How to make a Fall Snack Board

Celebrate the read-a-thon by putting together a Fall Snack Board to enjoy while you read! This homemade board, filled with cheese, seasonal fruit, crackers, nuts and more, is the perfect afternoon snack. Makes 2-4 servings, but is easily customizable.

The Feminist Book Club October Read-a-thon is coming… and I’m here to help you keep your belly happy while you read throughout the weekend!

It’s going to require a little work from you, but I promise this is fun!

Hi! My name is Erin, I’m a food blogger/photographer/recipe developer/wearer of all the hats and the mama of two little girls. My girls and I adore a snack board in the afternoons—so I’m going to be your snack board guide today. 🙂

Why I love this recipe

Can we call a snack board a recipe? Because in my opinion, it’s a recipe that’s a suggestion, not necessarily one that needs to be followed to a T. (Please let me note that this is RARE in my world, so it’s cause for celebration!)

Dairy intolerance or just don’t like cheese? Add more meat, nuts and/or fruit to fill out your board.

Not an apple fan? Swap it out with a pear or another fall fruit.

Obsessed with crunchy additions? Feel free to add on more crackers of your choosing or nuts! A crunchy, salty trail mix would make a fabulous addition to this board, too.

If you have a moderately stocked pantry and fridge, you can make a snack board.

However, today, I’m going to be sharing how we make a fall-themed snack board that highlights flavors and colors of this glorious season that we’re in.

What you’ll need to make a fall snack board

Any board—whether it’s cheese or charcuterie or anything in between—is really a choose-your-own-adventure snack because you can customize it to your tastebuds and your dietary likes, dislikes and restrictions.

I’m going to share what I used in this fall snack board for y’all to know, but please feel free to riff off of this.

• 2-3 favorite cheeses—I sliced cheese off a block of sharp cheddar and also added cubes of Kilaree, an aged cheddar
• 2-3 favorite crackers—we had rosemary garlic crackers, as well as pretzel crisps, so those ended up here!
• Pepperoni—or another cured meat of your choosing
• Pecans and pistachios—which are two of my favorite nuts. If you’ve got a nut allergy or don’t love them, leave these out!
• Dried cranberries—because they add gorgeous color and a little pop of sweetness
• Grapes—we used cotton candy grapes because of their gorgeous purple color, but feel free to grab any variety that makes your tastebuds happy
• Honeycrisp apple—again, for the color, but also, they’re my fave. Use your favorite apple!
• Blood orange—which I know is sometimes challenging to find in a store. If they’re unavailable, look for a Cara Cara Orange, which has a similar brilliant color, or just get your regular ‘ol Valencia orange and rock it!

Other awesome additions that you could add to a snack board:

• Honey to drizzle on your cheese
• Apple or pumpkin butter
• Additional dried fruit, like figs or apricots

How to make a Fall Snack Board

First and foremost, you need to decide two things before you proceed:

1. How hungry are you?
2. What should you serve this board on?

These two things are going to shape this fall snack board for you because if you’re not super hungry, you need to half the recipe. (For the record, this board that I photographed was large enough to be a snack for my two young daughters and me.) If you’re super hungry and/or want to graze on this board a while? Make the whole thing and enjoy!

Next up, decide what you’re going to serve it on. I like a big ol’ platter because it gives me space for everything—but boards look awesome when things are right on top of each other, so don’t feel like you need to get a special plate for this. I put all the supplies on a dinner plate of ours to carry into my office for the photographing, and I think they look fabulous on that, too!

Once you’ve got your platter figured out, set out the crackers.

Next, add the cheese. I generally like to have them close to the crackers so I can grab them both at the same time, but since this is a smaller board, you shouldn’t run into issues with that.

Do what feels natural here as you place things on the board. You can move them around and see what looks visually appealing, too, so you’re not committed to the positioning of different elements once you set them down. Don’t be afraid to get your hands in there and get ‘em a little messy.

Once you’ve got the crackers and cheese on the platter, fill in the empty spaces with the nuts, dried cranberries and the seasonal fruit.

Don’t forget to have fun! Don’t fret about your fall snack board being perfect—while it’s fun to tinker with boards like this, the most important thing about it is it offering you awesome snacks and making you happy!

FALL SNACK BOARD RECIPE

¼ cup cubed Kilaree cheese

2 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

7 rosemary garlic crackers (or another cracker, like a water cracker)

10 pretzel crisps

5 large pepperoni

¼ cup pecans

¼ cup pistachios

1 ½ tablespoons dried cranberries

½ cup purple grapes

½ medium honeycrisp apple

1 blood orange

1. First and foremost, choose a platter that everything can fit on. (You can choose an actual platter or you could use a dinner plate. Do whatever works best for you!)
2. Set out the crackers first, spacing out evenly across the board.
3. Next, add the cheeses and the pepperoni slices.
4. Fill in the empty spaces with sliced seasonal fruit, nuts and dried cranberries.
5. Serve, and enjoy!