May 13, 2025 in Lifestyle

How to Create the Perfect Grazing Board

No matter if you are attending (or hosting) a baby shower, a birthday party or Christmas day lunch, a grazing board is the perfect accompaniment! Compiling a grazing board makes entertaining incredibly easy and is a delicious way to cater for a large group of people. We’ve put together some handy tips to help you get started on creating the ultimate grazing board.

Our tips to creating a grazing board

One of the great things about a grazing board is that it can be customised to you and your guests’ needs. Our tips below are provided as a guide as well as some inspiration to help you create your own unique grazing board!

Start with your base

Every grazing board needs to start with the right base. Whether you are choosing a whole table or a small wooden board, choose a food-safe base which can fit all your ingredients without them looking too overcrowded. Depending on your desired aesthetic, you can choose a classic rustic board made from oak or opt for a more elegant style by choosing a slate or marble board. In a pinch, a chopping board or serving platter can suffice.

Create a theme

You can get particularly creative with your grazing board by creating a theme! This theme can be related to presentation and/or to the items chosen. For example, you may wish to create a dessert theme which features only sweet items like brownies, chocolate, strawberries, and more! Alternatively, you can try creating a theme around a colour (such as pink) or celebration (like Valentine’s Day).

Consider dietary restrictions & allergies

If possible, ask your guests if they have any dietary restrictions, such as being vegan or only eating Halal foods, prior to the event. It’s also important that you are aware of any allergies. If you are unsure, then write a little card or note informing guests whether your grazing board is vegan, vegetarian, halal or contains any allergens to be aware of. It can be tough to cater for everyone, however if possible, we recommend providing some alternatives such as vegan cheeses or gluten-free crackers. Place these in a separate bowl with their own utensils to avoid cross contamination.

Choosing your grazing board items

A great grazing board has a variety of different items and flavours so there is something for everyone! We recommend mixing a range of crunchy and soft textures, sweet and savoury flavours, and shapes and colours.

Our top grazing board recommendations include the following:

Cheeses

No grazing board is complete without a delicious section of cheese. We recommend choosing at least three different types of cheeses, with a mix of soft, semi-hard and hard options. Our favourites are a triple brie, an aged cheddar, and a blue cheese. You can elevate an ordinary cheese into something fancy by adding honey, herbs and some berries then baking it into the oven. Try our brie with honeyed raspberries! Have vegan or dairy-free guests? There’s plenty of lactose-free and vegan cheese options available at your local supermarket so no one has to miss out!

Charcuterie

Charcuterie is the French term for cold cuts and mostly refers to different types of cured meats. You can choose a few types of cured meats to add to your grazing board, including prosciutto, salami, and ham (or jamón). Smoked or cured salmon can also be a delicious option, especially when you add some Dill and squeezed lemon.

Berries and Fruit

Adding berries and fruit to your grazing board will provide a boost of freshness and complement the other flavours well. We recommend including a variety of different berries, such as raspberries, cut-up strawberries, and blueberries. Berries are ideal for grazing boards as they are small, but pack a lot of flavour and are always a favourite – even among fussy eaters. They also can pair with savoury items like cheese and bread. You can also include other seasonal fruit to your board to accompany the berries. Our favourites include cherry tomatoes, grapes, watermelon, and fresh figs.

Vegetables

Vegetables are a great addition to your grazing board! Not only do they look great, but they provide a healthy crunchy alternative to bread and crackers. We recommend cutting up some carrots, celery, radishes, and capsicums to add to your grazing board. You can also use cookie cutters or a kitchen knife to cut your vegetables into interesting shapes like stars and hearts, to enhance the overall aesthetic of your board.

Dips and Spreads

Dips and spreads shouldn’t be forgotten when creating your grazing board as they provide that extra ‘zing’ of flavour to the rest of the items. We recommend choosing one or two dips to provide different flavours and a pop of colour. Hummus is a classic and crowd favourite, but don’t be afraid to try something different like a capsicum dip or olive tapenade. You can also try something sweet like a mascarpone dip with basil blackberries or mixed berry ricotta spread.

To avoid things from getting too messy, leave your dips in their packaging or decant them into small bowls or ramekins. While they aren’t strictly dips or spreads, we also recommend adding some olives and cornichons in some small vessels.

Crackers and Bread

Aside from the cut vegetables, you’ll need something to scoop into your dips and spreads! That’s where your crackers and breads come into play. Water crackers, herb crackers and multigrain crackers are the top choices for a grazing board, however saltine crackers and crostinis are also good.

We recommend cutting up a baguette or some Turkish bread. Alternatively, you can tear pieces of flat or pita bread and arrange neatly onto the grazing board.

You can stack or ‘swirl’ your crackers and bread into empty sections of the grazing board.

Nuts and garnishes

Nuts and garnishes should be the final touches to your grazing board! Our favourite nuts are almonds, peanuts, cashews and pistachios. Simply sprinkle some nuts in any remaining gaps on the board. You can use herbs, edible flowers, and other decorative items to provide that final flourish to your grazing board.

Play with presentation

The presentation of your grazing board is entirely up to you! When arranging all your ingredients, have a play and see what looks good. Unless you are doing a rainbow theme or other distinct pattern, we recommend dispersing pops of colour across the board for maximum visual effect. It’s important to assemble your grazing board just before serving to maximise freshness, especially as grazing boards can be difficult to transport.

Don’t forget the serving utensils!

You won’t be able to enjoy all the wonderful offerings on the grazing board without serving utensils! Add a range of knives, spoons and tongs to the board so your guests can easily help themselves to the selections without having to use their fingers. Having some napkins, forks and plates close by will be helpful as well.

Find more Driscoll’s recipe inspiration

Looking for more great Driscoll’s recipe ideas? You can find a fantastic berry grazing platter idea and more delicious recipes to follow on our recipe page.

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