This spooky and festive halloween charcuterie board (aka halloween snack board) is filled with all of your favorite meats, cheeses, fruits and creepy treats. It’s the perfect way to entertain and feed guests at a halloween party.
My family and I absolutely love Halloween! My kids were lucky to grow up with annual block parties with our neighbors. From store bought to homemade costumes, my babies always had fun dressing up.
Now that they are older, the fun has evolved. Instead of me making cute halloween cupcakes for their class parties, my kids hang out with their friends or take their cute baby cousins out trick-or-treating.
And of course, they will never say no to halloween candy or the fun foods I make for this time of the year.
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Why you really need to make this
Whether you are hosting your own halloween party or attending to a neighborhood block party, I have already collected a slew of fun and festive halloween potluck ideas for you. From complicated to easy, there is bound to be something there to catch your fancy.
One of the easiest foods I personally like to make is a charcuterie board. And making it festive for Halloween is so much fun!
A snack board is easily customizable. You can add your own favorite cheeses and meats, from expensive to cheap. You can make it all savory, all sweet or a combination of both.
Your meat and cheese board doesn’t have to break the bank either. You can use store bought items, like hummus or guacamole, or make your own. Make it vegan, gluten free or keto… anything goes.
So have fun with it! And remember, everyone loves to graze over a delicious charcuterie board.
Ingredients you need
As I said before, you can add whatever you like to your halloween charcuterie board. You can keep it simple or go crazy with it. Make it all sweets for a fun halloween snack board or mix the sweet and savory, like I did.
I am sharing what I used for my own board, but please follow your own rules and add your favorite treats. Here are my tips on how build a great charcuterie board:
- Dip: Keeping with the spooky mood, I chose to use my black bean hummus. You could also use my red pepper hummus or pumpkin hummus. Not a fan of hummus? Try guacamole, salsa or onion dip. I used some olive slices for a touch of spooky eyes on top.
- Cheese ball: I used my recipe for pomegranate cheese ball for the pumpkin shaped cheese ball. You can also use a couple packs of boursin cheese. You will need finely shredded cheddar for the outside and a bit of pretzel rod for the stem.
- Baked brie: We love baked brie (brie en croute), so I wrapped a brie wheel in puff pastry strips to make it look like a mummy. For eyes I cut a dried cherry in half but you can also use raisins or blueberries. You will need an egg for the egg wash.
- Chips and crackers: For all this cheesy goodness and our dips, you need a vessel to scoop it all up. I found these green guacamole chips and loved the flavor and color. You can also use regular tortilla chips, blue corn chips or potato chips. I also used round cheddar crackers because they reminded me of pumpkins. Again, use whatever cracker you and your family like.
- Meats: What is a charcuterie board with meat! I added rolls of prosciutto. You can also use hard dry salami, softer cotto salami, serrano ham, mortadella, sopressata and/or dried chorizo.
- Fruits: I like to add fresh fruit to the my boards. Fall favorites include grapes (I used purple moon drop grapes), figs, passion fruit (I cut them in half and used them), pears and apples. You add cuties and sharpie jack-o-lantern faces on them. I removed the top half of rambutan (cousin of the lychee) and topped with a blueberry to look like eyeballs. Other favorite fruits include strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.
- Vegetables: My charcuterie boards offer a variety of flavors and textures – and yes, veggies! I found these tiny cucumbers and made zombies with them. You can also use baby carrots, broccoli florets, grape tomatoes, and cauliflower florets.
- Pickles: Round out all the sweet and savory with something sour and salty. My kids love olives so our snack boards always include these. Other options include olive tapenade, chopped pickles, artichoke hearts, peperoncinos, pickled onions and jalapeños.
- Dried fruits and nuts: I found some freeze dried figs and loved how they looked and tasted. You can also add raisins, dried cranberries, cashews, pistachios and almonds. These make great fillers for any gaps you have in your board.
- Sweets: It wouldn’t be halloween with a little sweet treat! I added candy corns and gummy worms. I also included some mini caramel apples. They look great but did soften a bit. If you want to add caramel apples, I suggest wrapping them individually in cellophane first. You can also decorate and include some halloween Oreos – anything goes!
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Step-by-step directions
- Pumpkin shaped cheese ball. Mix the ingredients of your cheese ball until smooth. Place it in a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap it up and roll into a ball. Unwrap it and coat the outside with chopped finely shredded cheddar cheese.
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- Add grooves. Wrap in a new sheet of plastic wrap. Use a piece of string or twine and wrap it tightly around the ball’s center, twist it, then wrap it in another direction. Continue doing this until you are happy with the shape of your pumpkin.
- Chill. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Cut the strings and gently unwrap. For a stem, cut the tip of a pretzel rod or use a pretzel nugget.
