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Updated 2023
You can’t have St. Patrick’s Day without rainbows–where would Leprechauns leave their pots of gold? When it comes to this cheery food rainbow, there are two ways to organize it, but no matter how you spin it, you’ll have a vibrant, healthy St Patrick’s rainbow with a pot o’ gold to enjoy this March 17th. For more of a green theme, try my Green Paddy’s Day Snack Board
Not St. Patrick’s Day? You can also make it for any occasion–kid’s birthdays (with this beachy candy board), pride celebrations, or the first day of summer–or serve it alongside my favorite bagel board for a wholesome brunch spread.
Find more holiday-inspired board ideas here!
For more healthy-ish snacks and boards, check out my Vegan Cheese Board, Build Your Own Avocado Toast Board, Whole 30 Snacks, Fruit Board, Crudite Platter, Mezze Board, and Veggie and Goat Cheese Board.
What’s On These Boards?
Remember ROYGBIV? Yeah, major flashbacks for me too. The good news is that, nostalgia aside, ROYGBIV is the only rule of building a rainbow. You’ll see lots of different cheese, fruit, and treat options pictured here.
Don’t love the fruits I chose? Check out the Color Wheel of Fruit below to make your own combination. I love cheese! But if you don’t, meringues and yogurt dips are perfectly sweet substitutions for brie clouds.
The Fruits
- Strawberries, raspberries, clementine slices, kumquats, gooseberries, pineapple, kiwi berries, green grapes, and blueberries
The Clouds
- Brie bites
- Brie wheel with shamrock cut-out topper
- Babybel
- Dorothy’s Creamery Comeback Cow (brie-like cheese perfectly shaped like a cloud or flower)
- Meringues
- Yogurt Dip (like this recipe, served in round dishes)
The St. Patrick’s Day Touch
- Chocolate Coins (or your favorite gold foil-wrapped candies, like Rolos)
- Green apple shamrock (check out the full tutorial here)
- Shamrock Brie Cut out (see below)
How to Build This Board Two Different Ways
Traditional Arch
Directions:
Start with the red fruits on the outside, then move inwards following the rule of ROYGBIV. If using a round board, the red arch should follow the top edge of the board. If using a rectangular board, the top of the red arch should be centered in the top third of the board. Add the cloud option of your choice to each end of the rainbow, then add the chocolates to a ramekin (or pot) and place on or next to the board. Et voila!
Rainbow Stripes
Directions:
Start with the yellow fruits in the center of the board, then add the color stripes in order on each side of it (i’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: ROYGBIV). No matter what shape board you use, the yellow should be dead center. Add gold coins to a ramekin and add to the board along with the brie wheel and shamrock apple. Scatter gold coins across the board to fill any empty spaces if necessary.
How-to Videos
Color Wheel of Fruit
Red
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Red apples
- Cranberries
- Cherries
- Pomegranate seeds
- Red grapes
Orange
- Tangerines, Clementines, and oranges
- Kumquats
- Cantaloupe
- Apricots
- Mango
- Orange slices
- Gooseberries
Yellow
- Pineapple
- Banana
- Peaches
- Star fruit
- Yellow pears
- Golden Delicious apples
Green
- Kiwi
- Green apples
- Honeydew
- Green grapes
- Green pears
Blue/Indigo/Violet
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Plums
- Purple grapes
- Black currants
How to Make a Brie Cut-Out
For festive gatherings, I like to do my Brie cookie cutter trick. First harden the Brie in the freezer for a bit, then slice off the top layer of rind (approximately ¼”). Push the cookie cutter through the center of the rind slice, then place the shamrock shape back on top of the brie wheel for decoration. Alternatively, you can use my original brie method seen here on my Proud to Brie an American post.
Use either cut-out style for any holiday: Thanksgiving leaves, a heart for Valentine’s Day, a tree for Christmas, or even a spooky Halloween bat.
If you don’t have any cookie cutters handy, you can go the more traditional route. Slice the wheel in half then cut smaller, even triangles from each side to make it easy for grabbing. No matter how you slice it, serve the Brie at room temperature to boost its flavor.
Show Me Your Rainbow Boards
I hope this post inspires you to create a delicious Paddy’s Day spread. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the beautiful boards you create from my tips. If you make something inspired by this post, please tag me at @ainttooproudtomeg so I can see and share!
And, If you liked this recipe, please rate and review.
St. Patrick’s Day Food Rainbow
Description
Ingredients
Cheese Cloud Options
- Babybels
- Brie Bites
- Dorothy's Creamery Comeback Cow
Sweet Cloud Options
- Meringues
Produce Options
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Gooseberries
- Kumquats
- Tangerines
- Pineapple
- Green Grapes
- Green Apple
- Kiwi Berries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
Chocolate Options
- Chocolate Coins
- Rolos
Instructions
- To create the rainbow arch, start with the red fruits on theoutside, then move inwards following the rule of ROYGBIV (Red, Orange, Yellow,Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet)
- If using a round board, the red arch should follow the top edge of the board. If using a rectangular board, the top of the red arch should be centered in the top third of the board.
- Add the cloud option of your choice (cheese or sweet option) to each end of the rainbow.
- If making for St. Patrick's Board, add the chocolates to a ramekin (or pot) and place on or next to the board.
These are absolutely beautiful, and perfect for summer’s abundance too!