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Summer is the season for snacking, picnic dinners, and endless charcuterie boards shared between friends. The long, sultry days were made for lounging and grazing charcuterie boards from late afternoon well past the sunset. All good charcuterie boards are built from a foundation of good cheese. And while the beauty of a charcuterie board is that you can customize it to whatever you want it to be, there are a handful of cheeses that are particularly well-suited for your summer snack sesh.
When we think about the perfect charcuterie board for summer, we’re contemplating a few things, including what cheeses hold up best in the warmer temperatures, which cheeses pair well with seasonal produce, and how to curate a diverse mix of cheeses from texture, age, and type of milk. We chatted with Tony Benedict, the executive corporate chef at Sargento, to narrow it down to 10 cheeses that can be mixed and matched to feature on your summer charcuterie boards. Tony’s insights from his culinary background and long career with Sargento gave us a glimpse into a cheese-minded chef’s brain when it comes to building charcuterie boards. So, round up your favorite showy board, some ricotta salata, juicy ripe peaches, and let’s talk cheese.
Manchego
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Let’s start with Manchego, a classic Spanish cheese made from sheep’s milk. Manchego is known for its firm texture and distinctive nutty flavor (and happens to be a personal favorite of mine). While most Manchego is considered semi-hard, like many aged cheeses, you can find a variety of Manchego aged from two months to over a year. If you’re looking for something particularly complex with more pronounced tangy notes, you’ll want to go for a longer-aged Manchego, as the flavor deepens the longer it ages.
When it comes to serving cheese on a particularly warm day outside, Manchego is a great option. Tony Benedict notes that Manchego holds its shape well and “develops nutty flavor as it warms,” making it ideal for boards in the summer heat. The cheese is firm without being crumbly when cut into and brings a lot of nuanced flavor and buttery texture to a board. This profile can contrast nicely with a second cheese that is younger, fresher, and softer in both flavor and texture. In terms of summer produce, Manchego goes really well with those insanely flavorful cotton candy grapes, juicy, sweet melon, and fresh nectarines. Other components, like marcona almonds, mimic the nutty profile of the cheese and bring layered flavor through different textures. Manchego is also a breeze to pair with wines you’re likely drinking all summer long, like light and refreshing rosés with good acidity that cut into the richness of the cheese and make for an overall balanced pairing.
Aged Gouda
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Aged Gouda is a semi-firm cow’s milk cheese with rich, sweet, and almost caramel-like notes. The Dutch cheese is aged anywhere from nine months to several years, developing intense caramel-like sweetness and toffee notes as it matures. Tony Benedict notes that aged Gouda is a standout choice for summer charcuterie boards because its lower moisture and higher fat content as a semi-firm cheese mean the flavors start to open up as it comes to room temperature or warmer, meaning it only gets better as it hangs with you at the beach.
Aged Gouda hits the perfect textural balance of crumbly yet creamy, bringing a satisfying bite that contrasts well with softer and younger cheeses and seasonal fruits like ripe pears, stone fruit, and big juicy cherries. Its natural sweetness also pairs well with toasted and seasoned nuts, blueberry compote, and oozing honeycomb, creating a layered flavor experience on the board. While aged Gouda is a little less likely to come across in your average grocery store, if you can search it out, it’s a real treat that truly is the perfect cheese to eat in the height of summer alongside fresh and juicy peaches while sipping on chilled bubbles.
Parmigiano Reggiano
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Parmigiano Reggiano is about as good as it gets. Crusty, salty, and deeply rich, the northern Italian cheese is most frequently aged anywhere from 12 to 36 months, and transforms into beautifully granular, crystal-speckled cheese perfect in rustic chunks laid out on a charcuterie board. Tony notes it’s “dry, salty, rich — perfect in chunks or shards.” It’s got a sharp bite, which only gets sharper and more defined the longer it’s aged. Also developed during the aging process are the tyrosine crystals, which give the cheese its distinct textural characteristics.
The umami-rich and textural dream of a cheese pairs incredibly well with garden strawberries, ripe sticky figs, stone fruit, and paper-thin slices of salami. It’s also easy to pack and transport to any lakeside picnic location, busting up chunks of cheese on the side and building the board as part of the social hour. This is a cheese that disappears quickly, so make sure you think about how much cheese per person is needed for your board to avoid hangry friends. It also pairs well with chillable prosecco, cava, or Franciacorta that you may want to bust out for a festive charcuterie board dinner. Eating chunks of aged Parm and sipping Franciacorta in the height of summer screams, “I’m living the good life.” Can highly recommend.
Comté
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Comté is the under-the-radar French superstar of cheeses, and one of my very favorite cheeses. The cow’s milk cheese from the Jura region is aged anywhere from four months to over a year, developing a flavor that’s nutty, buttery, downright addictive. Tony Benedict gave it a thumbs up for summer boards because it “won’t sweat quickly,” meaning it can chill out in the summer heat without turning greasy. It’s firm yet supple and a great cheese for making long, beautiful ribbons to drape with freshly sliced peach.
Comté pairs well with a lot of components you’re likely to have on your charcuterie board, like marcona almonds, where it mimics the nuttiness, salty prosciutto, and dried apricots. Crisp green apple, Asian pear, or Anjou pear are fresh fruits that go particularly well with the Jura cheese. Comté has a distinct flavor yet isn’t overpowering, making it a great cheese to pair with the plethora of fresh produce we find in the height of summer.
