An Easy Aldi Cheese Board

I really miss going places while we stay home for COVID. And now it’s super humid & hot. I’m not really up for sweating the second I step outside so nature is out. It seems the fun things to do right now are read books and eat good food. On my recent trip to Aldi I picked up a couple of cheeses and meats to make a pretty tasty board. Here are my cheese board ideas.

The benefits of a cheese board:

there’s no cooking or skill needed, you just cut stuff up
you can customize it to whatever flavors/items you like
since you eat with your fingers there’s no utensils or plates to clean
in non COVID times this makes a great party appetizer
it feels like you went somewhere fancy, but really it’s just an adult Lunchable

The Cheeses

For all of the cheeses, I sliced up half of each package for our board. It was the perfect amount for my fiance and I to split with a bottle of wine, crackers, fruit, and meats. And who doesn’t love having more cheese in the fridge to use later?

Mozzarella, $2.39

I picked this one up at the request of my fiance. A little bland for me, but he enjoyed it with apples, Ritz, and meats. I sliced up the leftover half of this mozzarella and stuffed it into crescent rolls with salami and tomato sauce for mini calzones one night for dinner.

Smoked Gouda, $2.99

This is my favorite cheese on the board, but gouda ALWAYS is. Smokey, creamy gouda is good on it’s own or anything you pair it with. I particularly liked it with salami and topped with a basil leaf. Smokey cheese goes really well with dark beer too.

Roasted Garlic with Tomato & Basil, $2.99

I really like the colors this line of cheeses gives the board. My favorite is the pepperoni (there’s also a garden vegetable & basil), but my Aldi doesn’t always have that one. The tomato basil is good too. Coming in softer than the gouda, but not as soft as the mozzarella, this cheese is full of flavor with it’s marbled texture.

The Meats

Salami, $5.99

Aldi’s package of salami is massive. I used about a quarter of it for this board, slicing the large circles in half to better fit with crackers. Leftovers are good stuffed into crescents as I mentioned before, diced into mac & cheese, layered in a grilled cheese, or topping a bagel & schmear.

Prosciutto, $3.99

So salty and delicious, this prosciutto is worth it even though the package is small (we used about 2/3 of it on the board and could have easily eaten the rest). I tore it up and placed it in piles around the board. It was real artsy. The prosciutto’s saltiness balanced well with crisp, sweet apples.

FOR OTHER ALDI FAVORITES: The Best Aldi Groceries

Cheese Board Accompaniments

Crackers

We had Ritz and sesame crackers on hand already. I picked up some club crackers at Aldi for a little more variety. Crackers are crunchy vehicles for other things. Make sure you have enough.

Chocolate

I really enjoy small bites of chocolate with red wine. Aldi’s Choceur mini dark chocolate bars are my favorite. The itty bitty rectangles can be sprinkled throughout your board and are small bites so you don’t end up with melted chocolate covered fingers.

Fruit

Honestly I added grapes and apples because I felt like we should eat some produce. The apples were so good with everything, I ended up slicing up a second one.

Herbs

I have a basil plant in my kitchen, so I thought what the hell?

I LOVED a basil leaf in my cheese, meat, cracker stacks. It really elevated the Lunchable vibe and made me feel more like an adult. Plus the green just looks pretty. Not a necessity, but if you have some herbs around, go for it.

This was the first meat and cheese board I’ve ever made and it was really dang tasty. To sum up:

Add a bunch of things you like to a wooden cutting board in little piles.
Open your wine, or beer, or make a cocktail. No one says snack boards have to be for wine. The alcohol helps you plate more artistically.
Keep adding more food so the board looks pretty and full.
Worry it’ll be too much food, but secretly know you’re a champion and can handle it.
Take a picture because it’s so dang Instagramable.
Then eat it all with your fingers.

That my friends is a fancy Saturday afternoon staying at home beating this darn virus.

What are your favorite things to add to a cheese board?