We’ve all seen those gorgeous, elaborate cheese boards (and probably thought: “there’s no way I could make that!”). But with the right attitude and a quick trip to the grocery store, you can whip up a stunning board that will impress at all your Hanukkah parties — take it from me, I’m no culinary expert, but I even gave it a shot:
Plus, eating cheese on Hanukkah is actually a tradition thanks to the gory story of Yehudit (Judith) who saved her village in the 6th century B.C.E. by getting an Assyrian general drunk on strong wine and salty cheese.
With that said, here are 8 different Hanukkah boards to inspire your creativity:
The “Latke River” cheese board
With thousands of followers on Instagram and Tik Tok, and a bestselling cookbook, Marissa Mullen is undoubtedly the cheese plate queen.
Here is her take on a classic, upscale latke and cheese board.
Embrace the blue
Or, if you want to skip the latkes and just stick to cheese, you can add a festive touch by sticking to the classic Hanukkah blue color scheme. Think: blue cheese, blueberry jam, berries.
“Blue cheese pairs perfectly with with something sweet like blueberry jam, while aged goat cheese works wonders with fresh, sweet berries!” according to Marissa.
Hot cocoa board
Salty boards are the best, but have you ever put the charcuterie-style spin on something sweet? It’s the perfect (and super straight-forward) way to make something as simple as hot cocoa a little more glamorous.
Sweet tooth
Speaking of sweets, no Hanukkah is complete without (stomach-ache inducing amounts of) sufganiyot! Right?
We know, it’s hard to resist eating them right out of the box, but serve your sufganiyot on a board instead to give them an extra festive feel.
Gelt board
Every kid’s dream is to see this board on your Hanukkah table: a candy board — made extra snazzy for Hanukkah with the blue and white candy!
Cookie board
Much like a donut or candy board, all you have to do here is take your Hanukkah cookies and arrange them beautifully! Or, depending on which cookies you have, you can pair them with any assortment of cheeses, nuts, and fruit (charcuterie style).
If you want to get a little more crafty, make and decorate your own cookies for the board.
Get ‘lit’ board
Sometimes it’s not about what you serve, but how you serve it. Instead of slicing cheese and serving it in a bowl, check out how Christina’s Charcuterie arranged cheese slices to make a Hanukkiah!
Brie creative
Brie cheese is a staple in charcuterie-land. One of the best parts about it? (Or any soft cheese for that matter) is that you can arrange it in the most creative ways.
Like making it into a Magen David:
Or using a stencil to fill your cheese!
Bonus tip:
Stencils are your friend! You can even leave the stencils on the board to help maintain the shape of fruit, nuts, and small bites, like this:
Try any of these out? Let us know what you thought on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!
