This Cute Trader Joe’s Trick Will Change How You Serve Cheese Boards

updated May 12, 2021
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
Credit: Joe Lingeman

If you thought the last year already brought us every iteration of the charcuterie board — with cocoa boards, charcuterie chalets, and candy boards — well, you’d be wrong. We’re just getting started.

This latest idea might be a crossover event with the old favorite meme Twitter account “We Want Plates.” But while the Twitter account poked fun at the way that cooks and chefs find ways to serve food on things that are anything except plates — tiny shopping carts, old VHS tapes, barbie dolls, shoes, and so on — this idea for a charcuterie boards is symbiotic with the concept as a whole: using soft pretzels from Trader Joe’s to hold the snacks.

Especially at a time when charcuterie platters are best served in individual formats, the soft pretzel as a plate works well, giving the various fixings — cheese, olives, meats — each their own little nook to rest in, while also serving as a complementary part of the array. The little divots between the various arms and twists of the pretzels just fit whatever you want to stick in there, without quite letting it fall through — although you probably want something underneath for when you start nibbling the pretzel itself, which is part of the brilliance of this.

Any pretzel works, although this Instagram post suggests grabbing the Trader Joe’s frozen ones, then tucking in a few salami roses (more on how to make those here). Of course, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can also make your own pretzels, per the instructions here — which would give you the opportunity to craft your own custom-sized dividers between each of the different elements of the charcuterie board. But either way, the idea of giving your delicious salty meats and cheeses a delightful soft pillow of pretzels is darn adorable.