By Swirled
Feeling fancy? Maybe it’s time to host a wine and cheese party for your closest friends. If you think we’re absolutely crazy for suggesting such a thing, just hear us out. You canhave a fabulous wine and cheese soiree on a budget. In fact, we’ll show you how to do it for under $25.
With the help of Trader Joe’s, the high-quality yet budget-friendly grocery store chain of our dreams, we lay out exactly how to pull off this party below. We found five items (well, six if you count the second bottle of wine), including three distinct cheeses and a box of three-flavored crackers, that you can score for under that $25 mark.
Before diving in, we have two pieces of advice for you. Get your items on the cheap at a store like Trader Joe’s without compromising on quality or flavor, and always make sure to have three different types of cheese — creamy and mild, sharp and hard, and stinky or crumbly. If you can’t remember all that, just look at our list, buy the items and enjoy your fancy yet affordable life.
1. Goat’s Milk Cheese Medallions Marinated In Herbs — $4.99
To start off the cheese festivities, you need something creamy and mild, like these herbed goat cheese medallions. Perfectly spreadable and something calm enough for every palate, this cheese is a must.
2. Unexpected Cheddar Cheese — $3.99
Everyone needs a sharp cheddar cheese in their lives, right? This cheddar has a hint of parmesan, so you’re getting extra sharpness that can nicely balance out the mildness of the goat cheese.
3. Triple Crème Brie — $6.49
To round out the cheese selection, grab your Brie, which will act as your “stinky” cheese. You can choose a crumbly cheese, like feta, in its place if you’re not into the smelly stuff. We also suggest warming the Brie slightly to add a temperature variation to your tray.
4. Scalloped Cracker Trio — $3.49
What’s better than slathering some goat cheese on a fresh, buttery cracker? Slathering some goat cheese on three different flavors of buttery crackers. You can choose from rosemary, red chili or garlic crackers with this variety pack.
5. Two Bottles Of “Two Buck Chuck” Wine — $5.98
For your wine, turn to the trusty Charles Shaw wine, affectionately known as “Two Buck Chuck.” At just under $3 per bottle, you can enjoy tasty AF wine on a serious budget. We’ll say hell yeah to that.
Total Spent: $24.94
Hosting a wine and cheese party doesn’t have to destroy your paycheck. For just under $25, you’ll look like a true wine and cheese connoisseur without shelling out to be one. That, friends, is something worth celebrating.
This post originally appeared on Swirled.