16 Dollar Tree Snacks To Add To Your Grazing Board

Grazing is no longer just a term we use to describe animals nibbling on grass in a field. It's a major trend among humans now, too — associated with elaborate smorgasbords of snacks with just as much visual appeal as edible appeal.

The grazing board differs slightly from a charcuterie board by taking a simple spread of meat and cheeses and elevating it with fruits, vegetables, dips, nuts, desserts, crackers, small bites...really any finger food you can think of. They outdo charcuterie in terms of both palate diversity and size — sometimes seen in the form of a grazing table at events or even weddings. And, let me tell you, they can get expensive. That rainbow of ingredients from all over the grocery store can add up quickly. But luckily, there's a hack for that, and the secret lies within the walls of the Dollar Tree.

No, you can't get fresh produce, gourmet fromage, and cured salamis at the dollar store — many don't even come equipped with a fridge, and when they do, frozen products take precedence. But there are oodles of tasty hidden gems waiting on the shelves, ready to help you create an affordable and aesthetically pleasing display. From crackers and dips to cookies and nuts, here's a small sampling of the grazing board essentials you can pick up at the Dollar Tree — all for the low cost of $1.25.

They're called "entertainment" crackers for a reason. Every shareable grazing board is in need of a classic and neutral cracker that will serve as a base for a balancing act of cheese slices and cured meats. These Monet originals do the trick.

Their sizeable round shape and sturdiness make them perfect for stacking or slathering to your heart's content. The flavor is fresh yet understated, with only subtle hints of salt and butter. But that's exactly the way it should be, so that your dips, spreads, and other toppings of choice are left to do the talking with your taste buds. If you are looking for a bit more oomph to pair with a milder cheese, the Monet brand also offers a vegetable style packed with tastes of bell peppers, carrots, onion, and celery, in addition to a wheat option.

Danish-style, old-fashioned butter cookies are certified crowd pleasers. Nostalgia courses through the sweet buttery veins of these bite-sized baked goods. Crunchy yet airy, they crumble and melt in your mouth in the most satisfying way, leaving you with kisses of sugar and vanilla — not to mention a strong desire for just one more.

Cambridge & Thames additionally does us all a favor by providing us with five different shapes, from circles to rectangles to pretzels, in one singular container. All five offer the same taste, but with marginally different textures. The rectangles and pretzels are also topped with a sprinkle of thick sugar crystals, just because.

One of the best parts about butter cookies, though, is the round tin they so often come in — the element that qualifies this Dollar Tree purchase as a two-in-one deal. These shiny blue tins make for the best makeshift sewing kit — as you've likely discovered in the depths of your grandma's closet. Or, if your needles and thread already have a home, they can also act as a general kitchen storage container or to-go box to send your friends home with a few bites after all the grazing comes to a close.

Perhaps not for every palate at the party, but pickles are a great way to add a zesty punch to your display. Dill is an obvious choice. Or, you could throw something a bit more exotic into the mix, like spicy pickles, bread and butter, or sweet pickles like this jar from Breckendridge Farms (there is a difference between bread and butter and sweet pickles, by the way!)

Soaked in a sugary brine, these are larger than your average sweet pickle and bursting with an extra dose of flavor. As soon as you crunch into one, you're met with equal parts tang and pickled sweetness. They can stand on their own as a pop-able snack, just remember to grant them their own bowl to prevent juice from seeping into other foods — nobody likes soggy, pickle-washed crackers. Or, you could put on your chef hat and chop them up into more of a relish for more creative pairings. Think about how good a scoop of sweet pickles would taste combined with a creamy cheese like brie or goat cheese.

Nuts are a charcuterie board must. In a nutshell, they're non-perishable, nutrient-rich, and easy to grab in passing without the need for utensils or napkins, making them a no-brainer that you can pick up at Dollar Tree. There are several options available, from classic Planters peanuts to mixed nuts. But, if I were you, I'd go for one of the Imperial Nuts blends.

The Energy Blend specifically is an elevated version of the packs you enjoy amongst 150 strangers while flying 30,000 feet in the air. It joins together honey-roasted peanuts, honey-roasted sesame sticks, almonds, walnuts, and pecans, for a diverse hotchpotch that's all coated in a honey and sugar film — those sesame sticks are truly one of the most addicting things I've ever tasted. The brand's Sunshine blend can also help to make up for Dollar Tree's lack of fresh produce. It balances almonds and cashews with dried cranberries, blueberries, and banana chips so that you get a bit of sweet (and tart) with your salty.

Like pickles, raisins are somewhat polarizing. I've found that most people either love them or hate them. Normally, I identify more closely with the latter group. But cover them in a generous coating of vanilla yogurt and suddenly I'm changing my tune.

