some type of creamy dip.
Garnish
This is totally optional – only if you think your cheese board is lacking color or that little extra something. If you’re not using a lot of fresh fruits or veggies, a garnish can help make your platter pop. Fresh herbs tend to be the best bet here. I used the following herbs:
Other good options for garnish are fresh parsley (Italian or curly), sage, or pieces of kale.
Now your awesome gluten free cheese board is ready to be served!
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Gluten Free Cheese Board
Equipment
- 1 serving board or platter
- 2 small serving spoons
- 3 cheese knives
Ingredients
- brie cheese
- manchego cheese
- creamy aged cheese
- prosciutto
- salami
- sliced deli turkey
- gluten free crackers
- dried figs
- dried apple chips
- fresh grapes
- marcona almonds
- marionberry jam
- tapenade
- fresh herbs
Instructions
- Arrange the ingredients onto a large platter.
- Serve with cheese plates and/or napkins.
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