Aged cheddar
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Next up is aged cheddar, maybe the most classic crowd pleaser around. This cow’s milk cheese is generally considered aged or sharp when it’s aged for a minimum of nine months, developing sharp, tangy, and slightly crumbly qualities that add a lot of nuance and flavor to the overall profile. Like some of the other semi-firm cheeses that work well on summer charcuterie boards, Tony Benedict notes that it “holds its texture” and “sharpens with warmth.”
A good aged cheddar has a bold and complex flavor profile with toasty, nutty undertones and a pleasant zing that only increases the longer it’s aged. You know that one that hits in the back of your inner cheek? That’s the one. It also has a lot of versatility and goes great with Rainier cherries, sweet black cherries, and thinly sliced apple, where its sharpness is a good match to the sweetness of the summer fruits. It’s relatively easy to find between normal grocery stores or specialty cheese shops, so you don’t have to stress-plan when rounding up all your ingredients.
Burrata
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Burrata might be the cheese that encompasses summer best. It’s soft, creamy, and indulgent in every way you want it to be. This little ball of Italian beauty is filled with stracciatella (shredded mozzarella mixed with cream), so when you cut it open, you get that luscious, silky center spilling out. It’s delicate in both flavor and texture and needs to be served fresh, so it’s one that’s best for a charcuterie board that is built at home with a little bit of care.
My personal favorite is a mix of heirloom or cherry tomatoes, with juicy peach, plenty of basil, fragrant olive oil, and a bit of aged balsamic, all topped with a bouncy ball of burrata. Tony Benedict agrees this combo is unbeatable. He also suggests serving it with more savory summer produce like grilled zucchini. In both combinations, the creaminess of the burrata lends delicate richness to the produce, while the fresh flavors keep the cheese from feeling too heavy in summer. It’s a fresh cheese that’s creamy and extremely satisfying to cut into a sweep through many different accompaniments.
Feta
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If you’re looking for something salty and briny for your summer charcuterie board, feta is your go-to cheese. Traditionally made from sheep’s milk (or a mix of sheep and goat), the cheese originally comes from Greece and is known for its crumbly texture and perfect saltiness. Its briny nature instantly wakes up everything it’s paired with. Tony says that the classic watermelon, mint, and feta salad is a perfect combination for your charcuterie board. I couldn’t agree more. The short window of good watermelon in summer should not be missed, and when it’s paired with salty, crumbled feta and fragrant fresh mint leaves, it’s the exact thing that can wake you up on a hot afternoon.
Feta is versatile and goes with a lot of other great garden produce. You can mix it with smashed cucumber and cherry tomatoes to make a little Greek salad rendition for your board, or put a large chunk alongside roasted red peppers, and people can hack off chunks as they like. Its tangy brightness also pairs well with a lot of crisp white wines that you want to be drinking in the summer months, like Vinho Verde, assyrtiko, or vermentino.
Ricotta salata
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Unlike the soft, spreadable ricotta you might dollop on toast, ricotta salata is pressed, salted, and aged for at least a month, giving it a pleasantly firm and sliceable texture while keeping that mild and milky sweetness. Made from sheep’s milk (most famously in Sicily), it’s subtly tangy with a mellow saltiness that plays well with just about everything you want to put on a summer charcuterie board.
Similar to feta, ricotta salata is a great option if you’re looking for salty, crumbly cheese for your cheese board, just more in the Italian vein. Given this, it’s a great cheese to pair with a lot of savory garden produce like rounds of crisp cucumber, cherry tomatoes, snap peas, and baby carrots. It adds the salty and fatty component to these fresh garden vegetables. If you’re putting things on the board like char-grilled zucchini, marinated artichokes, or Castelvetrano olives, ricotta salata is also a great cheese to pair. Tony Benedict notes that ricotta salata is a great contrast to fruitier, effervescent wines like pinot grigio or dry lambrusco rosé.
Chèvre
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In some ways, chèvre is such a simple cheese, but it’s also what kind of makes it such a great cheese for a charcuterie board; it’s a bit of a chameleon and really works with everything. Made from fresh goat’s milk, this tangy, creamy cheese brings an airy lightness to the board. The most common type of chèvre is aged for only a few days or weeks, keeping it soft, creamy, and spreadable with a mild and buttery flavor. Aged chèvre can be matured for longer and is the one you want to search out if you’re looking for A cheese that’s drier, firmer, and develops a stronger and tangier flavor.
Something spreadable like a young chèvre on a board is great for smearing on seed crackers, a blanched green bean, a cherry tomato, or a Mirabelle plum. Tony also recommends pairing chèvre with berries, peaches, roasted beets, or honey. It really does go with so many summery fruits and vegetables, and it’s easy to unwrap a little round and plop it directly on the board with a little herb garnish.
Gruyère
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Gruyère is a nutty, buttery cheese from Switzerland that’s perfect for adding elegance to your summer charcuterie board without being fussy. This cow’s milk cheese is aged anywhere from five to 12 months, developing a firm texture and rich flavor that balances sweet and savory. Its nutty and mildly fruity profile is present through the creamy and buttery texture. It hits that sweet spot between firm enough and melt-in-your-mouth, making it an easy cheese to pair.
Similar to Comtè, Tony Benedict notes that Gruyère won’t sweat quickly, making it easy to pack for an outside picnic charcuterie board situation in the height of summer heat a non-issue. He also reminds us that, “creating a high-quality, tasty summer board doesn’t have to be revolutionary — or break the bank.” A nice chunk of Gruyère alongside whatever stone fruit or berries you have picked up from the farmer’s market and some salami or prosciutto is a perfect no-fuss board that everyone will want to snack on.
Dining and Cooking