I’m the Grocery Editor at Kitchn and These Are, IMHO, the Best Cheese and Cracker Pairings of All Time

Sometimes the cracker’s role is simply to let the cheese shine. This is one of those times. (Duh!) Boursin’s boldly flavored cheese is made with garlic, parsley, and chives, and its slightly crumbly, but mostly creamy texture shines when it’s spread on the center of the crispy and decidedly plain cracker with the etched logo. You know the one.

This is the cracker version of the classic cheese dip and warm pretzel. And it’s, dare I say, perfection. Kerrygold makes delicious cheese with milk from grass-fed cows, and their Reserved Cheddar is the one you want. It’s aged for more than two years, so the flavor is more intense, and holds its own when paired with the Town House Pretzel FlipSides, which are pretzel on one side, cracker on the other. The Snack Factory also makes crunchy, pretzel crisps that’ll play nice here.

Incredibly creamy, Brie is one of the world’s most beloved soft cheeses and it — rind and all — goes on top of crackers of “the finest quality.” Those crackers, made with cranberries and toasted hazelnut, are Leslie Stowe Raincoast Crisps. The fig and olive variety, specifically, brings a fun salty-meets-sweet mix to the party. 

Ah, blue cheese. If there’s a more polarizing cheese, then let me know in the comments below. But I think fans and skeptics alike should give this daring pairing space on their grazing board. The funky cheese with a Honey Made graham cracker is the most dynamic duo on this list.

A spray of cheddar cheese atop an original Triscuit? It’s not fancy, but it sure is a crowd-pleaser! The texture of the cracker, its slightly salty flavor, and a blob of Easy Cheese is what childhood memories are made of.

Fun fact: Manchego is a name-protected cheese made in Spain, specifically La Mancha, with milk from a Manchega sheep. It’s an aggressively salty cheese, and a delicious one at that — I’ve personally taken bites out of a wedge when I was unable (read: too lazy) to get my hands on a knife. Nut-based crackers, and ones made with almonds in particular, balance out the severity of the cheese. If your store carries Simple Mills, go for their Cracked Black Pepper crackers. 

Give me a log of Vermont Creamery’s classic goat cheese and a tray of Carr’s Rosemary Crackers and I’m good. The award-winning cheese‘s mild flavor and delightfully smooth texture are exactly what the savory, well-seasoned crackers warrant. It’s almost like they were made for each other!

Before we talk cheese, quick cracker question: Do people eat an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers before they even set one on a plate? (I know Ina loves them!) These buttery crackers are satiating on their own, and yet even more so when paired with a smooth, spicy, and thinly sliced cube of Cabot Pepper Jack — another award-winning cheese from Vermont. Consider topping the twosome with another cracker for a DIY sandwich. 

Mozzarella, a traditional Italian cheese, has a more delicate flavor than some of its lower moisture, longer-aged neighbors. (Hi, Manchego!) When I’m buying a ball in the grocery store, I usually get BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella. Here’s where it gets interesting: My personal recommendation is to eat the mozz in tandem with these RW Garcia 3 Seed Sweet Potato Crackers, almost as a chaser. Cheese first. Cracker second.

This final combo is everything — and not just because of the crackers. Boar’s Head Gouda, with its distinctive buttery cheese, brings a real vibe to these Everything Crackers, made with caraway, poppy and sesame seeds, garlic and onion, from Target’s Good & Gather line. To be clear, this list is in no particular order. But if it was, this pairing would be more than Gouda ‘nough to close it out.