These raisins from Natural Cravings offer what I consider the perfect ratio of yogurt to raisin: a thick casing of yogurt surrounding a very small raisin. They're hard to the touch but transform into creamy as soon as they hit your tongue. Their taste is sweet and even white chocolate-like — I even thought I detected notes of maple (though that ingredient wasn't outwardly included on the list). They're not too far off from the chocolate-covered berries presented by Brookside — but they come sans the hefty price tag — and they're another great way to sneak some fruit onto your board (even if it is dried once again).

There are just some tastes so intertwined with a specific season or holiday that you couldn't imagine one without the other. It wouldn't be summer without strawberries. Pumpkin (and, more specifically, pumpkin spice) takes over close to Thanksgiving, and ginger — at least in my mind — equates to Christmas thanks to gingerbread men and nostalgic spicier ginger snaps. So if you're entertaining during the wintertime holidays, you could consider throwing a few of these cookies onto the menu for good measure.

Lil' Dutch Maid bakes up the snaps found at Dollar Tree. Their cozy and familiar aroma drew me in as soon as I tore open the bag. Sugar granules and crumbs went flying as I bit into the brittle discs — part of the cookie's charm. They're sweet before settling into an intense spice led by ginger, but also supported by both cinnamon and cloves, as well. A truly timeless treat.

A grazing board wouldn't be a grazing board without a few savory dips to plunge your chips and crackers into. Dollar Tree is admittedly a bit lean in this department. A small refrigerator section (we're talking one single chest of essentially just deli meat and string cheese) does not leave much room for your typical dairy or fat-based dips. But the store does offer a couple of shelf-stable options, including a French onion from Home Style Select.

It doesn't look like much from the top — just a container filled with an off-white and unmoving pile of goo. But that caramelized onion aroma soon takes hold of your nostrils and then hits your taste buds as well. That potent, umami-filled flavor acts alone. Fused into a base that's just as creamy as a true dairy-based product would have been, though, it's quite succulent and satisfying. My only tip would be to refrigerate it before serving so that it's chilled and not lukewarm. That, and don't forget to pair it with a bag of sturdy chips like the Cape Cod or Herr's kettle cooked chips, both also available at Dollar Tree.

For a dessert spread with some international influence, grab a box of Pocky Sticks from the discount store. As a Japanese treat that came out in 1966, Pocky has gained worldwide popularity as the "largest chocolate-coated biscuit brand". As is the case with most things born in Japan, it features an ahead-of-its-time design: a portable stick shape with a flavored coating blanketing all but one end. Kids love them because they can pretend to cast spells as they wave them through the air. Parents love them because they don't make a mess — the crunch from the wheat flour biscuit and rich yet smooth cocoa taste from the chocolate flavor doesn't hurt either.

Pocky sticks of any flavor make for easy finger food by themselves. But I also have a few other clever ideas for how to incorporate them. I'm thinking a full edible cake pop with Pocky as the stick. Or, instead of fondue forks for dipping fruit, marshmallows, and other treats, use Pocky.

You can never have too many cracker options. They're an integral building block of the charcuterie design that will support many of your other ingredients. But when you pick out a pack as good as these Mediterranean-inspired crisps, they can even stand alone.

Don't judge the Greta crackers by their cover. I was a bit doubtful as well when I pulled them out of their individually sized sleeves to find nothing more than two saltine crackers stacked on top of one another and scored in the middle. But not to worry, the taste far exceeds this questionable appearance. The name of this particular variety is Garden Vegetable. What I think they meant, though, was garden herbs. Every square is peppered with earthy tastes of fresh dill and parsley. A bit of garlic and onion further expand the palate, while big flakes of salt and a lovely crisp seal the deal.

Hear me out on this one. All-American Corn Nuts may not seem like the most glamorous addition to your carefully curated arrangement. However, they make for a great filler ingredient to sprinkle here and there — anywhere there is a gap or the board is feeling barren. They're also good for a salty and hearty crunch.

If you've never had a bag of Corn Nuts, they are large corn kernels that are then roasted to form a hard shell. They are not popcorn, but more like an enlarged, munchable version of what you would find at the bottom of the microwavable bag. The recipe is so simple, yet that intense texture always persuades me to reach for just one more handful. And, as I continued to do so, I realized that the taste is surprisingly similar to that of Bugles — another popular corn-based snack.

This isn't your grandma's licorice. In my opinion, Red Vines and Twizzlers pale in comparison to Wiley Wallaby — and the brand does it without any fats or high fructose corn syrup. Instead of long whips, Wiley partitions its product into thick, bite-sized hunks. The "classic red" flavor is just a front for standard strawberry, but it's extra juicy with a vivid smell that lures you in. The springy, never hard, texture is the cherry on top that solidifies the candy as a top licorice contender.

Based on its name, you may assume that Wiley Wallaby comes to us from Down Under. However, like Outback Steakhouse, the company masquerades as one that is Australian-born but actually has its roots right here in the United States — in Minnesota, to be exact. This identity confusion clearly hasn't stopped it from becoming an overnight sensation, though. And it would look good sitting on a candy or dessert tray, in the strawberry flavor or any of its other varieties also available at Dollar Tree, like classic black, blueberry pomegranate, green apple, watermelon, lemonade, or hot cinnamon.

