Tailgate Cheese Board

Keep your football parties delicious this fall with a platter piled high with sweet and salty snacks. Fans of all ages will enjoy this Tailgate Cheese Board!

Everybody seems to have their own tailgating traditions, but I think we can all agree that cheese is a must, along with a variety of sweet and salty nibbles.

Presentation varies, depending on the tailgate host – I’ve seen it all, from cheese on paper plates with random open bags of chips to those super-coordinated parties where everything is on matching team spirit platters and serving dishes (I’ve even seen fancy smoked salmon platters and jarcuterie set up by caterers!).

I like to take an approach somewhere in the middle, by corralling a few kinds of cheese and some other snackies on a nice board. Plastic trays in team colors aren’t really my style, but I found some fun little decorative toothpicks to keep it festive.

Tips for making your Tailgate Cheese Board a success:

• Depending on what part of the country you are in, you may need to be mindful of food safety and outside temperature for those first few games.  I keep away from creamy dips and condiments, because those can become dangerous when left in the sun. You obviously can’t have a cheese board without cheese, but I do recommend keeping your board and portions on the smaller side, and replenishing as needed, vs. putting out a massive amount of cheese early on and having it sit too long.
• Honestly, a tailgate is NOT the time to try to wow people with terrines or pickled figs. I LOVE those things, and they have their time and place. But at a tailgate, people just want some classic snacks that they recognize right away. Keep it simple and undeniably delicious for fans of all ages.
• The same goes for cheese selection. I love a good triple creme brie or wedge of Gorgonzola, but a tailgate cheese board is really all about simple, great cheeses that can be eaten with fingers or toothpicks (no knives or spreaders needed!).
• For this particular Tailgate Cheese Board, I went with some cubes of white cheddar, and Great Midwest Gouda cheese snacks. These little bites are handcrafted by Wisconsin cheesemakers and individually wrapped, making them perfect for a tailgate, or a snack on the go!
• Serve an ice cold cocktail alongside this board. My favorite for fall is an apple cider mule.

Have fun tailgating this season, and be sure to connect with Great Midwest Cheese on Facebook and Pinterest.

More great cheese board ideas:

• Breakfast Charcuterie Board – wake up to a great spread!
• Winter Cheese Board with German Beer Cheese Fondue – keep warm with this one when it’s chilly.
• Autumn Cheese Board with Ginger Pickled Figs – wonderful served with wine!
• Cheese Board for Beer – this might give you more ideas for tailgating, too!
• Summer Cheese & Charcuterie Board with Spicy Peach Chutney – eat this as “dinner” if you want!
• Halloween Party Food – not quite a cheese board, but you can’t miss this one for Halloween!
• Valentine’s Day Snacks – it’s all heart-shaped, of course.
• Asian-Inspired Cheese Board by FoodieCrush
• Loaded Thanksgiving Cheese Board by Cafe Delites

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Saputo Cheese USA Inc. Sponsored posts help me pay for the costs associated with this blog (groceries…lots of groceries), and help support me as I pursue a career in recipe development and food photography. All opinions are 100% my own.