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This Halloween charcuterie board is perfectly customizable and devilishly delicious. Make your own guacamole spider webs and blood pretzels!
Fill this fun board with Nutter Butter Ghosts, Apple Monster Teeth, or Mummy Pretzels.
A spooky spread
Charcuterie board (pronounced shär-ˌkü-tə-ˈrē) is a tray of mainly meats and cheeses along with crackers, nuts, preserves, and produce.
A Halloween charcuterie board uses all the traditional elements with a splash of Halloween mixed in.
A Halloween-themed charcuterie board is perfect for your little trick-or-treaters, or for any festive ghoulish gathering! Mix in both sweet and savory for all snacking needs.
This board can be so versatile, but we’ve included some recipes and ideas to help you get started. For more sweets try our Halloween Candy Charcuterie Board!
Building the Board
Once you have all your different elements it’s time to assemble the Halloween party charcuterie board.
- Start by placing the small bowls of dips, berries, or nuts on the board. Space them out evenly.
- Add any larger decorative elements, like the mini pumpkins.
- Add the meat and cheese to the board. Be sure to space them out so the board is balanced.
- Add your crackers and bread, spread evenly on the board.
- Fill in the spaces with produce, nuts, and anything else you want to include.
TO MAKE BLOOD PRETZELS
These bloody pretzels are a great addition to your easy Halloween charcuterie board and are so simple to make.
PREP. In a small bowl, melt the red candy melts per package instructions along with the ¼ teaspoon of coconut oil. Spread the pretzels out on a large piece of waxed paper with some space in between.
BLOOD. There are a few ways to sprinkle the “blood”.
- Use a small paintbrush, dip it into the candy melt, and kind of splatter it onto the pretzels.
- I found the best way was to use a straw, dip the straw into the melted red candy, and gently blow it onto the pretzels. Blowing the melted red candy onto the pretzels gives you a small dot splatter.
- You can also do some small drizzles by dipping the straw into the red candy melts and flinging it across the pretzels for some lines of “blood” on the pretzels.
SET. Allow the pretzel “blood” to dry at room temperature or can chill in the refrigerator.
You can also read our post all about making Halloween Pretzels for more tips and tricks.
GUACAMOLE SPIDER WEB
By adding just a simple decoration, you take this run-of-the-mill guacamole and give it a creepy flair!
GUACAMOLE. Place the guacamole in a new round container, if desired, or leave it in the container it came in if using store-bought.
SOUR CREAM. Place about 2 tablespoons of sour cream into a sandwich-size resealable plastic bag. With scissors, snip off just a little bit at one of the corners, the smaller the snip the thinner the spider web line will be.
WEB. To make the web first pipe out a cross shape onto the guacamole. Next, make diagonals across the cross shape. Finally, pipe small curves between the lines.
More snack suggestions
Fill in your Halloween charcuterie spread with any of these munchies.
Meat. Use thin slices of meat such as prosciutto, salami, ham, turkey, pepperoni, pastrami, peppered beef, or sliced sausage. Larger slices can be rolled or folded before being placed on the board. Plan for guests to have 3-4 total slices of meat.
Cheese. Use a mix of soft cheeses and hard cheeses. You can also use a Cheeseball. Provide enough for guests to have 2-3 ounces total.
- Hard cheese: Parmesan, cheddar, Asiago, Gouda, Gruyere, Manchego, or Havarti
- Soft cheese: Mozzarella, burrata, goat’s cheese, Brie, blue cheese, or cream cheese
Produce adds a lot of color, flavors, and textures to the board. Use both fresh and dried produce. Some common fall produce you may wish to use include carrots, broccoli and cauliflower florets, figs, grapes, sliced pears, cranberries, olives, berries, dried apricots, or Strawberry Ghosts.
More…
Crackers/bread. Add small slices of bread and crackers to the tray. Not only can they be eaten on their own, but can be topped with meat, cheese, and jams.
- Ritz Crackers, Pita Chips, Grissini Breadstick, Parmesan Crisps, Toasted Crostini, Artisan Crackers, Baguettes, Pretzels, Wheat Thins, Triscuts, or French Bread Cubes
Extras:
- Jams and preserves can be used to spread on crackers, then topped with meat and cheese.
- Dips can be used as a spread or as a dip. Some favorites: Hummus, Green Chili Cream Cheese Dip, Veggie Dip, and Pesto.
- Nuts like pistachios, almonds, walnuts, pecans, and more. You can also add Candied Nuts.
Halloween garnishes. Mix in a few Halloween/autumn elements by adding mini pumpkins, plastic spiders, skulls, candy eyeballs, and candy corn.
Charcuterie Tips
These tips will help you curate the perfect charcuterie board.