Autumn-inspired boards are in desperate need of these maple cookies. From that first whiff, I could already feel the crisp fall air and hear conversations of pumpkin patches and Halloween being discussed over the sound of Sunday afternoon football.

As dime-sized sandwich cookies, they immediately reminded me of mini OREOs — and they are somewhat similar to the name brand's vanilla-flavored golden line. But they take things even further with a signature honeyed maple flavor. The outside is buttery, crumbly shortbread, paired with a smooth cream in the middle. They have a kind of breakfast cereal edge to them, and I couldn't help but imagine how good they would taste dunked in a bowlful of ice-cold milk.

The small maple leaves imprinted on either side of these cookies further solidify them as a primo pick. They would be the perfect finishing touch on a table spotted with Jack-be-Little pumpkins, caramel apple slices, and candy corn.

Bagel chips are the new crackers. Hot on the heels of the everything bagel seasoning trend, bagel chips have emerged as a hot product — and one that can give grazing platters a unique and modern upgrade. With a denser, crunchier texture than your average cracker, they announce themselves with bravado but also put their money where their crunch is, standing up to even the thickest dips.

Dollar Tree carries the 7 Days Snacks brand, and I picked up a bag of the sea salt variation — roasted garlic was another that I spotted on the shelf. Each chip is much larger than expected (presumably cut from an extra-large bagel). They're crisped up with the help of palm oil, giving each bit of greasiness that accompanies the generous portion of salt. As you can imagine, this combination of tastes, coupled with that quintessential crusty texture, makes them hard to resist.

If you thought you were set on nuts, think again. The pistachio presents a completely new opportunity for snacking intrigue. Their vibrant green hue adds a pop a color to your food presentation. That is, of course, if you happen to pick up a bag of shell-less pistachios. If not, expect less visual appeal and a bit more manual labor — unless you go through the process of cracking them all yourself before your guests arrive (talk about being the hostess with the mostess.)

The Wonderful brand sells several of its flavors at Dollar Tree — both shelled and unshelled — and you can't go wrong with any of them. From Chili Roasted to Sea Salt Vinegar to Honey Roasted, they all bring something tasty to the table. But, I would recommend something simple like the Roasted & Salted or Salt & Pepper (the pack I bought) if you're looking to get crafty with a pistachio-based butter spread or a pistachio-crusted cheese log.

For sweet tooths with more sophisticated taste, the Riesen brand delivers. Made by the German confectionery company Storck, its chocolate caramels are dripping in European flair. Each one is individually swathed, Tootsie Roll style, in its own brown wrapper, making them appear like something you would find in one of the ornate candy dishes scattered around your grandparents' house. However, these chocolatey drops are far from stale or dated.

Rich is an understatement when it comes to Riesen. As soon as you sink your teeth into one, you're met with a bold, semi-sweet cocoa flavor. The outer chocolate coating gives way to a truffle-like center that's comprised of sticky caramel mixed with even more chocolate. It's chewy. And some will inevitably adhere to your molars. But it's a small price to pay for something so indulgent.

If you regularly buy honey for drizzling, sweetening, or cooking, then you know just how expensive it can be. Those squeezable golden bears come at a premium at most major grocery stores. So, I was delighted to see this staple stocked at Dollar Tree for the cool price of just $1.25.

The bottles you'll find at the discount store are from Global Brands. As a hive-to-home 100 percent pure US grade A honey with no artificial dyes or colors, it's as sweet as can be with a light undertone of caramel. Plus, it comes in an easy-to-use bottle with a twist-up top that reminded me of Elmer's glue.

Your grazing board would benefit greatly from this coveted condiment. A wheel of baked brie wouldn't be the same without a generous amount of honey and walnuts flooding the top. And whipped ricotta with honey may just be the best appetizer that crostini has ever had the pleasure of meeting.

If you're a Dollar Tree frequent flyer, you know the store's inventory is not extensive. But with visions of a beautifully arranged grazing board in mind, I focused on quality over quantity and only picked up items that would cater to diverse tastes–and look good doing it. Practical picks like crackers and nuts made up a portion of my shopping, helping to fulfill the savory side. On the sweet side, a collection of various cookies and chocolate-covered treats beckoned. A few wildcard options like honey, sweet pickles, and raisins also made their way into my cart.

There were additionally two items I tried that didn't qualify for my board: the Home Style Select Guacamole Style Dip and the Lemon Flavored European Cookies. Shelf-stable is not a good look for guacomoole. So, looking more like a pile of mushy peas, it tasted more like a poorly made creamy verde salsa and certainly did not bring anything to the table appearance-wise. As for the lemon cookies, their strong kitchen cleaner taste made it impossible to enjoy the shortbread — a shame, since it seemed like it could have been quite scrumptious on its own.