Ultimate Holiday Grazing Board
About this Recipe
By: Rachel
Holidays are a heavy lift for us home cooks. Between managing the classic dishes, sides, salads, desserts, and beverages—not to mention dietary restrictions or preferences and kid-friendly fare—it’s easy to forget about the all-important appetizer table.
If your holidays are like most, dinner always takes a little longer to get on the table than you may have planned, and a house full of hangry guests definitely puts a damper on the holiday.
Below, find some suggestions for a grazing board that is sure to please even the pickiest palates, with guidelines to make your appetizer prep stress-free!

Cheese and Charcuterie Platter
Everyone loves a selection of cheeses and cured meats! You’ll be covered even if this is the only item on your snack table. You can buy a beautiful platter from higher-end grocery stores like Whole Foods, but it is easy and fun to customize your own. Here are some tips for putting together a magazine-worthy platter on a nice, large, grazing board:
A good rule of thumb is to buy 2 ounces (55g) each of cheese and meat per guest.
Cheese
Buy about 5 different cheeses (more if you like!) and be sure to choose a variety of options (hard, soft, goat, sheep, cow, etc.) Here are some of my favorites:
- Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar (semi-hard, cow) or Comté Fort Saint-Antoine (hard, cow)
- Laura Chenel Goat Cheese (soft, goat) or Drunken Goat (semisoft, goat)
- Marieke Smoked Gouda (semi-soft, cow, smoked) or Carr Valley Apple Smoked Cheddar (semi-hard, cow)
- Le Châtelain Camembert (soft, cow) or Reflets de France Brie de Meaux (soft, cow)
- P’tit Basque (semi-hard, sheep) or Dehesa de los Llanos Manchego (semi-soft, sheep)
Charcuterie
Be mindful of any dietary restrictions your guests may have. If you have guests that do not eat certain proteins, it is thoughtful to separate them on a platter (e.g., you may wish to put pork products on one platter and beef on another).
Even if your guests do not have dietary restrictions, it is fun to mix things up by offering different proteins on your charcuterie plate. Check out your local specialty stores for ideas. Here are some suggestions:
To compose your platter:
Step 1
Arrange your cheeses and meats on a large cutting board. Add a cheese knife for each cheese, and a small fork for each variety of sliced meat.
Step 2
Add two ramekins of jam. I like sour cherry and fig.
Step 3
Arrange nuts and fresh and/or dried fruits around your meat and cheese. I like fresh red and green grapes, dried apricots, and Marcona almonds.
Step 4
Finally, make sure you have a platter of sliced bread, crackers, and/or crostini available. If you have any gluten-free guests, be sure to have gluten-free products available on a separate, labeled platter.
Step 5
If you really want to take this platter over the top, add a few ramekins of savory spreads, like hummus or tzatziki, that guests can enjoy with the bread and crackers.

Baked Brie
Baked brie is rich, decadent, and flavorful—perfect for the holidays. I recommend purchasing a prepared baked brie (wrapped in pastry) from your local deli or grocery store, and baking it just before serving.
If you prefer, you can make your own by purchasing a wheel of brie in your preferred size, and wrapping it in all-butter puff pastry (I like Dufour, which can be found at Whole Foods). Serve drizzled with honey.

Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are a real crowd-pleaser—flavorful and filling. They are also easy to make ahead! Plan for 1 to 1 ½ pieces (egg halves) per person. You can buy deviled eggs at many grocery stores or delis or make your own (simply scale the recipe according to the number of guests you expect).
I make these eggs ahead by preparing everything up to piping the filling into the eggs. Add the filling to a pastry bag fitted with the tip of your choice, wrap the tip in a small piece of plastic wrap, roll the top of the bag closed, and secure with a rubber band.
Store the empty egg halves the refrigerator. When you are ready to serve, place the egg halves on a platter, pipe in the filling, and sprinkle with chives.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs (be sure that your eggs are not too fresh—at least a week old—or they will be very difficult to peel)
- ½ cup (120g) mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
Instructions: Deviled Eggs
Step 1
Bring a pot of water to boil, and carefully lower the eggs in. Boil for 10 minutes. At the 8 minute mark, prepare an ice bath. Pour off the boiling water, and carefully lower the eggs into the ice bath. Shock the eggs for 5 minutes.
Step 2
Peel the eggs and cut in half, setting aside the whites. Remove the yolks, and add to the small bowl of a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients (except the chives), and blend to a smooth consistency.
Step 3
To make ahead, see instructions above. To serve immediately, pipe the filling into the egg halves using a pastry bag, arrange on a platter, top with finely chopped chives, and serve.
Crostini with Salami and Fig Jam
These simple bites are sweet and salty, and take just minutes to prepare! Scale according to the number of guests you expect.
Simply spread the crostini with fig jam and top with rolled salami.
Ingredients
- 24 prepared crostini
- 1 small jar fig jam
- ½ pound (225g) hard salami, thinly sliced
Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuffed mushrooms make the perfect, bite-sized hot appetizer. I have a recipe for stuffed mushrooms here, but on Thanksgiving, why not make your life a little easier?
Simply clean your mushrooms and remove the stem and gills (a melon baller makes this quick and easy). Save a bit of uncooked stuffing from whatever you are serving for Thanksgiving, and use it for your stuffed mushrooms. Top with a little finely-grated parmesan or aged cheddar if desired, and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley.


Beverage Pairing
By: Olivia
Just like this grazing board, beverages for your holiday meals should be stress-free and diverse for your guests! For these reasons, I must shout out Violet Wine’s holiday table in which owners Erikka and Fred select a variety of wines that each enhance the dinner table. I will highlight a few and touch on styles of wine in general in case you cannot pop over to the best shop in Northeast Minneapolis.
One of the most versatile wines and favorites on holidays is Beaujolais. It’s a light-bodied red with high acidity making it a great pair with everything on this Grazing Board and your full Thanksgiving meal. Violet Wine features Domaine des Gaudets Côte du Py which is light, easy, and beautifully fragrant. Another great red wine option would be Barbaresco made from Nebbiolo. This red wine is equally high in acid but with a bit more tannic structure in case that is your preference.
As with the red wines, any white wines you bring to the table need to be powerhouses in adaptability. Look no further than Riesling. If Riesling strikes fear in you, please give it another try! Violet Wine features Union Sacre Fraulein Riesling which is a dry Riesling that is acidic with minerality. If that is not convincing enough, Violet also has the beautiful Isole e Olena Chardonnay from Tuscany with a creamy mouthfeel but still generous acidity and a mineral finish.
Finally, what is a holiday if not an opportunity to pop some bubbles? Consider some sparkling beverages like a cool Pet Nat, both Minnesota’s own Mousse Sparkling Wine Rosso and Keepsake Cidery Chestnut Crab Apple Cider at Violet Wine, or even some non-alcoholic sparkling wine for those in our lives who may not drink.
Cheers, friends, and happy holidays!