How to Make a Halloween Charcuterie Board

Charcuterie boards are all the rage right now, and for good reason. A thoughtfully assembled charcuterie board is not only visually impressive, but a great appetizer for any gathering. Part of the appeal is its endless customizability – you can include items that you know your guests will love, and guests get to pick and choose what they’re in the mood for. It’s also a hands-off food option that you can make in advance, leaving you free to enjoy your party and socialize with friends and family. And best of all, because of charcuterie’s versatility, a delicious charcuterie board can be themed for any occasion, including Halloween!

If you’re hosting ghouls and goblins during the spooky season, a “BOO-cuterie” board makes a fang-tastically fun Halloween appetizer. Keep reading to learn how to assemble your own Halloween charcuterie board at home, and how to make it extra spooky.

Start with the Basics

When building your charcuterie board, it’s important to start with the basics: fruits and veggies, chips or crackers, meat and cheese. These are the items that will serve as the base “filling” of your board and will leave your guests feeling full and satisfied.

When selecting the base ingredients for a “BOO-cuterie” board, try to choose items that fit into a Halloween theme. One idea is to shop by color. For example, sharp cheddar cheese, cheese-flavored chips, sliced orange bell pepper and baked cheese crackers can all add orange to your board. And for black or darker hues, try adding blue corn chips, black grapes, dark-chocolate-covered pretzels or blueberry goat cheese.

Add Halloween-themed Treats

Once you’ve established your base ingredients, it’s time to add tricks and treats! These are the fun details that will make your charcuterie board look and taste extra special.

• Peeled mandarin oranges: Small, peeled mandarin oranges look like mini pumpkins.
• Cheese cutouts: Use a knife or a cookie cutter to cut jack-o’-lanterns out of thinly sliced orange cheese. You can also make ghosts out of sliced white cheese. If you use Swiss cheese to make ghosts, you can cut them so that the existing holes function as eyes and a mouth in each ghost.
• Marshmallow ghosts: Using a paring knife, slice a large marshmallow in half. Then, cut small triangles into the bottom edge. Add chocolate chips or icing to the outside for eyes, then display with the flat side down.
• Cookie bats: Slice chocolate sandwich cookies into equal halves, then arrange them so they look like bat wings. Set on a chocolate peanut butter cup and add candy for eyes.
• Pretzel and licorice spiders: Slice black licorice ropes into 1” pieces, then arrange around a single chocolate-covered pretzel to make a spider. Add candy for eyes.
• Brie coffin: Slice a wheel of brie to look like a coffin. Use food coloring and a toothpick to write “RIP” on the top of the cheese.
• Cheese and pretzel broomsticks: Take a 1” square of cheese and use a knife to slice the bottom edge until frayed, like the bottom of a broomstick. Wrap the uncut edge around the bottom of a small pretzel stick. Tie with a chive for garnish.

Go Batty with Nonedible Extras & Decor

Once you’ve rounded out your board with cute treats and scary additions, you can add a few non-edible finishing touches. Just be sure to gently wash any decor with soap and warm water before adding to your board.

• Googly eyes: Stick googly eyes to mozzarella pearls to make eyeballs. Or, add pairs of eyes to cheese wedges throughout for a creepy charcuterie board that stares back.
• Fake creepy-crawly critters: If you’re confident that your guests won’t be too creeped out (or if that’s your goal), you can add fake plastic spiders or bugs to your spread. Place them on top of cheese wedges or hide them beneath slices of bread.
• Skeletons: Display a plastic skeleton near your board. You can arrange the skeleton to look as though it’s reaching for the board or even put a slice of cheese in its mouth.

Check Out These Examples

If you’re looking to recreate your own trick-or-treat-inspired sweet and savory board and a fresh, fall harvest spread using combinations of the above ingredients, here’s what you’ll need to recreate each one at home.

• Sweet and savory board: Start with baked cheese crackers, cheese tortilla chips, cheese curls and vanilla sandwich cookies to create an orange backdrop. Add marshmallow ghosts, pretzel spiders, cookie bats, candy corn, pumpkin candies and caramel popcorn. Add fake spiders and finish with more Halloween-themed candy.
• Fresh and fun: Place a small orange cheeseball in the center of the board. Add several small dishes around the board and fill with pistachios, olives, blackberries or cashews. Arrange sliced bell pepper, carrot sticks and apple slices around the board. Add pita crackers, salami, prosciutto and black grapes. Finish with peeled mandarin “pumpkins,” jack-‘o-lantern cheese cutouts and cheese and pretzel broomsticks.

Find More Halloween Fun

We’ve got more frightfully delicious recipes, lots of candy, and other Halloween party tips to help you get into the spirit of the Halloween season.