- Mini mummy dogs. Pat the mini hot dogs (lit’l smokies) dry. Cut the crescent dough into thin strips then begin wrapping them around the sausage.
- Bake. Place mummy dogs on a baking sheet and brush with an egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water). Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.
- Add eyes. Using a toothpick, dip the tip into mustard (or ketchup) and dollop little eyes, if you like.
- Mummy brie. Thaw frozen puff pastry at least 30 minutes before assembling and baking. Gently roll it out several times with a rolling pin.
- Add dough strips. Cut the dough into thin strips then gently wrap your brie in alternate directions. Press the dough ends together underneath the brie, using water to help them connect. Leave a slit open for the eyes.
- Add eyes. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the dough with egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water). In the slit for the eyes, use the tip of a sharp knife to cut out a tiny hole. Place a halved raisin or olive in these holes.
- Bake. Bake at 400F until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Allow brie to cool for about 20-30 minutes before serving.
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
Here are more tips on assembling your halloween snack board
- Start with the big items first. Use bowls roughly the same size as place holders if you are waiting for something to bake or cool.
- Shop the dollar store. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on themed bowls or halloween decorations. The Dollar Tree and 99-cent stores have cheap holiday items and you can get small packages of candies, nuts and crackers.
- Skeletal touch. Add a small skeleton, roll your meats and place them in the rib cage.
Add a variety of meats and cheese to your charcuterie board. You can also add dips, chips, crackers, bread slices, fruits, vegetables, nuts and dried fruits. Add a touch of sweet with jams, chutney or even gummy worms! And don’t forget the salty like pickles, olives or capers.
Choose a dark cutting board or tray as your base. Add olive slices or blueberries for eyes to your dips. Use cookie cutters to cut cheese or salami slices in spooky shapes. Wrap sausages or brie in puff pastry or crescent roll strips and bake to make your food mummified.
A lot of these items can be made the day before. In fact, the cheese ball you should definitely make the day before because it helps the pumpkin shape set. You can also bake the brie a day before and gently reheat it right be fore you serve it. Wash your fruit a day or two before, as well, so it is nice and dry when you need
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Halloween Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 8 oz round brie
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 2 raisins
- 32 Hillshire Farm Lit’l Smokies®
- 1 8- ounce can refrigerated crescent dough rolls
- 1-2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 5 oz goat cheese
- 4 oz finely shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs
- 1- inch pretzel rod or nugget
- Hummus
- 4 oz prosciutto
- 4 figs
- 6 rambuttan
- 6 blueberries
- 2 passion fruits
- 6 Persian cucumbers
- 4 baby apples
- 1 lb black grapes
- 1 cup olives
- Crackers
- Tortilla chips
- Gummy worms
- Caramels
Instructions
- To make a pumpkin shaped cheese ball, whip the cream cheese and goat cheese until smooth. Mix in the garlic and fresh herbs. Place mixture in a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it up. Roll it to form a ball.
- Chop up the shredded cheddar. Unwrap the cheese ball and coat the outside with the chopped up cheddar.
- Place the cheese ball on a new sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it up. Use a piece of string or twine and wrap it tightly around the ball's center, twist it, then wrap it in another direction. Continue doing this until you are happy with the shape of your pumpkin.
- Refrigerate the cheese ball until you are ready to serve. Cut the strings and gently unwrap. For the stem, cut the tip of a pretzel rod or use a pretzel nugget. You can also use the dull side of a knife to help with the pumpkin indentations
- To make your mummy baked brie, defrost frozen puff pastry at least 30 minutes before assembling and baking. Spread it out on a lightly floured work surface and gently roll it out several times with a rolling pin.
- Cut the dough into thin strips then gently wrap your brie in alternate directions. Press the dough ends together underneath the brie, using water to help them connect. Leave a slit open for the eyes.
- Place your brie wheel on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the dough with an egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 TBS water). Reserve remaining egg wash for the sausages.
- In the slit for the eyes, use the tip of a sharp knife to cut out a tiny hole. Place a halved dried cherry or raisins in these little pits.
- Bake at 400F until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Allow brie to cool for about 20-30 minutes before serving.
- To make the mini mummy dogs, use a paper towel to dry the sausages. Cut the crescent dough into thin strips then begin wrapping them around the sausage. Be sure to leave a small space for the eyes to poke through.
- Place the wrapped sausages on a baking sheet and brush with remaining egg wash.
- Bake the sausages at 375F for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Using a toothpick, dip the tip into mustard (or ketchup) and dollop little eyes into the space you left open.
- To assemble your halloween snack board, start with the big items first. Use bowls roughly the same size as place holders if you are waiting for something to bake or cool.
- Start adding the crackers, chips, meats, fruits and vegetables directly on the board or in small bowls.
- Fill the small holes remaining with more fruit, candies or halloween decorations.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
