October 07, 2022

Your Guide to the Perfect Halloween Charcuterie Board

For some people, the most wonderful time of the year is here! It’s spooooooky season. From ghouls and goblins to wizards and witches, October brings tricks… and treats.  

Whether you’re having a haunted soiree with tons of guests or an intimate gathering with a couple of friends, a charcuterie board is one of the best ways to accommodate everyone’s appetite. If you’re into ghosts, true crime, or the undead, these Halloween charcuterie spread ideas will help you curate a spooky char-boo-terie board that your guests can really sink their teeth into.  

 

 

 

Vampy Varnishes  

Did your love of the undead stem from a teenage vampire hunter or a sultry love triangle involving particularly good-looking blood suckers? Us too. A vampire-themed charcuterie board is a great way to mix in some of the season’s moody tones. Incorporate these food styling tips using certain fruits and cheeses to really take your batty board to the next level: 

  • Create some “blood” on the board by lightly crushing huckleberries, pomegranates, or other oozing fruits 
  • Place dark-colored foods around the spread, like black grapes, blackberries, or red meats 
  • Sink faux vampire teeth partially into the cheese, like they’re taking a bite 
  • Cut out cheese in the shape of coffins, crosses, or bats 
  • Oreo bats: Take two Oreos, cut one down the middle, and stick one half-cookie into either side of the full Oreo to make “wings” 

Mummified Meal 

What could be more haunting than decrepit, mummified royalty sealed in a tomb for all eternity? With these mummy-inspired creations, your Halloween charcuterie board will transport your guests to ancient Egypt for the night: 

  • Create dough mummies with pizza or baking dough. Make mini pizzas, little pies, or one large “mummified” centerpiece for your spread by cutting the dough into strips and wrapping it strategically around the dish before baking  
  • Layer white-chocolate-covered strawberries with lines of white frosting that mimic mummy wrappings 
  • Accent the board with traditional Egyptian mezze, like hummus, tabbouleh, or kofta 
  • Cut cheese in the shape of cobwebs, or place faux cobwebs and plastic spiders sparingly across the spread to lend the look of an ancient sarcophagus  

Creepy Crawlies 

Summon creatures of the night with spiders and bats and ravens, oh my! Allow Halloween’s creepiest critters to crawl up onto your board with these tasty treats:  

  • Serve fuzzy fruit on your board—like kiwi fruit, peaches, or rambutan—to create sensory tricks and treats 
  • Set an array of “moldy” finger food by adding blue cheese or dyed hard-boiled eggs to the spread 
  • Accent the board with plastic spiders, or poke felt legs or pipe cleaners into the fuzzy fruit to create your own critters 
  • Make yummy cobwebs with pretzels by swirling peanut butter, frosting, or chocolate around five or six pretzel sticks and freezing them until the swirl hardens 

Dark (M)academia 

Think towering gothic buildings, mystery-shrouded adventures, and moody, fall-tone colors. The dark academia sub-genre and aesthetic have gained popularity on social media recently, and we think it might be here to stay. So, if you want a brooding board in tribute to the trend, start with a dark wood or black serving tray and try these touches: 

  • Black or dark fruits, like blackberries, blueberries, huckleberries, or black grapes 
  • Serve things like berries, olives, or dips in goblet glasses for a gothic touch 
  • Accent the board with herbs you might find in a potions class, like rosemary, thyme, or mint 
  • Serve sourdough or rye bread with dark fruit jellies, like plum or cranberry, or chipotle jelly for a savory dip 
  • Fill in the blank spaces with figs, dates, and nuts  

Ghostly Grub 

It wouldn’t be a traditional Halloween charcuterie spread without a little paranormal activity. Invite your guests to gorge on these ghoulish treats that will haunt them until the next spooky season:  

  • Coat Nutterbutters, pretzels, or fruit in white chocolate and place edible eyeballs or chocolate chips for eyes  
  • Draw eyes and an open mouth with a black marker onto the wrappers of mozzarella cheese sticks 
  • Cut bananas in half, take the peel off, and cut a zig-zag pattern on the bottom of the fruit to create the look of a classic white-sheet ghost. Add raisins or chocolate chips to create eyes and a mouth 
  • Use a cookie cutter or sharp knife to cut your hard cheeses into the shape of a ghost 
  • Accent the board with white snacks, like powdered donuts, marshmallows, or Greek yogurt dip 

Witchy Brews and Bruhaha 

What’s more appropriate for a Halloween charcuterie bash than potions, poison apples, and prosciutto? Here are some hauntingly delicious additions you can add that seem like they might’ve come straight from a witch’s devilish ingredient list: 

