Prost!
Happy Tuesday, all, och Frohe Oktoberfest! The celebration in Munich runs until October 4 this year, meaning this coming weekend is your ticket to a jaunty celebration, if you so choose.
AND, if you do so choose, this Fall Fest Cheeseboard + Homemade Festbier Soft Pretzels is a jazzy, creative, customizable appetizer to wow your pals and instill some festive cheer. This board, too, can carry onto Thanksgiving and even Christmas, since the guidelines are flexible.
This isn’t so much a recipe as it is a visual guide to curating a beautiful charcuterie arrangement. Use what is available and what appeals most to your tastebuds, but I will say that these components are inspired by German cuisine (no, not a perfect dupe, I will never claim anything I do is 100% authentic!) and pair pretty fabulously with your favorite festbier and a pair of jolly lederhosen.
I will be including this beauty in my 2026 Thanksgiving Menu, if you’re looking for something a little different than your standard cheese-and-jam pairings. Maybe you have some angry German relatives visiting. Maybe you’re the angry German relative. Maybe no one is German and no one is angry and you really just want some pickles and pretzels in your maw before the turkey finishes roasting.
No judgment, just good food, always.
Fest For The Best
First, if you decide to bake the soft pretzels, follow the recipe linked above and right here. This will add significant prep time to your total allotted hours, but it is so worth it to include a fresh, hot batch of pretzels on your board. Any left are also fabulous with my Roasted Apple Pumpkin Bisque, too!
The pretzels are baked and you’re ready for what’s next, which is my Creamy Mustard Dip. This is a divine sauce for many occasions, but it pairs wonderfully with the breads and crackers. To make, stir together mayonnaise, Dijon and grainy mustards, prepared horseradish, honey, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust your seasonings as required.
Set the mustard dip in the center of the board. Surround with your cheeses. Pick 2-3 for a crowd of 4-8 folks, more blocks if you have a bigger audience. I chose a spicy buffalo cheddar and a cave-aged blue cheese from Trader Joe’s – both were amazing.
Tip #1: I like to use a soft cheese and a hard cheese if I’m picking two varieties, and a medium-soft cheese if I have three. For this board, I like more robust flavors like the ones listed above, and I try to shy away from classically-Italian varieties. Of course, it is totally okay to use anything you prefer!
Tip #2: If you don’t want to buy 8 different cheeses for a large crowd, simply buy multiple blocks of the two or three you want.
Tip #3: Slice the harder cheese into various shapes, or crumble softer cheeses lightly. All creates a fun little texture play.
Next, add your soft pretzels and 2-3 varieties of cold cut meats. If you have vegetarian guests or are veg yourself, I love Tofurky’s Smoked Ham and Renegade Foods makes solid (but expensive) hard salamis. I do eat meat now and chose a black forest ham and beef summer sausage for my board.
A small bowl of kosher dill pickles is a must! You can use sweet baby gherkins too, but I don’t like those. Dilly picklies all the way. A dish of sauerkraut wouldn’t be a bad idea either!
To add some crunch, I chose tiny pretzel twists and pumpkin cranberry crisp crackers to fill the board perimeters.
Lastly, any gaps toward the center are easily plugged with crisp sliced apples and grapes. I added the latter, later. Sliced pears would be lovely also. These fruits go especially well with a stinky blue cheese if you wound up buying a block!
Final note: Keep your guests, or the guests of the gathering you attend, in mind with whatever you choose for your board. Be sure to note any food allergies and preferences, and welcome folks to add their own components as well!
Again, this board is not a hard-and-fast recipe. It invites experimentation, funky pairings, and divergent thinking.
Happy Fest-ing, friends!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
fall fest cheeseboard
Ingredients
creamy mustard sauce
- 1/2 cup vegan or regular mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp grainy mustard
- 1 tsp prepared horseradish
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
cheeseboard
- 1 recipe soft pretzels (see note)
- assorted crackers, such as pretzel twists and crisp crackers
- assorted meats, such as ham, summer sausage, or smoked sausages (vegetarian versions if needed)
- 2-3 wedges/blocks cheese, such as sharp cheddar, blue cheese, or gouda
- assorted fruits, such as sliced apples and grapes
- baby kosher dill pickles
Instructions
- Prepare your soft pretzels according to the recipe directions linked below. This will add significantly to your prep time, so be mindful! However, it is WELL WORTH IT!
- In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustards, horseradish, honey, garlic and onion powders, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour some into a small serving dish.
- Place the mustard dip in the center of the board, then surround with the blocks, chunks, wedges, or slices of cheese. While the cheeses are cold, I like to slice some of them into triangles, rectangles or square chunks.
- Add the soft pretzels, then the meats. Surround with fruits and a small serving dish of pickles. Fill in the gaps and the outer edges with tiny pretzels and crackers. Serve the board with enough knives and spoons to slice and scoop, at room temperature.
