How to Make a Vegetarian Cheese Board

Learn how to make an amazing Vegetarian Cheese Board! Choose a selection of vegetarian-friendly cheeses and the best cheese platter to make a fun, tasty, and easy appetizer or party spread. 

What is rennet?

Here’s the thing with cheese. Many hard cheeses are made using an ingredient called rennet, which is made from a digestive enzyme called chymosin that comes from the lining of a cow’s stomach.  

Chymosin is present in the stomach lining of animals, because it helps them to digest their mother’s milk. Rennet is used in the cheese making process to help coagulate the milk and separate the curds from the whey.

Since rennet is an animal product, may vegetarians prefer to not eat cheese made with this ingredient. The good news is that you can also find plenty of cheeses made with vegetarian rennet or microbial enzymes in place of traditional rennet.

Want to know more about the different types of rennet? Check out this guide by The Spruce Eats. 

Now that you know the basics of choosing vegetarian cheese, let’s go through some cheese platter ideas!

How to make a vegetarian cheese board

1. choose your board

In my opinion the best cheese platter is no platter at all. Instead, I use a big sheet of paper to arrange everything on. It’s the best thing because:

• It looks cool
• Cleanup is a breeze
• You can make it as big or small as you need
• You can use a sharpie to write the types of cheese on it so that everyone knows what’s what

I didn’t have space to write on this particular cheese board, but usually when I’m having a party I write little puns next to all of the components.

2. Choose your cheese

When I’m making a vegetarian cheese board I like to choose 3-5 different types of vegetarian-friendly cheese. In general I choose:

• One hard cheese
• One soft cheese
• One blue cheese

Then if I want more cheese than that I’ll fill it out with something more special, like a fancy goat’s cheese, something more approachable like cheddar or a Dutch gouda, or maybe something that just looks cool.

3. Add some produce

I love adding fresh fruits and vegetables to my cheese board. It’s like making a cheese board and a crudité platter all in one, and it looks great!

Aim for things that contribute different textures, and of course look for what’s in season. I’ve used carrot and celery sticks, cucumber slices, fresh grapes, and fresh figs. For some crunch, I'll also use kale chips (I make these Air Fryer Kale Chips in no time). 

Adding something sweet for contrast like dried apricots, dates, and dark chocolate is also super fun. If you’re making a Christmas cheese platter you could add mandarin orange segments and dried  cranberries.

4. Add savory bits

I like to add little nibbles that aren’t cheese. In this case I’ve added olives (I always put out castelvetrano olives, which I consider a gateway olive), cornichons (because everybody loves tiny pickles!) and smoked almonds.

Salty, flavourful, crunchy stuff that breaks up all the cheese and veggies.

You could also make a batch of crispy Roasted Chickpeas or Chipotle Hummus or Mung Bean Hummus to round things out and add more plant-based options. I also added a little pot of fig jam (store bought), and I think that a small bowl of my Spicy Pickled Onions would be delightful. 

5. Add your carbs

You can hardly have a cheese board without some great crackers or bread to top things off.

I like to choose 2-3 different types of crackers, at least one of which is gluten free. On this particular vegetarian cheese board I’ve got cheesy oat crackers and gluten-free sesame crackers.

Sometimes I throw down some pretzels or slice up a baguette to fancy things up too.

So you see, making your own vegetarian cheese board is easy, fun, and delicious! I’d love to see what you come up with, so if you do your own version make sure to tag me on Instagram or send me a photo so I can see what you’re up to!

Other recipes you might enjoy:

Olive Oil Braised Chickpeas
Roasted Cauliflower Hummus Bowls
Naan Pizza Margherita