The board. A wooden cutting board is often used as the base, but any type of tray or platter will do. For this festive board, use a classic wooden board or find a Halloween-themed tray. I always have great luck finding unique trays at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, or the local thrift store.
Aesthetics. Make the different elements look randomly placed or have symmetry.
Serving. Provide a cheese knife, serving spoons, and tongs. You can often find these with a Halloween theme to them like skeleton hand serving forks or tongs. Provide festive plates and napkins near the charcuterie board.
Refills. Only place a few of each item on the board and have extras in the kitchen. Refill the board as needed.
Storing Info
Make it ahead of time. Many of the different elements can be prepared ahead of time and stored in separate containers until you are ready to arrange the board.
STORE. If you have leftovers, I suggest storing them in their own containers that you can pull from to serve again later.
Halloween Decor and Activities:
- Trick or Treat Printables
- Halloween I Spy Printable
- Halloween Countdown Printable
- Halloween Trivia Print
- Halloween Soda Pop Labels
Recipe FAQ
Absolutely! Feel free to get creative and make substitutions based on your preferences or dietary restrictions. For example, if you don’t eat meat, you can replace it with plant-based alternatives or add more cheese options. You can swap out certain fruits or vegetables based on seasonal availability or personal preference.
You can prepare many elements of the charcuterie board in advance to save time on the day of your gathering. You can make each of the suggested recipes a day or two ahead of time and store them in airtight containers until you’re ready to assemble the board. Just be sure to wait until closer to serving time to slice the fresh produce and arrange everything on the board to ensure maximum freshness.
While you can use just about any cutting board or tray, it’s extra fun to find one that is within the Halloween theme. Check out especially stores, online, thrift stores, and discount stores.
For More Halloween Recipes:
Halloween Charcuterie Board Recipe
Equipment
- Tray, board, or container.
- Bowls
- small pumpkin cookie cutter
Ingredients
- roasted red pepper hummus homemade or store bought
- guacamole homemade or store bought
- sour cream to make the spider web on the guacamole instructions included
- candy corn
- sliced cheddar cheese
- your favorite deli sliced meat
- your favorite crackers
- petite dill pickles
- caramel corn store bought or homemade
- whole peeled mandarin oranges to mimic small pumpkins
- grapes
- Halloween M&Ms or your favorite M&Ms
- blood pretzels instructions included
- candy pumpkins
Blood Pretzels
- yogurt covered pretzels (store bought) or make your own white chocolate or almond bark dipped pretzels
- red candy melts
- ¼ tsp coconut oil optional
Guacamole Spider Web
- homemade or store bought guacamole
- sour cream
Instructions
- Build the board by adding in groupings of the above ingredients considering varying the different colored items on the board.
- Roll the lunch meat into small rolls to place on the board.
- Using the small pumpkin cookie cutter cut the pumpkin shape out of the cheddar cheese slices.
To Make Blood Pretzels:
- In a small bowl, melt the red candy melts per package instructions along with the ¼ tsp of coconut oil.
- Spread the pretzels out on a large piece of waxed paper with some space in between.
- There are a few ways to sprinkle the “blood”. You can use a small paint brush and dip it into the candy melt and kind of splatter it onto the pretzels. I found the best way was to use a straw, dip the straw into the melted red candy and gently blow it onto the pretzels. Blowing the melted red candy onto the pretzels gives you a small dot splatter. You can also do some small drizzles by dipping the straw into the red candy melts and kind of flinging it across the pretzels for some lines of “blood” on the pretzels.
- Allow the pretzel “blood” to dry at room temperature or can chill in the refrigerator.
To Make Guacamole Spider Web:
- Place the guacamole in a new round container if desired or leave it in the container it came in if using store-bought.
- Place about 2 Tablespoons of sour cream into a sandwich-size resealable plastic bag. With scissors, snip off just a little bit at one of the corners, the smaller the snip the thinner the spider web line will be.
- To make the web, pipe out a cross shape onto the guacamole.
- Next, make diagonals across the cross shape.
- Next pipe small curves between the lines leaving some space as you move out toward the edge of the bowl.
Video
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Fun idea. I love that just a few Halloween touches really transform the entire board.
Fun idea. I love that just a few Halloween touches really transfer the entire board.
Awesome idea. Just a few Halloween touches really transform the entire board.
I can’t think of anything cuter than these charcuterie boards! There so inviting and you get to make them with all your favorite foods and snacks. I just love this idea.
I had fun trying this out! It was a hit. I’ll surely add this charcuterie board recipe for Halloween. Exciting!
So fun! The spider on the guacamole is the perfect touch!
So fun and festive! I made this last week for my coworkers and it was a hit.
This is so fun & perfect for any Halloween party!! Charcuterie boards are always a hit! Love the ideas to put on this one!