From crisp apples to caramel, cheese with honeycomb and ripe figs, I'm sharing everything you need to prepare The Ultimate Fall Cheese Board.

The Ultimate Fall Cheese Board

I have been absolutely apple obsessed ever since visiting Riley’s Apple Farm for apple picking with the twins. The kids picked little Gala apples, I bought hard apple cider, and came home to make this Fall Harvest Apple Inspired Cheese Board for me and my guy.

It’s the perfect party sized cheese board for fall entertaining to serve with hard cider, crisp beer, or a seasonal cocktail. The best part, all of these ingredients (aside from the Riley’s apples) are available at Trader Joes! Here's how I prepared it...

Apple Inspired Cheese Board 

Grazing on a beautiful cheese and fruit board like this Fall Harvest Apple Inspired Cheese Board is my very favorite way to eat and entertain! It takes some time to put together (to be honest) but it's beautiful on the eyes and a real treat to dig into. Also, if you are serving a crowd, it's a great way to lay out an appetizer spread that requires absolutely no cooking. Just open, slice, scatter and serve. Here are the ingredients you will need to create this cheese board.

Trader Joe's Cheese Board Shopping List

Cheese:

• 1,000 Day Gouda- intense nutty flavored hard cow's milk cheese.
• Petite Breakfast Brie - mild, creamy, and perfect for spreading.
• Chablis - washed rind, strong, soft and very tangy.
• Jarlesberg- mild cow's milk cheese with large holes.

Note: I didn't include cheddar on this cheese board because I wanted to try a few new cheeses but cheddar is a perfect pair with apple and could also be included. 

Fruit:

• Small apples
• Figs- I bought both California figs and green tiger figs for a variety of color and flavor.
• Marinated olives

Meat:

• Proscuitto
• Chianti soaked hard salami

Dry Goods:

• Salted Caramels
• Caramel Popcorn
• Dried Fuji Apples
• Dehydrated Apple Rings
• Rosemary Marcona Almonds
• Ciabatta- ripped into chunks
• Fig & Olive Crisps
• Crystalized Ginger
• Honey with honeycomb- I used just the honeycomb + a little bit of the honey for drizzling over the brie cheese.

How To Assemble A Cheese Board

When assembling a cheese board there are two techniques. You can arrange each ingredient separately or scatter each ingredient in multiple places across the board. For my 4th of July Cheese board I grouped items together and you can see how it looks here.

For this Fall Harvest Apple Inspired Cheese Board I chose to scatter. It gives a more natural and rustic feel to the cheese board which I love. Here's my process:

1. Choose a cheese board. For this Fall Harvest Apple Inspired Cheese Board I chose a round wood and pink stone cheese board similar to this one.
2. Make your shopping list/get to Trader Joe's for inspiration. When I decided to create a Fall Harvest Apple Inspired Cheese Board, I started by making a list of all the apple inspired items I might like to include. All things fall, apple, caramel or things that paired well with apple just as brie and honeycomb were on my list. Then I hit up Trader Joe's for more inspiration and perused the aisles looking for all things apple. 

3. Start Arranging Cheeseboard. I always start with the cheese and arrange those around the board. Then I fill in around them with little piles of meat, crackers, dried fruit, sliced fresh fruit, nuts, etc. If you are arranging a board that needs to be carried or moved, make sure not to pile it up as much as I did! I arranged this board in the center of my dining room table so it wasn't going anywhere. 

4. Fill in all spaces. Take a look at your board and see if there is any more room. I like the over-abundant look of this board and that is created by filling in all of the spaces with goodies. 

5. Pour Drinks & Enjoy! Now, it's time to dig in. Make sure you have cheese knives and spreaders handy. 

Your Fall Cheese Board is ready to devour and trust me, it will be delicious. This is by far my favorite cheese board I have ever constructed and for good reason, there are salted caramels y'all!

But seriously, the mix of sweet and salty fall flavors is just over the top with this cheese board and it was delicious to snack on with our cold Riley's hard apple cider. I served the cider in my copper Moscow Mule Mugs because they really are one of my favorites cocktail cups. 

My favorite flavor combination on this cheese board? A crisp slice of Gala apple spread with brie and topped with honeycomb. DELICIOUS! Oh, and half of a tiger fig topped with cheese and wrapped in prosciutto. Yum! Happy Fall Cheeseboarding!

More Apple Recipes to Love:

Bourbon Maple Apple Cider
Cinnamon Spice Apple Bread
Sausage, Apple & Sage Stuffing
Apples and Tequila Cocktail
Apple Pie Baked Apples