You knew it was coming. The most delicious Sephardic Charoset Cheese Board to kick start Passover.
With all the cooking involved for Passover, easy meals are the way to go. I especially love a shortcut for lunch, when there are 10+ items on the seder menu for dinner each night.
This Sephardic Charoset Cheese Board is definitely that shortcut. It requires no cooking, takes about 5 minutes to assemble and pairs well with most sides. Ready – let’s break it down!
I added lots of cheeses, nuts, kumquats, strawberries, blueberries and grapes. To make it fit for Passover, I added matzah and Passover crackers as well. The real star of the show here is the Brie topped with homemade Sephardic charoset!
Although there are many varieties of Sephardic charoset, this one is a tradition in my family. It is made with dates, raisins and cinnamon. It’s super simple, but rich at the same time. It always makes an appearance at our table (thanks to my grandfather who brings it each year), along with a more traditional apple charoset.
I absolutely love having it at our seder table, but I have to admit, my favorite time to indulge in it is during our dairy meals for lunch. We usually spread it on cream cheese and matzah, dip fruit into it, and spread it on my grandfather’s Passover bagels.
With that in mind, I think my family will really enjoy this makeover for lunch this year. I hope you all try this one out too! You’ll be obsessed.
Here are some step-by-step photos to help you assemble your board. You can also read all my tips on arranging the perfect food board in the post HERE!
- Arrange the large items first, like the cheeses and a jar/bowl of the charoset in different areas of the board.
2. Next, add the fruit. Lots of different colors look best!
3. Then add your crackers and matzah. I like to use a variety of shapes and sizes.
4. Lastly, add the smaller items like, nuts and kumquats to fill in the spaces.
5. Garnish with fresh basil or mint and Voila!
- For the charoset:
- 1 cup pitted dates
- ½ cup black raisins
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼-1/2 cup hot water
- For the cheese board:
- Cheeses
- Fruit
- Matzah and crackers
- Nuts
- Fresh basil or mint leaves for garnish
- In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree the dates, raisins, cinnamon, and ¼ cup of the hot water until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, gradually add up to ¼ cup more water until desired consistency is reached.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container or jar for up to 1 week.
- To assemble the cheese board, start by placing the larger items like the cheeses and jar of charoset in different areas of the board. Next, add fruit in piles, followed by matzah and crackers. Add smaller items like nuts to empty spaces and finish with a garnish of basil or mint.
This is such a gorgeous cheese plate! I loved reading about how you constructed it since I have no flair for such things.
Thank you so much! So happy to hear that you enjoyed reading about it-I can talk about cheese boards all day 🙂