  • Witches’ “fingers”: Dip a thick pretzel stick into green candy coating or green-dyed chocolate, mark them up like fingers with a butter knife when they’re nearly dry, and top them with slivered almonds for the fingernails 
  • Cut your brie, cheddar, or Monterey Jack into a crescent moon shape  
  • Green-colored items, like green grapes, or veggies to dip into hummus or a savory jam 
  • Serve your dips in a tiny cauldron for extra witchy vibes 
  • “Poison” apples: dip green apples into caramel, and dust them with edible black, green, purple, or gold glitter 
  • Serve your soppressata and salami beneath apothecary jar lids 
  • Label your gouda, mozzarella, or parmesan with spooky labels 

Monster Mash 

Let your char-boo-terie board bring out the monster in each of your guests with these yummy additions to the spread. From cyclops to Frankenstein, your board will pay perfect homage to the creatures that give Halloween its true spooks.  

  • Attach edible candy eyeballs to a celery stick filled with peanut butter, or one large eyeball to a kiwi fruit to create a cyclops 
  • Spooky deviled eggs: Use green food coloring to dye the deviled-egg filling green and place an edible candy eyeball in the middle to create a one-eyed savory treat 
  • Add “teeth” on fruits or veggies with pretzel bits or chocolate chips 
  • Mix green food coloring with a melted white chocolate dip, coat strawberries in the green goop, and use candy, mini chocolate chips, or black frosting to accent the strawberries with monster-like qualities 

Murderous Munchies 

If you love to spend October binging murderous cult classics or love the thrill of solving who hid the knife, candlestick, or lead pipe, then this is the board for you and your fellow crime-junkie friends. Try sneaking these bloody bites into your spread:  

  • An assortment of cheeses, like spicy blue cheese, fontina, or English cheddar with knives sticking out of them, oozing jelly or marmalade “blood” 
  • Flick raspberry jam, cranberry marmalade, or chipotle jelly across select foods to create an incriminating “blood” spatter across the board 
  • Accent the board with caution tape to warn guests to eat… if they dare 
  • Drape your salami or mortadella across a faux skull to help your party awaken their “cannibalistic” appetite  
  • Cut your hard cheeses into the shape of a chalk body outline, like the ones found at most homicide forensic scenes 
  • Make it a murder mystery party and hide the clues and character cards within the charcuterie board or sticking out of cheeses 

 Graveyard Gouda 

If you and your family celebrate Día De Los Muertos on November first and second, put together a skull-inspired board to observe the festivities. Pay homage to the Mexican holiday and decorate the board with skulls, skeletons, and beautiful faux flora to bring your Day of the Dead spread to life (or more appropriately, the afterlife). Here are a few things you can add to this seasonal charcuterie board: 

  • It’s all about vibrant colors! Reach for fruits, vegetables, meats, and pastries that feature bright shades of red, green, orange, yellow, and purple 
  • Mimic the holiday’s traditional blooms using layers pepperoni or prosciutto to form a rose 
  • Skull candies 
  • Polverones (Mexican sugar cookies) 
  • Serve Mexican chorizo in skull-shaped dishes 
  • Arrange everything in the shape of a skull by strategically placing white items, like white-chocolate pretzels, popcorn, etc. as the foundation of the skull. Use cured meats or olives to form the outline of the eyes 
  • Make mushroom “skulls” by hollowing out two holes in some portobellos for the eye sockets, and two slits for the nose 

Simple Spooks  

Ghouls, goblins, and graveyards not your vibe? No worries! Create a Halloween charcuterie board where pumpkins, fall colors, and yummy seasonal foods are the star of the spread. 

  • Citrus pumpkins: peel a nectarine, orange, or tangerine and stick a strategically cut piece of celery in the top  
  • Make mini waffles and add a generous amount of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and a splash of vanilla or pumpkin extract for the perfect fall-inspired finger food 
  • Carefully place figs and cinnamon sticks throughout the board for an autumnal vibe 
  • Sharp, aged cheeses, like blue cheese, provolone, or gruyere  
  • Maple-glazed, candied bacon or herb-crusted salami 
  • Autumnal chutney or hummus made from sweet potatoes, dates, or pumpkin 
  • Sliced seasonal fruits, like apples, pomegranate, or pears 

 

Are you curating a themed charcuterie board for Halloween or are you going to try a little bit of everything for the ultimate spooky spread? Show off your charcuterie skills and tag us on social media @walkeredisonco! 

Written by Deven Kosciusko